A Daughter for Christmas

by Stephanie Dees

  Alice cackled, which woke up the two foster puppies who’d been curled into a little ball in a basket at her feet.

  Eve dropped down beside them. “Oh my, look how much they’ve grown already. They’re so cute.”

  Picking one up, she snuggled it close, laughing again when it yawned, its little pink tongue curling.

  Maribeth looked back from the sink, where she was rinsing some dishes. “The all-black one is Daisy, and the one with white toes is Ducky. We’re going to keep them, but don’t tell Henry. He doesn’t know yet.”

  “Your secret is safe with me.” Eve chuckled as she tucked the puppy in the basket next to its sibling. “Did you guys finish the Christmas tree last night?”

  “Mostly.” Henry appeared in the archway dividing the kitchen and family room. “We saved a box or two just for you.”

  She gave her father-in-law a hug, leaning in as his big arms closed around her. She loved them so. They’d chosen to accept her as part of their family when she’d married Brent. For the first time, she’d understood what that really meant.

  Her parents weren’t bad people, they just weren’t interested. It had been their housekeeper, Alma, who’d kissed her boo-boos and helped her with her homework. And when she’d gotten married, it was Alma who’d helped her plan.

  Little wonder when she’d fallen for Brent—it had been his family that had sealed the deal for her. She’d wanted them to bring her into their warm, inviting life. Of course, she hadn’t imagined that her handsome, hilarious husband wouldn’t always be right here beside her as they decorated the Christmas tree with his parents.

  Maribeth followed them into the living room, calling back for Alice. “Honeybun, come on in here. Let’s show your mom what we found last night.”

  “What did you find?” Eve sat on the couch with Henry on one side of her and Maribeth on the other side. Alice climbed into her grandmother’s lap.

  Maribeth slid a faded and timeworn box toward Eve from the middle of the coffee table. “Every year when Brent was a little boy, we collected new ornaments for the tree. Sometimes it was an ornament we bought—usually something he was into at the time, like soccer or guitar—but some of them are homemade.”

  Eve already had a lump rising in her throat as she lifted the top and folded back the faded tissue paper. She pulled out a soccer ball ornament and looked at Alice, her eyes wide. “Did you know your daddy played soccer when he was a little boy?”

  Alice shook her head.

  “Me, neither.” The next ornament was a bell, made of a foam eggcup, decorated with glitter and sequins and hung by a pipe cleaner. “Oh, how sweet. I think I have one like this that Alice made.”

  Brent’s mother smiled, but her lips trembled. “He made that one in preschool. I tried to write the dates on them so I wouldn’t forget. Even back then, I hoped that one day I’d have a grandchild just like you, Alice, and that you’d want to see them.”

  When Alice looked up, it took Eve’s breath away. With her huge smile, she was the spitting image of Brent. He’d always managed to look somewhat amused at life. Alice at her best was exactly the same way.

  Eve cradled the ornament gently, her heart aching to think that Brent had made this with his own chubby three-year-old hands. Seeing these things reminded her again of the enormity of what they’d lost when he was killed. She opened her mouth to say that, but the words got stuck in her throat. Instead, she let out a strangled half laugh, half cough.

  Henry put his arm around Eve as Maribeth leaned forward to speak softly to Alice. “Of course, these ornaments are very special to us, but I think your daddy would be so happy to know you have them.”

  Alice wrapped her little arms around her grandma as Eve cleared her throat, willing words to form. “We’ll take good care of them, I promise.”

  Henry carefully packed the ornaments back into the old box and tied it with a ribbon. “Now, if Alice is ready to play outside, there’s something we’d like to talk to you about, Eve.”

  Alice slid off Maribeth’s lap and ran toward the back door. A few seconds later, she was climbing up the slide on the swing set her grandparents had built in their backyard for her.

  Eve closed the door that had been left swinging open. “What’s going on, guys? Is something wrong?”

  Maribeth locked eyes with Henry, who said, “No, no, nothing like that. We just wanted to tell you we know you’re working hard on growing your business, and we respect that.”

