Love Finds You in Frost Minnesota (22 page)

“That’s some story,” Vince remarked as he piled mashed potatoes into a serving dish. “It’s like a Hallmark Christmas Eve movie made for television.”

Merry moved the turkey, golden brown with crisp, succulent skin, to a platter and handed it to Jack. “Will you carve at the table?”

“Me? Wouldn’t you do a better job?”

“If it makes you uncomfortable . . .” Merry was disappointed. She’d wanted to see Jack at the head of her table carving the turkey for the people she’d gathered for the night. Maybe it was too much to hope for. They’d already witnessed a Hallmark special. To plan a Norman Rockwell table might be pushing it.

“I’ll do it if no one criticizes me if I do it wrong.” Jack sent Vince a warning glance.

After Merry had left the kitchen with the bird, Vince turned to him. “Where did the Grinch learn to carve a turkey?”

“I didn’t grow up with a pack of wolves,” Jack reminded him. “My father taught me. We still acknowledged Thanksgiving and Easter with a turkey even though we never had a festive Christmas.”

“You’ve changed,” Vince commented.

“Who has changed?” Merry poked her head through the door. “If you guys bring those casseroles to the table, we’re all set.”

“Jack has changed. I’ve never seen him smile so much in the month of December. I’m sure you have something to do with it, Merry.”

She studied the pair of handsome men for a moment. “I’ve been praying for Jack. Maybe that’s it.”

“Don’t stop now.” Vince slapped Jack on the back. “He’s got a long way to go.”

Everyone was laughing as they seated themselves at the table. An air of expectancy grew as they quieted.

“Jack, will you pray?” Merry asked.

He stared at her. “Me?”

“If you don’t want to . . .”

“No, it’s okay.” He drew a deep breath.

“Heavenly Father, there’s much to thank You for. First there is the gift of Your Son. There aren’t words enough to thank You for that. Thank You for this mouthwatering food, this place to gather, and for the miracle reunion we saw unfold. I personally thank You for my friendship with Vince, irritating as he can be sometimes, and for Merry, who has been a powerful force in so many lives, including mine.”

He lifted his eyes slightly, and Merry caught him looking at her.

“Thank You for giving me people who finally got me to see that Christmas is all about new birth, life, and joy. May all of us experience it tenfold over the coming year.”

When he’d said “amen,” Jack looked up again and was surprised to see tears on Merry’s cheeks and even more shocking, on
Vince’s
.

Fortunately neither had to explain because Greta, in her most polite yet impatient voice, inquired, “Is anyone ever going to pass me the turkey?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Merry barely touched her food, although the others seemed to inhale it. Instead, she filled herself with the sights and sounds of the festive table. This was what it was to have family, not blood family but family nonetheless, celebrating this wonderful evening together. The day she’d longed for as a child had finally come and filled the void that had left her incomplete for many years. What could be better than this?

Hildy was smiling. Ten years had fallen away and the light had returned to what Merry had come to think of as old, sad eyes. Stephanie and Wayne were giddy with happiness. They had found Hildy, made new friends, and put their feet on the path to a new life. Greta beamed as only a small child can. She wiggled and giggled, talked a blue streak, and her body practically shivered with happiness.

Vince, too, was part of her family now, Merry thought. She’d seen the warm, thoughtful side of his personality and his loyalty to Jack.

Jack . . .

Merry feasted her eyes on him. All the gravity and unease was gone from his demeanor. The tense, brooding man who’d entered her home only a couple brief weeks before was replaced by a man filled with laughter and goodwill. His cheerful mien made him look different as well. He was relaxed in both posture and dress. He’d traded suits for jeans and soft sweatshirts. He’d given up taming his dark hair and allowed the soft curl to reveal itself. It was longer, too—an especially good look for him.

And his smile! Merry had thought he was incredibly handsome when they’d first met, but now he was spectacular.

She blushed when she caught Jack staring back at her and hoped that he hadn’t somehow developed mind reading as a new skill.

“Aren’t you going to eat more than that, Merry?” Hildy asked in a motherly but disapproving tone. “You’ll fade away.”

