Finaly My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me Book 2) (12 page)

My birthday was nine days away when I made those plans with Shane, and it seemed more like an ever-loving eternity. I had all sorts of Christmas activities going on before then, though, not to mention some physical healing to do. My bruises got worse before they got better. Thankfully, my mom had an expert touch with cosmetics, making it possible for me to go out in public without embarrassment. I decided to stay at my parents' house through Christmas. I wasn't scared of Robin, but something just felt right about staying with my parents for a while—especially since it fell at this time of year when I enjoyed being there anyway.

I picked up a couple of job applications over the next few days while Mom and I were out doing Christmas shopping, but I knew it was a bad time of year to apply since most places were just about done with the holiday rush. I also did a little car shopping online, and talked with my parents about a budget, but didn't pull the trigger on anything just yet.

I did my best to put my date with Shane out of my mind. I figured he would be in touch as the time got closer, and I knew it was a waste of time to obsess about it before then. I focused on other relationships, which was nice. I was seeking God actively for the first time in a long time, and it brought a sense peace I hadn't even known I was missing. I was also benefiting from the time spent with my parents and Thomas. I knew that my brother was an incredible soul, but the last few days made me appreciate it even more. Carly was on vacation from school, so she had been hanging out quite a bit, and it was great getting to know her as well. I found new beauty in old, reliable things like God and family, and my heart felt happy despite the fact that I had dreaded the adjustment of the break up with Robin.

Carly and Micah had plans to spend Christmas Eve with us at my parents' house, and Thomas was beyond pumped at the thought of having us all together. He told me about twenty times that they were spending the night and would be bringing their dog with them. I had a feeling we could just forget about Christmas presents all together and he would be thrilled to have us all spending the night under the same roof.

They came over Christmas Eve at around 3:00 in the afternoon. My dad was tending to the fireplace and my mom and Thomas were in the kitchen making chocolates. Technically, I was helping, but that translated to me sitting at the bar with a cup of hot chocolate, watching the action.

Carly's dog, Roscoe, was highly excitable, and came into the kitchen to sniff things out before they made it in there. I could hear Carly and Micah talking to Dad in the living room when Roscoe came bounding into the kitchen.

"Roscoeee!" Thomas yelled. His fingers were full of chocolate but he still stuck his hands the air. He looked at me and then to my mother. "Roscoe is here. Do you see Roscoe?"

"I see him," I said, bending over to scratch him as he jumped on my leg.

"I see him too," Mom said.

"He can't have chocolate," Thomas said, as if reminding himself not to bend down and pet the dog with chocolate on his fingers.

"He'd probably like to have some, but it would make him sick," Carly said rounding the corner.

"Carlyyy!" Thomas said, hands held high again. Micah came in right behind her so he just went ahead and left them up there as he said his name too.

"Thomasss!" Micah said, matching his pose.

"You're spending the night with us," Thomas said.

"We sure are."

"And Roscoe is too."

"Yep," Micah said, crossing to give Mom a one sideways hug since she had her hands full of chocolate.

"Hey guys," she said, nuzzling into him for a second. "I'm so glad you're all staying here tonight."

"I'm so glad too," Thomas added.

"What's for dinner tonight, Mom?" Micah asked.

"Tortilla soup," she said. "I thought I'd do something easy since I'll be in the kitchen all morning tomorrow. Why?"

"I might have told Brock and his brother they could stop by. I hope that's okay. He was helping me finish up a job this morning, and he said they were going to their parents' house tomorrow but didn't have plans for tonight. I told them they were welcome to come here, but he wasn't sure if they would or not."

"We'll have plenty if they decide to," she said.

Micah stood behind Carly, placing his hands lovingly around her shoulders before looking at me. "Would you be okay with that?" he asked.

I nodded. It was useless trying to hide the smile that crept over my face at the thought.

Micah and Carly both smiled back. "I figured you'd be okay with it," Micah said. "Brock said you have birthday plans with his brother."

"What birthday plans?" Dad asked, choosing that exact moment to tune into the conversation as he came into the kitchen.

"I'm not going to be a nun in a convent, Dad. I'm going to go out on a date at some point."

Thomas turned to me with an extremely confused expression like he didn't understand what
nun in a convent
meant at all, but he didn't ask, and none of us stopped to explain.

"You're calling it a date?" my dad asked.

"Not really, but even if it was, you should be okay with that. I'm not going to get myself in another situation like the one I was in with Robin. You have to just trust that."

"It's not you I mistrust, sweetheart. It's every guy in the universe. Nun life doesn't seem too bad."

"What's nun life?" Thomas asked.

"A nun is a woman who gives her life completely to the Lord's work," my mom explained.

"Emily gives her life to the Lord," Thomas said.

"Yeah, but nuns don't get married or have children."

"Oh," Thomas said.

"They're the ladies who wear that black and white robe thing," Micah said, gesturing with his hands to show Thomas that it covered their heads.

"Oh yeah," Thomas said.

It was at that instant that I felt my phone vibrate in the back pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out and stared down at it. It was a text from Shane asking if I would be okay with them stopping by tonight. I text him back telling him that we had just been discussing it and that we would have plenty of tortilla soup to go around. He said they would be by around six, which started an instant warm, fuzzy sensation in my body.

I was already in a good mood, but it got even better. All of the sudden, I wanted to love on Roscoe, stoke the fire, help mom and Thomas with chocolates, stir the soup, wrap presents, and anything else I could get involved in. I did my best to hide it, but I was so excited to see him that I felt like I could burst at the seams.

