Authors: Ruth Logan Herne
“Here they are,” Olivia announced, as if they'd been waiting all night just to see the two of them. “I told you they'd be along soon.”
“I hope you took this lovely girl for a stroll,” Will said with a wink at his youngest grandson.
“Yes, sir. Just like you taught me.”
While they chatted back and forth, the fondness that rippled between Jason and the grandparents who'd taken him into their hearts was touching to see. Raised with so much love around him, it took very little effort to picture him with a family of his own someday. Enjoying the holidays, honoring the faith that was such an important part of who he was.
The woman he chose to share that life with him would be blessed beyond measure. Surrounded by the warmth of the Barrett family's traditional Christmas, Amy only wished there was some way that woman could be her.
* * *
“I look like death warmed over,” Amy complained as she scowled into the hallway mirror in her mother's chic Manhattan apartment. “When I go to the hospital for my physical tomorrow, they're going to think I'm sick or something.”
Mom, who was whipping up some dinner for them, stepped out of her galley kitchen for a look. When she frowned, Amy knew her concerns were on the mark. “I hate to say this, sweetie, but you look like you haven't slept since we left Barrett's Mill.”
She hadn't, at least not very well. She spent most of her nights tossing and turning, her mind going over and over all the things that could go wrong with her surgery. As if that wasn't enough, when she tried to conjure up something more pleasant so she could rest, the space behind her eyes filled with Jason's face.
Jason grinning at her, laughing with her at something one of the kids had done, gazing down at her with that adoring look she'd give anything to see one more time. She'd expected that longing to gradually fade, but instead it was getting stronger. She missed his strong presence and the comforting knack he had for showing up just when she needed him.
Quite honestly, she was having second thoughts about her decision to reclaim some of her past. Because that part of her life had nothing to do with him, as the days dragged by she was beginning to think that might not be what she wanted anymore.
Wiping her hands on a towel, Mom settled on one of the stools at the stylish breakfast bar that separated her kitchen from the small living area overlooking the city. Amy had always loved that view, but over the past few months she'd grown accustomed to trees and sprawling, old-fashioned houses, with plenty of open space to roam around in.
“Come talk to me,” her mother nudged, patting the other stool. “Tell me what's wrong.”
“Everything.” Suddenly, she felt as if she was ten again, trudging home from a rough day at school or rehearsal. Climbing onto the stool, she fought the impulse to drop her head onto the counter and weep. “Mostly, I'm confused.”
“About?”
“Everything,” Amy repeated ruefully. Realizing she wasn't being very helpful, she searched for words to explain how she was feeling. “I'm not sure what I want anymore.”
“Because of Jason?” When Amy nodded, Mom gave her a wise smile. “He's a wonderful young man. I wasn't in town that long, but I could see how much he cares for you. Do you feel the same way about him?”
Amy nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “At first, he was completely against me trying this procedure because it's so risky. But after a while, he realized how important it was to me and said he just wanted me to be happy.”
“What a generous thing to do. It's not everyone who can put their own feelings aside and do what's best for someone else.”
“I know,” Amy responded, more miserable than ever. “What do you think I should do?”
Standing, Mom went over the coatrack and grabbed their jackets. “I think we should take a walk. Let's get some lattes and go to Rockefeller Center.”
“I don't thinkâ”
“Don't argue with your mother,” she scolded with a wink. “Just put your coat on and let's go.”
By the time they'd stopped for coffees and made their way to the holiday hub of New York, the knots in Amy's thoughts had begun to loosen up a bit. They strolled along, admiring the decorations and watching the skaters on the ice rink below. They chatted about the after-Christmas sales and whether the forecast for a dusting of snow would prove accurate or not. Basically, they discussed any topic that had absolutely nothing to do with Amy's dilemma, and she welcomed the distraction.
When they reached the walkway near the famous tree, they paused for a few moments. This time last year, Amy had been deep into her rehab and couldn't make the trek here, so it had been a while since she'd last seen it. The tree itself was enormous, strung with thousands of lights and topped with a custom-made star spun from the finest crystal in the world.
But to her surprise, it had lost some of the appeal it once held for her. Instead, she was recalling a more modest version, tucked into a square in a Blue Ridge town so small, most outsiders had no idea it even existed. Her memory flashed to Christmas Eve with Jason, and she fingered one of the earrings he'd given her. Thinking back over their time together, she found herself wishing she could rewind to that heartwarming evening and make it last just a little longer. And that was when she knew.
