“Merry Christmas, baby girl.” Tears fell down his face as he lay the roses against Lacey’s headstone.
His dad’s arm gripped William’s waist. They stood side by side, like bruised and beaten warriors, guarding a precious treasure.
“I come here most weeks,” his dad whispered.
William wiped his face. “I didn’t know.”
James took a deep breath. “At first, I didn’t want Lacey to be lonely. Then slowly, everything changed. I started coming here for me. It helped…with my grief. In the summertime, I read her stories. I built her a small snowman last week.”
“She would have loved that.” Lacey adored snowmen. She’d spent hours outside, creating entire families from mounds of snow.
“You don’t think I’m crazy?”
William was surprised by his dad’s question. “Why would I think that?”
James blew his nose. “I spent most of my life telling you it was wrong to show people how you felt. When your mom died, I was broken. When Lacey died, it nearly killed me. I thought…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. Lacey is gone, and I nearly lost you, too.”
“I saw a counselor for six months after Lacey died. I needed help.”
“Did it work?”
William nodded. “I was able to go back to work. By the time my divorce came through, I was able to sleep all night without medication.”
“Are you better now?”
“I have good days and some that aren’t so good. What about you?”
James stared at Lacey’s headstone. “I get by. Your aunt checks on me most weeks. I have my friends, I volunteer at the local library. It’s enough for now.”
William had never thought about his dad getting older, about the changes his body would force on him whether he was ready or not. “You don’t have to stay in Chicago. You could live in Bozeman with me.”
“Aren’t you moving to Milwaukee?”
“I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“It always is when you care about someone.”
William stuck his hands in his pockets. Megan was worried that if a relationship between them didn’t work, he would have moved for no reason. He was willing to take that risk, but he didn’t want to hurt Nora.
James knelt on the ground, wiping the snow from Lacey’s headstone. “Sometimes you have to trust that loving a person is enough. Whatever is supposed to happen, will follow.”
He hoped his dad was right. Because, so far, William’s track record for successful relationships was dismal.
Chapter 13
Nora ran into the kitchen. “William’s home!”
Megan breathed a sigh of relief. Over the last couple of days, the weather had been getting worse. Driving was dangerous and the Highway Patrol were posting regular updates on which roads were closed.
“Are the Christmas lights turned on?”
Nora nodded. “Lydia helped me. Do you think William missed us?”
Megan’s hands froze on her apron. “We talked about that last night.”
“I know, but William is my friend. Friends can miss each other.”
After an hour of discussing William and how he was here to help them, Megan hoped Nora realized they may not see much of him after Christmas. But to a six-year-old who was still finding her feet in the world, he had become her best friend.
Megan left her apron on the counter and checked the oven. “Friends can definitely miss each other. We’d better say hello. Then we can all have dinner together.”
Lydia was waiting in the hallway. “He’s in the garage.”
Nora opened the garage door and grinned. “William!”
He closed the driver’s door of his truck and opened his arms.
Nora ran straight to him. “I missed you. Did you have a good time?”
“I had a great time. I feel even better now that I’ve seen you.” William lifted Nora into the air and swung her in a circle.
Megan sighed. So much for keeping their distance. Only the Christmas Grinch could be annoyed at the adoration on each of their faces.
When William’s blue gaze connected with Megan’s, his smile disappeared. “Is everything all right?”
She shook off her worries. Nora had spent a lot of time with William. It was only natural that she would be happy to see him. “Everything’s fine. Lydia has kept us out of trouble.”
William nodded at the special agent standing just inside the garage. “That’s good.”
“It wasn’t difficult,” Lydia said. “Megan and Nora spent most of their time indoors. The weather was too unsettled to do anything outside.”
William’s intense gaze stripped Megan of all her good intentions. She had no idea what he was thinking, but he wasn’t looking at her as if she was his friend.
She needed to take her own advice and remember that they were here because a terrorist group was looking for them. Mixing their professional and personal lives was a huge mistake.
William gently lowered Nora to the ground. “What did you do while I was away?”
“I found some baby mice in the barn,” Nora said excitedly. “They were wrinkly and didn’t have any hair. And we took Brooke the gingerbread men we made. She really liked them.”
“I thought she would.”
Nora looked behind William. “Where’s your suitcase?”
“It’s in the truck. Do you want to help me take it into the house?”
Nora nodded. “We made a surprise for you. It’s in the living room.”
William opened the back door and reached for his bag. “If you’ve made sugar cookies, I’ll be the happiest person in the world.”
“It’s even better than that,” Nora said.
His eyes widened. “It would have to be really special to beat Megan’s cookies.”
Nora lifted the handle on the suitcase. “It’s super-duper special.”
William held onto his bag. “My suitcase is almost the same height as you. How about you hold my hand while I wheel it into the house?”
“Okay. I’ll show you what we’ve been doing.”
With an amused glance at Megan, he let Nora pull him toward the hallway.
