Love Comes Home (13 page)

Working a farm taught a man that. Every year that a man plowed a field, more rocks rose up out of the dirt to be hauled away. Weeds kept sprouting no matter how many calluses a man got plying his hoe. Horses went lame. Machinery broke down. Cows went dry and hawks swooped out of the sky to steal the chickens. The ground didn’t give up its yield without a man watering it with plenty of sweat. But just because something was hard didn’t mean it wasn’t worth doing.

Clay wasn’t about to give up. He gripped the steering wheel
and drove through the snow falling so thick now he had to turn on the windshield wipers. He pulled up the memory of Victoria’s smile and wondered how it would be to dance with her in the snow. That would probably never happen. He wasn’t the dancing type, but he could make Samantha a sled.

Maybe he could talk Victoria into riding out to the farm with him to sled down some hills. They had plenty of hills on the farm. He thought about sitting on a sled with Victoria in front of him, sharing something fun. It could happen, he thought. As long as he didn’t give up.

Lillie interrupted his thoughts. “Clay, what did that woman mean when she said that?”

“Which one?” Clay frowned trying to figure out what Lillie was talking about.

“The one that has red hair like Samantha.”

“I don’t know. Did she say something to you?”

“She wasn’t talking to me. She was talking to Samantha’s mama.”

“Well, if she wasn’t talking to you, then maybe you shouldn’t have been listening.” Clay mashed down on his curiosity. “It’s not nice to eavesdrop. You know that.”

“I didn’t aim to, but I couldn’t keep from hearing her when we were leaving.”

“Okay. What did she say?” Clay wasn’t sure he should ask, but whatever she’d heard was worrying Lillie. It was his job as big brother to listen.

“That you wouldn’t be so hard to look at across the breakfast table,” Lillie said. “Are you going to have breakfast with them?”

Clay was glad the light was dim in the truck as he kept his eyes on the road. It wouldn’t do for Lillie to notice the color
rising in his face. “What makes you think she was talking about me? She didn’t say my name, did she?”

“No, but she was talking about you, wasn’t she?”

Clay blew out a breath. “Well, I’m not going to be eating breakfast there anytime soon, so maybe she was, but more likely she wasn’t.”

“I wish I could eat breakfast there,” Mary spoke up. “I bet they have pancakes every morning.”

Clay reached over and rubbed Mary’s head. “Tell you what. I’ll ask Mama to cook pancakes Christmas morning.”

“And we don’t have to worry about our dog stealing them off our plates or knocking stuff off our Christmas tree,” Lillie said.

The girls giggled and started talking about other things a dog might do to make a mess in a house.

That left Clay to wonder about what Lillie had heard Evangeline say, because Lillie was right. She had surely been talking about him.

14

O
n Christmas morning Kate woke before dawn, not wanting to miss a minute of her first Christmas with Jay. They had never celebrated Christmas together. That first Christmas after they met in 1941 was not only a dark time for the country, but a dark time for Kate too. Jay had enlisted in the Army the week after Pearl Harbor and was gone from Rosey Corner, but more than miles had separated them then.

They were married before the next Christmas, but an ocean apart. Letters had flown back and forth. Love written in words, but her arms felt extra empty at Christmastime. Each year she prayed that by the next Christmas the war would be over and the boys would be home. She prayed for the war to be over every day, but somehow praying it at Christmas made it special.

After all, Christmas was when the greatest gift was sent down to mankind. The angels even announced it by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” So what better time to pray for peace? Now at last, that prayer had been answered, and after three
Christmases apart, Mr. and Mrs. Jay Tanner were going to have the best Christmas ever.

She planned to be awake before Jay, to have his present under the tree and the coffee perking. She should have known better. Jay was the one who woke at the slightest noise. So when she opened her eyes, the lights were already shining on their little tree and Jay’s smile was waiting for her.

“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Tanner.” He brushed the hair back from her face.

She’d gotten used to the name while he was in the Army, but it was different coming from his lips. Lips that he touched to hers.

She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “And Merry Christmas to you too, Mr. Tanner.” She reached for his hand. “Do you remember when we first met and I called you that?”

“And ordered Birdie to call me Mr. Tanner too. I do indeed. So what do you want to call me now?”

“My love.” Kate scooted over to lean her head against his chest. She loved hearing his heart beating steadily under her ear. She had prayed for that heart to make it through the war still beating. “Ever my love. I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Not as glad as I am to be here.” His arms tightened around her. “Do you think Santa Claus visited us last night?”

She raised her head to peer at the tree. The floor under it was bare with not a present in sight. Her gift for him was in hiding under the bed. No present waited there for her either, but she didn’t care. His voice in her ears was enough.

“Doesn’t look like it.” She smiled up at him. “Did you believe in Santa Claus when you were a kid?”

“Nope. Not after my mother died. Never saw the first bit of
evidence to support any jolly old elf at Christmastime.” He was quiet a few seconds before he went on. “I didn’t believe in anything then.”

“How about now?” She ran her fingers over his hands. Strong hands that she loved touching her. Hands that would help her raise their children.

“Still got plenty of doubts about that old guy in red, but then again, I did see him down at the dime store yesterday. So I could be wrong.”

Kate laughed. “That poor guy needs a new beard. Even Samantha would know he was a fake.”

“The magic of belief covers up a lot of fake beards.”

“But the magic of Christmas isn’t Santa Claus. It’s love.” Kate pulled his hand up to her mouth and kissed his fingers.

“Do you remember when you quoted that Scripture verse to me? About perfect love casting out fear. I never forgot that.”

Kate cringed a little at his words, remembering. “I shouldn’t have. The only love that’s perfect is the Lord’s.”

“And so we find Christmas. Perfect love in a manger.”