She was in love with Jason Barrett.
Despite the fact that they had almost nothing in common, somehow they'd forged a bond that still connected them across hundreds of miles. She longed to hear his mellow drawl, see the twinkle in his eyes when he looked at her. Mostly, she wanted to be circled in his arms, the place where she felt treasured and safe.
“I'm going back,” she blurted, hesitantly eyeing her mother to gauge her reaction. When she got a knowing smile, she let out a relieved breath. “You knew that, didn't you?”
“I was hoping you'd come to that. What changed your mind?”
“My heart,” she answered simply. “I love Jason, and I want to be with him.”
“Life doesn't always go the way we want it to. What will you do if things don't work out between you two?”
“They will. I'll make sure of it.”
“That's my girl.” Laughing, Mom hugged her around her shoulders. “Let's go make some reservations.”
Amy stared at her in disbelief. “Does that mean you're coming with me?”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world.”
* * *
“Jason,” Chelsea said from the open doorway that led to the front of the mill house. “It's New Year's Eve. What are you doing here?”
Keeping his eyes on the gears he was oiling, he asked, “What are
you
doing here? Shouldn't you and Paul be doing the dressing-up thing for Mom's shindig tonight?”
“Olivia sent me to find you.” Coming into the production area, she sat down on a nearby stool and waited for him to look up at her. “She's worried about you, and frankly, so am I. You haven't been yourself since Amy left.”
The sound of her name set off a twisting sensation in his chest, and he winced. “I thought I'd skip this one. I'm not really in a celebrating mood.”
“I sympathize with you, but this party is important to the family. You know that.”
That knot tightened even more, and he swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. He'd never known his birth parents, and his adoptive grandfather was dying. Add to that the sense of loss he felt over Amy, and it was almost more than he could bear. Even his natural optimism wasn't enough to overcome the clouds hanging over him these days.
Looking over at Chelsea, seeing the compassion in her eyes, he relented with a sigh. “Okay, I'll be there.”
She gave him an encouraging smile, then stood and folded her hands, waiting. When he realized what she was up to, he had to chuckle. “You're gonna follow me into town, aren't you?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Does that work with my big brother when you want him to do something?” Jason asked as he flipped off lights on their way out the front door.
She gave him a proud, feminine smile. “Yes, it does. But don't tell him I said so. He likes thinking all those things are his idea.”
They both laughed, and Jason was in a slightly better frame of mind by the time they reached his grandparents' house. They went in through the kitchen, and after greeting his mom, he took the back stairs three at a time to go up to his room and change into something more presentable for company.
Dressed and ready for the evening ahead, he took the front stairs and pulled up short halfway down.
“Amy?”
Like a vision straight out of his dreams, she balanced a dainty hand on the old newel post and bathed him in the most incredible smile he'd ever seen. She didn't say anything, but the emotions shining in her eyes were enough to make him nearly trip over his own feet as he hurried down the rest of the steps.
Although he knew people were watching them, he took her in his arms for a long, grateful hug. Holding her away, he looked her over to make sure he was really awake. “What are you doing here?”
“It's New Year's Eve,” she replied, as if that should've been obvious to him. She placed a hand on his cheek, and this smile had a melancholy quality to it. “I missed you.”
No one outside his family had ever gone to so much trouble to do something for him, and it touched him in a way he'd never expected. It was far from midnight, but he didn't care. Reeling her back in, he gave her a long-overdue kiss. Resting his forehead on hers, he murmured, “I missed you, too.”
“Why didn't you call and tell me?”
“I didn't want you to think I was going back on my word, trying to convince you to live here and run the studio.”
Tilting her head with a curious expression, she asked, “And now?”
“I love you,” he answered instinctively, not stopping to consider how crazy it would sound to her. “I know it hasn't been that long, and you probably want to get to know me betterâ”
She interrupted him with a finger over his lips. “You, Jason Barrett, are the sweetest, kindest man I've ever met. I think I fell in love with you that first day, when you stepped in to rescue my show and fix all the things that were wrong in my apartment. It just took me a while to realize it.”
Jason was so stunned by her revelation, he hardly dared to believe it. “You mean, all those arguments we had were for nothing?”
“They were fun,” she corrected him with a playful grin. “Most folks back down when I get stubborn, but you roll up your sleeves and keep on fighting. I like that about you.”
