A Little Bit of Holiday Magic (14 page)

Damon’s.

Her heart lurched. Her hand trembled.

Bill grabbed hold of her. “Grace.”

“You’re so pale, dear,” Susannah said.

Neil held out the throw from the couch. “Would you like a blanket?”

She looked at her son. “Liam...”

He smiled. “Read it, Mommy.”

Her fingers shook as she unsealed the envelope. She removed a familiar looking sheet of paper. She’d sent Damon the stationery in her last care package. She unfolded the letter and read the date aloud.

Her world exploded. Or maybe it was her heart. All she knew was this, whatever this was, had been written right before Damon had been killed.

Her vision blurred. She lowered the letter. “I—I can’t.”

“I will.” Holding her with one arm, Bill took the paper and read:

“Dear Grace,

“Thanks for the care package. Once again you prove to be the best army wife ever. You always know what to send me. The other night you sounded sad. I know it’s hard to be apart. You tell me to stay safe, and I’m trying. I want to come back to you and our son more than anything in the world.

“But what I’m doing over here, it’s for you, babe. I know you think I love my job. I do, but not as much as I love you. Every day I spend away from you and Liam is a day I’ve spent protecting you. Keeping you safe. Making sure no one hurts the two people I love most. You’re the reason I’m here. You and Liam.

“So always remember...it’ll be okay, babe. No matter what’s going on, I’m here for you. Whether I’m at home or a world away. I love you and I always will.

“Your angel downrange,

“Damon”

Liam sat with Peanut on his lap.

Bill’s eyes glistened, as did his parents’. He handed Grace the letter.

She silently read Damon’s handwriting. His words.

“I was so wrong. All this time I thought he’d put everything else ahead of us.” But Damon hadn’t. For so long she’d believed his being a Ranger was the most important thing in his life, not her. She looked at Bill. “But you were right about him. You didn’t even know him, but you knew.”

“Damon did what he did out of love. That’s how I knew.” Bill cupped her face with his hand. “Because I feel the same way about you and Liam. I’m not Damon. But I love you guys. I will do anything I can to keep you safe.”

It’s okay now, babe.

She could almost hear Damon’s voice in her head and in her heart. The heaviness inside her lifted, replaced with a peace she hadn’t thought possible.

Yes, it was okay now.

Grace wasn’t afraid to love a hero. She’d been terrified of losing another and having to face that deep, dark pain again.

But now she knew.

Loving was worth the risk, the hurt, the heartache. She would rather have had five days with Damon and lost him than to never have been with him. She could acknowledge her fear and forge ahead. Bill might not come home from a shift or a mission, but she couldn’t let that stop her from being with and loving an incredible man. “I love you.”

“I love
you
.” Bill lowered his head and kissed her, a kiss full of tenderness, warmth and love. Slowly, he pulled away, then sat next to Liam again. “So here’s the deal, little dude. I want to ask your mom to marry me. We can’t get married right away, since we just met and I don’t have a ring. But that means you’ll have to stay in Hood Hamlet. Since you’re the man of the house, I wanted to ask your permission. Is it okay, Liam?”

“It’s fine, Daddy.”

The two hugged.

Grace covered her mouth with her hands.

Bill’s parents’ embraced.

Liam handed Bill a present wrapped in scraps. “This is yours.”

“Thanks, little dude.” He peeled away the pieces of paper. “It’s a ring box.”

Grace gasped. “Where did you get the presents, Liam?”

“Santa,” he said without any hesitation.

Santa. Great.

Bill opened the box. “Whoa.”

A beautiful diamond flashed and sparkled, as did the smaller diamonds inlaid along the gold band.

“I have a feeling it’ll fit you, Grace,” Susannah said.

Grace had the same feeling.

Bill handed her the box. “Nice ring.”

“Gorgeous.” Grace turned the box over and recognized the name imprinted in gold. She couldn’t breathe. “It’s from a jewelry store in Columbus. Bill...”

