Finding Christmas (8 page)

There was pretty,
there was sexy, there was gorgeous, and then there was Maggie. She looked like an angel, standing on the front porch, a soft yellow throw draped around her shoulders and her blonde hair tucked behind her ears. Curls tumbled down her back, and the sun, high in the sky, lit her up.

She was beautiful. So, so beautiful.

The conversations they’d had this week showed him that the beauty went deep, too. She was so much more than a job, or a pretty face. This woman, who felt she didn’t know where she fit in, could offer so much.

She lifted her face to his and her eyes held questions, probably the same ones he had. Since Will met Maggie, all he had were questions.

In the two weeks they’d known each other, Maggie was never far from his thoughts. Three nights ago, they’d spent over two hours on the phone, hanging up past midnight.

They’d talked about everything and nothing. He still knew very little about the crash, about her injuries, but he learned a little more about what made Maggie tick. She was all about friends and family. She was whip smart, a little sarcastic, and could break a problem down to its smallest bits to find a solution. There was nothing simple about this woman. And as he started dozing off, the connection still open between them, Will knew that he could fall asleep with the sound of her voice in his head for the rest of his life.

He was in serious trouble with this woman, and they hadn’t even gone on a date yet. He was going to rectify that situation this weekend.

“This is a great porch. Have you been sitting out here?”

“Mom and Grace run the kitchen like a military operation on crack. It’s a little bit insane in there. I take care of the table and help with clean up, and stay out of the way during food prep.”

“You don’t cook?”

“I actually love to cook,” she smiled. “I just haven’t had the opportunity to do it very often.”

“Well, I want to say hello to your parents and everyone, is it safe to go in there?”

“For you? Absolutely.” Maggie looped her arm through his, and smiled. “Mom has been talking about you joining us for days, like visiting royalty. My stock has completely dropped because you’re here.”

“Stop it.” There was the wit, the sarcasm. She was teasing him.

“Stop what?” she said innocently, her brown eyes going wide.

He couldn’t help himself. Leaning in and whispering in her ear, Will gave it right back to her. “You’re being a brat.”

“Hmmph. Brat, indeed,” she said as she led him through the front door. “You’d better be nice or there will be no more kisses for you, Coach.”

She was a damn tease, and he couldn’t let that pass. Stopping her in the foyer, Will pulled her around the corner to just inside the formal living room. It was empty, as most formal spaces in homes tended to be. Without much effort, he pressed her back into the wall and pinned her there with his hips. There was a real chance he was taking his life in his hands, playing these games with a trained killer, but what a way to go.

Maggie’s hands went to his waist and he could see her nerves jangling from the contact. This woman made him crazy. Threading his fingers through her hair, Will kissed the corner of her mouth. “That’s mean. Your kisses are like a drug.”

Whispering in response, he could feel her tremble. “My family. What if they see?”

“Eh. I’m royalty.” A grin pulled at his mouth; Will completely enjoyed watching her try to hold it together. “They’ll get over it.”

“You’re fresh.”

“Maybe, but you make me crazy, Maggie. All I do is think about you.”

He teased her lips, covering her mouth with his, and drawing her in just enough that she knew he was serious. God, he could lose himself in this woman. It was nuts how much he wanted her.

Maggie dropped her head on his chest, holding onto his shirt as she buried her face against him. Without a thought, his arms came around her, holding her close.

“This is insane,” she moaned. “I shouldn’t be feeling like this.”

“Like what?”

“So out of control. You’re here and I don’t care about anything else. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.”

“Good,” he murmured into her hair. “I don’t want you to get me out of your head. I want a chance.”

“Will…”

“Think about it. There’s something going on with us, Maggie. I think we have to see what happens.”

“I don’t know if I can. I just… I never thought anyone would…”

“Would ever want to be with you?” he finished the sentence for her. “You can’t be serious.”

Burying her face again, she nodded.

“Oh, Maggie. God, you’re amazing, don’t you know that?”

“I’m so broken. Physically and mentally. I don’t know if I can.”

Without hesitation, he cupped her face and lifted it toward his. “Just think about it. I know I’m the last thing you expected, and that you have a thousand questions running through your head, but think about it. I get you.”

She nodded tentatively. “Okay.”

“Come on. Take a breath and let’s go see the family. I think we’ve tempted fate enough.”

Once he stepped back, he could see the fear, the uncertainty, the questions in her eyes. He felt them too. There were at least a dozen reasons he shouldn’t pursue this with her, but none of them were compelling enough for him to step back.

After a few deep breaths, she shook off their conversation and smiled weakly. A bit of guilt crept in because Will worried that he’d pushed too hard. But when she reached out and squeezed his hand, he felt better.

“If nothing else, Will, you give me quite an adrenaline rush, and I haven’t had one of those in a very long time.”

“Glad I could help. If we make a run at this, Maggie, I promise there will be a lot more.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

*     *     *

Dinner was loud.
There were more people at the table than in years past, and Maggie was both overwhelmed and touched that so many of her relatives wanted to see her. Aunts and uncles had changed plans and come from out-of-state to hug her, to make sure she was okay, and to offer support in any way they could. Her family was made up of the nicest people in the world.

Mostly. There were those who just wanted to see her at a low point. Her cousin Nora was one of those.