“Go figure.”
It sounded to him as if she'd made some kind of decision, that this was more than a quick visit for a kiss at midnight. Trying to curb his excitement, he asked, “When do you head back for your surgery?”
“I gave it a lot of thought while I was gone,” she confided. “But dancing isn't the right thing for me anymore. Being here is what I want.”
Something more was sparkling in her eyes, and he took a shot. “With me?”
“With you.”
As they stood there smiling at each other, a flash went off, and he saw Amy's mom checking the screen on her camera phone. Beaming, she gave them a quick wave and sauntered into the kitchen. Judging by his mother's delighted reaction, she liked the result, too.
“You'll have to excuse her,” Amy said with a sigh. “Her picture's next to the definition of
hopeless romantic
in the dictionary.”
They both laughed, and it occurred to him that he was the only one there who was surprised to see her. Now Gram sending someone to fetch him from the mill made total sense. “Gram knew you were here, didn't she?”
“Yes. I wanted to make sure she and Will were okay with me crashing the party.”
“So you just assumed I'd be cool with it?”
In reply, she gave him that cute little smirk of hers, and he shook his head in defeat. Sliding an arm around her shoulders, he proudly escorted her into the living room, where the party was getting started. As midnight approached, Gram turned on the TV and they all gathered around for the big countdown.
“Don't you miss being there in person?” he asked Amy, nodding at the insane crowd gathered in Times Square.
“You're kidding, right? I wouldn't go anywhere near Times Square tonight. If I went into that mess, someone would squish me like a bug. Mom and I always watch it on TV, too.”
“How 'bout that? Guess you learn something every day.”
Standing behind Amy with his arms wrapped around the woman he loved more than anything, Jason had never been happier in his life. When the ball finally reached the bottom of its pole and burst into an array of sparkling lights, Amy spun around for a long kiss filled with unspoken promises for their future together.
Best New Year's ever.
Epilogue
“I
told you I make a fabulous matron of honor,” Brenda gloated, handing Amy the bouquet she was going to toss for the single women clustered in Will and Olivia's large dining room.
“Yes, you did. With all the practice you've had, you should go pro.”
“What a spectacular job that would be.” Her romantic cousin sighed.
Laughing, Amy spun around and heaved the flowers backward. Then she glanced over her shoulder to see who got them. Jenna looked as stunned to find them in her hands as the other girls did when they realized they'd missed.
Waving them over her head, she called out, “Who wants 'em?”
A dozen squealing women clamored for another chance, and she covered her eyes before throwing the bouquet into the fray. Turning away before they were caught, she grinned over at Amy and wiped pretend sweat from her forehead.
“You make it sound like getting married is some kind of torture,” Amy chided her as Jason joined them.
“For you, no. Me, absolutely,” her friend replied with a shudder.
“Jenna's a free spirit,” Jason agreed. “I feel sorry for any guy who thinks he can't live without her.”
“By the way, you two,” she needled with her usual sarcasm. “Getting married on Valentine's Day? How cliché is that?”
Amy laughed at the sour face she made. “I always thought it would be fun to have a Valentine's wedding. This way Jason will never forget our anniversary.”
“Like you'd let me,” he scoffed.
Pinning him with a flinty glare, Jenna warned, “Just make sure you remember what I said, JB. If you don't treat Amy right, we're gonna have a serious problem, you and me.”
With that, she sailed toward the buffet and started messing with Paul.
Jason let out a relieved whistle. “I'm not too proud to admit that woman scares me.”
“She scares everyone,” Amy assured him, fluffing the baby's breath on his boutonniere. Seeing it reminded her to ask, “How are Rachel and her little girl doing?”
“Doc said they're fit as a couple of fiddles. Those extra couple weeks almost drove Rachel bonkers, but in the end, everything turned out fine. They might stop by later, if that's okay.”
Just a few weeks ago, Amy would have bitten her tongue and gone along to please him. Now that she was his wife, she was feeling much more gracious. “Of course. I'd love to meet the baby. Eva, right?”
“Yeah. It's some kind of family name, I guess.”
“Eva McCarron.” Amy tested it out loud. “Very pretty. If she looks anything like her mother, that girl is going to be absolutely stunning when she grows up.”
“You're being really great about Rachel deciding to stay here in town,” he commented in a wary voice. “Is there a reason for that?”