Megan followed slowly behind. Seeing William and Nora together made her heart squeeze tight. They’d formed a close bond, caring about each other in ways that no one had expected.
When they reached the closed living room doors, Nora tugged on William’s hand. “You have to close your eyes.”
“So that I won’t see the surprise?”
Nora nodded.
With a tender smile, William stood his suitcase on its end. “I won’t be able to see where I’m going.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after you.” Nora moved closer to him. “Keep holding my hand.”
William made sure his hand was firmly in Nora’s before closing his eyes. “Is this okay?”
“That’s perfect,” Nora said eagerly.
With a quick flick of her wrists, Lydia opened the living room doors so that William didn’t bang into them.
With her hand still wrapped in William’s, Nora nudged him forward. When they were standing beside the sofa, she stopped. “We can stay here. But keep your eyes closed.”
“Why are you whispering?” William asked.
“Because it’s so beautiful.”
For the last two days, Lydia and Nora had helped Megan carry even more decorations out of the basement. With yards of tinsel, beautiful garlands, and exquisite ornaments covering every surface, the room looked like the best Santa cave Megan had ever seen.
Nora took a deep breath. “You can open your eyes now.”
William blinked a few times before focusing on the twinkling Christmas tree. Slowly, his gaze traveled around the room. “This is incredible.”
“We found more fairy lights in the basement,” Nora told him. “There were lots and lots of them.”
Nora wasn’t exaggerating. Megan wasn’t sure why Zac needed so many lights, but he had enough to
decorate ten Christmas trees in the Rockefeller Center.
William touched a string of tiny lanterns that were draped across the French doors. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Nora raced across the room. She came back holding a glowing snowman. “We bought this for you in Sapphire Bay.” She beckoned William closer. Once he was kneeling beside her, she whispered. “It’s really a night-light for little children, but it looks so pretty that I thought you wouldn’t mind. It’s like the snowman we built outside.”
William studied the festive light. “It’s beautiful. And you’re right—it does look like the snowman. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Nora wrapped her arms around William’s neck and gave him a hug. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Nora.”
Megan was surprised to see tears in William’s eyes. But then she remembered Lacey. She knew what it was like to be surrounded by so much joy when all you wanted to do was curl into a ball and let the world pass you by.
Lydia cleared her throat. “Would you like to help me set the table for dinner, Nora?”
Nora looked up at William and smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”
Like a mini tornado, she ran out of the room.
“I’d forgotten how fast she can move,” William murmured.
“You should have seen her when we were putting up the decorations. Nora was so excited that I didn’t think she’d sleep until she saw you.” Megan rubbed her arms. “I should have asked if it was okay to add more decorations to the house.”
“You didn’t need to ask. It’s beautiful.”
Megan frowned. If William wasn’t worried about the decorations, something else must have happened. “Is everything okay?”
“I didn’t spend all my time in Bozeman.”
“Where did you go?”
“I flew to Chicago. I spent a couple of days with Dad.”
Megan remembered what William had said about his father. “That must have been difficult.”
“I wanted to talk to him. Even if he still blamed me for Lacey’s death, I needed to tell him I loved him.”
“How did it go?”
William sat on the sofa. “We both apologized for the things we’d said. Dad was as upset as I was. I should have spoken to him sooner.”
Megan sat beside him. “At least you’ve seen him now.”
William nodded. “Depending on where I am for Christmas, Dad might join me.”
With Christmas just days away, Megan had given up planning what she’d be doing. But a part of her wished that William could share some of the day with them. “It’s important to spend time with your family. If we’re back in Milwaukee, Aunt Millie has invited us to her house. Her two children and ten grandchildren will be there.”
“Sounds like a noisy Christmas.”
“Nora will enjoy spending time with her cousins. Caleb called the other day. He’s in Washington, D.C. Has something happened?”
“Not that I’ve been told. Why?”
“He didn’t sound happy.”
William frowned. “Maybe he was having a bad day.”
“That’s what I’m hoping. You don’t think he’s having second thoughts about meeting me, do you?”
“I wouldn’t think so. Caleb was excited when I told him he had a sister.” William held her hand. “It will be all right. I haven’t spent a lot of time with him, but he seems like a good person.”
Megan looked at their hands. She was more nervous about meeting her brother than anything else that had happened. “We might not like each other.”
“He’d be crazy not to like you.” William lifted her chin with his finger. “Look at me. One bite of your cookies and I couldn’t resist you.”
“I made him a cake.”
William smiled. “Even better. He’ll never want you to leave.”
Megan sighed. That’s what was worrying her.
A few days later, Megan straightened her sweater and ran her hands down the side of her jeans. It was time to visit her brother.
“It will be okay,” William reassured her. “Caleb is looking forward to seeing you.”
She bit her bottom lip, hoping he was right. Last night, William had received a call from the special agent in charge of Caleb’s case. The danger to everyone had been minimized and the FBI was confident they’d found most of the people involved in the terrorist threat.