  Eve’s fingers went still. She’d spent the night going over her finances, and the situation wasn’t great. Even with Brent’s death benefits, she was barely scraping by. Now this conversation was an uncomfortable reminder of how precarious her independence really was. “I’m guessing there’s a but?”

  Henry drew in a slow, thoughtful breath, and his eyes softened as he turned toward Eve. “The last thing we want is to pressure you, Eve. But if you and Alice moved in here, you wouldn’t have to worry about money so much. You two could have the upstairs all to yourselves, and there’s a good private school we’d be happy to pay for.” He looked at his wife, who nodded her agreement. “We’d do whatever it takes to make things a little easier for you.”

  Eve returned to the couch, wrapped one arm around the people sitting on either side of her and pulled them in for a hug. “I love you two so much. You are just the best.”

  Maribeth gave her a hopeful grin. “So that’s a yes?”

  Eve let them go and sat back. “I love that we live close enough now for Alice to spend the night as much as she wants to. I never want to think about life without you in it. And I do need your help. I’m grateful for it.”

  Henry said, “Why do I hear a but coming on?”

  She shot him a smile as he echoed her words and hesitated because she was afraid to close the door on what could be her lifeline. “But I need some time to see if I can make things work in our new place. I hope that doesn’t hurt you.”

  Henry squeezed her shoulders. “No, sweetie. We just want you to know we’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

  “I still miss him, you know.” The words surprised her, her voice cracking. She did miss Brent, but she tried so hard not to dwell on what might have been for fear that she would miss the blessing in what was happening right now. Like raising Alice, celebrating Christmas, seeing the beauty of the farm and maybe even...well, it was too soon yet to think about the maybes to come.

  This time it was Maribeth who nodded, tears brimming in her pretty blue eyes. “We miss him, too. And we’re just so thankful we get to love the woman he loved and be a part of our granddaughter’s life.”

  Eve sniffed and swiped away tears that clung to her lashes, laughing helplessly. “You guys, we’ve got to change the subject. My heart can’t handle it.”

  “Amen to that.” Maribeth bounded to her feet. “While Henry collects Alice’s things, let’s go get some cookies packed up for you two to take home.”

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, as Eve pulled out of the driveway with Alice in the car seat and a box of cookies on the passenger seat beside her, she took a deep breath. She adored Henry and Maribeth. They’d made her a tempting offer. It would be so easy to just say yes.

  So why did it feel so wrong?

  Moving closer to them was a smart thing. But moving in with them would feel like admitting defeat, like she couldn’t handle her life. She needed to know she could do it on her own. She’d come to the farm for Alice to heal, and she needed to keep that goal in mind. Life could be really good there.

  Tanner’s handsome, serious face came to mind. And not just that, she stubbornly told herself. She thought of Alice, dirt on her cheek, snuggled up with a baby pig. Yes. Her little girl was growing in confidence every single day.

  But facts were facts. If her graphic design business didn’t take off soon, she wouldn’t have a choice. She had to make it
work.

  For both their sakes.

  * * *

  A few hours later, with the container of her mother-in-law’s cookies, Eve knocked on the door of the farmhouse. She could hear a general hubbub inside, and at least one baby screaming, but no one answered the door. She looked down at Alice and whispered, “What do you think we should do?”

  Alice shrugged.

  “A lot of help you are.” Eve knocked again, but this time she pushed the door open a crack and stuck her head in. “Hello?”

  “Oh, Eve!” Entering the room from the hallway with a diaper-clad Eli, Lacey said, “Come on in. Guys, Eve’s here.”

  A man with dark curly hair and glasses stuck his head out the door of Tanner’s office. “Eve?”

  When she nodded, he crossed the room and grabbed both of her hands as she juggled, and nearly dropped, the cookies. “Finally! I’m Garrett. Charlotte was teething last time we were supposed to have family lunch and honestly, it was just better not to inflict that on everyone. Otherwise I would’ve come to the cabin to welcome you in person.”

