Wings of an Angel

by Shanna Hatfield

  When the students finished painting their snowmen, Angela and Drake helped the students position hats, eyes, noses and buttons made of construction paper. “Did you cut all these out?” Angela asked as she picked up another hat and handed it to Emily.

  “Part of them. Joy and Drew helped with the rest of them. Joy did the hats, which is why they look awesome. I cut out the carrot-shaped noses, and the lumpy circles are all Drew.”

  Angela laughed. “It was nice of them to help.”

  Drake nodded. “Joy said she’d help in the classroom once in a while when she regains the ability to walk.”

  “She’d be a big help and I think the students would love her.”

  “I do, too.” Drake moved off to assist a student trying to stick noses on each side of his snowman’s head for ears.

  Angela helped write each child’s name on the back of the project then they set the papers on an empty shelf to dry. After the children washed their hands, Angela placed a cute reindeer-patterned paper napkin on each desk then opened the containers with treats. One held crackers topped with thin pieces of ham and cheese cut into holiday shapes. The other contained red gelatin cups with a strawberry nestled inside. A dollop of whipping cream on the top made each little cup look like Santa’s hat.

  “Santa’s hat!” Megan chirped, leaning forward on her desk to look in the container.

  “Santa’s hat! Santa’s hat!” the children chanted.

  Drake took the meatier snacks and passed them around while Angela gave each student one of the berry treats.

  They’d barely finished eating them when the five-minute bell rang, letting them know school was about to end for the day.

  “Great job today, everyone!” Drake said, moving to the front of the room. “Get your coats and bags, and line up at the door.

  The students hurried to obey, pulling on warm boots and coats. Angela reminded them to find their hats and gloves.

  Drake walked over to the door and pointed to a sign he’d taped to it long ago. “Let’s say our hallway poem.”

  “I keep my hands to myself, I keep my back straight and tall, I look ahead and not behind, so I’m ready for the hall,” the students recited.

  “That’s awesome, class.” Drake smiled as the bell rang. He opened the door and turned them loose. “Have a great evening and I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

  Angela and Nick picked up a few scattered napkins then Nick took the disinfecting wipes from the cupboard and began wiping the desks while Angela grabbed a handful and went to work on knobs and handles.

  “You don’t have to help,” Drake said, closing the door so Jasper could come out of his cage and play.

  Angela released the bird. Jasper hopped around, bumping his ball with his head and cooing happily.

  “Many hands make light work,” she said, smiling at Drake. “Granny used to say that all the time.”

  Nick sighed. “I miss Granny.”

  Angela went over to her son and gave him a hug then kissed the top of his head. “I miss her, too, baby.”

  Nick glanced over at Drake. “Do you have a granny, Mr. Miller?”

  “Not now, but I used to. I had two grandmothers and they both lived in Portland. Drew and I used to visit them in the summer sometimes.”

  “Aw, I’m sorry your grannies are gone, too.” Nick ran over and gave Drake a hug. He kept his arms wrapped around Drake’s legs and leaned back to look at him. “I’d share mine with you if I could.”

  “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate that.” Drake took the wipe from Nick and tossed it in the garbage can. “You two go on and get out of here. I can finish cleaning up on my own.”

  “Are you sure, Drake? We don’t mind,” Angela said, straightening from where she scrubbed a glob of snow paint off the front of one desk.

  “I’ve got it, but thanks for offering.” Drake looked at Nick. “Did you get your tree put up yet?”

  Nick scowled at his mother and shook his head. “No. Mom still hasn’t gotten one for us.”

  Drake grimaced and glanced at Angela who was shooting daggers at him from her expressive brown eyes. Eyes that he’d so often wanted to fall into. “Sorry,” he mouthed.

  Her gaze narrowed as she nudged Nick toward the sink. “Wash your hands, baby. I should run by the clinic and check on one of my patients and then we’ll head home.”

  Drake wiped up paint spills as Angela hustled Nick out the door. Before she left, she tossed him a friendly wave.

  Had he sensed a bit of thawing in her frosty attitude? Or had he inhaled too many fumes from the snow paint?

