Tidings of Joy

by Margaret Daley

  Tanya walked to the next table and began cleaning up. “You were right. Bullies aren’t born, they are made.”

  “And after what I saw between Holly and her father, I can imagine where the girl learned her ways.”

  “Jim Proctor has always thrown his weight around, steamrolling over others.” She dropped some more trash into the plastic bag.

  “Maybe it isn’t too late to teach his daughter there are better ways to interact with peers than to harass them and make fun of them.”

  “When’s Dane starting the antibullying classes?”

  “After the new year.”

  “Do you think anyone will come?”

  Chance shrugged. “We have to start somewhere. Even if it means there are only a handful who take the class, it’s a beginning.”

  “We?” Tanya completed removing the used paper goods from the last table. “You sound pretty vested in this.”

  “I did some research and found the program Dane’s going to use. That’s all of my participation.”

  “Because you won’t be here?” Tanya held her breath waiting for the reply she knew was going to come.

  “Yes.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  From across Jesse’s large living room Christmas Eve, Tanya watched Chance interact with Dane, Nick and Samuel. The ease with which he fit in with the other men didn’t surprise her. He was the same kind of man as her friends’ husbands—caring, loving and ethical. Her friends were blessed to have found such men. She didn’t envy them their happy marriage; she just wished she was as blessed.

  Ever since she and Chance had cleaned up at the youth center after the party, she couldn’t get out of her mind that he had told her yet again he was leaving soon. The very thought brought such intense, sad emotions to the foreground. Chance deserved some happiness; she deserved some. Why couldn’t he see she would be good for him?

  “You’re drooling,” Jesse whispered close to her ear.

  “Am I that transparent?” Tanya turned her attention to her friends standing near her.

  “Written all over your face, so if you don’t want him to know you need to get better at hiding your feelings.” Zoey took a bite of a small sandwich square with cream cheese and cucumber. “This is good, Jesse.”

  That’s it! If she didn’t risk her heart and tell him how she felt, how was she ever going to know if she and Chance might work out? She needed to find a time soon to let him know she loved him. There, she’d admitted it. I love Chance! I want to make a life with him.

  Now to convince him she was the right woman for him. Even if he needed more time to heal, she understood that and would give it to him. She just didn’t want him to move away. Her gaze drifted back to Chance, his face lit with laughter, the hard lines of life almost gone.

  He may not know it yet, but this is his home now. Every time she looked at him, she saw it in his relaxed stance, the humor in his eyes, the peace that he conveyed.

  “I’m thinking if we want Tanya to participate in our conversation, we need to drag Chance over here to join us,” Beth said.

  Tanya exaggerated a pout and faced her friends. “I had to suffer through you all going all dreamy eyed over your husbands so you will just have to put up with me doing it.”

  “Ah, there, she has admitted it finally. Congratulations.” Jesse patted her on the back.

  As Beth and Zoey offered their congratulations, Tanya said, “Shh. You’ll have everyone in the room, including Chance, looking over here.” She lowered her voice. “Yes, I admit I’m in love with him, but if you all say anything…” She let the threat trail off into the sudden silence as her three friends stared at her wide-eyed.

  Beth was the first one to recover, saying, “I can’t believe you said the words.”

  “No regrets?” Zoey asked.

  Tanya shook her head.

  Jesse glanced toward Chance then back. “No more we’re just friends?”

  “Nope. I’m not gonna fight these feelings anymore. It’s exhausting.”

  Laughter erupted from her friends, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Shh. You can’t say anything until I’ve said something to Chance.” Tanya stared each of her friends directly in the eye.

  After they agreed, Jesse sighed. “Of all the times Darcy can’t be here. She’ll be so upset she wasn’t. I can say something to her, can’t I?”

  “Fine.” Tanya’s neck tingled. Peering over her shoulder, she caught Chance studying her.

  “Thankfully Alexa is all right. I know how it can be when one of your children, especially a baby, spikes a fever,” Zoey said.

  “I’m glad she called to let us know or I would have worried all night.”

  Tanya heard Jesse’s comment that led to a discussion of children’s illnesses, but her friends’ voices slowly faded from her consciousness. From across the room all she could focus on was Chance looking at her as though no one else existed. They were the only two people in the room filled with over twenty guests.

  Chance smiled, his dimples showing.

  She returned his smile, then said to the group, “Excuse me.”

  Chance left the men and walked toward her. They met in the middle of the living room with people all around them. But the others didn’t really register on her brain. Every sense fixated on the man before her, looking so incredibly handsome. The faint scent of the outdoors, from when he had helped Nick bring in the wood for the fire, clung to him.

  “Hi, are you enjoying yourself?” Tanya asked, wanting every second of the holiday season to be perfect for Chance, especially in light of her discovery that she loved him.

  “Yes, how about you?” His eyes twinkled with merriment.

  “Yes,” she murmured as though she were a teenage girl again and dating for the first time. She was beginning to understand what Crystal was going through with her feelings for Grant Foster. “Good friends and good food. What more can you ask for?”