  “Garrett, let the woman come into the house.” A pretty woman came in from the kitchen, her shoulder-length curls pulled back from her face with a colorful bandeau. “I’m Abby, and I’m so glad you could join us. We’re having chili and corn bread—I hope that’s okay.”

  “If I don’t have to cook it, it’s fine by me. This is my daughter, Alice. She’s four. And we brought cookies.”

  “Garrett,” Tanner called out from the office. “You can’t just leave in the middle of the—” Tanner stepped into the living room with a scowl on his face, which brightened when he saw Eve. “Oh, hi, Eve. Glad you could make it.”

  Devin was next out of the office. “Guys, come on. We only have thirty minutes before lunch. Let’s get this done. Hey, Eve.”

  Tanner crouched down beside Alice, who had her face buried in Eve’s hip. He said softly, “Alice, do you want to see our favorite little piggy? He’s doing great.”

  Little piggy? Eve saw Abby mouth the words at Garrett, who raised his eyebrows with a shrug.

  As Alice followed Tanner out of the room, Garrett turned to Devin. “Weren’t we in the middle of...”

  Devin made a face. “Don’t ask me. He left me in the cotton field with half a row picked the other day.”

  Eve blushed. Tanner had left Devin in the cotton field to take a walk with her.

  “Weird.” Garrett stared suspiciously at the door where Tanner had disappeared with Alice. “All right, well, I guess we can go over the paperwork without him.”

  Eve turned to Abby as the two brothers went back into the office, her cheeks burning. “When I was sick the other day, they rescued the runt of the new litter and brought him inside to make sure he was getting enough to eat.”

  “They. You mean Tanner and Alice?” Abby asked.

  “Yes. He was really sweet with her, and she doesn’t trust very many people.”

  “Wow.” Abby’s eyebrows were at her hairline as she processed this new information. “You’ve probably guessed that Tanner doesn’t trust that many people, either.”

  Somewhere in the house, a baby wailed. A timer beeped in the kitchen for the second time. Abby said, “Oh, no—the corn bread! I was supposed to keep an eye on it!”

  The baby’s cries grew louder.

  On the other side of the room, Lacey was trying to shove Eli’s arms into a long-sleeved shirt. “Eve, do you mind?”

  “Shirt or crying?”

  Eli popped his arm out of the shirt again and made a grab for Lacey’s earring. She groaned. “Um, crying, please? It’s either Charlotte or Phoebe. They’re in the nursery.”

  Eve followed the sound of the crying down the hall. On the left were two doors. She opened the first one. Nope. Master bedroom. The next door opened into a small, bright room with two cribs. Phoebe sat in one, playing with some soft rubber blocks. She smiled at Eve around a bright pink pacifier.

  The screaming was coming from the other crib. Eve leaned over the rail and picked up Charlotte. She was probably around nine months old—a redheaded, rosy-cheeked baby in ruffled purple pants and a matching lavender shirt.

  “Hey, baby girl, what’s going on? Were you worried when you woke up?” She felt the diaper and realized Charlotte definitely needed a change. “Or maybe you were just mad when you woke up wet.”

  Laying Charlotte on the changing table, she laughed at the skeptical expression on the baby’s face. “It’s okay, I think I remember how to do this. No promises, though.”

  Within a few minutes, she had Charlotte clean and dry and had managed to make her smile by making silly faces. When she turned around, she realized Tanner was leaning against the door watching her.

  She smiled and shrugged, handing him the baby. “What can I say? My talents are multifaceted.”

  “Impressive.”

  Lifting Phoebe out of the bed, she said, “My next customer.”

  Tanner sat Charlotte on the floor beside Alice and pulled a basket of baby toys closer. A minute later, he was lying beside them, propped on one elbow, rolling a ball with the two girls. Eve had grown to know Tanner fairly well over the last week, but he still surprised her.

  She stood Phoebe on the changing table and tugged her top into place. “All set, girlfriend.”

