Christmas in Eternity Springs (19 page)

“I
am
real, little guy, and I'm right here.” Jax rested his hand on the lump that was Nicholas's shoulder. “I heard you were sick and I came home.”

A full twenty seconds passed before his little hands tentatively lowered the covers. “Daddy?”

“Hello, Nicholas.”

“Are we in heaven?”

“No. We're at a hospital in Seattle. Your grandparents brought you here after … well … I'm not really sure what happened. The doctors are going to find out, though.”

“I just want to go home, Daddy. Can we go home?”

“Not right now, but soon, I hope. We need to find out what happened so we can make sure it doesn't happen again.”

The little boy's big blue eyes flooded with tears. “I know what happened. I heard the music again. I don't like that music. It scares me. I got scared, Daddy.”

Christmas carols. Bet they'd been playing Christmas carols at the charity fair. Bet Lara had been playing Christmas carols when she wrecked the car.

Nicholas's next words confirmed the suspicion.

“I was so cold and Mommy wouldn't answer and the songs played and played and played and I couldn't make them stop but then they stopped and the animals howled and I was so scared, Daddy. I was so scared!”

Jax sat on the side of his son's bed, took the boy in his arms, and rocked him while he cried.

As he remembered that exchange, Jax's heart broke all over again. He cleared his throat and responded to Claire's question. “The car was packed full of wrapped Christmas gifts. Lots of red and green and ribbon and bows. And we're pretty sure that the radio continued to play long after the accident. He hasn't opened a Christmas present since.”

Claire pushed to her feet and crossed the room to grab a tissue from the box on a table. “I think this might be the saddest story I've heard in a very long time,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Now I better understand what a victory it was for him to conquer his fear of dogs.”

“It was huge. Chase and Lori and Eternity Springs worked a miracle with my son.”

“Well … here's what I think.” Claire picked up the wine bottle and topped off their glasses. “I think Eternity Springs needs to go for a two-fer.”

“You're talking about working on his fear of Christmas?”

“I am.”

“I appreciate the thought, Claire. Truly, I do. I'm just not sure that either Nicholas or I is ready to tackle that beast. He's getting along so well right now, and after the hypnosis debacle, I'm hesitant to upset the applecart.”

“Isn't healing his Christmas phobia a big part of the reason why you moved here?”

“Yes, but—”

“You have to think positive, Jax. You have to believe. Don't forget, this is Eternity Springs.”

“I know. The longer I'm here, the easier it is for me to believe in its mojo. My fear is doing something that backfires. I don't want another situation like the one we went through in September. Nicholas's grandparents had good intentions and look what happened.”

“Well, we're not his grandparents, and this isn't Seattle. Chase and Lori found the right combination to deal with his fear of dogs. I'll bet we can come up with a plan to tackle his issues with Christmas in a nonthreatening way. Let me put a little thought into it, Jax. They don't call me Miss Christmas for nothing.”

Hearing that bit of positive thinking and seeing the confident determination on Claire Branham's face, Jax Lancaster took a tumble toward love.

 

Chapter Twelve

Winston Churchill said we make a life by what we give. Smart man.

—CLAIRE

The following morning as she got dressed for work, Claire's mind buzzed with ideas for her newest project. After Jax gave her his blessing to launch a well-considered Christmas campaign on Nicholas's behalf, she'd focused her thoughts on creating a plan that incorporated the successful exposure-therapy strategy Chase had employed in order to overcome the boy's fear of dogs. She had an idea she thought might work, but only if Nicholas would buy into it.

Claire and Jax agreed that springing something unexpected on Nicholas would be the worst thing they could do. But if Nicholas was ready and willing to dip his toe in the holiday pool, so to speak, then she was ready to assist. How terrible for this to happen to a child, to lose Christmas. She knew from personal experience. However, as complex as her own Christmas-related issues were they paled in comparison to Nicholas's.