A little shiver went up Kate’s spine. She’d never really known this Jay. This man who believed enough to talk about the Lord with her. “Daddy will be reading the Christmas story this morning.”

Jay rubbed his cheek against her hair. “Do you wish you were there?”

She shut her eyes and thought about her father sitting in his chair with the Bible on his knees, but barely looking at it as he recited the verses. This was the first year she wouldn’t be with her family as Christmas morning dawned. “A little. In some ways, but in a more important way I want to be here with you. Wherever we are together is home now.”

“We could have slept on the floor in front of the tree at your house.”

“We could have, but instead we slept by our own Christmas tree. A new family needs new traditions.”

“If waking up with you and watching the lights on a Christmas tree are traditions, I’m all for that.” Jay kissed the top of her head.

“And think. Next year we could have a baby to enjoy the lights. Samantha loved the Christmas lights from the very first.” It was the new prayer of her heart. Oh dear Lord, please, a baby to make their family complete.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, Kate.” Jay’s arms stiffened a bit around her. “Can’t we just enjoy the moment?”

“This moment here, I am enjoying very much.” She twisted around to kiss his chin. He hadn’t shaved yet and his beard was scratchy against her lips.

His arms tightened around her again. “A fine moment to enjoy.”

She leaned against him, matching her breathing to his. “But I like thinking about the future too. What we’ll be doing in six months or six years or sixty years.”

“Sixty years! I’ll be ninety in sixty years.” Jay laughed.

“Then maybe we’d better not wait that long to have children.”

His chin rubbed back and forth across her hair as he shook his head. “My Kate. Graham warned me from the very start you were a girl who thought you could fix things, but he wasn’t sure you could fix me.”

“You were never broken.”

“Oh, but I was, but then I came to Rosey Corner and found you.”

“If any fixing was done, it was done by the Lord. Not me.” She didn’t like him talking about being broken. “Aunt Hattie’s always telling me to leave some things up to the Lord. I guess that’s what I need to do about starting a family.”

“Aunt Hattie is a wise woman. Let’s enjoy this Christmas before we start thinking ahead to next Christmas.”

“Evie’s in the family way.” The words slipped out. Kate hadn’t meant to tell him that until she was sure Evie had told Mike about the baby.

“Having a family isn’t a competition, Kate.” He shifted behind her as though the headboard was suddenly too hard against his back.

“Sisters always compete.”

“Then Tori’s already won that competition.”

“So she has, and a good thing. Samantha kept Tori from falling apart after she got the news about Sammy. She and Sammy were such sweethearts.” Kate brushed away a tear. “You could really think about them together in sixty years and going strong.”

“No sad thoughts allowed here. We’re living in the moment, remember.” Jay pushed her away and swung his feet over the side of the bed. “And right now’s the moment to see if Santa Claus showed up last night.”

“Santa must have missed our tree.” Kate got up and pretended to be hunting under the bed for her slippers but instead pulled out the package she’d hidden there. “Oh wait, here’s something he must have dropped. I think it’s for you.”

He laughed as he tore the paper off the camera she’d bought him.

“Do you like it? One of the guys at the paper helped me pick it out.”

“It’s great.” Jay ran his hand over the camera, then pointed it toward her as he looked through the viewfinder. “Is it loaded?”

“Don’t you dare take my picture. Not until I comb my hair.” She grabbed a pillow and held it up in front of her face.

“I like your hair messed.” He pulled the pillow away to kiss her.

She was ready for more kisses, but instead he jumped up and went to the tree. “Hey, I think I found something.” He pulled a small box out of the branches. “Maybe Santa didn’t forget you after all.” With a big smile, he handed it to her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she flipped open the velvet-covered box. A diamond ring glittered against the black lining. “Oh, Jay, it’s beautiful.” She looked up at him, her heart swelling with love.

“A beautiful ring for a beautiful girl.” He took the ring and slipped it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. “When I saw this, I had to get it for you. See the way it catches light?” He held her hand up so the diamond reflected the glow of the Christmas lights. “That’s the first thing I noticed about you. How your eyes seemed to capture the light and explode with life. I wanted to be part of that life.”

“You are my life.” She slipped her arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Do you hear the music?”

“Oh yes,” Kate said.

“Can I have this dance?” His eyes burned into hers.

“This dance and every dance forever more.”

When they were first falling in love, they danced to the music of the trees in Lindell Woods and then in the snow. Now their love wrapped them in joy as they glided across
the floor to the sparkle of the Christmas lights. A prayer of thanksgiving rose inside Kate for this Christmas with Jay and all the Christmases to come.

By the time they finally made it to Rosey Corner, breakfast was long over, but a plate of her mother’s cinnamon rolls waited for them on the table. Even if they’d been all gone, Kate wouldn’t have missed the morning’s dance for all the breakfast rolls in the world.

Still, it was good to be home in Rosey Corner with Jay, who was as happy to be there as she was. Between bites of his cinnamon roll, he teased Lorena about peering out the window every five minutes to watch for Evie and Mike. Mama said they couldn’t open presents until they came.

Lorena might be fourteen, but she still acted like a kid at Christmas. She would love the locket with a bird etched on the front of it that Jay had for her. He’d found them both the perfect gifts. The diamond on Kate’s hand caught the light, and its glitter made her feel so loved.

Across the room, Samantha giggled at the story Kate’s father was reading to her. A warm feeling swept through Kate at the thought that next year Daddy might be holding her baby. Samantha clutched the doll the Weber children had brought her on Sunday. Tori said she rarely put it down. The edge in Tori’s voice warned Kate not to ask about Clay Weber. Not today on Christmas when Tori would miss Sammy so much. But after the first of the year, it might be time to encourage Tori to think about her future.