“Gabe! Oh, Gabe, I am soooo glad you called!”
The background noise was loud, people talking, music, too, he thought. “Where are you?”
“Oh, I’m at the mall. Just have a few more things to pick up. And you won’t believe what I got for you!”
She didn’t sound very sick. “I thought you were too sick to travel. That you had the flu.”
“Oh. Well, I felt a lot better when I woke up from my nap this afternoon. And, you know how it affects your sinuses to travel.”
But not go shopping in the rain? “I see. Marisa, you promised that you would come to Candle Cove and spend Christmas with me and my mother. You know it’s important to her. And to me.”
“I know. And we will do that. Next year. And besides, I bought her a wonderful present.”
He grit his teeth. “My mother doesn’t care about presents, Marisa.”
She laughed. “That’s what everyone says. But you know it’s not true. That’s what Christmas is all about!”
“No, I don’t know that. People I know who say that, really mean it. I’m beginning to realize that I don’t really know you.”
“Now, Gabe, don’t be like that. When you get here, we’re going to have such fun. You don’t know how much it means to me that you’re coming here for Christmas.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, that’s why I’m calling. You see, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking—”
“Gabe! Don’t say you’re not coming. And you won’t when I tell you about a new development.”
It was so hard to stay on subject. . .any subject, with her. “What do you mean? I thought you were too sic—”
“The Roland’s have invited us, me and you, out to their home for Christmas dinner. Can you imagine having dinner in that big mansion on Silas Mountain? Just think of it!”
Why would he want to imagine that? “Marisa…”
“Oh, Gabe, I’ve always wanted to see inside of that place. They flew a man to the United States from Italy to do all the tile work. I’ve heard that it’s fabulous. And, I’ve heard Monica Roland’s china is to die for. Then, after we eat, they’re going to—”
“Well, I won’t be there.” He watched the lights flicker and sparkle out on the water. He had about five minutes to leave if he wanted to make it to the airport on time.
“What? What do you mean? You’re not going to stay there in Hicksville, are you?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Gabe Chandler! I can’t believe you’re going back on your word. And for what? To spend the most fun holiday of the year in that squat little house by a dinky lake. All you’ll have to do all day is watch television, eat popcorn, and listen to your mother’s knitting needles click together. Don’t you know your mother wants something better for you?”
He grinned. Marisa could be pretty sharp when she kept talking. “You’re right about my mother wanting something better for me than what I had planned. I want it, too. That’s why I’m calling.”
After that, the conversation didn’t last long.
He sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. So, it was done. And it wasn’t making him feel nearly as bad as he imagined. He’d spent too many years thinking the best was ahead. But if he drove to the airport, and boarded that plane in a few hours, he would leave the opportunity for the best behind him.
If he stayed here, there was a woman he would love forever, if she would let him. And a boy that needed a dad to love him, teach him, and guide him. And to watch him in a Christmas play that started, well, five minutes ago. But he could still make it for most of it. He had spent too many years on the road. Now was the time to settle down to the life that he had been meant to live.
Putting the key in the ignition, he rolled down the window, and started the car, coasting down the driveway. Stopping before he pulled out of the driveway, he looked up at the stars and took a breath of the icy air. Bright stars dotted the black velvet sky. The church was four blocks away. Enough time to review exactly what he wanted to say to Ellie.
Chapter 28
At the end of verse 6, a small spotlight appeared on stage. One by one, as Reverend Wilder continued to read, the children entered from the door to the right of the podium, each one eager to arrive at their designated spot. After a moment, Ellie spotted Danny in the group of shepherds.
One of the shorter ones, he had a paper lamb clutched in his hands. His serious expression told her that he was nervous. Willa’s little sisters were among the group of pretty angels.
Ellie heard the squeak of one of the back doors as it opened. Someone was late and would probably have to stand against the back wall. Finding a seat in this crowded auditorium would not be easy. At least they would have a good view of their child, or children.
“He looks adorable,” Cora whispered in her ear.
Ellie squeezed her hand and nodded. He was adorable. All of them were so sweet and innocent, their eyes shining bright as they listened to the pastor read. She swallowed away the lump that formed in her throat. The years were going to pass fast and soon these babies would be the parents sitting out in the pews, watching their own children. If only time would slow down, Lord.
It seemed to end too soon and everyone was on their feet, clapping and asking for another song from the children. After a few moments, the organist returned to the front and the children sang another round of Silent Night.
***
“It seemed like it was over before it really got started,” Willa complained, setting another tray of cookies on the tables lined in the front of the reception hall.
“That’s what I thought,” Ellie agreed, pouring a gallon of punch in one of the big bowls. “But I timed it and it was forty-five minutes, just like they had said it would be.”
Ellie took the empty jug back to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door to get another, when a hand curled round her elbow. She looked up and her heart skipped. Gabe.
“Could I talk to you?”
