Just a Little Faith (20 page)

****

Even though
Seb
knew
Pax's dad
spoke
the
truth
,
the time it would take
to get over losing his family
loomed unendingly
.
T
he only joy he found in life
happened when he was
with
Pax, Linc
,
and Rangy
,
or
while he was
exercising.
An intense f
ocus on getting back on the diamond ru
led almost every waking moment.
D
etermined to be in the best physical shape possible when the new season started
, he put himself through grueling daily workouts
. Baseball
saw
him through his divorce
,
and
i
t would see him through this agonizing part of life.

Besides his
devotion to working out
and time spent with Pax, h
is dealings with LLS were on standstill until the New Year
.
Since m
o
st of the TNT
training
groups
did
n't form until after the holidays
, Seb taped
advertising spots,
anxiously
awaiting
the time he could do
some surprise showings at the training events in the New Year.
That way he could combine his workouts with his charitable activities at the same time
and
,
of course, spend more time with Pax
.

Seb
wished he could
skip Christmas
altogether
,
but
he also wanted to find a way to show Paxson how much he appreciated her. He knew she worried about his reaction to spending time with her family
at Thanksgiving
.
He hadn't handled things
well when he dropped her off at
her apartment
. He
'd
made sure to apologize to her the next time he saw her
,
and she graciously told him not to worry about it
, b
ut he knew she was concerned.

He was thankful
Pax
never put any pressure on him to “evangelize”
him and
,
in turn
,
he never put
pressure on her to do more than she was comfortable with
physically
.
Their physical attraction still
sat
at an
all-
time high, but Sebastian respected her enough to not try anything. Except for the constant sadness of losing his girls, Seb
felt as
happy
as he could
with the way things were.

With Christmas
approaching
,
Seb
still couldn't think of the right gift to get Pax.
After spending a Saturday with
her
watching college football on TV
, an idea
sparked
.
Seb thought Tori would be the best person to talk to about his plan
,
h
oping
perhaps she could give him some ideas
for
something
Paxson desired
,
but would never ask for.

Trying to speak to Tori without Pax knowing
became a challenge
. Catching
the vivacious redhead
at the office
alone became
near
ly
impossible
with the constant interruptions by Pax and Michael.
Plus, he didn't want Pax to get suspicious
.
Seb
finally
opted
to make a lunch appointment with Tori when he knew Pax would be out of the office.

Sitting across the table from her
,
Seb
sensed
Tori's nervousness
.
She wrapped and unwrapped her napkin around her hand over and over.
“Tori
,
w
hy are you nervous? We're friends aren't we?”

“Oh yes! Yes. We're friends
,
but it still is a bit disconcerting for me to be out with someone who gets asked for his autograph every few minutes.”

She snickered when
another
young
fan
stopped at their table
with a napkin and a pen.
Seb
greeted the youngster and
signed his name
before directing his attention back to Tori.

“I guess it can be somewhat awkward at first.”

“Ya think?!”

Brushing off her comment, he rested both hands on the table. “
So, can you give me a hint on something Pax would like
for Christmas
? I have an idea, but I don't want to do something she wouldn't
enjoy
.”

“Well, you tell me your idea and I'll let you know.”

 

Knowing
Christmas would be difficult for Sebastian
,
Paxson
didn't even broach the subject of coming home with her for the holiday. She decided instead to invite him over a couple of days before Christmas where they could enjoy each other's company
,
the
n she'd
go home
for a few days. She
didn't worry about him as much since
he'd mentioned he planned to spend
Christmas
day with Rangy
,
who also didn't have any family
.

Desiring this night to be special, she took
great care with her outfit and the dinner she planned. Unless he and Rangy exchanged gifts, which she doubted, this would be the only Christmas Seb would get
until his parents returned from their trip
. The
rose red
dress she'd cho
sen
,
although
simple
,
looked
classy. She'd even put on her heels, knowing they gave her the appearance of being taller and thinner
, a
nd s
he'd worn her ha
i
r down
.
Seb
mentioned a few times in the past how much he preferred it that way
,
and tonight, she wanted to please him.

She didn't want to waste the time and effort on a turkey for the two of them, instead preparing chicken and dressing with all the sides she thought he might enjoy. She'd decorated her apartment with a few minimal items since she knew she would be in Alabama for the actual holiday
.
Finding
some low-key holiday themed music on the radio
,
she
lit some candles for the table.

Not
long
after lighting
the candles, she heard his soft knock.
Pausing at the door, she prayed.
Dear Lord, thank you for this time to be with Seb. Help me do and say the right things tonight. I don't know why, but
things seem different
tonight. I'm afraid
,
and I don't know why.

Opening the door, she laughed.
Sitting cockeyed on Seb's head,
a red Santa hat
covered with a light dusting of snow complemented
his outfit for the evening.
She w
elcom
ed
him with a hug
. “Oh! You're cold. When did it start snowing?”

