A Texas Holiday Miracle (18 page)

“Because I wanted to spend Christmas with you and Lacey.”

He was smooth; she’d give him that. He had a lot of questions to answer, but they could wait.

“’Cause you love us,” Emma said.

Gabe’s skin paled and Lacey came to his rescue. “Let’s hurry and get dressed so you can ride your bicycle,” she said to Emma. Her sister was off like a shot.

“I rather like what you have on,” Gabe remarked.

She made a face at him as she walked out. She quickly changed into black slacks, a white pullover sweater and boots.

Gabe was sitting on the sofa when they came out.

Emma pointed to the box with the toaster in it. “Gabe, look what Santa brought Lacey. Now she won’t burn toast anymore.”

“That’ll give the smoke alarm a rest,” Gabe teased.

“Thank you,” she mouthed, her eyes holding his for a moment. It wasn’t a romantic gift. That would get too mushy, and they hadn’t reached that level in their relationship. They never would now. So she would take the toaster and be happy.

* * *

G
ABE
TOOK
E
MMA
outside to help her ride the bicycle, and Lacey stayed behind to put a roast on for dinner. He didn’t plan to stay, but he found himself lingering even though he knew he should go.

Emma mastered the bicycle in a few minutes and he sat on the curb and watched her ride back and forth. Soon Lacey joined him.

“Look, Lacey. Look at me,” Emma shouted, Merry Christmas running behind her.

“I see you. You’re doing good.”

“Do I look cool?”

“Frosty.”

There was silence for a moment, and then she looked at Gabe. “Why did you really come back?”

He wanted to say what she wanted to hear, but he couldn’t. He went with the truth instead.

“I made it to Austin and rented a room in a hotel, called Dana and got something to eat. Later, I drove to a gas station and there was a little boy outside who was trying to find a home for the dog. I looked at it and thought Emma would love her and, before I knew it, I was driving back to Horseshoe. I bought the toaster on the way.”

He rested his forearms on his knees. “I kept thinking how hard it was going to be for you with Emma not believing in Christmas. I just wanted to create a little magic.”

“You did that. The Wilson boys saw you on the roof and are sure you were Santa. They now believe, too. And Emma even says she saw Daddy on the roof. You created a lot of magic.”

“It was dark. How could they see me and mistake me for Santa Claus?”

“It’s Christmas morning. Kids are looking for Santa, and when they see a shadowy figure on a roof they automatically think...ah, Santa.”

“Mmm.”

“From the scratches on your face and hands I take it climbing onto the roof wasn’t so easy.”

“I wanted to get your attention to come to the door, and the only way I could think to do that was to climb to the roof and stomp around. Cowboy boots did me in. I slid off into your bushes.”

She suppressed a laugh. “How did you know she wanted a dog? She never told me.”

“I just went by how much she loved Pepper.”

“It’s what she asked Santa for at the mall. So, as Santa, you’re right on target, especially since you were here this morning. She also asked that you would always be in our lives, and she wanted to see Daddy one more time. Everything she asked for has come true, and now she believes more than ever. All because of you.”

“Maybe there is something magical about Christmas, because I had no idea she wanted a puppy and I have no idea how she saw her dad on the roof. It was me.”

“It was enough.” Lacey laid her head on his shoulder. “You’re wonderful. You made one little six-year-old very happy. I’m not too unhappy myself.”

“I planned to quietly leave, but I heard Emma crying and I couldn’t do it.” He leaned his head against hers. “I still have to go, Lacey. I can’t stay.”

“You’re staying for dinner,” she said, as if he hadn’t spoken. “No arguments.”

He didn’t argue. Lacey cooked a fabulous meal and they were finally able to drag Emma into the house. Merry Christmas rested at her feet. Emma chatted nonstop, which helped alleviate the tension between the adults. She was happy and that was what Gabe had wanted, but the sadness in Lacey’s eyes tore at his heart.

After dinner, Emma fell asleep on the couch with the dog. He helped Lacey with the dishes. She was very quiet.

He leaned against the counter. “I guess I shouldn’t have come back. It’s too hard for both of us.”

She wiped the counter and then turned to him. “Have you thought about what made you come back?”

“Lacey, I can’t analyze it any further than I have. I have to go to find me. I don’t know if I’m supposed to live in my other world or if I belong here. I have to make the right decision for all of us. Please, don’t make this difficult.”

She carefully laid the Frosty the Snowman dish towel on the counter. “I’ll always be grateful for what you did today. But I can’t go through another goodbye.” She walked past him into the dining room. “Please say goodbye to Emma. She’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”

“Lacey...” The pain in her voice ignited so many responses, but he had to ignore them. He couldn’t stay and regret that decision later. He had to be sure of what he wanted, even though it seemed as though he was looking at everything he’d ever dreamed about.

