Finding a Christmas Home

by Lee Tobin McClain

  Dad, dressed in a clean, ironed shirt and some dress slacks Luke hadn’t known he owned, had disappeared into the kitchen a few minutes ago, and Luke was half-waiting for him to do or say something inappropriate. But here he came behind Hannah’s mom, carefully carrying a full-to-the-brim gravy boat, which he set on the table without spilling a drop.

  The whole group held hands and prayed—even Dad—and everyone passed around dishes of food: roasted turkey, potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce and stuffing and gravy.

  Conversation flowed, and the food was the best he’d had in ages. Dad ate heartily, and seeing his appetite, Luke resolved to do better with preparing some healthy meals. Pizza didn’t really cut it for a sick man.

  As the dishes were passed around for a second time, everyone went into the usual Thanksgiving mode, groaning about how overstuffed they were. Mikey tried to wipe the twins’ messy faces and ended up smearing cranberry sauce into Emmy’s blond hair.

  “I know I’m supposed to be eating for two,” Samantha said, “but I think I ate for six. I’m gonna regret this.”

  “You and me both.” Corbin leaned back and rested his hands on his stomach.

  “I practically have a baby bump myself,” Hannah joked, standing to clear away plates.

  It wasn’t true; she was tiny and slim-waisted in a red sweater and jeans.

  Emmy fisted up green beans and stuffed them into her mouth. Addie, apparently finished eating, started dropping turkey to the floor, much to Boomer’s delight.

  After the table was cleared, Hannah and her mom brought in plates of pie and a big pot of coffee.

  Dad cleared his throat. “Brought a little something for the grown-ups,” he said. He pulled a flask from his pocket.

  Conversation paused and Luke’s stomach plunged as he tried to think of how to handle this. Taking the flask away would result in an ugly scene, he knew.

  Hannah’s mother held out her hand for the flask, and Dad relinquished it with a grin. “You can drink right from there or get you a glass, classy-like,” he said.

  But Hannah’s mom kept the flask closed. “I know a lot of people like a drink,” she said, looking around the table, “but in this house, we don’t allow alcohol.”

  Dad’s face got red and his eyebrows pushed together.

  Luke tensed, ready to intervene. This was why they didn’t get invited places; they weren’t fit for company.

  Samantha looked distressed, and Hannah seemed frozen. Only the twins babbled on, oblivious to the tension.

  Hannah’s mom reached out a hand to brush back Emmy’s hair, then Addie’s. “I lost my daughter, these precious girls’ mother, to drugs and alcohol,” she said, her voice quiet. Then she looked around the table again. “I lost her long before she actually passed, because she wanted this—” she held up the flask “—more than she wanted to be with us.”

  Hannah looked like she was about to cry.

  “It’s an illness,” Samantha said quietly. “I know, because I overcame it.” She reached over and squeezed Hannah’s mother’s hand.

  Dad’s grimace softened.

  “You’re right,” Hannah’s mom said. “For her it definitely was an illness.” Then she leaned forward and addressed Luke’s father. “I don’t know if you have that illness or not. It’s not my business. But I’m just going to ask you to put this back in your pocket to take home, and I apologize if that makes the day less festive for you.”

  The table was quiet. Luke barely breathed. Don’t make a scene, he silently begged his father. Don’t hurt this family more.

  “But there is pie,” Corbin said, breaking the tension, “and that’s pretty festive.”

  “Pie!” Addie cried out.

  “Pie!” Emmy echoed. She banged her hands on her high-chair tray.

  Everyone laughed and just like that, they were back to a happy holiday meal. Hannah and Corbin cut the pies, one coconut cream and one pumpkin. Dad, now out of the spotlight and probably relieved he hadn’t been made to feel like the bad guy, patted Hannah’s mother’s hand. “I understand what it is to lose a child,” he said. “You know about my younger boy. Him being in prison isn’t as bad as what you’ve faced, but it still gets you.”

  “Of course it does.” Hannah’s mom smiled at him, her eyes wet with tears that looked ready to spill over.