“I’m saving myself for dessert. It’s going to be wonderful, wait and see.”

As she pushed away from the table, so did Jack.

“Everyone else relax. I’ll clear the table so Merry can prepare the next course.”

She put a hand on his arm gratefully. They made a good team in the kitchen. By the time the dishes were cleared and coffee poured, Merry was done whipping cream and serving slices of pie—pumpkin, mincemeat, apple crumble, cherry, lemon meringue, and pecan.

“There’s enough here for each of us to have our own pie!” Jack eyed the pie plates on the counter.

“Hildy brought four, and I whipped up the other two. I want this to be the most memorable Christmas you’ve ever had.” She paused before adding, “In a good way that is.”

“It’s already that.” His voice was low and husky. He moved toward her, and Merry knew he was going to kiss her and that she was going to welcome it.

Jack hesitated, however, at a tinkling sound coming from the dining room. The guests were tapping spoons against their glasses to signal they wanted dessert.

“We aren’t at a wedding party,” Merry muttered, “and the bride won’t be kissing the groom.” She felt a burn of embarrassment scorch its way across her cheeks. “I mean . . .”

“You take that tray and I’ll take this,” Jack suggested, saving her from more awkwardness.

Mercifully, if anyone noticed Merry’s red face they didn’t comment.

“Shall we open gifts after dessert?” Merry suggested. “If we don’t start soon, we’ll be late for the candlelight service at church.”

Hildy cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind, Merry, we’ll take ours home this evening. Rather than go to church this evening, I think we need some family time. Stephanie and Wayne have agreed to stay with me tonight so the four of us can go to church together in the morning.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “Although I’ve already received my gift in Greta and Stephanie.” She looked at the young man sitting next to her daughter-in-law. “And Wayne. I think we need a little time to get to know each other.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll pack up some turkey and stuffing for you so you don’t have to cook tomorrow.”

While Hildy and family put on their coats, Merry filled a basket with portions of everything she’d served tonight.

After kisses, hugs, and more tears, they left. Merry, Jack, and Vince stood in the doorway and watched them trudge across the snow to Hildy’s house.

“Extraordinary,” Vince finally said. “I can’t believe it went down like this—supposed strangers meeting on Christmas Eve—and turning out to be long-lost family members! Truth
is
crazier than fiction.”

They sat in front of the fire to open their gifts. Vince handed them each an envelope and looked a little sheepish. “I shopped online. Sorry it isn’t fancy but you both need it.”

Merry put her finger beneath the flap and tore it open, unable to imagine what it was Vince thought she needed. She opened the trifolded piece of paper inside. Her jaw dropped as she read it.

One airline ticket to the North Pole or destination of your choice.

It’s time you took a vacation.
Merry Christmas, Vince.

“You shouldn’t have! It’s too much. I didn’t get you anything like . . .”

“Accept it graciously, Merry. I have it to give.”

She saw the intensity on his face and nodded. “Vince, this is amazing and I thank you so much. I’ve never actually had a real vacation, unless you count spring breaks in college and I hated those.”

“Much better. Enjoy it. If you want to go to the North Pole and see Santa it’s okay with me, but I’m thinking of something more like Florida, Sanibel Island, or Naples, for example. Your choice.”

She hugged the paper to her chest. “This is going to be fun!”

Merry picked up a box and handed it to him. “Now it’s your turn. It’s not much and it’s really kind of silly, but at least it will remind you of this Christmas.”

“Whatever it is, it’s perfect,” Vince assured her. The tissue paper fell away and a startled look passed across his features. Carefully he lifted a quilt out of the box. Each square featured a different Christmas scene.

“I just pieced the top,” Merry hurried to explain. “I didn’t have time to back and quilt it, but I will. Then I’ll send it to you. On those days when even California feels damp and chilly, you can use it to take a nap on your couch and think of tonight.”

“When did you manage to do this?” Vince asked. His throat was full and his voice unsteady.

“At night, after you guys went to bed. It’s a simple nine-patch pattern. I was just afraid you might hear my sewing machine and wake up. I put the machine in my closet and used it in there. That’s as far away as I could get from your rooms.”

