The Texan's Surprise Return

by Jolene Navarro

  “Have you done that? I know that Christmas can be a stressful time for some people. Especially if—” Biting her lip, she gave him an uncertain glance.

  “There’s a history of abuse?” He couldn’t look at her. His throat all of a sudden felt raspy, dry. Where was a glass of water when he needed one?

  “I’m sorry. I was always trying to change your attitude about Christmas. I didn’t truly understand your defiance.”

  “You had a lousy childhood, too. But instead of hating it, you ran around trying to make Christmas the best thing ever for everyone.”

  “People react differently. I overcompensate. You avoid. Plus, my father never hurt me or made me feel small. He just loved music and traveling more than—” She shook her head. “Did she give you any advice what to do with the journals and your feelings?”

  “Triggers are usually bad things. She suggested that I create new positive events and memories to replace them.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked around the attic. “But what I really want to know is why you’re kicking the Christmas boxes you love.”

  Dropping to her knees, she pushed the lid back and scooped up a handful of plastic pine needles. They slipped through her fingers. “I was going to sneak the tree down while the boys were sleeping, but something got into the box and now the tree’s ruined.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll go buy a new one. Your dad and I can go. We can even take the boys.”

  She shook her head. “This tree was supposed to last another five years. I don’t have a new tree in the budget. And buying a tree right before Christmas is not good. Do you know the markup? The best time to get a tree is after Christmas, when they go on sale.”

  Xavier chuckled. “Ms. Christmas Surprise is being all practical.”

  “With my budget, yes.” She stood. “I can figure something else out.”

  “Since we’re up here and wide-awake, which boxes do you want to take down? Where are your nativity scenes? Those are your favorites and the first thing you always pulled out.”

  Wide-eyed, they stared at each other. “That’s right. You remembered.”

  He grinned. “I remembered.”

  With a smile, she nodded to a stack of purple tubs. “They’re in those two boxes. It’s a good place to start. Thank you.” Head tilted, she bit her lip. “How does that happen? You remember the most random things, but not...” She shrugged. “The big stuff. I would think it would be the other way around.”

  Moving to the stack she indicated, he lifted the lid to the top box and tried to come up with a way to explain. On the top in silver tissue paper lay a snow globe with the Holy Family depicted in fine details.

  He picked it up and turned it upside down and swirled the white flakes. “It’s kind of like I’m stuck in a snow globe. I know you’re there, but I can’t get to you. I’ll reach out and grab something that’s floating by and pull it in. It’s connected to the place I’m trying to get to. I’m thinking of you and you mention decorating for Christmas. Wham, I find the nativity scenes you collected.” He watched as the snow settled over the manger inside the globe. “I gave you this one. Brought it back from one of my trips. Italy?”

  “Yes.” She pushed the box with the ruined tree out of the way. Silently, she grabbed a purple box and moved to the attic ladder.

  “Let me take that.” He caught up with her.

  “No. I’ve got it. I’m used to doing this by myself every year anyway.”

  And just like that the easy camaraderie was gone. She maneuvered down the ladder with the box like a pro. After making sure she was safe, he restacked all her Christmas boxes at the opening. When she came back, he stopped her. “I thought this might be faster instead of going up and down one tub at a time.”

  Going halfway down the ladder, he handed her another purple box.

  “I’m not sure you should be on a ladder. What if you lose your balance? I can do this.”

  “But you don’t have to and I’m not going up and down.” He bounced. “It’s solid and I’m just handing you boxes so neither of us has to climb this thing.” Twisting, he took the box off the edge of the platform and passed it to her.

  Taking the box, she nodded, but didn’t say anything else. Once the purple ones were down, he moved to the red ones, marked Outdoors. The next to go were the silver ones marked Other.

  “Don’t bother with the green boxes. Those are the ornaments for the tree.”

  “You’ll have a tree.” There were a lot of things he didn’t get right, and he couldn’t fix, but he could do this for her.

  “Xavier, don’t worry about it. I have plenty of decorations.”

  He didn’t bother disagreeing with her as he made plans. He needed to make a few calls and talk to her father. He left the green boxes in the attic and came down and lifted the ladder back into the ceiling. He could imagine what would happen if the little guys discovered it down. They’d see it as a personal invitation to explore.

  He picked up a purple box and followed her down the stairs. They moved quietly so as not to disturb anyone else in the house. It was like they were the only two people in the world. Once all the boxes were in the living room, he looked around. “What’s next?”

  “You should probably go back to bed and get a couple of hours of sleep.”

  “When do you sleep?”

  “I’m not the one recovering from head trauma.” Lifting the pieces out of the tub, she unwrapped each one before setting it on the coffee table.

  “No, but you are a mother of three toddlers and from what I can see you have a whole town you’re taking care of. When do you get to rest?”

  Her shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. “I love all the gifts God has given me and I want to...make sure I don’t take those gifts for granted. I get all the rest I need. Right now, I want to set up my nativities.”

  His hand closed over her fingers as she cradled a baby Jesus. “Everyone loves you so much, Selena. You don’t have to work so hard to earn it. You know you already have it, right?”