  “What do you think, Jasper? Should I give this another shot?”

  The dove chased his ball and cooed.

  “You really are no help, Jasper. None at all.”

  Chapter Ten

  “It’s so nice of you to do this, Jenny,” Angela said as she dropped Nick off at his friend Evan’s house.

  “My pleasure. The day of peacefulness I had when Lisa took Evan made me decide it would be good to take a turn,” Jenny Banks said as she watched Nick climb into a booster seat in the back of her suburban. “And Lisa and I are more than happy to turn the boys over to you for a day of sledding after Christmas. They’ll love it.”

  “It’s the least I can do,” Angela said, giving Nick a wave before Jenny shut the door. She turned to the woman and handed her some money. “For Nick’s lunch and whatever else. He has money in his jeans’ pocket and I hid ten dollars in his inside coat pocket. That should get him through the day.”

  Jenny laughed. “I should hope so. I’ll have the boys back around three or four.”

  “Sounds great. If you send me a text, I’ll come pick up Nick so you don’t have to drive over to my place.”

  “Oh, I’ll drop him off. It’s no bother and it isn’t that far from leaving Sean at his house anyway. Have a great day, Angela.”

  “I plan to,” she said, smiling at the woman as she climbed in her vehicle and shut the door. Angela walked back to her pickup and slid behind the wheel. For the second time that month, she found herself with an unexpected free Saturday.

  Thoughts of the last one made her heart ache. She’d had such a fabulous day with Drake. Honestly, she never wanted it to end. Yes, he’d irritated her when he’d made arrangements for Nick without asking her, but he’d apologized and it turned out fine. Somehow, amid the romantic atmosphere of the lodge, he’d managed to do the impossible and coaxed her into sharing her story, the whole story, of her past.

  When he didn’t jump up from the table and run, she took it as a good sign. Then they’d gone to see Joy and Drew, and pick up Nick. Her son had lost his first tooth, his first tiny little baby tooth, and she’d missed it because she was off cavorting in the snow with a handsome, incredible man.

  At first, she’d been devastated at having Nick’s tooth handed to her in a little tin box. By the time she had a few hours to mull it over, though, she knew it wasn’t the loss of her son’s tooth that made her withdraw from Drake. He could have lost it at school or playing with his pets while she was in the house.

  No, it wasn’t his tooth that made her turn as frosty as a winter witch on Drake. It was her fear of giving her heart, and the control that went along with that choice, to another man.

  She’d been on her own for so long, had raised Nick on her own with no one else’s interference or opinions, other than her Granny’s, that she wasn’t sure she could relinquish control.

  A wife was supposed to love and obey her husband. Could she do that? Willingly? Could she trust Drake to keep her heart safe? Could she allow him to be the father her little boy so desperately wanted and needed?

  She’d trusted a man once and it ended in a fire-filled nightmare. One that still haunted her from time to time. Her feet bore scars from the flames, but it was the scars on her soul that still pained her.

  Tangled in a complicated web of questions for which she had no solid answers, she decided she didn’t want to go home to her quiet house and brood. S
he should go get a Christmas tree, but she still wasn’t ready to open Granny’s box of ornaments and Nick would insist on it the minute a tree came inside their home.

  Angela drove down the mountain to the town at the base that was ten times as big as Faraday, but far, far smaller than Portland. She went to the shopping mall and purchased a few toys for Nick that she’d heard him discussing with Evan and Sean. She picked up things for his stocking, and a gift for Joy and Drew for their wedding. The couple just got engaged, but had already begun planning a Valentine’s Day wedding. By then, Joy’s brace would be off and she could walk down the aisle.

  From what she’d witnessed, she had a feeling there might be a rash of weddings in Faraday’s near future. Seth and Holly planned a ceremony at the ranch as soon as Sam could walk her down the aisle. If she didn’t miss her guess, Rhett and Cedar would also be diving into the matrimonial pool soon. She didn’t think Rhett had proposed, yet, but she had no doubt that Cedar would eagerly agree when he got around to asking.