“You did this in a closet?” Jack asked. “Just so Vince would be surprised?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” She gave him a bright smile.

Vince seemed truly moved by her gesture. “I never expected anything like this. I’ll treasure it.”

He offhandedly tossed a similar envelope at Jack. “Here’s something for you too.”

Inside was a note indicating that Jack now had season tickets for the LA Lakers. He whistled appreciatively. “You expect me to take time off to attend all these games?”

“I do. You’ve got to ease up, buddy, or you’ll run out of steam far too young. I know you’ve never cared about that, but I do.” Vince’s gaze flickered toward Merry and back again. “Other people who love you do too.”

His smile wavered a little but Jack said, “You know, I might have been wrong about ignoring Christmas. I’m beginning to like this part, the gift-giving, I mean.”

“Good, because I have something for you too.” Merry went to the back of the tree against the wall and dragged a package toward Jack. His box was considerably bigger and heavier.

“What do we have here?” he asked as he untied the ribbon and ripped away the sparkling red-and-green wrapping paper.

“I have something to confess first.” Merry looked worried. “Your gift is something I started a long time ago, before I knew you, Jack, but it seemed like the right present to give you. I’d planned to make something special just for you, but—and I’m not sure why—I felt like this should be yours.”

He peeled back layers of tissue to expose another quilt. This one was flannel and much larger and far more detailed. It depicted scenes of lakes and rivers, bears and bison, deer and turkeys, canoes and kayaks. There was intricate appliqué on each square. The colors were so rich and inviting that one could snuggle into the quilt and get lost in it.

“It’s scenes of Minnesota,” Merry explained unnecessarily. “Minnesota as I see it, at least. And I hand quilted it.”

“You made every stitch by hand?” Jack ran his hand across the softness.

“Yes, I did.”

“I can’t take this. It’s too special. You worked on it so long.”

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing his statement. “This is Christmas, my favorite time of year. One of the things I love most is blessing people with gifts. You’ll make me sad if you don’t take it.”

Doubt played on Jack’s features.

“Please?”

“You mean it will hurt you if I don’t take this beautiful thing?”

“Yes. To the core.”

He sighed and pulled out the weighty comforter. As it bloomed out of the box it was even more beautiful. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say thank you,” Merry teased.

“Thank you, a hundred times, thank you.”

She sat back looking pleased.

“Merry,” Jack said, “I understand that this is something you’ve been working on for a very long time. May I ask what you’d initially planned for it?”

She didn’t answer for a long time, weighing the pros and cons of telling him the truth. Truth, as usual with Merry, won out.

“I made it for my trousseau, my hope chest, that old-fashioned thing women don’t do anymore. But I’m an old-fashioned girl at heart, and I decided to make something I thought my future husband would like—fishing, hunting, you know. When I didn’t marry, I began to use the other things I’d put in there like my dishtowels, sheet, and pillowcases. I was never quite sure what to do with the quilt until this week. I knew in my heart that I wanted to give it to you for Christmas.”

She looked at the expression on Vince’s face and laughed. “I didn’t give it to him in hopes of snaring him for myself, Vince. I did it because I couldn’t
not
give it to him. Jack needs it. He lost so much.”

She turned back to Jack. “Call it a healing quilt, if you will.”

She hadn’t known how Jack would receive her gift, but she’d been compelled to give it. Sometimes God put in her impulses she couldn’t ignore. This had been one of them. Thankfully Jack received it graciously.

Jack stared at Merry for a long while before nodding.

He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped gift. “This doesn’t look like much after something hand-made, beautiful, and so close to your heart.”

“Oh, come on!” Vince broke the solemn mood. “Give the girl her present. I want to see what it is.”

With a sigh, Jack handed over the small box. “Store-bought. I didn’t even do the wrapping, but the sentiment is there.”

“I’m sure it is.” Merry felt her fingers shaking as she carefully undid the paper. She always saved Christmas wrap to reuse in the store, and this was particularly beautiful.

She felt velvet beneath her fingertips as the small jeweler’s box was revealed. She held it to her ear and shook it, but it gave away none of its secrets.