“Pancakes will be coming up momentarily or if you prefer, French toast.” He handed Leah a cup then sat down beside Danica. “You can have both if you want.”
“Wow. You’ve got a good husband, Leah.”
He took a sip of his cocoa. “Not bad, if I do say so myself. So what’s on the agenda today?”
Leah looked at Danica and grinned. In sync, they both said, “Church.”
Danica laughed. “After the pancakes, of course.”
“Of course.” He took another sip and then winked at Leah. “So, sweet sister-in-law of mine, I couldn’t help but notice we may have interrupted a moment between you and the preacher.”
Leah giggled. “My sister and the preacher in a budding romance. Who would have thought?”
Danica tried to look stern but ended up laughing. “You did no such thing. Well, maybe you did, but I was glad for the interruption. And there is no budding romance.”
“I’d forgotten the two of you dated in high school.” Leah added. “Whatever happened with that?”
She waited for the old familiar anger and bitterness to show up. It didn’t. Wow. It felt good to be free of that. “Ancient history.”
“It didn’t look all that ancient to me,” Mark said.
Danica stood. “I’m taking a shower while the pancakes are cooked.” She walked down the hall with a smile. At least she could go to church without having to seeing Connor—he had his own church to take care of.
18
Church was over.
The presents unwrapped.
Leah and Mark were cleaning up the kitchen after their turkey dinner.
Danica was rocking Angelica. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of doing that.
The doorbell rang.
Her stomach clenched. Connor? She wasn’t ready to finish their conversation. Maybe she never would be. Standing, she called, “I’ll get it.”
Mark walked in from the kitchen. “I’m already there.” He opened the door.
“Ho. Ho. Ho.” A deep voice bellowed. “I heard there was someone here who’s very deserving of a special visit from Christmas.”
She relaxed. Not Connor. But why wasn’t it? He’d declared his undying love and then she hadn’t heard a thing from him all day. But maybe that was a good thing.
They’d all been so emotional last night.
In the light of day, he’d probably realized his folly.
“Come on in, Santa,” Mark held open the door.
Leah walked in, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Hello, Santa.”
“Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas, Leah?”
“I have all that I’ll ever need. My husband, my daughter, and my wonderful sister.”
“A sister. Ho. Ho. Ho. Dani Girl.”
“Is that you, Willie?”
“I don’t know Willie. I’m Santa.”
“OK, if you say so. Santa.”
“I say so. But I do have a message from this Willie character.”
She laughed. “I bet you do.”
He took off his hat and fake whiskers. “I just wanted to make sure you were OK. I heard all about your adventure. So, how are you?”
“You know what they say. All’s well that ends well.” She held up Angelica. “And it ended very well.”
“So it did. God is so good.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Will. I wasn’t very nice to you when I first saw you.”
Leah walked over. “Time for the little angel’s nap.” She crooked her neck at Mark who winked and then left the room as well.
“There’s no need to apologize, Danica. You have every right to be as rude to me as you want. I did a horrible thing all those years ago. I have no excuse except to say I was young and stupid, and I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“It’s forgiven.” She met his gaze. “Really. Truly. Now and forever.”
He grinned back. “Good to hear. Can I call you Dani again?”
She rolled her eyes. “I suppose that would be OK.”
He walked over and kissed her cheek. “Welcome home, Dani. It really is good to see you. Now I do have a few gifts to deliver to this address. I’ll bring them in and then be on my way or my wife will not be happy.”
“Your wife?”
“Happily married for the past seven years. With two kids—twin boys.”
“Wow. That’s nice. Is it someone I know?”
He shook his head. “No, I met her while I was stationed in Hawaii. She hates our winters.”
“I can’t say I blame her.”
He put the hat and beard back on. “Be right back. Merry Christmas.”
Who would have thought it? Will Schaeffer—husband, father, and chief of police. A few minutes later a soft knock sounded at the door.
Danica hurried over to open it.
Santa was back with several large gifts.
“Oh my, Santa. Are you sure those are for us?”
“Ho. Ho. Ho. Checked my list twice. These are definitely for you, Dani girl.” He pulled down the beard. Not Willie but Connor. He grinned. “Surprise.”
She laughed. “Definitely a surprise.”
“I’ll bet you thought I forgot all about you.”
She decided to ignore his comment. “Merry Christmas, Connor.”
“I know you were shocked speechless yesterday when I declared my love for you. But sometimes a guy’s gotta say what a guy’s gotta say.”
“I won’t deny it. I was a bit surprised.” She shrugged. “Or maybe a lot.”
“I want you to know that I’m not pressuring you in any way. I’m also here to tell you that I plan on wooing you in an old-fashioned way. And this is my first attempt at wooing.” He pointed at the presents. “I’ve got a lot more fun things planned before you head back to Florida.”
“Really? An old-fashioned wooing?” Her confusion began to melt.
“By the time you leave, you’ll want to turn around and come right back.”
“What if I don’t want to come back? After all, Florida’s my home now.”
“I’m sure they have churches in Florida.”
“You’d move to Florida for me?”
“I’d go to the ends of the earth for my Dani girl. But I’d prefer not to have to go in any more burning buildings to find you.”
“That sounds like a good plan, Connor.”
“What do you say, Dani?”
She batted her eyes. “I’m not making any promises but woo away, Santa boy.”
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A Christmas Stolen (Christmas Holiday Extravaganza) Page 9