Love Finds You at Home for Christmas (12 page)

“We're blessed beyond measure to be gathered around this table today,” Uncle Fred said from his spot at the head of the table. “We've all suffered losses over the past few years.”

Cliff felt a pang of remorse at the thought of his parents gathered around their table without either of their sons present.

“Even so, we have much to be thankful for,” Uncle Fred continued. Then he bowed his head and offered thanks to God for the food and for the blessing of friends and family.

Cliff inhaled the sweet aroma of the food. Even though times were tough, Aunt Ida had managed to put together quite a spread. “This dressing looks delicious.” He heaped a serving on his plate.

“The only available turkey was so small,” Aunt Ida said. “So there's chicken and rabbit for those of you who'd rather have that.”

“It all looks wonderful,” Troy said, and then he winked at his wife. “I can see where Hazel gets her cooking skills.”

Hazel beamed. “Thanks. And just wait till y'all try the dessert. Ruby outdid herself this year.”

Cliff leaned close to Ruby. “What did you make?” he asked.

She giggled. “I made a batch of molasses cookies. Mama sent me some more sorghum and pecans last week.” She plucked a deviled egg from the platter and passed it to him. “And I also made a pumpkin pie.”

Cliff's mouth watered. He thought he'd detected the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg earlier. “I can't wait.”

She smiled and motioned toward his plate heaping with turkey and dressing. “I just hope you have room left over after you eat that. I'd hate for you to miss out.”

“Don't you worry.” Cliff patted his stomach. “I'll always have room for one of your desserts.” He took a bite of dressing. It tasted just like his mom used to make. “This is very good.”

“It's your mother's recipe,” Aunt Ida explained. “She sent it last week. Said it was your very favorite.”

Cliff took a sip of sweet tea and tried to wash down his guilt. The last time he'd had his mom's dressing, it had been the Thanksgiving before he and Charlie left for the war. They'd joked and laughed their way through the meal, then had gone outside and tossed the football around. He missed Charlie every day, but more and more lately, he'd been missing his parents and wondering how a visit to River Bend might go.

He quickly pushed the thought aside and turned his attention to Ruby. “I'm glad you're here,” he said softly. With the conversations going on around them, no one else heard.

She gave him a tiny smile. “So am I.”

* * * * *

“So what exactly do you think I should do?” Cliff asked Hazel after he'd taken Ruby back to the dorm later that night. “I can't force her to admit she has feelings for me.” He grinned. “Even though I'm pretty sure she does.”

Hazel nodded. “Me too. She's a tough one. Stubborn as the day is long. But honestly, do you want to know what I think?”

“You've known her longer than I have. So yes, please share.”

“I think she's scared of her feelings. And the sooner you can get her to own up to that, the sooner she'll leave this silly notion of never marrying behind.”

Cliff rubbed his jaw. “Scared? But why?”

“Losing Joseph really hurt her. It taught her that there are no guarantees in this life. And I think after his death, there was a fair amount of guilt—like she'd be doing something wrong if she moved on. Plus she saw how much having a broken heart hurt.” Hazel filled him in on her earlier conversation with Ruby. “So I think as long as she remains on her own, she feels like she's in control. Let's just say that for someone who appears to be so adventurous, she's terrified of taking a risk.” Everything Hazel said made sense. The problem was, Cliff had no idea how to fix it. “So what should I do?” He'd tried to come up with a plan but hadn't had much luck so far. Things with Ruby had been the same as always.

“I think you need to make a grand gesture of some sort. Make sure she knows exactly how you feel.” Hazel shrugged. “Just any old declaration isn't going to be enough for Ruby. She'd never admit to it, but she's a closet romantic. She reads
Gone with the Wind
every year and cries over the tragic ending. I asked her why she keeps reading a book that she knows is going to make her cry, and she just smiled and said that every time she hopes Scarlett and Rhett will realize how much they love each other.” She shook her head. “So think of something that will really sweep her off her feet.”