  Luke couldn’t believe it: Dad had cooled down and was getting along fine with Hannah’s mom. A fight had been averted.

  As he dug in to a big slice of coconut-cream pie, then snagged a piece of pumpkin with real whipped cream, Luke felt an unexpected blast of optimism. Could it be that all things would work here, that him staying and helping Dad get involved with better people would be best? And maybe he could even give it a go with Hannah...

  He looked at her, laughing, kneeling beside Emmy while Addie looked on and clapped. Noise and happy chatter surrounded them.

  It was like something out of a movie, and he felt a pang.

  Even though they’d made it through one holiday meal without causing a disaster, people like his dad and him could never fit into a family like this.

  Chapter Seven

  The day after Thanksgiving, Hannah pulled into the last parking space on Main Street. Black Friday wasn’t such a big deal in a small town as it would be in a city, but people did like to get out, shop, eat and share stories of their holiday dinners and dramas.

  Hannah was hoping to distract herself from thinking about yesterday’s dinner, which had mingled her family with the Hutchensons. While there’d been an awkward moment over the flask Luke’s dad had brought, things had otherwise gone well.

  And that was what she didn’t want to think about. The family gathering had actually been biologically linked by the twins. If things had been different, if Hannah hadn’t been keeping her sister’s secret, Luke would know he was the girls’ uncle and Luke’s father, their grandfather.

  Keeping that truth from the Hutchensons, as well as from Addie and Emmy, was seeming like more and more of a mistake.

  “Over here!” Gabby called. She was standing with Sheniqua, a doctor in town and one of their friends, in front of Bethlehem Springs’s small department store. Both women waved and beckoned. Hannah slid out of her car, automatically checked for her diaper bag and realized she didn’t need it, because Mom was at home with the twins this morning.

  She laughed at herself. She was becoming more of a mother every day. Feeling free, she wove through the other pedestrians toward her friends.

  The street bustled with shoppers on this chilly November day. People greeted each other, some wearing red scarves or hats, others going full out with reindeer-antler headbands. Candy-cane decorations transformed the lampposts, and most of the storefronts and cafés sported Christmas displays.

  Hannah’s spirits lifted as she approached Sheniqua and Gabby, and they shared hugs all around. She wasn’t going to think about Luke anymore. She was going to enjoy this time with her friends.

  “That’s it for Thanksgiving—it’s time for Christmas,” Sheniqua said as they walked into the crowded, noisy department store. “Did you all have a good holiday?”

  “Ate too much, but yes.” Gabby nudged Hannah. “I heard you had some last-minute visitors who livened things up.”

  Sheniqua raised an eyebrow. “Who would that be?”

  “Luke Hutchenson and his dad came over,” Hannah said as they turned, by unspoken agreement, toward the children’s section.

  “Ah, handsome Luke,” Sheniqua said, raising and lowering her eyebrows in an exaggerated way.

  Hannah looked at her sharply, then looked away.

  “Hey, don’t worry,” Sheniqua said, patting her lightly on the arm. “I’ve got enough relationship problems. I’m not remotely interested in Luke.”

  “I didn’t mean—” Hannah cut off her comment, flustered.

  “Relation
ship problems?” Gabby looked over at Sheniqua, smiling and tilting her head to one side. “Do tell.”

  “Nope, nothing I want to talk about,” Sheniqua said firmly.

  “And I have nothing to talk about, either,” Hannah said. It was true. Yes, Luke had come over, and yes, she was working closely with him. And, yes, there was a spark between them, at least on Hannah’s side. But there was also a secret separating them.

  Which meant it wasn’t going to come to anything. It couldn’t, even if “handsome Luke,” as Sheniqua had called him, was interested.

  Fortunately, Gabby started talking to a salesperson about the infant clothes. Hannah turned toward the toddler outfits, hoping to find something on sale for the twins. Sheniqua headed toward the men’s department...intriguing, that. Who was she shopping for?