He nodded. “So, Liam, what did want Santa to bring you this year?”

“A daddy.” Liam smiled proudly. “You.”

Grace’s heart melted. Now she knew why Liam wouldn’t tell anybody what he wanted for Christmas.

“That’s awesome. You got what you wanted,” Bill said. “But where did the letter and ring come from?”

Liam bounced Peanut. “I told you. Santa.”

Grace joined them on the floor. “Santa gave them to you?”

“He helped me find them,” Liam said.

“When?” she asked.

“Last night. I get up. You sleep.”

Bill had told her about his friends coming over to make Christmas Eve more real for Liam. “I did hear something on the roof,” she said.

“Santa come down the chimney,” Liam said. “Angel says to go to truck. We find these.”

Grace was afraid to ask. “Angel?”

Liam nodded. “Santa needed help. Angel help. I help, too.”

She couldn’t think straight. Letters and a diamond ring didn’t magically appear. “Can you show us where you found them?”

In the garage, Liam pointed to a latched cubby in the backseat of the truck. “Ring was in here.”

Oh, Damon
. Grace took deep breaths so she wouldn’t lose it. He would have returned from Afghanistan in time for their anniversary. Was the ring supposed to be her present? “Damon must have hidden the ring so he could give it to me when he returned home.”

“What about the letter?” Bill asked.

Liam pulled a small rectangular box from under the backseat. “The letter was in here.”

“I’ve never seen that before.” She opened the lid. Letters and postcards she’d sent Damon during his last deployment were stuffed inside. A few blank envelopes and folded pieces of paper were on top—the same stationery he’d used to write her letter. “This must have fallen out of his things that were returned to me.”

“Peanut hungry,” Liam announced.

Susannah took his hand. “Nana will get you something to eat. And Papa will help.”

The three returned to the house.

Grace waited for the door to close. “I keep trying to figure out how this could have happened.”

“Maybe Liam found the items on his own,” Bill suggested. “He’s spent enough time in the backseat.”

“That seems like the most logical explanation. When did the truck arrive?”

“Late last night. Hughes and Porter helped Thad before they went onto the roof.”

“I heard them.” Grace smiled, thinking about his friends pretending to be Santa. “The jingle bells were a nice touch. It sounded like Santa was coming down the chimney.”

Bill’s forehead wrinkled. “They didn’t have jingle bells or do anything with the chimney.”

“But—”

“If it wasn’t them...”

Then it was someone else. Santa. And an angel.

She looked at the box of letters in her hand and the ring box in Bill’s. “No way.”

“What other explanation is there except for Christmas magic?”

The emotion in his voice brought tears to Grace’s eyes. “You really think Santa and an angel and Christmas magic played a part in this? Not Liam?”

“Why not?” Bill tucked Grace’s hair behind her ears. “This is Hood Hamlet. Anything can happen in December.”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”

“Sometimes you
don’t
know. You can’t always be certain. You have to take a leap of faith and just believe.” He caressed her face. “Can you believe?”

“I want to.”

“That’s good enough for me.” He handed her a jacket with the word
Rescue
printed on the sleeve. “Put this on.”

“Why?”

He pressed the garage door button. “I don’t want you to be cold.”

Taking her hand, he led her out of the garage to the Santa statue in the front yard. “This seems like the perfect spot.”

Snow fell from the sky, landing on their hair and shoulders. Grace felt as if she were standing inside a snow globe. “For what?”

“We haven’t known each other long, but I have Liam’s permission. And I want yours.” Bill dropped down on one knee. “I love you, Grace Wilcox. Will you marry me?”

Grace wasn’t sure what had happened here in the early hours of Christmas morning. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. But she couldn’t mistake the joy and love overflowing from her heart. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Bill stood up and brushed his lips over hers. “Forever, Gracie.”

Forget being inside a picture-perfect snow globe. Real life—real love—was so much better. She stared up at her hero, at her future. “Forever.”

* * * * *