She lifted her head and met his eyes. “Take care of yourself, and don’t let grief overtake you again.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she walked out to the patio, quietly closing the door.

There was no need to go after her. They’d said everything they had to say. Now they just needed time.

Emma came in from the living room rubbing her eyes, her blond hair everywhere. Merry Christmas barked at her feet. He picked Emma up and sat her on the stool.

“It’s time for me to go, kiddo. Take care of Lacey and Merry Christmas.”

“I will. When are you coming back?”

His gut clenched. “I don’t know.” He hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Never stop believing.”

“I won’t. Bye, Gabe.”

He walked out of the house, got in his truck and drove away. This time he knew it was for good. But he couldn’t explain the feeling that everything he loved was in Horseshoe, Texas.

* * *

L
ACEY
SAT
ON
the patio, tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help herself. The wind stirred the fall leaves and blew them against the fence. They clung to a bare rose bush like ugly Christmas ornaments. Children’s laughter sounded down the street. It was Christmas. Everyone was happy. Except her.

Emma crawled into her lap, facing her. “Don’t cry, Lacey.”

She drew in a deep breath. “I’m not crying.”

With her forefinger, Emma touched Lacey’s wet cheek. “You’re weird, Lacey.”

“Okay. Maybe a little,” she admitted.

“Gabe’ll come back.”

“You think so, huh?”

“Yeah, because I believe in here.” She jabbed at her chest. “And you have to believe in there.” She jabbed at Lacey’s chest. “That’s what you told me and it’s true. All you have to do is believe.”

Lacey smiled through her tears. “Do you know how much I love you?”

“Bunches.”

“Oh, yeah. Bunches and bunches.” She held her sister. She would believe until Gabe returned. That was all she could do. With belief, she had hope, and she would never let go of that. Not ever.

Chapter Eighteen

As Lacey went back into the house, the doorbell rang. She paused, wondering who that could be on Christmas Day.

“I’ll get it,” Emma said and ran to the door.

Lacey slowly followed.

“Who are you?” Emma asked.

Lacey pulled the door wider and froze. It was her mother, dressed to the nines in a stunning navy-and-white dress and to-die-for heels. Mervin stood behind her, holding a big package.

“Mom!”

Her mother was here.

“Hello, dear. I hope we’re not intruding.”

“No. No, please come in. I called you several times and you didn’t answer.”

“I had to do a lot of thinking,” her mother replied.

Lacey pulled Emma to the side so they could enter.

“It smells good in here,” Mervin said.

“I made a roast for lunch today. Would you like a piece of pie and coffee?”

“That’s too much trouble.” Her mother dismissed the offer with a wave of her hand. “We’re on the way to spend Christmas with Mervin’s daughter in Dallas.”

“Is the pie homemade?” Mervin asked.

“Yes.”

“Then that settles it,” he decided. “We’d be happy to have coffee and pie. My daughter buys everything from the bakery.”

“Mervin—”

“Joyce, relax and visit with your daughter.”

Emma looked up at Joyce, evidently tired of being ignored, and asked, “Who are you?”

Her mother tried to look everywhere but at Emma. Eventually, she brought her gaze to the child. “I’m Lacey’s mother.”

“You’re pretty.”

Her mother blushed and the tired expression on her face vanished. “Thank you, dear.” She took the package from Mervin and handed it to Emma. “We brought you something.”

“Oh, boy! Thank you.” Emma took the package and ran to the sofa to open it.

Lacey had never thought this day would come. Maybe her dad had been here that morning, because this certainly was a miracle.

Emma tore the paper away and Merry Christmas sniffed around her mother’s feet.

“Oh, dear. A dog.” Her mother was not that fond of dogs.

“That’s Merry Christmas,” Emma told her. “She won’t hurt you. Look, Lacey.” Emma opened a big wooden box full of pencils, crayons, markers and art paper. Emma jumped up and hugged Joyce around the waist. Joyce stiffened; even Lacey could see that. “Thank you. I love to draw. I draw real good.” Emma went back to the box and Lacey’s mother stood as if frozen in place.

Then, as if in slow motion, another miracle happened. Her mother removed her cashmere coat and laid it on the arm of the sofa. She sat on the sofa with the box between her and Emma.

“You look just like Lacey did when she was your age.”

“I know,” Emma replied. “Everybody tells us that.”

Lacey hated to leave them alone, but everything was going so nicely that she didn’t think her mother would do or say anything to hurt Emma. “I’ll make coffee and serve pie.”

“Okay, dear.”

All Lacey could think was that her mother had come. She’d made the effort, and it was the best Christmas gift ever, except for seeing Gabe that morning.

“This pie is delicious,” Mervin said.