  Hannah fingered some cute Christmas pajamas that said, Dear Santa, My Sister Did It with an arrow pointing to the side. They’d be perfect for the twins. Luke’s dad would love them. He’d gotten a huge kick out of the turkey T-shirts the twins had been wearing yesterday.

  She carried two pajama sets, one red and one green, to the counter, smiling to think of the reaction they’d evoke. It was only after she’d put away her wallet and the clerk was bagging the pajamas that she realized: of course, Luke and his father wouldn’t be there to see them. Spending Thanksgiving together had been a fluke. They weren’t going to start spending every holiday together.

  That was how it had to be.

  After shopping a little more, they went to Cleo’s Crafts and Café for hot chocolate. Samantha was there, drinking a hot chocolate while Corbin and Mikey shopped, and Gabby gratefully sat down at the table with her. The two of them immediately started groaning over their advanced pregnancies and swollen ankles and heartburn.

  Hannah sighed as she and Sheniqua went to the counter to pick up the drinks. “I’m happy for them,” she said, “but I’m jealous, I’ll admit it.” She’d imagined countless times what it would be like to be pregnant, to give birth to a beautiful baby to care for and love.

  “They’re fortunate,” Sheniqua said quietly. “Healthy pregnancies and supportive husbands.”

  That was the key. If she was going to have a baby, she needed a husband. And she was so pathetically awkward with men that she couldn’t see that happening.

  Besides, she had plenty of family to worry about now, without adding a baby into the mix. She needed to focus on Addie and Emmy. “I worry about the twins not having a male influence.”

  They could, if you’d tell the truth.

  “You’ll get there,” Sheniqua said with confidence. “You already have two beautiful babies. The right man will come along.”

  They carried the drinks back toward their table.

  “I don’t know a man who’d want to take on twin toddlers,” Hannah said as they took their seats.

  Gabby and Samantha had been talking, but at Hannah’s words, they both turned toward her. “Luke seems to like the girls,” Samantha said, grinning wickedly.

  “Do tell.” Sheniqua sipped her salted caramel latte and leaned forward.

  “Well, not only did he help with the twins,” Hannah’s traitorous cousin said, “but you should have seen how he looked at Hannah.”

  Hannah’s cheeks heated as she waved her hand back and forth. “He didn’t look at me any particular way,” she said, even as she wondered: did he? How had he looked at her?

  “Oh, he sure did.” Samantha launched into an exaggerated story of how Luke had jumped up to help with the dishes the moment Hannah had, how he’d looked at Hannah like she was a piece of coconut-cream pie. Samantha was being silly. Wasn’t she? Nothing in particular had happened. Although maybe Samantha had really seen something in Luke’s behavior that made her think he liked Hannah.

  Gabby checked the time on her phone and stood. “I’m going to have to take this to go,” she said. “Izzy’s having a friend over, and I don’t want to leave Nana to handle two toddlers on her own.” She put on her coat, grabbed her hot chocolate and leaned down. “By the way,” she said to Hannah, but loud enough for the others to hear, “a person of interest just came in.” She spun and headed out.

  Oh, no. Hannah knew exactly whom Gabby was talking about.

  She looked toward the door and watched Gabby greet Luke and gesture toward their table, and her face heated.

  Sheniqua and Samantha looked from Luke to Hannah, and then at each other.

  “You know,” Sheniqua said, “I think I’ll take my drink to go, too.”

  “I feel a sudden urge to leave, as well,” Samantha said.

  “Wait! Don’t go!” Hannah grabbed Samantha’s hand and reached for Sheniqua’s. With extraordinary effort, she avoided looking at Luke.

  “Far be it from us to interfere with the course of true love,” Sheniqua said, stepping out of Hannah’s reach.

  “Later.” Samantha pulled her hand away, laughing, and the two of them hurried off, leaving Hannah at the table alone.

  She wasn’t going to look at Luke. She wasn’t going to acknowledge that he was here, not unless he came over to the table. Which she didn’t want him to do.

  Then she did glance at him, and found him looking across the shop at her. He gave her a little wave and that crooked smile that did something to her insides. The smile that suggested something was happening in his insides, too.