I went upstairs at 5:00pm to shower and change. I knew it was obvious to everyone what I was doing, but I didn't care. I washed and dried my hair and applied a little bit of makeup to mask my bruise. It wasn't as much as my mom had put on the past few days, but it helped. I did about as much primping as I could without making it seem like I was trying too much. I knew I would get a hard time from my dad and Micah as it was, so I tried to keep it to a minimum.

It was twenty till 6 when I went downstairs. Everyone except Mom and Thomas were sitting around the living room watching The Christmas Story. I walked through there and into the kitchen where I found Thomas sitting on a rug with Roscoe curled up on his lap. Mom had just finished stirring a pot and was in the process of setting her spoon down and taking off her apron.

"You look beautiful," she said.

I flashed my cheek at her. "I didn't do as good of a job covering as you do, but it's okay."

"It looks great," she said. Carly heard me talking to Mom, and came into the kitchen to join us. We sat on a couple of barstools watching my mom do unnecessary things around the kitchen simply because she couldn’t sit down. Dad and Micah were drawn by our chatter, and before too long, they abandoned the television to join us in the kitchen.

They sat with Carly and me at the kitchen island where we could see all the action while we talked. Mom continued to bounce around the kitchen, having us taste test the soup and talking about the next day's menu. Thomas stayed right where he was with his legs stretched out in front of him on the floor and Roscoe snuggled up in his lap.

Roscoe was the first to hear Shane and Brock arrive. He let out a quick bark, which startled Thomas so much, that we all started cracking up. Roscoe ran to the door once they knocked. My dad, of course, was right behind him. Thomas stood up and followed my dad. I was tempted to do the same, but I hesitated to rush out there.

I began to get short of breath before I even laid eyes on him. I could hear Thomas yell out their names, which was followed by several things said by male voices that I couldn't quite distinguish.

"Everybody's in the kitchen," I heard my dad say, finally.

Roscoe ran back into the kitchen, followed by Thomas, who held his hands out introducing Shane and Brock. Shane was the first one in behind Thomas and he did a little impromptu bow at Thomas's recognition, which made all of us laugh.

I had intended to stay on my barstool, but I stood up the instant I laid eyes on him. I wished in that moment that running into his arms would have been an option because that's what I felt like doing, but I settled for casually walking toward him like I was just going over there to say 'hi'. I was glad for all the chatter going on in the room, because I locked eyes with Shane as I made my way toward him and found it difficult to look away.

"Are you Emily's new boyfriend?" Thomas said.

My head whipped around to face my brother as soon as he said it.

"Thomas Gabriel, for heaven's sake, of course not," my mom said.

Thomas shrugged. "I think he should be," he said. "I'm okay with it, and I think she likes him. Remember what she was saying about—"

My dad cut him off. "That's enough, Thomas," he said in a stern voice.

"I think she's probably gonna marry him like Micah married Carly," he said. He paused and looked at us, trying to act like he didn't understand my parents warning, but I knew he knew exactly what he was doing, and it made me smile.

"Thank you for your opinion, Thomas," I said, "but I think they're just here to eat some soup."

"We have lots of soup," Thomas confirmed. "It's best if you put chips in it, and sour cream."

"That sounds delicious," Shane said.

I came to stand near them, reaching out to give them both a sideways hug and tell them I was glad they were there.

"Your bruise is looking better," Shane whispered where no one else could hear when he hugged me. I smiled at him as I pulled back. He let his hand linger on my back. I could tell he was reluctant to let go of me when we hugged, which made warmth rush through my body.

"I've got it covered up some, but I am feeling better."

We were interrupted by my mom saying that dinner was ready and we could go ahead and make bowls, so we created a line and served ourselves before sitting around the table. There was just enough room at the table for us all to sit around it, and we had a fun time telling stories and laughing as we ate. Brock wasn't quite as outgoing as Shane, but I could tell he was starting to come out of his shell around us and was having a good time.

We all sat around the living room after we ate. The Christmas Story was still playing on the television, but Thomas pulled a game of Jenga out of the closet, and we took turns playing it on the coffee table. I was sitting on the couch when Shane finished a game with Thomas and Carly. He had been sitting on the Ottoman before he played, but afterword, he sat on the floor right next to my legs. His back was touching my shin, and I could feel his body heat even through two layers of fabric.

He turned to stare up at me with a smile. "Are you okay with me sitting here?" he asked.

Yes, yes, yes, I'm okay with it. In fact, why don't you just go ahead and sit next to me?
I didn't say that, though. I just smiled and nodded. I was wearing socks, and he reached out and gave my toes a squeeze, sending shivers up my leg and all through my body.

Shane and Brock ended up hanging out for a few hours before they said they needed to get home. Thomas seemed to love having them around and brought out a few more games for us to play. I was disappointed when they said they needed to leave. My birthday was only four days away, but it might as well have been a century.

"I guess I'll walk you guys out," I said, feeling desperate to extend the evening as much as possible.

"I'll walk you out too," Thomas said.

"I think you should stay in here and help me with Roscoe while I clean this up," my mom said. Thomas looked at Roscoe who was just lying there, and then back at my mom with a curious expression.

"If you ever want Emily and Shane to get married, you need to give them a little alone time," Micah said, grinning.

"That's about enough out of you," my dad said, but I could see that there was a smile somewhere under his scowl. Thomas looked around at all of us as if trying to grasp the dynamics of the group. I didn't know what he would do next, but he crossed to Roscoe and sat next to him.

Shane and Brock thanked us all for a great meal and fun evening before heading for the door. I followed them, feeling only slightly awkward that my family was watching us walk out. Shane reached in his pocket for the keys to his truck, pulled them out, and tossed them to his brother the second we got outside.