“Thank you.”

“Everything looks so nice, dear,” her mother said as Lacey handed her a cup of coffee.

Lacey wanted to cry. She could feel the tears welling up at the back of her eyes. Her mother had praised her instead of criticizing.

The rest of the afternoon went the same way. Her mother talked more and more to Emma instead of over her head. When her mother mentioned that Lacey loved Barbies, Emma ran to her room to get hers, which totally shocked Lacey. Emma never played with the Barbies. But that afternoon Joyce and Emma sat on the sofa and dressed and redressed Barbies. It was a moment out of time.

All too soon, Mervin said it was time to go. Lacey felt a tug at her heart because she didn’t want them to. She wanted to hang on to this moment when maybe...just maybe they had started to become a family.

Then Emma shocked her. “Can you be my grandma?” she asked Joyce.

Joyce clutched her chest. “Oh, dear. I’m too young to be a grandmother.”

Mervin choked on his coffee. “Good one, Joyce.”

He sat down by Emma. “You know, Emma, I have three grandchildren and they call me Pappy. If you need a grandpa, I’m your man.”

“Oh, boy. I don’t have a grandpa, either. You can be my...pappy.” Emma giggled as she said the last word.

Her mother was now on the spot, and Lacey did nothing to help her. It would be a defining moment. Joyce played with the pearls around her neck and time stretched. Still, Lacey said nothing.

“Well, I guess, you can call me Jo... Nana.”

Lacey hadn’t even known she’d been holding her breath until air swooshed out of her lungs at her mother’s reply.

“My friend Bailey calls her grandma nana.”

“Then I’ll be your nana.”

Emma hugged Joyce, and Lacey saw tears in her mother’s eyes. What a revelation. What a moment.

As they were leaving, Lacey hugged her mother and held on. She needed to. “Thank you,” she said. “You’ve made me very happy. I love you.”

It was a time in her life Lacey would never forget: The day her mother had finally accepted Emma as part of their family.

* * *

W
HEN
G
ABE
MADE
it back to Austin, he went to sleep and didn’t wake up until the next morning. He thought of Lacey. He wanted to feel all the emotions Lacey was feeling, but his were twisted and shredded and he didn’t know if he could ever make sense of them. Or if he could love her the way she wanted. That was the reason he was in Austin alone, and had never felt more lonely than he was today.

He met Dana at the attorney’s office and signed the divorce papers. The attorney and Dana would go before a judge, who would sign off on the divorce decree, and that would be that. From there, they drove to the house they’d shared with their son. Gabe braced himself for the emotional impact, but was surprised when he didn’t have the urge to run.

Going into Zack’s room, though, was another matter. He found himself touching the yellow band on his wrist as if he could draw strength from Lacey. Even so, he didn’t have that overwhelming, crippling feeling. He had tucked it away in a vault in his heart, just like Lacey had told him to.

The room was full of Zack’s belongings, from his TV, video games and movies to the basketball hoop over the bathroom door to his baseball, his glove and his soccer ball. Everything that was Zack was in here. And there wasn’t one thing Gabe wanted to keep. All his memories were stored in his heart, and that was all he needed, again just like Lacey had told him.

He and Dana agreed to donate all of Zack’s belongings to a shelter so kids could enjoy them. Zack would like that. He told Dana she could have everything in the house. He wanted nothing except his clothes.

Before he left, he forced himself to walk to the spot where Zack had died. The bits and pieces of the four-wheeler were still there, scattered on the ground. He took a deep breath and said goodbye to all the pain and suffering. All he wanted now were peace and good memories of the child he’d loved. He was able to do that because of Lacey and her loving nature. As he made his way to his truck, the tangled mass of confusion inside him still raged on.

Over the weekend, he and Dana cleared out the house. They put the house on the market and, on Monday, Gabe went to the law firm to meet with the senior partner, Ted Silversteen. He was welcomed back with open arms. His old office was waiting for him and everything in it was just as he’d left it.

The next day he went to work and time slipped away as he got back into the routine of being an attorney. It was as if he’d never left. But a big part of him knew that he had. He also knew he was well on the way to full recovery.

The next week he rented a furnished one-bedroom apartment and moved in. He settled into his life in Austin. He was invited to dinners and parties by partners in the law firm. Inevitably, there was a single woman he just had to meet. He took all of this in stride because he knew they were trying to help him adjust. They just didn’t know it was always the wrong woman.

* * *

T
HE
DAYS
PASSED
quickly for Lacey. She stopped listening for the sound of Gabe’s truck. The news of Santa visiting Emma had spread through Horseshoe quickly, and Emma told her story over and over to anyone who would listen. She now believed there was a Santa, and no one dared to tell her otherwise.