  He held up a finger, as if to tell her to wait, he was coming over.

  Her face warmed and she gave a little nod, hoping he couldn’t see her blush from across the room.

  When he didn’t approach after several minutes, she stole a glance at the counter. There he stood, talking to the worker there, a pretty blonde woman who was being far more animated than she’d been when Hannah and Sheniqua had gone up for their drinks.

  Luke was smiling and nodding. The two of them were the same age, probably high-school friends. If not more.

  The blonde flirted easily, flipping her hair, looking away and then back, smiling a secret little smile. She didn’t have issues in her past that made her awkward around men.

  She was way more sophisticated than Hannah would ever be.

  Good, she thought. Talk to her, not me. Hannah grabbed her drink and coat, and hurried toward the door of the shop.

  “Hey, Hannah!” It was Luke calling behind her. But she didn’t look back.

  Maybe Luke had a little bit of interest in her, at least when no other women were around. Maybe it was a novelty to someone like him to have an awkward younger woman crushing on him.

  But it wasn’t anything real. It couldn’t be.

  She needed to make sure to remember that.

  * * *

  Monday, waiting for his dad to recover from surgery, Luke had plenty of time to think.

  Dad had blustered and complained all the way to the hospital and had annoyed most of the staff he’d come into contact with. Yet, looking past the superficial angry attitude, Luke had seen real fear in his father’s eyes, and understandably so. There were serious risks associated with having part of your liver surgically removed, and a long recovery period, especially for someone whose overall health wasn’t the greatest.

  Dad had mentioned Luke’s brother several times, and Luke had finally realized his father needed to visit him. He’d made that promise to Dad, and it had tamed some of the angst in the man’s eyes.

  A text from Reese at Rescue Haven, wishing his dad well and asking if there was anything Luke needed, reminded Luke that he was working for good people. He denied needing anything, but despite that, Reese stopped by midafternoon with a big sandwich Gabby had made, and a jug of homemade lemonade.

  “Thanks, man. I hate hospital cafeteria food.” Luke took a few big bites of the sandwich and then looked at Reese. “I’ll get all my hours in, just on a different schedule,” he promised. “Pretty sure there’s a visiting nurse who w
ill give me a break.”

  “We’ll manage, man. I’m not here to criticize.” Reese sat down across from Luke and looked around the sterile, fluorescent-lit waiting room. “Just thought you might want a little company. Waiting stinks.”

  “It does. Thanks for that.” But just because Reese was kind didn’t mean Luke was going to shirk his responsibilities. “I know the project with Hannah has a tight deadline.”

  “It does. That’s the thing to focus on, for sure, if you can.”

  They talked for a few more minutes and then, after Reese left, Luke thought about Hannah. He’d seen her at Cleo’s on Friday, but she’d left quickly, before he could talk to her.

  Had that been on purpose? If so, why? They’d gotten along just fine at the Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, it had been a highlight of Luke’s time in Bethlehem Springs, and had been good for Dad, too.

  The surgeon came out, smiling, and Luke breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t known how anxious he felt about his father even surviving the surgery until this moment. “Everything went well,” the surgeon said, and launched into some medical details Luke could barely take in.

  “Can I see him?” he asked when the man came to a good stopping point.

  “He’ll be in recovery for several hours,” the surgeon said. “Once we get him to a room, you can visit, although he’ll be groggy. And I don’t want to minimize the seriousness of the surgery. It went well, but with your dad’s health issues, we want to keep him here for several days, at least.”

  Luke shot up a prayer of thanks after the man left. Then he sent Hannah a text. Dad’s surgery went well. Stuck here. Anything I can work on?

  Give me ten minutes, she texted back.

  Ten minutes later, she walked through the waiting-room door. “Sorry to assume, but Reese said you were okay with visitors.” She placed a container of cookies and a large-print devotional book on the table beside him. “These are from Mom’s bakery. I take no credit, but they’re delicious.”

  “Thanks.” He moved the book, opened the container and nodded appreciatively. “Sugar cookies. Simple and good. Have one.”