The daughter of her mother’s oldest brother, who had died when she was a teen, Nora was a year older than Maggie and worked in public relations for a major fashion designer. She was quite pretty, in that patrician, fake blonde, I-need-to-eat-a-sandwich kind of way. Maggie had nothing against women who were slender, if they were
healthy
, but Nora wasn’t; she looked like she was starving.

She and Maggie used to be close, but they’d taken very different paths. And for some reason, her cousin couldn’t handle it.

It shouldn’t have mattered, but Nora turned cold the minute Maggie finished Officer Candidate School and received her commission. When she earned her wings, their relationship went to hell.

It had been extremely uncomfortable sitting across the table from her, but when Nora started flirting with Will, inviting him to a gallery showing in the city, Maggie was ready to kill.

It was too bad her cousin hadn’t seen them kissing.

As she simmered, Maggie realized she’d never felt jealousy before. This was new, and she wasn’t liking it. Claire leaned in and made sure only Maggie could hear her. “You hate her right now, don’t you?”

“Why do you say that?”

Claire almost laughed out loud. “Are you kidding? I’m getting all hot and bothered just watching you and Will exchange smoldering glances, did you think I wouldn’t notice? Gracie has, too.”

“I’m, uh…”

“Stop. It’s awesome. And Nora is just trying to get to you, don’t let her.”

Dessert had been set out, and there were more choices than Maggie had ever seen. Her sweet tooth would be very happy. Whether her jeans would fit tomorrow was another story altogether. Still, she cut into the pecan pie, the cheesecake, and took two cream puffs.

“You’d better lay off the carbs and sugar, Maggie, now that you’re not as active. You don’t want to
bulk up
too much.” Nora’s words silenced the table. Maggie had a mouthful of the best cheesecake in the world, so she was at a loss.

“Nora!” Aunt Brigid was mortified. “Maggie is physically disabled. You don’t draw attention to it at the table.”

“Mary Margaret has been working at living as normal a life as possible,” her father piped in. “She’s getting better every day.”

“You should know better, Nora. You’re lovely and able bodied, and poor Maggie…”

Were they kidding?

“Poor Maggie is sitting right here,” she snapped. “And if you all don’t stop talking like this, I’m going to take my leg off and prop it up in the front window. It will be like that lamp in
A Christmas Story
,” she said, referencing the family’s favorite holiday movie.

“Fra-GEE-leh,” her brother mumbled, making Will laugh at the famous line. Wonderful. Everyone was a comedian.

“Nora,” Maggie began, “I’m fine. I’m still working out every day and I’m going to start running again as soon as my therapist thinks I’m ready.”

Brigid was beside herself. “Oh, you poor dear. Therapy? This must have been so hard for you. But a psychiatrist… that’s never happened in my family.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Maggie rolled her eyes. “I mean physical therapy, Auntie.”

“Oh. Oh well, thank goodness. But really dear, you should take it easy on yourself. You
are
… you know…”

Did she do it? Did she level her aunt right then and there? She was, after all, ‘disabled’, why not be a bitch, too?

“Well, if I take it easy on myself, I’ll die. So, since I’m over that being an option for me, I’d rather stay in shape. Excuse me.” Maggie rose from the table, took two steps away, and then went back for her plate of desserts.

It was criminal to let cream puffs go to waste.

“I’m going upstairs to take a rest,” Maggie sniffed, affecting her best Scarlet O’Hara impersonation. “This has all been quite exhausting for an invalid like me, and since Mama has gotten the fainting couch I asked for, I must retire before I fall dead away. I do hope y’all will forgive me.”

It was the only way she could escape without killing anyone or bursting into tears, neither of which were acceptable.

In some ways, Maggie wished she could leave, letting her family have a peaceful holiday, but the truth was, she was stuck.

Maggie hadn’t just lost her limb, or her job, she’d lost the thing she prized most: her independence.

And she didn’t know how she was going to get it back.

*     *     *

This was quite
possibly the dumbest thing Will had ever done, and he’d sneaked into his share of girl’s rooms in his younger days. But going to Maggie when her whole family was downstairs was risky. It was possible he was in way too deep with this woman, but he had no intention of walking away, and he got the sense her wise-cracking answers around the table were just a front. She was hurting, and he wasn’t going to let her deal with it alone.

Taking the steps two at a time to the second floor, he stood on the landing and looked at the hallway with three doors. There was another flight of stairs up to the third floor, but he had a feeling she was on this floor.

“Shit!”
Thud.

There she was, in the room at the end of the hall. This wasn’t only a risk with her family, but with her as well. It was possible she’d rip his head off. But Will had to try.

Tapping quietly on the door, he heard the movement in the room go still.

“Who is it?” Her voice was small, raspy. She’d been crying.

“It’s Will. May I come in?”

“If I say no, are you going to come in anyway?”

“More than likely,” he responded, smiling because she knew him so well already.

“Crap. Fine.”

Will cracked the door and cautiously looked in to see what he was walking into.

Sitting on the bed, head bent, Maggie’s prosthetic was exposed. Her shoe was on the floor, and the artificial foot was uncovered. She still hadn’t looked at him.

“Maggie?”

“I hate that you’re seeing me like this. But I can’t… I c-c-can’t get it off.” She was upset, swallowing air, hyperventilating—a full-blown meltdown.