Maybe helping Nicholas would do something for her, too. That's how the volunteer work she used to do had worked. She'd always felt best about herself when she brought a little joy into the lives of others. Maybe this project would help them both.

The boy who skipped downstairs that morning and chattered nonstop about Captain and Tinsel through breakfast showed no sign of emotional stress. If the right moment presented itself during their drive to school, she planned to broach her idea. From her perspective, they had little time to waste. Eternity Springs might start the official Christmas season later than other towns in America these days, but Thanksgiving and Deck the Halls Friday were right around the corner.

Claire knew that helping Nicholas find his Christmas spirit would be rewarding. This undertaking might well be exactly what she needed to finally kick her own Grinch to the curb.

The boy's excited chatter continued during the drive to school. They were halfway to town when he let out a joyful sigh and said how happy Chase's request had made him. Claire concluded that she wouldn't get a better opportunity.

“So, Dr. Lori told me about how Chase worked with you during summer camp to conquer your fear of dogs. She said you were one brave little boy.”

His smile didn't dim. “Dr. Lori helped, too. We worked on it a little bit each day.”

“Your father said you thought if you came to Eternity Springs you might be able to do the same thing where Christmas is concerned.”

At that he went still for a long moment, then sent a cautious gaze her way. “Yeah.”

“You know, Nicholas, I wouldn't mind helping you with the project. Sort of like Chase and Dr. Lori did. I think I'd be good at it. I am Miss Christmas, after all.”

“I don't know…”

“That's okay, Nicholas. No pressure. You just think about it and let me know.”

He remained silent the rest of the way into town. If Claire felt just a little bit of disappointment, well, she knew she had to temper her expectations. If Nicholas's troubles were easily solved, his father wouldn't have moved him from Washington to Colorado.

Approaching the intersection where one of the town's two stoplights switched to yellow and then red, she braked to a stop. She told herself she shouldn't be discouraged. Considering everything the boy had been through, they all should probably look at this journey as a marathon rather than a sprint. And every long-distance runner began by taking baby steps, right?

Can you mutilate a metaphor any more, Branham?

Probably. Nicholas tickled her imagination. Didn't he remind her of another bedraggled angel with a broken wing? If she hadn't sworn off creating any more adventures for Gardenia, she could easily see her making a new friend.

He'd have blue eyes and wear big glasses that wouldn't stay up on his nose. He'd wear a T-shirt with paw prints all over it and … No, wait. He'd be a dog. A talking dog. His T-shirt would say
DOGS ARE PEOPLE, TOO
.

Gardenia sits on her mantel blowing dust off her wings. The new cleaning service people are afraid to dust her at night and Holly Sugarplum hasn't looked twice at Gardenia in weeks.

“So what else is new?” Gardenia said, rustling her wings, sweeping dust off her shelf to settle on the beautiful china doll angel with golden hair and a satin gown.

Achoo. Achoo. Achoo. Achoo. Gardenia's eyes rounded at the unexpected sound.

She peered over the edge of the shelf. A white dog with honey-brown spots and droopy ears stood on his hind legs, his front paws folded over his chest. He wore round black glasses and growled up at her. “Stop that. It's rude to blow your dust around. Some of us are allergic to dust, you know.”

“You are talking to me!”

“Yes. You're the one blowing dust, aren't you?”

“Nobody but Holly Sugarplum ever talks to me.”

“Why? Are you mean?”

Gardenia shook her head. “I'm a good angel.”

“No you're not. Good angels blow golden angel dust. Your dust is gray and makes me sneeze.”

“You're a mean dog! Why are you in the Angel Room?”

“I'm not mean. I'm lost. My name is Nicholas, and I'm looking for the Christmas Key.”

“Miss Claire? Miss Claire?”

She turned her head toward the voice, expecting to see a droopy-eared dog wearing black-rimmed glasses. Nicholas Lancaster said, “The light is green, Miss Claire.”

