Blessings of the Season (17 page)

C
had parked his truck and got out. The streets were crowded, lined with people. It was nearly dark. He glanced at his watch. The parade would start in five minutes. That meant he had minutes to find Isabelle. He hurried down the sidewalk, away from Jolynn's, and hopefully in the direction of what he'd been looking for his entire life.

It had taken a dotted line, a signature he had almost signed, before he had realized that he wanted to stay in Gibson. He missed the military and the relationships, the bonds of serving with other men and women.

But if he went back, he'd miss Isabelle and, of course, Lizzie. And he didn't want to miss them. He already missed them.

He hurried down the sidewalk, his step light, his heart hammering in his chest like a man about to go into the danger zone, facing the unknown. On his way home—
home
, he liked the way that sounded—he had thought
of all the right things to say. At the hotel last night he'd even watched a few of those sappy movies she liked so much. He wouldn't admit that to a single person.

But a guy had to know what to say when he faced the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Especially a woman like Isabelle, a woman who was strong, tender, vulnerable and beautiful.

A woman with a daughter. That would make him a stepdad, if Isabelle ever agreed to marry him. He had bought a half-dozen books on the subject yesterday. In the end he had left them in the hotel. He didn't need to know how to be a stepdad. What Lizzie needed was a
dad
.

He practically ran down Main Street, because he could hear band music in the distance. He glanced at his watch, knowing the parade had just started.

A few hundred feet away he thought he saw her, a woman with dark hair, wearing a plaid jacket. She turned, and it wasn't Isabelle.

Her cell phone. He pushed in her number, and as he waited for her to answer, he kept walking and kept running through his mind what he wanted to say when he saw her. He slipped his left hand into his pocket and smiled.

 

“Hello.” Isabelle stepped away from the crowd that waited at the end of the parade route. She hadn't expected Chad's voice on the other end of the phone, or his number on the caller ID.

She had hoped he would be here for this performance. She wanted to thank him for the guitar. Lizzie wanted to thank him for dance camp.

Even now her eyes flooded with tears when she
thought about his kindness. And how much she hadn't planned on missing him.

“What are you doing?” His voice was soft, and she closed her eyes. She hadn't planned on this feeling. It felt like falling in love for the first time.

“I'm at the parade.” She listened, knowing it would only be five minutes before the dancers reached them. Gibson packed a lot into a parade that was a mere one mile long. They had three school bands, the dancers, saddle club, a dozen church floats and the Boy Scouts.

“I thought you might be there.” His voice crackled a little as his signal cut out. “Have you seen Lizzie yet?”

“No, I'm at the end of the route, waiting.” She peered down Main Street, and she could see the flashing lights of the town police car. “I think they're almost to me. So, did you reenlist?”

“No. I couldn't reenlist.”

“Really? Why?” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Because I realized that as much as I love the military, there's something I love more.”

“What?” Was that her voice, sounding breathless?

“You.” And he was no longer on the phone. She opened her eyes, and he was standing in front of her, tall and strong, his smile flashing in a face so handsome, so familiar, it felt like she'd known him forever.

“Oh.” Yes, that was breathless. And happy endings always made her cry. But she didn't realize that would include her own. “But you hardly know me.”

“I know you.” He pulled her close. “I know that yellow is your favorite color. I know you like your
coffee with one spoon of sugar and a lot of creamer, but not real cream. I know you love your daughter, and I know that I love her, too. I know that you always cry over happy endings.”

She nodded, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “That part is definitely true.”

“I know that I would like the chance to get to know you better, and for you to know me. I also know that next year, I'd like to help decorate your tree again, but I kind of hope that by next Christmas it will be
our
tree.”

“I think I might like that, too.”

The parade was marching past, and she could see the dancers in the distance.

“I think I might like to kiss you again,” Chad whispered in her ear. “I even have mistletoe.”

His hand slid into his coat pocket, and he lifted a green sprig into the air. She started to comment, but before she could, he lowered his head and kissed her. Isabelle closed her eyes as he held her close.

“Chad, I love you, too.” She leaned against him as her daughter came into sight, dancing to “Silent Night.”

He held her close to his side, and they watched Lizzie, together. Together. Isabelle loved that word, because it meant no longer being alone.

Dear Reader

 

Welcome to Christmas in Gibson, Missouri. I grew up in rural Missouri, and Gibson is every small town that I know. Church, family and tradition are a big part of these communities. It is so easy to get rushed along with the business of Christmas shopping and preparations. For that reason it's important to find those traditions that keep us grounded and help us to focus on what Christmas really means to us and to our families.

I hope you enjoy Chad and Isabelle's Christmas story.

 

Merry Christmas!

1. Isabelle didn't expect to find Chad on her doorstep. How would this surprise challenge her faith and her own thoughts about her future?
   
2. Isabelle has taught Lizzie to find God in the unexpected things. Is Chad showing up just coincidence, one of those things that happens? Or could it be God's plan, bringing a family together?
   
3. The people of Gibson have traditions such as the turning on of the Christmas lights and the ceremony in the fire station. How do those things help them to focus on Christmas?
   
4. Isabelle learned that she doesn't have to be perfect. God loves her, faults and all. How did that change her life?
   
5. Chad learned that faith made him stronger. How do you think he came to that realization?
   
6. In life we tend to want to go back to what is comfortable rather than taking a chance on something new. Chad almost reenlists. What pushed him to make that decision, and why was it the wrong thing to do?