  He took her hand and tugged her out of the path to the food table to a more secluded spot off to the side. “I want to thank you.”

  Every nerve ending in her hand responded to his fingers closed about hers. For a few seconds she couldn’t put two coherent words together to reply to his statement. “Why?”

  “I know you have gone out of your way to make sure I am included in your holiday activities as well as others.”

  “Am I that transparent?” She worried that she wore her feelings on her face. Did he see her love for him?

  “Yep. I haven’t had much downtime in the past month.”

  “Have I worn you out?”

  “No way. Bring it on. I can keep up with you.”

  “Well, we need to leave for church in a while. I’m in charge of the birthday party.”

  A question entered Chance’s eyes. “Birthday party?”

  “Jesus’s. After the service this evening, we have cake and punch to celebrate Christ’s birth. I want to lay everything out before the service so I don’t have to leave during it.”

  “I like that.”

  “What? My superb organizational skills or the celebration?”

  The humor in his eyes brightened. “Both actually. Are we picking up Crystal at Amanda’s beforehand?”

  “Yeah, Amanda’s coming to church with us. Her parents will come later.” Their discussion underscored how meshed their lives had become—almost as though they were a couple talking about their daughter, their plans as a family. I want that. I want what my friends have, a husband to complete my family.

  “We’d better say our goodbyes. With the roads still snow covered it might take us longer to get to church.” He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward Jesse.

  After they thanked Jesse for inviting them, Tanya started for the front door
. In the large foyer she paused while Chance retrieved their coats from the bedroom. He assisted her into her wool wrap, then swung her around to face him. He pointed upward, his look full of mischief.

  She tilted her head and saw the mistletoe with a red bow. Leave it to the town matchmaker to have mistletoe in her foyer, Tanya thought with a laugh. “Do you have something in mind, sir?”

  “One or two things come to mind.” He leaned forward, framing her face with his large hands. “We can’t go against tradition,” he whispered right before kissing her.

  His mouth claimed hers in a union that rocked her to her core. His hands fell away from her cheeks, and he fit her against him, his arms trapping her in the very place she wanted to be—his embrace.

  When they parted, his forehead touching hers, he murmured, “I couldn’t resist. I haven’t seen mistletoe in years since…” Suddenly his arms about her tensed and he straightened, pulling slightly away.

  She wasn’t going to let him retreat. “Since when?”

  A wistful look entered his eyes. “Since the last Christmas I spent with my family. Haley had wanted to buy some when we bought the tree. She was eleven and into boys. I think she had visions of kissing a boy under the mistletoe.”

  Having seen her photo in Chance’s apartment, Tanya knew how pretty his daughter had been. “And you got some?” she asked in mock horror, desperate to lighten the mood.

  He grinned, relaxing. “I was a sucker for her smile, but I also knew I wouldn’t let a boy within ten yards of her and the mistletoe.”

  “Now that’s the picture I see of you and your daughter.”

  He quirked a brow. “Tyrant and princess?”

  “Yep.”

  His chuckle filled the air. “C’mon. Let’s get Crystal and Amanda and get to church.”

  Hearing him say those words put a spring in her step as she and Chance made their way to her van. Bundled up against the cold night, she slipped into the passenger seat and he got behind the wheel. He’d been driving more and more. She expected him to buy a used car soon. She knew he had been saving his money. It wouldn’t be long before he would have a good down payment for one.

  * * *

  “Mom! Mom! Time to get up.”

  Tanya buried herself under the blankets. She didn’t want to get up even though it was Christmas morning. They hadn’t gotten home from church until after one, then she hadn’t been able to go to sleep for hours, thinking of her tenant. She’d wrapped Chance’s presents, excitement building, making sleep impossible.

  The door opened. “Mom! It’s past nine. We usually have our gifts opened by now.”

  Tanya peeped out of the mound of covers and saw the dim light in her bedroom. “It seems like dawn.”

  “That’s because it’s snowing again.”

  Tanya struggled to sit up, the pull to lie back down strong. “It is? I thought it was clouding up last night when we got home.”

  “Yep. Big flakes. I went out on the deck for a few minutes until I got too cold.”

  She smiled at her daughter. “You just can’t resist snow.”

  “Nope. C’mon, sleepyhead. I told Chance to be over in half an hour. That I’d have you up and going by then.”

  “You’ve seen him this morning?” Half an hour? Running her hands through her messy hair, Tanya scooted to the edge of her bed. Her heart already began to pound in anticipation of seeing him again in such a short time.

  “He was drinking coffee on his step and enjoying the snow so he came over to keep me company while I was on the deck. He likes snow like you and I do.” She turned her wheelchair around and headed out into the hall. “I promised him I would wait until he could join us to open my presents.”

  The second her daughter disappeared down the hall Tanya flew into action, amazed her body could move so fast when only a few minutes ago sleep weighed her limbs down. Motivation was a powerful mover. She didn’t have much time, and she wanted to look her best today for Chance. She’d decided she would tell him how important he was to her. Now all she had to do was find the perfect time today.