Lacey’s mother had done a complete about-face concerning Emma. She called several times and came to visit before Emma’s break ended. Lacey didn’t question it. She just accepted the amazing gift.

With Emma back in school, the house was very quiet, and Lacey grew restless. She had to find something to do with her life. Emma was growing more and more independent. She had friends now and her aggressive behavior had stopped. She didn’t even care if Lacey was late picking her up. All the anger she’d had inside was gone, and she didn’t need Lacey as much.

Lacey wasn’t sure what she could do in the small town, but then something fell into her lap. She was visiting with Angie at the bakery and discussing her plight when Angie mentioned that the woman who owned the flower shop two doors down was looking for someone to take it over. Lacey met with Mrs. Hinson, and after thinking about it for a couple of days, she bought the shop.

Her first order of business was to do a lot of redecorating. She painted and replaced the worn linoleum with big pink-and-white tile squares. The blinds were dingy, so she took them down and installed pink-and-white-striped shades. She bought two white wicker chairs and had the cushions covered in a pink-and-white stripe. The look was fresh and feminine.

She had looked at the previous owner’s books, but she had no idea how busy she would be. It turned out she had two weddings the first week and there always seemed to be a special occasion that required flowers. The shop kept her running during the day. She loved working with flowers and decorating. She opened at nine and closed at two because she had to pick up Emma. If she had deliveries to make, she made them then. After that, it was Emma time.

Weeks turned into a month and then another. Still, she had no word from Gabe. As more time passed, she knew the likelihood of him returning was small. She kept believing, though.

At the end of February, Lacey helped Peyton give a baby shower for Angie. Lacey made the decorations extraspecial with pink, blue and white flowers. It was a fun day for everyone.

By mid-March Lacey had to face the fact that Gabe wasn’t coming back. Even Emma had stopped asking. She still checked on Pepper’s grave, but Lacey noticed she was doing it less frequently. Time had passed and his feelings had changed. Lacey had to accept that.

She just hoped he’d found peace.

* * *

G
ABE
HAD
WORKED
LATE
.
The firm had represented a hospital in a lawsuit and they’d won. Two of the single lawyers in the firm invited him out to celebrate. Of course, such celebrations were always in a bar. Tonight the bar was on Sixth Street. The other two guys were dancing with women they’d met. Gabe sat at the bar with a woman named Sonya, who presumably was his date. She was blue-eyed and gorgeous.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Strawberry margarita” was her reply. It was hard to hear with all the chatter, laughter and the band playing in the corner.

Gabe signaled the bartender and made the order. He’d already ordered Scotch on the rocks for himself.

“What’s that yellow band on your wrist?” she asked as the bartender placed the drink on a napkin in front of her.

He raised his wrist. “It keeps me sane.”

She took a sip of the margarita, her eyes on him. “Are you known for going insane?”

“Regularly.”

“I like a man who’s not afraid to have fun.”

He swirled the ice in his glass. This was where he was supposed to make his move and they would spend the night at her place or his. In that moment, he realized he wasn’t in his twenties anymore and the parties and the late nights were just a way to get through the day in another way.

She pointed toward the entrance. “Your friends are leaving. I guess we should go, too.”

Following her gaze, Gabe ran his finger over the yellow band and all the emotions that were tangled inside him suddenly began to unravel. He knew what he wanted. He wasn’t confused. He wasn’t blinded by grief. He wasn’t going through the motions anymore.

Setting his glass on the bar, he replied, “Yes, it’s time to go.”

* * *

L
ACEY
WAS
HAVING
a bad day. The flower delivery had been late and she’d had several arrangements to go to the funeral home. She got them there by twelve.

Emma’s bows had gotten the attention of the mothers at school, and they’d asked if Lacey would make bows for their daughters. Now she had several to make by tomorrow. Right after she made an arrangement for the D.A.’s secretary. It was her birthday, and Hardy wanted the flowers delivered after lunch.

Who knew she would be so busy in this little town? But she’d found a home here with wonderful people in a place where she could raise Emma without the worries of the big city.

After finishing the arrangement, she ran across the street to the courthouse to deliver it and then hurried back. Merry whined, wanting to go to the bathroom. Lacey opened the shop’s back door. There was a graveled parking area and a grassy verge. “Hurry, I have work to do.”

Merry darted out at the same time the shop’s front door bell jingled.

“I’ll be right there,” she called. “Come on, Merry,” she said to the dog. Once Merry was back inside, Lacey hurried to the front. Nobody was there. She turned and saw a man sitting in one of the wicker chairs. She almost didn’t recognize him. He wore jeans, a white shirt and boots. A Stetson lay in his lap.

Gabe!

What was he doing there?

He stood up with his hat in his hand. “You look good.” He pointed with his hat. “Your hair’s longer.”