  Her throat closed up at the thought of all those people loving her.

  Moving away from him, she gently placed the wood carved figurines on the mantel. “That’s not why I do this. I had no one growing up. You might not remember, but you did give me a family and this town. A place that took me in and accepted me, gave me a real home. A home I can give my sons. I want to give back to all of them. Belle, Elijah and Damian had the same Christmas experiences as you. They have been a great gift to me. I want to give back to them.”

  He chuckled and crossed his arms as he leaned on the mantel. “You had to be in bad shape if you’re thanking me for giving you the De La Rosa family. What I remember would be better off forgotten.”

  Fire in her eyes, she turned to him. “Don’t do that. Your father and aunt had issues and should have been reported to the authorities. After the death of your mother, you stepped in and pretty much raised your siblings and cousins. You made them into adults that are hardworking and loyal. I love them, and they have been there for me in my dark—” She bit her lip and lowered her head.

  Great. Now he’d upset her. In a few steps, he had her in his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  “I won’t let you talk bad about them. They do the same thing. I hate it when they put themselves down. They’re the best.”

  “I know. I was just joking. The De La Rosas don’t take compliments well. I thank God they were there for you when I wasn’t.”

  “Mama?” came from the stairs above.

  She groaned. “There goes my Secret Santa mission. They must have heard us.”

  “Let me go up and see if I can get them back to sleep. They should be down for a couple more hours, right?”

  “Mama?” A thump followed this time.

  “Sawyer just made his escape. Do you mind? If they give you problems, just bring them down
and they can play awhile before breakfast.”

  He was halfway up the stairs when he had an idea. “Selena, what time does your meeting wrap up today?”

  “Eleven, but sometimes they go a little over. Why? Is there a problem?”

  “Nope. So, you can be home a little before noon?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Yes. But I have an additional choir practice and the ladies at—” She stopped. “Why?”

  “I just had a great idea for lunch with the boys and wanted to make sure you could join us.”

  “Daddy.” Sawyer appeared at the safety gate at the top of the stairs with his favorite blanket and toy. He threw the floppy horse over the gate and watched it bounce.

  Xavier took the steps two at a time and scooped up the toy. “Hey, little man.” His bottom was saggy, in a very suspicious way. “Seems we know where we need to start. Clean diaper for you while I tell you about the wonders of indoor plumbing.”

  The little boy giggled. Xavier took a moment to absorb the wonder of holding his child. The tiny fingers twined in his hair as they made their way to the bedroom the boys shared.

  The other two were awake and standing in their cribs. “Yeah, I see y’all acting all innocent, like you’re the rule followers. I’m not buying it.”

  He laid Sawyer on the changing table. “They told you to come out and get us, didn’t they? Don’t let them set you up like that.” Sawyer reached up and grabbed his nose. Xavier laughed.

  Finishing him up and setting him on the floor, he went to Finn. “Come on, your turn. So, I have this idea to help your mom with Christmas.” The boy babbled something back to him.

  “I know, right?” They carried on the conversation until he was dry and changed.

  With the second child on the ground, Xavier was feeling accomplished. This wasn’t so hard. He went to get Oliver.

  The youngest triplet was sitting in the far corner of his crib. He pulled the cover over his head when Xavier approached. “Hey, I totally get it. You don’t know me. It’s cool that you hold back, but right now I’m in charge of changing you and making sure you go back to sleep so your mother can get some work done. Maybe even sleep. Let’s do this.” He pulled at the blanket.

  Oliver buried himself deeper under the blanket and screamed. His brothers stopped what they were doing and looked at them like Xavier had done something wrong.

  “What? I’m just trying to change him like I did you. Tell him it’s okay.” He turned back to Oliver and tried to pick him up. The boy stiffened his body and arched his back.

  Not sure what to do, Xavier sat him back on his bed. “Shh. I’m not going to hurt you.” He held his hands up and palms out, but that didn’t seem to help.

  The door opened and Riff came in, still wearing his stage clothes. “What’s all the ruckus about?”

  The two on the floor started explaining. That’s what Xavier assumed, anyway. He didn’t understand a word they said.

  “How was the gig?”

  Riff shrugged. “It was good. But I thought I’d miss it more. It was nice to know I’d be home instead of on the road when it was done. Need help?”

  “I changed these two with no problems. Oliver isn’t having any of it.”

  “He’s not much of a morning person and he hates having his diaper changed. He doesn’t do well with any type of change, as I’m sure you noticed. He is totally his mother’s child. She hated change of any kind.”

  “But she spent most of her childhood traveling with you.”

  “Yep and was just about the sourest kid you’d ever meet. I didn’t really get it until she moved in with Buelita. Poor kid. I just thought she was grumpy by nature. I was kind of clueless as a father.”

  Riff handed a plush puppy to Oliver and kissed him on the forehead, saying something too low for Xavier to hear. Then he started singing to him and picked him up, rocking him against his shoulder before laying him down on the changing table.

  “Why didn’t you let her move in with Buelita sooner?”