  “Ball,” Phoebe said, as Eve set her on the floor.

  “You want this?” Tanner held it up and drilled it into her stomach as she giggled. Alice was next, belly laughing as the ball drilled into her stomach, as well.

  Eve couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s gleeful response. This week had been rough. She’d been on edge waiting for Alice to show signs of being sick. The worry of her finances, then having to have that hard conversation with her in-laws. But watching Alice respond like a normal little girl? That was worth every minute of hard.

  Garrett appeared in the doorway. “Is it possible that someone has finally broken through Tanner’s famous armor?”

  Tanner’s smile instantly disappeared.

  Eve felt her face go hot. Garrett was making a big deal out of nothing. “Charlotte has a clean diaper. I’m going to see if I can help in the kitchen.”

  Eve pushed past Garrett into the hall. What she really wanted to do was run as fast as she could, back to her little house with its cheerful, superextra Christmas display and peace and quiet. After this morning with her in-laws, she’d just about had it. She pressed her fingers to her temples. Her head was pounding.

  But she took a deep breath. Garrett might be irritating, but he was clearly joking. And she might be frustrated, but all she had to do was get through lunch without punching someone.

  Surely she could do that.

  * * *

  “Devin, did you know that when Eve had strep throat the other day, Tanner took her to the doctor and then kept Alice for the whole afternoon so Eve could rest?” Garrett was going for an innocent look and missed, widely.

  Tanner refrained from rolling his eyes, but just. God save him from annoying siblings. He caught a glimpse of Eve’s clenched jaw. If her expression was any indication, Garrett was lucky he was too far across the table for her to punch him.

  Devin looked up from his plate of mostly corn bread with a little side of chili. He sent Alice a lopsided smile. “I did know that, because I was mad Tanner got such an awesome farm assistant and I had to put the horses’ coats on all by myself.”

  Alice giggled.

  “Are you feeling better, Eve?” This from Abby, who held a sleeping Charlotte on her shoulder.

  “I am, thanks. It was nice of Tanner to help me when I was sick, especially since I didn’t know a local doctor to call.”

  “You and Tanner should take Alice to the kids’ museum in Mobile. It’s really a fun place. Charlotte is way too young to enjoy it, but Garrett and I got passes anyway because we
love it so much.” Abby leaned forward to take a bite of her green salad.

  Eve wiped Alice’s mouth with a napkin. “I’m sure Tanner has enough on his plate right now.”

  “Is that the place Wynn had A.J.’s birthday party last month? It really is cool. Devin stayed out of trouble for an hour chasing Phoebe up and down those ramps.” Lacey laughed.

  “We’d be happy to babysit Alice any time so Tanner can show you around the area, Eve.” Garrett nearly choked on his iced tea when Tanner kicked him under the table.

  Tanner opened his mouth to say something—anything—to change the subject, but before he could get a word out, Eve put her fork down and pushed back from the table. “Lacey, thank you so much for lunch. I’m sorry we can’t stay for dessert, but it’s Alice’s rest time.”

  Alice’s mouth was set in a mutinous line, but Eve whisked her daughter up from the chair, hitched her up on her hip and vamoosed out the front door without another word.

  Tanner leaned back in his chair and gave his siblings a disgusted look. Now what? Did he follow her? Not follow her?

  Maybe he should visit her later once she’d had a chance to cool down. That seemed like the most logical approach.

  “What?” Devin looked from one brother to the other, clueless, but Tanner knew things weren’t right.

  When someone left behind a perfectly good piece of pumpkin pie, anyone with a heart knew trouble was brewing.

  Chapter Eight

  It was dark outside, the moon a small sliver in the black winter sky, but Tanner knew every hole and every bump in the road that led from his farmhouse to Eve’s cottage. He hefted a huge sack of dog food onto his shoulder, his excuse for stopping by. His real reason was to check on her. She’d been so quiet during lunch and had left so abruptly, he was worried that one of his knucklehead brothers had actually upset her.