  Half an hour later she stood before her full-length mirror analyzing how she looked. With her body trimmer since she started jogging with Chance, she fit easily into last year’s holiday outfit of red slacks, white lace blouse and Christmas sweater with decorated trees. Her short brown hair, still a little damp from her shower, framed her face in wisps. She moved to the mirror and put red lipstick on as the final touch.

  The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house. Strange. Chance usually came to the back door, and Crystal knew that and would be waiting for him. Tanya left her room and hurried toward the front, anxious to see Chance.

  When she opened the door and found Nick standing on her porch with a huge box behind him, she had to snap her mouth closed at her surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  He grinned. “Making a delivery for Chance. Is he here yet?”

  “I’m right here.”

  Tanya gasped and whirled around, her hand going to her mouth. “How did you get in here?”

  “The usual way, through the back door. Crystal let me in.”

  “I know I’m used to the cold and everything being from Chicago, but just in case you didn’t notice, it is snowing and it’s Christmas morning. I promised my family I would only be gone a few minutes.” Nick shifted to get hold of one side of the box with a big red bow on it.

  Chance walked past Tanya and got the other side. “How did you get it to the porch?”

  “Nate. He’s waiting in the car. I think he thinks if he waits in the car I won’t stay long.”

  “Clever boy,” Chance said, looking toward Nick’s SUV. “Tell him thanks for me.”

  Chance backed through the door while Tanya stepped to the side, shivering in the cold. Peering outside, she noticed the snow falling more heavily.

  “Take it in the living room, then Nick, you’d better get on home. It’s getting worse.” Tanya closed the door to shut out the frigid air and followed the men.

  After they set the gift in front of the fireplace next to Charlie, Nick said his goodbyes and left. Tanya along with Crystal stared at the box wrapped in gold paper.

  “You must have used several rolls of wrapping paper.” Tanya circled the present. “Who’s it for?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Me?” Her daughter wheeled close and stopped next to it, fingering the gold paper. “This isn’t one of those presents you open and there’s another smaller box inside, then another one and another one?”

  Chance chuckled. “No. This is a huge present.”

  “But I can’t think of anything—”

  “Open it, honey, before your mother dies of curiosity.” Tanya moved to Chance’s side, seeing the excitement in his expression.

  The excitement was contagious as her daughter peeled off one strip of wrapping paper. It built as each piece of the box was revealed. But when the gift was finally unwrapped, a brown box with no writing on it still kept the present hidden.

  Chance shifted from one foot to the other. “Do you want me to help with the box? I’ve got my pocketknife.” He retrieved it and flipped it open.

  “Yes, please.” Crystal patted Charlie while she waited.

  Chance slit the top open. Her daughter maneuvered close and stretched to see inside at the same time she did. The sight of the sports wheelchair took Tanya’s breath away. She glanced back at Chance who had stepped away to let them look. His expression radiated with a bright smile.

  Words congealed in her throat. She knew how expensive the wheelchair was. This was what he had been saving for—not a used car. “Chance?” was all she managed to say as she looked at Crystal, stunned, her fingers pressed to her flushed cheeks while her mouth hung open.

  Silence ruled.

 
“What do you think? Can you use it?” Chance finally asked.

  Tears welled in her daughter’s eyes as she swung around to stare at Chance. One after another slipped down her face, setting off Tanya’s own tears.

  Crystal gestured toward the gift. “I—I—” She swallowed several times. “I love it! It’s perfect. But you shouldn’t—”

  Chance held up his hand. “Don’t say it. The joy I see on your face is the best present I could receive. I want you to be able to play basketball and whatever else you want to that requires that kind of wheelchair.”

  The pressure in Tanya’s chest made breathing difficult. She swiped at her tears and thought of the sacrifice this man had made for her daughter. The love she felt doubled in that instant.

  “Let me get it out for you. Do you want to try it out?” He stepped to the box.

  Crystal nodded while she wiped her own tears away, a huge smile on her face as she watched Chance lift it up and then place it beside Crystal’s electric wheelchair. He leaned over her daughter who put her arms around his neck. He picked her up and transferred her to the shiny chrome and black sports chair, much lighter than her other one, with big wheels that were set at a slant.

  Before he straightened, Crystal kissed his cheek. “Thank you doesn’t seem enough.”

  Red patches colored his face. “That’s plenty.”

  His roughened voice underscored how affected he was by her daughter’s appreciation. Tanya kissed him on the other cheek. “Thank you. We will remember this Christmas for a long time.”

  He glanced at her, his dark blue gaze capturing hers. “So will I.”

  For a long moment no one said anything. Tanya continued to stare into his eyes, drowning in his regard that from the beginning had always made her feel so special, so womanly.

  “Hey, we have other presents to open, you two.”

  Crystal’s statement broke the connection between her and Chance. He looked away. She peered at her daughter wheeling the new chair around the living room.

  “Yes, we have a gift, or rather gifts, for you.” Tanya forced herself to step away from him and knelt by the tree to retrieve a bright package with red and green ornaments on it. “Here, open this first.”