Her jaw dropped. “I thought you were going to Memphis!”
He nodded. “I was. But I changed my mind.” He looked around at the crowded kitchen. “Looks like there’s a lot of help in here. C’mon and take a walk with me.”
She opened her mouth to protest, then caught a glimpse of Willa motioning her to go.
***
Ellie breathed in the frosty air and stared up at the stars, bright in the dark sky. Winter was her favorite time to stand out and look at the twinkling lights. They always seemed brighter in the crisp air.
She pulled on her gloves and fell in to step with him. Gabe was quiet as they walked down Main Street, his hands in his pockets. “It’s a shame you didn’t get here earlier. The children did a good job on the play.”
“I know. I stepped in just after it started.”
So he was the one that had arrived late. Danny would be so happy to know that he saw him up there on the stage.
Boldness overtook her and she asked, “Why didn’t you go to Memphis?” His mother had been so sure that he was leaving.
He slowed his steps, then stopped and turned to meet her gaze. “I called Marisa. It’s over between us, Ellie. Maybe there wasn’t ever anything there to start with. And maybe I came home and remembered the truth about who I am. I figure that maybe I should stop running from my past.”
Ellie stared at his serious expression. “I’m not sure I know what you mean. You’ve been living the life you always dreamed of, Gabe.”
He stared down at the sidewalk for a moment, before his eyes met hers. “What I’m saying, is that I was wrong ten years ago. I thought you were a woman with a selfish heart, a woman who just wanted her own way, and was bent on dragging me along for the ride, limiting the kind of life I was going to have.” He swallowed hard and his voice wavered when he spoke again. “But now I know that I was the one that was selfish.”
Ellie shook her head. “I don’t see—”
“You’ve always had your priorities straight, Ellie. You�
��ve kept God and family close to your heart, while I’ve been off chasing wild dreams that in the end, don’t really amount to much. At least, they haven’t made me as happy as I thought they would.”
He was good at what he did. He had nothing to be ashamed of. What had happened between them was common enough. They had been young, inexperienced with the world. “Gabe. Don’t say that! Look how successful you are. You just sold your first novel!”
“Ellie, I know what I’m saying is true, because, if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t feel the way I do right now. Being back here, in this town, around you. I feel like my heart has finally settled where it is supposed to be.” He reached out and brushed her cheek with his finger. “And you are that home, Ellie.”
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes stared into his. Dare she believe what he was saying? “Do you mean those words, Gabe?”
He nodded. “I do. I mean all of it. I’m in love with you, Ellie. Maybe I always have been.”
She felt herself begin to tremble. If Gabe loved her, if he loved Danny, it would mean something was coming true that she’d never counted on. She knew that God would take care of her, and take care of Danny, but she hadn’t let herself hope too much that He would let Gabe be the one to love them.
She blinked back the tears that filled her eyes. “After Harry, I didn’t think it would ever happen to me again, but I love you, too, Gabe.”
The rest of what she had intended to say was swept away by the lips that met hers. A soft kiss at first, then more fierce before he let her go.
“Does that mean that you’ll marry me?”
She stared at his eyes, so close to her own. “Yes. I will marry you.”
He pulled her close again and held her longer. When he let her go, his lips brushed her forehead and then the top of her hair.
“I guess we’d better go tell Danny,” he whispered.
She felt a sob rise in her throat. “It means so much to me that you love him, too.”
He brushed his thumb across her cheek and wiped a wayward tear. “How could I not love him, if I love you? We’re going to be a family, now.”
Half way back to the church, she stopped. Pulling her hand from his, she stuffed both of them in her coat pockets. It was now or never. “Gabe, there’s something that you need to know.”
He grinned. “You said you’ll marry me. What else could I possibly need to know?”
She cleared her throat. This wasn’t going to be easy. “It’s about Danny. He. . .bought something a few weeks ago. He was with Willa when he purchased it. I think it’s for you. He has it with him now. In that little bag he’s carrying.”
He laughed. “So why are you telling me about it. No need to spoil his fun.”
Ellie felt her cheeks flush. “Because it’s a stocking. A Christmas stocking.”
“That sounds all right.”
“He had the store embroider a name on it.”
He nodded. “They do that over at Julie’s Teas and Spices, don’t they? Let me guess—Gabe?”
If only. “No,” she hesitated. “It’s not Gabe.”
“Well, maybe he bought it for Rory. He’s known him longer than me. And I’m not sure why you’re so upset about this.”
She shook her head. He loved her. He loved Danny. Why was this so embarrassing? “I’m not upset. It’s just. . .in the place for the name, he had her embroider. . . D-A-D.”
Her heart warmed all over again, as a slow smile spread across his handsome face.
“Dad? I like the sound of that. I think it’s the perfect gift,” he said, pulling her closer and into his embrace.
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Christmas in Candle Cove Page 14