Cliff nodded. He could definitely do that. “I think I know just what to do.” Ruby had mentioned more than once how much she loved Christmas. And he'd do everything in his power to make sure this was the best Christmas ever.

Chapter Thirteen

.................................

Ruby smiled as she read Mama's latest letter from home. Wade had scrawled a note at the bottom claiming to have emptied her room of books and clothes so Cousin Owen would have a place to stay. She refolded the letter and slipped it inside her Bible.

She knew better than that. Mama had already told her that Owen was staying in Jack's room. Wade simply couldn't resist picking on her, even across the miles.

The door burst open and Lola rushed inside. “You're never going to believe it.” She gasped for a breath. “I had to run up here right away and tell you the news.”

Ruby grinned at her friend's excitement. “What happened?”

“Harold asked me to be his wife!” She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “Can you believe it?” She sank onto her bed. “I'm the luckiest girl in the world.”

Ruby had been wondering if Cliff's guess was correct. It seemed it was. “Oh, Lola! I'm so happy for you. Tell me all the details.”

“That weekend we went to Fayetteville for the football game was the weekend Harold asked my daddy for his permission. That stinker waited a month to ask
me,
though.” She giggled. “We went to his grandparents' house for dinner with his entire family tonight. I guess he wanted to wait until everyone had met me before he popped the question.” She beamed. “After we ate dinner, we went for a drive and he stopped the car at a park. We went for a walk and Harold led me over to a bench to sit down for a minute. The next thing I knew, he was on one knee, asking me to do him the honor of being his wife.”

“That's so sweet.” Ruby grinned at Lola's obvious happiness. “Cliff always says y'all are a perfect match.”

Seeing Lola's excitement about a future with Harold gave Ruby an uneasy feeling. Even though she knew the future was uncertain, she couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to plan a life with someone. She quickly pushed the thought away. No way was she jealous of Lola.

“Oh. Cliff.” Lola sat upright. “I almost forgot.” She smiled. “Sorry, I guess I'm just too excited. Cliff is downstairs. I'm supposed to tell you that he wants to see you.”

“Downstairs? We didn't have plans.”

“Guess you do now,” Lola said.

Ruby hurried to make herself presentable. She'd planned to stay in tonight and read and listen to music. But she'd rather spend time with Cliff. “See you later.” She opened the door and glanced back at Lola. Her friend's dreamy expression made her smile. “And when I get back, I want to hear all about your plans for the wedding.” Ruby grinned. “I know you probably have some ideas.”

Lola giggled. “I sure do.”

Ruby hurried down the stairs, anxious to see what Cliff wanted. It wasn't like him to just show up out of the blue.

Cliff sat in the lobby talking to a couple of girls who lived down the hall from Ruby. The petite blond girl named Irene threw back her head and laughed at something Cliff said.

Ruby had never struggled with jealousy before. But seeing those girls fawning over Cliff brought out a fierce desire to make sure they knew she was the one going out with him. She stopped herself before she sauntered over and took his arm. Lucille's last letter had warned her not to lead him on if she didn't intend for the relationship to go anywhere.

Still. The sight of him with other girls was enough to make her think. This is how it would be once she was back at school. He'd be here, surrounded by pretty, flirtatious girls clamoring for dates and dance partners. The memory of her was likely to fade fast when faced with that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Irene laughing as if Cliff was the funniest man alive.

Leading on or not, enough was enough. Ruby marched over to where Cliff sat like he was holding court. “Lola said you were here to see me?” she asked sweetly. She reached out and touched his arm. “So here I am.”

“We'd better run,” Irene said. “Nice to see you again, Cliff.” She and the redhead with her turned and walked away.

“Nice girls.” Ruby watched Cliff's expression to see if she could tell how well he knew them. “Where'd you meet?”

“Irene and Dorothy are powder carriers in the detonator three building. I had to do some work over there last week and met them then.” He raised his eyebrows. “Why? Jealous?”