“Just in the last few minutes. I don't think it will amount to much
,
but it's sure pretty to look at.” She helped him take off his coat. Taking her hands, he
stepped back, looking her over from head to toe
,
then
pulled her close whispering
, “y
ou look beautiful
,
” before he gently kissed her.

B
lush
ing
,
she
thanked him softly
and broke
loose of his arms to hang up his coat.

He walked through the kitchen
.
“Something certainly smells good. I hope you didn't go to a lot of trouble.”

“It wasn't trouble. I enjoyed preparing. I only hope it will be as good as it smells.”

“I don't doubt it. You're a fabulous cook.
” Snagging her waist with his hand, he pulled her in close, tapping her nose with his finger.
“
Why do you think I spend all that time on the treadmill?”

T
ogether
, they
brought the food out to the table in the dining room
. The setting seemed perfect
in front of the big window look
ing
over the woods behind her apartment.
After
the meal which
,
Pax admit
ted to herself
,
tasted pretty
good
, they were content to sit beside each other at the table in silence
.
They
watched
as several deer
meandered
out of the woods into the
snow-filled
clearing behind her apartment. Occasionally, Seb
snuck
a kiss
on her cheek or behind her ear
, leaving Pax feeling breathless.

Realizing time was getting
away
,
Paxson
got up to clear the table,
nerves
rising. She
needed to give him his gift
,
and suddenly she didn't know how he would react to it
.
Seb seemed to notice her
uneasiness
. “Pax, what's wrong? Dinner was fabulous.
You seem unusually skittish
.”

She smiled at him. “I guess I just want tonight to be perfect
,
so
I'm
fretting over everything.”

“Well before you get to fretting too much, how about I give you your Christmas present. Would you like that?”

When she nodded
her head
,
he pulled her into the den
,
and
patted the seat beside him on the couch.
Next
,
he took
two thin envelopes
out of
the
front pocket
of his shirt
. “Now, I know it doesn't look like much, but I hope you will appreciate them nonetheless. I ha
ve
it on good authority you
will
enjoy these.”

Curious, Pax took the envelopes from his hand. Opening the first one, her mouth
opened
in shock. “Bash! These are tickets to the
BCS
National Championship game!
I've
always wanted to go! And
,
of course
,
this season more than ever.”

Sebastian grinned. “Well, I knew you
'
d mentioned you
'
d never been to a bowl game before
,
and with your team playing for the Championship, I thought you might like to go.”

“Oh Bash. I know it seems silly
,
but this is the best gift I have ever received!”
She lunged to put her arms around him
, pressing several kisses one after another to his cheek
. “Thank you. Thank you!”

“Well, that's not all… open the next one.”

“Oh yes! In my excitement
,
I forgot about the other one.” Paxson
slid her finger under the flap of the
envelop
e and peeked in. Puzzled, she slid a
pack of tickets held together by a rubber band
out of the pocket
. Once again
,
she sat back in surprise. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yes...if
you're
thinking what I hope you are. I guess it's selfish in a way, but I thought perhaps you might like season tickets to the Cardinal games next year. I would like knowing you were in the crowd.”

“Bash. I love them. Thank you
,
so much. Being at the ballpark for all the games, or as many as I can attend is a dream come true. Thank you.”
She leaned over and lightly pressed her lips to his in gratitude.

Seb
held her close, deepening the kiss. Eventually he released her
,
breathless. Smiling he
looked around the room
. “Now, would you perhaps have something for me?”

His question brought back the cloud of doubt.
Leaving him on the couch, she went
in
to her bedroom and returned with a large
,
flat
,
rectangular package. Silently
, she stood in front of him
present
ing
it
with outstretched hands
.

He gave her a
quizzical
look
and
t
ore
the paper
to
reveal a large painting in a frame. He touched his fingertips to the raised edges of the painting. “Pax
.
I don't know what to say.”

She swallowed hard and whispered. “I hope you like it. I saw the small photo at your condo in San Diego
,
and hoped you wouldn't miss it if I borrowed it. I have a friend who can take photos and do oil-based reproductions. I thought you might like it for your home here.”

“It's the most beautiful and thoughtful present I have ever received.”

He trace
d
the outline of his daughters' faces as they appeared in the portrait. “I ha
d forgotten about this picture. We were at
the beach just this past summer when I happened to be home for one of our West Coast visits.
I had half a day before I needed
to be at the stadium
,
so I picked up the girls from Melissa's and we spent a few hours at the beach. I took the picture myself with the camera I found in the car.
Everything about the day was
perfect.”

Pax walked
around to the end of the couch where Seb
sat
admiring the
portrait
,
bent over and put her arms around his neck squeez
ing
him
close
. “I hope every time you see it, it will bring you happy memories, Bash.”

He
nodded;
continuing to
touch
the portrait
, an occasional tear slipping down his face.