  Angela stopped in front of a display of holiday-themed underwear for men and grinned. She’d heard all about Drew’s split pants and the Grinch peeking out the back. Drake had told her how his mom bought them crazy Christmas underwear every year as a joke.

  She quickly sent a text to Barbara, Drake’s mom, explaining where she was and asking his size. It took less than a minute for the woman to text her back. With a grin, Angela hurried into the store and bought a bright blue pair of briefs for Drake that had a goofy picture of the abominable snowman on the back, like he was waving to someone.

  An idea for a gift for Drake struck her, so she visited a few more stores then carried her purchases out to her pickup. She ate lunch at an Italian restaurant then ran by a big grocery store and loaded her cart. She knew she wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to come back shopping again before Christmas.

  On the drive home, she cranked Christmas carols on the radio and sang along, trying to capture a bit of the holiday spirit.

  She unloaded her pickup, put the groceries away, then hid the gifts in the back of her closet before she decided to go into Faraday. The house seemed too quiet with Nick gone. Besides, the box of Christmas decorations sitting beside the couch taunted her.

  Five minutes later, she found herself driving toward Joy’s house. Drew would be at work, so she thought the woman might enjoy a visit.

  She parked and was half way up the walk when she saw Pete peeking over the newly repaired gate in the fence on the side of the yard.

  “Hey, Pete. How are you doing, boy?” she asked, walking over and rubbing the donkey on his neck. “You sure gave Joy and Drew a scare the other day.”

  No one could figure out what spooked the donkey and made him bust down his gate. Even stranger still was the fact he made a beeline for Lolly, as though he knew right where to find the camel. He’d been unharmed, though. Angela had come over as soon as Joy called to tell her what happened and checked him over.

  “Are you ready for the nativity, Pete? You’ve got a very important role, you know.”

  The donkey bobbed his head and gave her a toothy smile.

  Angela laughed and gave him another pat then made it back around to the front porch. The door opened before she could ring the bell and Joy greeted her with a smile. Bacon rushed out and ran a circle around her while barking excitedly.

  “What brings you by?” Joy asked, pulling the door open wider.

  “I thought you might like some company since I know your cuddly love bear is working today,” Angela teased.

  Joy’s cheeks flushed and she grinned. “Drew would die if he heard anyone call him that, even if he is a cuddly love bear.” She snapped her fingers at the puppy. “Bacon, get back in here and settle down.”

  The puppy ran inside and slid down the hall.

  Angela laughed and glanced from Joy back to her pickup. “Do you feel like going somewhere or would you rather stay here?”

  “Oh, I’d love to get out. With the sun shining for a change today, it would be nice to get a little fresh air. Just let me grab my coat.” Joy moved back from the door and made her way to where she kept her coat and purse.

  “Want me to set Bacon outside?” Angela asked as she knelt on the floor and rubbed the puppy’s tummy.

  “That would be great. He and Pete seem to keep each other out of trouble, at least most of the time.”

  Angela picked up the puppy and carried him to the back door then set him outside. He jumped off the porch and raced around the yard, barking and yipping, trying to get Pete to play with him. Soon the donkey was chasing him like they both were dogs engaged in a grand game.

  When she stepped back in the kitchen, Joy had on her coat and was tucking her house keys inside her pocket.

  “Ready?” Angela asked, smiling at her friend.

  “I sure am. It’s so nice of you to do this, Angela. Is Nick off on another adventure today?” Joy asked as she made her way down the hall and out the door.

  Angela shut it then kept step beside Joy to make sure she didn’t slip on her way out to the pickup. “Nick went with two of his friends into the city. Jenny Banks took the boys. She planned to let them do some Christmas shopping, take them to see Santa one more time, if they wished, and then she said if she wasn’t exhausted, she might let them go ice skating.”

  “Sounds like an exhausting day for her, but fun for the boys.” Joy accepted Angela’s help in getting up onto the passenger seat of the pickup.

  Angela set Joy’s crutches in the back seat then hurried around to slide behind the wheel. “Your wish is my command. Where would you like to go?”