  “She never asked. I would have let her if I understood the problem. I think she also thought she was being loyal by staying with me. With her mom leaving us when she was just a tyke, she didn’t want to make me sad. That’s what the counselor told me, anyway. Sounds about right. My dream was being on the road, playing my music across the country. I would have thought it was a dream come true as a kid.”

  He sang to Oliver a little bit more before making a move to change him. “With this one you have to move slow, let him adjust. He’ll get used to you, and when he does his trust is deep.” Riff slipped off the used diaper and slipped on the clean one in a smooth move. “You’re a traveler like I was. Are you going to be around long enough for him to trust you?”

  Xavier sat on the floor, stacking blocks with Finn as Sawyer knocked them down. “Did you ask me that when I married Selena?”

  “Nope. I wasn’t a very astute father. Unfortunately for Selena, it took some aging before I gained any wisdom. You and I got along, and I thought you’d be great for Selena. You’d show her the world. I didn’t understand that she didn’t want to see the world. That was my dream.” He started singing a haunting ballad as he joined them on the floor. Oliver leaned on his chest, sucking his thumb. Finn yawned.

  “A home in this small town was her dream. And a family.” Xavier was starting to wonder why Selena had married him. It seemed he was traveling to parts unknown more than he was home. Finn crawled into his lap and rested against him.

  “She has her dream. How do I play a part in her life now? I still have work to do. People need me.” Did she need him? He looked at Oliver asleep on his grandfather’s lap.

  “I don’t give advice any longer. We each have to go deep into our own hearts and be true to what we find there, what God planted there. I have no way of knowing what is in your heart. All I know now is that I don’t know half of what I thought I knew.” Riff gently got up and laid Oliver back into his bed. “I love the people in my life and try to give back to those I took so much from.”

  “Are you happy here?” Xavier put Finn in his bed, then picked up the most restless of the triplets and rocked him.

  Riff took Sawyer from him and laid him in his bed, pulling the light blanket over his head. Patting the boy’s back, he smiled. “I’m where I need to be. I’m too old to be spending my life on a bus.” He paused. “These boys might have the hearts of traveling warriors or deep roots in their hometown, but either way they will know they have a safe place where they’re loved, where they belong.”

  He looked at Xavier. “That’s all any of us really want. My Selena is giving that to her boys.” He made his way to the door.

  In the hallway, he sighed. “That should give us another couple of hours. Why don’t you get some rest before we start the day? You have PT and an eye appointment today, right?”

  “Yeah. I have a favor to ask you. I want to make some calls and maybe take a day trip with Selena and the boys. If I can get the details worked out, will you join us and surprise Selena with making a Christmas memory as a family? We’d need to have the boys ready to go as soon as she gets home. I told her I have a special lunch planned.”

  “That girl of mine lives to make Christmas memories. Count me in.” He went to his room.

  Xavier couldn’t resist looking in on the boys one more time. They were so sweet and innocent in the cribs they were outgrowing. He smiled. Sawyer wiggled in his sleep and turned over. Walking to Oliver’s bed, he gently put his hand on his youngest son’s back. “You might be the smartest of the group. I’d love to promise you that I’d be the father you need, but I’m not sure I know how to be a father. But that’s okay, because you have one awesome mother. She deserves the best of everything.”

  Not some broken-down half of a man that couldn’t even remember her. But he could give her a Christmas tree to remember.

  Chapter T
en

  The meeting had been so long today, and all Selena seemed to care about was the lunch Xavier had planned. He’d never been the plan-a-date kind of man.

  Mail in hand, she stopped at the doorway of her house where Xavier stood. She frowned. “Why are the boys bundled up to go outside? I thought we were having lunch.”

  Xavier crossed his arms and grinned at her. “Because they are going outside. I never said where we were having lunch.”

  Riff walked in the room and picked up Sawyer. Swinging the giggly boy over his shoulder, he kissed his daughter on the cheek. “So...you excited? This will be so much fun. Sounds like something you always wanted to do.”

  “Maybe if someone told me what was going on, I could be excited instead of confused.”

  “Woad tip.” Finn clapped, then hugged Oliver around the neck. Cupping his face, he told his brother a secret.

  “Kismas twee,” Sawyer yelled.

  “It was supposed to be a surprise.” Xavier looked at his father-in-law, then back to Selena. “Your father, the boys and I have planned a special trip for you.”

  “Trip?” She dropped the mail on the foyer table and her hands went to her hips. “I have choir practice and I’m helping at the shelter with sorting—”

  “Twee. Twee. Oh Kismas twee.” All three boys started singing.

  “I called everyone that was expecting you and explained the situation. They have all given you permission to play hooky for the rest of the day. You’ll be all ready for the big day tomorrow. The parade is all set, right? I know you’d want to be in town for that.”

  “Xavier De La Rosa, I told you I will figure something out. I’m not buying a new tree this time of year.”

  Her dad picked up Oliver with his free arm and placed him on his hip. “Come on, babe. This is not the time to be practical. Your husband planned a special trip for us. Let’s get in the car and find out what adventure awaits.”

  She glared at her father’s back. That was the problem. She didn’t trust Xavier in this role of husband. He’d recover his memories and she’d be left with a broken heart again. And three little boys that now had a face for their father wouldn’t understand his leaving.