“No,” she mumbled. “Just wondering.”

Cliff chuckled. “Sure you were.”

“Did I forget that we were supposed to do something tonight?”

He shook his head. “No. But I have a little surprise for you and I couldn't wait to give it to you.”

“You do? Oh, I love surprises.” She clapped her hands. “What is it? Where is it?”

Cliff raised his brows. “Patience, my dear.” He took her hand. “Now let's go.”

She let him lead her out to the car. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere. The surprise is in my car.” He turned to her. “Wait here.” He grinned. “And close your eyes.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Close my eyes? What will people think if they walk past me and I'm standing out here on the sidewalk with my eyes closed?”

He laughed. “Do you want your surprise or not?”

She crossed her arms. “Fine.” Ruby closed her eyes. “There. Happy?” she asked. She felt totally silly but couldn't keep from smiling.

“Very happy,” he said from somewhere in the distance.

* * * * *

Cliff walked toward her carrying the surprise. He'd covered it with a blanket in case she tried to peek while he got it out of the car.

Ever since Hazel had suggested a grand gesture, he'd been considering how he could show Ruby how he felt. All these months, he'd thought they might be headed to forever until that night at the diner when she'd told him she had no plans to settle down.

Ever.

With anyone.

Now Cliff might not be an expert on the fairer sex, but he was pretty sure a girl who was falling for a guy didn't go and tell him that she never wanted to have a serious relationship. Hopefully Hazel was right and that wasn't the truth, and Ruby was just fearful of having her heart broken. So he wanted to do all he could to help her get over her fears.

Ruby stood by herself on the sidewalk with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. She looked so cute he had to fight the urge to walk right up and kiss her. But the last time he'd kissed her, it had been so intoxicating that he'd promised himself he wouldn't do it again until they'd talked about their feelings. He was too drawn to her, too attracted to her to keep up the friendly relationship she seemed to be comfortable with. After that kiss, his fingers itched to touch her and his lips ached to cover hers. And Cliff wanted to make sure Ruby knew that his interest in her was far more than just physical.

“Okay,” he said. “Open your eyes.”

Her green eyes popped open, and she grinned. “What's under the blanket?”

“Why don't you take it off and see?”

She whipped the blanket off and squealed. “You got me my very own Christmas tree?” The little cedar tree would be perfect for her dorm room.

“I found it out in the woods and knew it was perfect.” He lifted it up. “I made a little stand so it can go on your dresser.”

She beamed. “I love it! It's perfect.”

Cliff hoped this would be the first step in making Ruby his girl, hopefully for good. Hazel had said to show Ruby how he felt—and surely this would do the trick. “I'm glad you like it.”

“I'll have to find some tinsel and some lights to put on it.”

Cliff held up a box. “Actually, I have one more surprise.”

She snatched the box from his hands and opened it up. “Lights!” she exclaimed. She looked at him, her green eyes filled with wonder. “But these aren't normal lights.” She pulled them gently from the box. “How did you do this? I've never seen Christmas lights that had red, white, and blue bulbs like this.”

Cliff didn't embarrass easily, but his gesture was so over-the-top, he felt that “I love you, Ruby” might as well be written on his forehead for all to see. “I had to put each light on the strand. I found some old bulbs that were colored and realized that you needed special lights for your special tree.” He grinned. “So that's what you've got.”

Ruby walked over and grabbed him with a force that surprised him. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she murmured.

Cliff pulled her tightly against him, and she rested her head against his chest. He kissed her lightly on the forehead before he let her go. “I'm glad you like your surprise.”

“I do. I love it.” She smiled. “It's the best surprise anyone has ever given me.”

Cliff felt certain that the best surprise he'd ever been given was that he'd had to give a girl a ride from Searcy to Jacksonville, and she'd turned out to be Ruby.

But the more he learned, the more he wondered if that wasn't a surprise at all, but a divine plan finally coming together.

Chapter Fourteen

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December 10, 1943