  “How about the café? Barbara makes a great cup of hot chocolate and the best chocolate chip cookies.”

  “That sounds great.” Angela turned around and headed to the café. In a stroke of luck, she found a parking space near the door. She was just helping Joy out when Cedar Haynes hurried over with Holly Jones.

  “Hi! What are you girls doing?” Holly asked as she and Cedar helped Joy out and Angela handed her the crutches.

  “Nick is off with friends and the house was too quiet with him gone, so I went to visit Joy, but it’s such a pretty day, we decided to come get hot chocolate and cookies.” Angela smiled at Holly. The nurse fairly glowed, from the top of her shiny red curls, to the light sparkling in her gray eyes. No wonder Seth had fallen head over heels in love with her. “Did I hear congratulations are in order?”

  Holly nodded and held out her hand, showing off a wide platinum band with a diamond set into the center. “Seth and I want a simple wedding at the ranch, but we’re waiting until Sam can walk me down the aisle. Maybe we’ll shoot for after Drew and Joy’s Valentine’s Day wedding.”

  “Sounds like a great plan to me,” Angela said, giving the woman a joyful hug. “I’m so happy for you both.”

  The four women entered the café and took seats at a table by the front window. Barbara bustled over and took their orders then soon returned with mugs of hot chocolate and a plate full of cookies. “Enjoy, girls!” she said then disappeared in the kitchen.

  “What brings you into town today?” Angela asked Holly.

  “Seth needed to pick up a few supplies and asked me to come along. Sam is well enough he doesn’t need someone there to help him all the time now.”

  “That’s great news,” Joy said, smiling at Holly then turning to Cedar. “What about you? What brings you into town and away from your lovely home?”

  “I wanted to take a walk while the weather cooperated. Lolly tagged after me to the end of the driveway, then she went back to the pasture.” Cedar grinned as she looked at Angela. “She’s been fine since that episode she had the other day that forced me and Rhett to talk. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think she staged it. Then again, that silly camel spends as much time at my house as she does at Rhett’s.”

  “Maybe it will all be one and the same soon,” Holly teased, giving Cedar a nudge with her elbow as they sat together on one side o
f the booth.

  “Perhaps Santa and Lolly can help things along,” Joy said, holding up her mug in toast. “To the funny, friendly beasts of Faraday, and the humans who love them.”

  The women clinked their mugs together then Joy pointed out the window. “Holy hotness! Look at our very own league of extraordinary gentlemen loitering on the sidewalk.”

  Angela leaned around Joy and saw Drew in his postal uniform with the heavy mailbag hanging off one brawny shoulder talking to Rhett. The breeze sent the mechanic’s curly hair into a tempting dance as he grinned and laughed at something Drew said. Seth stood beside him and thumped him on the shoulder as he tipped back his dark cowboy hat. Drake shook his head and scowled at his brother then motioned at something down the street beyond the ability for the women to see.

  “I wonder what they’re discussing?” Holly said as she took a sip of her chocolate and smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to be able to crack open the window and listen?”

  “I think I’d rather just imagine our heroic hunks are planning to save the world, or at least spread more Christmas cheer around town,” Cedar said. “They really are such hardworking, honest, loyal, fantastic men. You pegged them right, Joy. They truly are extraordinary.”

  “I agree. Although I’m partial to the hunky mailman.” Joy grinned. “I think we’re better off not knowing what they’re saying. You know how guys are. They’re only a step or two removed from primitive cavedwellers sometimes. We’d probably be totally disgusted, confused, or annoyed. Let’s just pretend they’re discussing how they’re going to treat us all like queens and spoil us rotten for Christmas.”

  The women laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the men. The men quickly hurried inside. Drew rushed over to Joy and kissed her cheek. “What are you doing here, baby?”

  “Angela came for a visit and we decided to go on an outing. We just happened to run into Cedar and Holly.”

  “I thought you were at home tormenting Lolly,” Rhett said, gently wrapping his hands around Cedar’s neck and tipping her head back so he could kiss her full on the lips over the back of the booth.