It seemed like years instead of weeks that she’d been waiting for everything to settle down. “What if we’ve got nothing in common?”
“You won’t know until you spend some time with him.”
Nora unbuckled her seatbelt. “Are we going inside?”
Megan looked over her shoulder at her niece. Nora was excited. As soon as she knew they were visiting Caleb, she’d drawn him a picture of their Christmas tree. “I guess we are.”
She opened the truck door and stepped onto the icy ground. Caleb’s house was just as beautiful as Zac’s. With its wide wraparound veranda, the two-story home suited the rugged landscape around it.
William held out his hand. “Are you ready?”
Megan took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Nora held her other hand and skipped across the yard. They were only halfway to the house when the front door opened. A man in his late thirties walked down the stairs.
Megan’s heart pounded. She’d studied the photograph of Caleb so many times that she would have known him anywhere. His smile sent a surge of relief through her body.
“Hi,” she said hesitantly.
Caleb’s arms opened wide. “You’re a lot prettier than your photos.”
Megan stepped into his embrace. “I like you already.” Tears stung her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist. She tried to speak, tried putting into words how she felt, but she couldn’t form one coherent thought.
When they finally stepped apart, Megan still didn’t know what to say.
William stood beside her and extended his hand. “It’s good to see you again, Caleb. How’s the arm?”
“It’s healing.”
Megan felt terrible. She’d forgotten about Caleb’s gunshot wound. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt your arm.”
Caleb wiped tears from his eyes. “My arm is fine. It’s my heart that’s beating out of control. I can’t believe you’re my sister.” He looked at Nora. She was hiding behind William’s legs. “Hello. You must be Nora. I’m your Uncle Caleb.”
Nora handed him the picture she’d drawn. “This is for you. It’s a picture of our Christmas tree.”
Caleb knelt on the ground. “What an amazing tree. Did you decorate it with Megan?”
Nora nodded. “William and Lydia helped, too. Lydia isn’t here today. She had to go home.”
“It’s good that you’re able to be here. Do you want to come inside and see my Christmas tree?”
Nora looked up at Megan. “Is that all right?” she whispered.
Megan nodded.
“When we’re inside, do you want to see Dolly?” Nora asked Caleb. “She’s asleep in my backpack.”
“I’d love to see Dolly.” Caleb held out his hand. “Sam made some Christmas cookies. Do you think Dolly would like one?”
Nora’s eyes lit up. “Dolly loves cookies. Who’s Sam?”
With laughter in his eyes, Caleb glanced at William before answering Nora. “Sam is my girlfriend. She helped me fix the computer program I was developing.”
William’s eyes widened.
Megan wondered why he seemed so surprised.
“I like fixing things, too,” Nora said.
“That’s great.” Caleb walked toward the house and held open the front door. “The kitchen is this way.”
As they walked through the living room, Megan admired the beautiful Christmas tree. Someone had turned on the sound system and Christmas carols drifted toward them, soothing her frazzled nerves.
She sighed when she saw the view of the mountains and snow-covered trees. I
t was just as spectacular as the view from Zac’s house. “You must enjoy living here. It’s so peaceful.”
“It’s had its moments.” Caleb walked through a large doorway. A woman with short, blond hair was in the kitchen, arranging cookies on a plate. “Sam, this is my sister, Megan, and her niece, Nora. Megan and Nora, this is my girlfriend, Samantha Jones. And you already know William.”
Megan smiled at Sam. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”
“Caleb is biased,” Sam said with a grin. “Only believe half of what he’s said. Would you like something to drink?”
Nora made herself at home on one of the kitchen stools. “Could I please have a hot chocolate?”
Megan stood behind her niece. “Could you make that two?”
“I sure can. What about you, William?” Sam asked.
“I’ll have coffee, thanks.”
Caleb pointed at the kitchen table. “We can sit here or in the living room. Which would you prefer?”
William looked at Megan.
“Here will be okay,” she said. “Thank you for inviting us to your home.”
Caleb pulled out a stool for Megan. “You’re welcome. I’ve got to admit that I was really nervous this morning. It’s not every day you meet a sister you didn’t know you had.”
“I felt the same way,” Megan admitted. “I’m just glad we found each other. Imagine if we’d gone through our entire lives not knowing the other person existed.”
Sam handed everyone a drink. “Something good had to come out of what the terrorists were doing.”
Megan studied her brother’s serious face. “Are you safe now?”
“As safe as you can ever be when you’re working on a sensitive project.”
Sam offered everyone a cookie. “Caleb has his own private bodyguard now. I’m not letting him out of my sight.”
Megan was confused. “I thought you were an IT consultant?”
“I am, but I also provide personal protection to some of Fletcher Security’s most valuable clients. Caleb, for all his faults, falls into that category.”
A Christmas Wish: Sapphire Bay, Book 3 Page 14