In answer, she held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers so the gold rings he'd given her sparkled in the overhead lights.
“It all makes sense now,” he replied with a grin. “In case you're interested, I was just talking to Joe Stegall from the hardware store, and he said those roofing joists I ordered came in this morning. With the mill cranking out everything else, we should be able to break ground on the addition behind Arabesque anytime now.”
“When we were getting ready upstairs, Chelsea was telling me the orders for spring are finally ramping up. That means they're going to need more of your time soon,” Amy argued. “The furniture business means a lot to the whole town, so the expansion can wait until your workload there dies down a little.”
“Are you sure you want to put it off? You're used to living in that apartment by yourself, so it's probably gonna feel pretty cramped in there with the two of us.”
Being anywhere by herself was the furthest thing from her mind these days, Amy thought with a smile. “We'll figure it out, the same way we've done with everything else. I don't want you taking on too much and not having any time for your wife,” she added, snaking her arms around his waist for a squeeze.
“My wife,” he echoed with a quick kiss. “I kinda like the sound of that.”
“Me, too.”
“Especially since that means we get to go on a honeymoon.”
“Which is where?” she asked. When he grinned and shook his head, she grabbed his lapels for a thorough shake. “I know you're Mr. Spontaneous, but you can't spring something like that on me. I'm a girl, and I need to know what sort of clothes to bring.”
“Just bring a little of everything.”
“Are you trying to get us into our first married fight?” she demanded in mock anger. “Because if you don't quit yanking my chain, that's where we're headed, mister.”
“Well, I'd hate for you to cause a scene in front of all these people. It's warm, with lots of water but no sand.” She motioned for more, and he relented with a chuckle. “Okay, you win. You said you've never been on a cruise, so we're taking one of those big, fancy ships to the Bahamas. Only a few days, like we agreed, in case something happens and the family needs us here.”
A constant for all the Barretts, the ongoing concern for Will had deepened since the holidays. Unable to sit upright on his own, he maintained his customarily positive attitude even while his condition was worsening. Amy didn't know how he managed it with the pain he must be in, but his acceptance of the inevitable boosted the spirits of those around him.
None of them knew when the end would come, but they could all see it advancing a little every day. Everyone had made a determined effort to celebrate Jason and Amy's engagement and wedding, but they'd missed out on some of the joy having a new couple in the circle should have brought them. Still, families stood together through good times and bad, rejoicing over some things and mourning others.
That was what made the Barretts so strong, Amy had come to understand. You weren't born with that kind of perspective. You acquired it by accepting what God handed you and doing the best you could with it.
Seeking to change the subject, she summoned a positive tone. “I have to tell you, it's very handy being married to a guy who knows how to build things. Without you,
The Nutcracker
might never have happened, and all those kids would've been so disappointed. That would've been such a shame, don't you think?”
Jason eyed her suspiciously. “I know that look. What've you got in mind?”
“Our Christmas show was such a roaring success, I was toying with the idea of doing another children's ballet in the spring. I thought back through the ones I danced in when I was younger, and a few of them could easily be scaled down to their level. Since so many of them already know the story of Sleeping Beauty and her prince, I think they'd really enjoy that one.”
“Not to mention it's one of the director's favorites. What kind of scenery are we talking about?”
Reaching back into her memory, she began describing the forest scene and lavish castle where the heroic prince finds Sleeping Beauty in a tower, still under the witch's spell. “They won't want to do the kiss, of course, but I'll come up with another way for him to wake her up. We'll need a spinning wheel, and I'm sure Aunt Helen and I will be able to remake some of the sugar-plum costumes for the cast. To make the castle walls look like stone, we can use the same faux painting technique on them that you did on the fireplace for the
Nutcracker
ballroom, andâ”
Laughing, Jason held up his hands in a T. “Time-out, sweetheart. We've been married for all of ten minutes, and I haven't had anything to eat since breakfast. Could we put off sketching out the set designs until after we have some food?”
“Sure,” she told him with a light kiss. “Whenever you want.”
He grinned down at her. “Are you seriously giving up control to let me pick when we start on this?”
“You sound surprised.”
“Wellâ”
“Are you seriously trying to start a fight with me on our wedding day?” she teased, echoing his earlier question.
“Umm, no?”
Sliding her arms around him, she gave him a quick hug. “Good answer.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from HER MONTANA CHRISTMAS by Arlene James.