“Oh. Oh!” Embarrassed, she felt her cheeks flush with heat as she flicked her gaze up to the rearview mirror before pressing the gas pedal. Three cars were lined up behind her. She stuck her arm out the window and gave a little “I'm sorry” wave as she drove on through the intersection.

“I'll hear about that later,” she murmured. “I've been caught daydreaming too many times lately. People like to tease.”

“I get teased, too, Miss Claire. Dad says when it happens, to put on your cool look.”

“My cool look? What's a cool look?”

“Well, it works better when you're standing up. You have to put your hands in your pockets and get all loosey-goosey. Loosey-goosey. Isn't that a stupid word? Anyway, you roll back on your heels and bounce a little. That doesn't matter. But you gotta keep your shoulders squared and your chin up. That's important.”

“I see.”

“That's not all, though. This next part is
really
important. You smile at 'em and say, ‘Thank you for sharing that with me.'”

Claire gave him a sidelong look. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Dad says it really works. I was going to try it with the bullies in Seattle, but we moved to Eternity Springs instead.”

“Awesome. I'll be sure to remember to try it. Maybe I'll practice my loosey-goosey to get ready.” Claire pulled her SUV into the circular drive in front of the school and said, “Thank you for the tip, Nicholas.”

“You're welcome.” The boy unfastened his seat belt, but rather than hop out like he usually did, he remained seated, staring straight ahead. “How would you do it? The … um … other thing.”

Claire's pulse picked up. “You mean Christmas?”

Still not looking at her, he nodded.

Yes!
Claire managed—just barely—not to pump her fist. She strove for a casual tone.
“
I'm certainly open to suggestions, Nicholas, but I thought that a good place to start might be books. Your dad told me y'all are about to finish reading Harry Potter. What would you think about me reading a little bit to you at night from my collection of Christmas stories? For the most part, they are very short.”

He pursed his lips. “One of them has ghosts. I don't want any ghosts.”

“That's Dickens's
A Christmas Carol.
We'll mark that off the list. Actually, I thought we'd start with the story where it all began—the Gospel of Luke from the Bible. That seems appropriate, don't you think? We can give it a try and if it's a problem for you in any way, then we'll just forget it.”

Nicholas sat for another fifteen seconds, staring straight ahead. Then he licked his lips and opened the car door. “I'll think about it, Miss Claire.”

“Fair enough. You have a good day at school today, Nicholas.”

“I will. Bye.”

He slammed the door and ran off toward the school's front door.

“Yes!” she exclaimed, giving in to the fist-pump urge. Claire grinned all the way to Forever Christmas.

She spent every free moment during her workday in her book section choosing stories to share with Nicholas. By the time she closed her shop and headed home, she had three tote bags stuffed with books.

Over supper that evening, she asked Jax how many nights of Harry Potter they had left. “Three chapters. One tonight. I figure we'll do two tomorrow night and finish it up.”

“Saturday night is movie night. We don't read on Saturdays. Want to watch movies with us, Miss Claire?”

“Well…” She glanced at Jax for a signal, and he nodded enthusiastically. “I like movies—as long as they're not tearjerkers. What are you watching on Saturday night?”

“Submarine movies,” Nicholas said. “It's fun because Dad talks all the way through them, and he gets grumpy when they get things wrong, and they always get things wrong. You should watch with us.”

“Submarine movies, hmm? Okay. Thanks for the invitation, Nicholas. It's a date. I'll bring the popcorn and hot chocolate.”

“Cool! Then maybe Sunday night you could read to me.”

In the midst of spooning a second helping of green beans onto her plate, Claire froze. Her eyes widened and she darted a look at Jax before she responded. “If it's okay with your dad, I'd like that very much, Nicholas.”

“Good.” The boy shoveled another bite of spaghetti into his mouth, sucked in an errant strand, then added, “Dad, Miss Claire is going to read to me about Christmas. From the Bible.”

“And Dr. Seuss. Clement C. Moore. O. Henry,” Claire added as clarification.

“She said they're short. Is it okay with you, Dad? You'll still read Percy Jackson to me, right?”