A Soldier's Christmas

by Lexi Buchanan

  He wondered what Emma was doing with the heavy snow, and whether she’d be in town or even in work, which gave him a thought.

  If he couldn’t drive out and find where Emma lived, he could walk around town and check out Elizabeth’s Emporium. He didn’t need to go inside, but nothing was stopping him from checking it out, and if he caught sight of Emma, then so be it.

  His heart thumped in his chest at the thought that he might get to see Emma, even if it was from a distance.

  With his mind made up, he drained the cup of lukewarm coffee and grabbed his jacket from the stand at the entrance near the door. Cabin fever was about to end as he stepped onto the porch and looked around before he stepped into the snow.

  The B&B was only a few minutes walk to Elizabeth’s Emporium, and, although the brisk walk warmed him, his feet started to drag, the cold nipping at his exposed skin and his thoughts, as he approached the store.

  The spirit of Christmas was strong at the store. There wasn’t a window free of decorations, or Christmas lights. A Christmas tree was decorated to the side of the entrance and the lights twinkled against the green background.

  “You coming or going?”

  He looked around and realized he blocked the entrance of the store while he stood looking at the tree.

  “I’m sorry.” He backed out of the way. “I’m just admiring.”

  “Hmm.” The woman in question ignored him and disappeared through the doors, a frown marring her lips—she seemed to need some Christmas spirit herself.

  A heavy sigh followed while he stepped further away and watched through the window, and that’s when his heart stopped beating for a few seconds. Emma. Her lovely hair was pulled into a band at the back of her head, and her trim figure was encased in jeans and one of the ugliest sweaters he’d ever seen—a jarring mixture of red and green knit that had white reindeer jumping all over it amongst oversized knitted snowflakes. The sweater made him smile but the sight of her made his fingers itch as he ached to touch her. She had purple, knee-high snow boots on her feet and she looked so damn comfortable that he was tempted to walk in and tell her who he was.

  “Emma Keller.”

  The voice startled him, but he smiled when he met the woman’s gaze. “Hello, Betty.”

  “You can’t take your eyes from her,” the old woman from the night before said with a twinkle in her eyes. “She’s single...if you were wondering.” She winked, and carried on along the sidewalk.

  Well, that’d been easy. Finding out if she was single had seemed like a monumental feat but he’d needed to know before he showed up on Emma’s doorstep. It was good to know that he wouldn’t be screwing her life up by his unexpected arrival.

  His fingers itched to touch her. His heart ached to talk to her. He shook his head, he wasn’t ready yet. He needed it to be perfect and he’d waited this long, so a little bit longer wouldn’t hurt him. It might give him another rough night with thoughts of her waking him, but he could wait.

  He glanced through the window again and found that he couldn’t look away or move. She had him captivated, and his body hummed with pleasure at how close she was to him.

  One more night, and he’d find a way to her, even if it killed him.

  Chapter 6

  Once Emma discovered that Travis, her brother, was about to head into town for a few hours, she’d grabbed it as a lifeline and hitched a ride with him. She didn’t think Elizabeth would mind her being underfoot for a while until Travis was on his way home.

  She’d needed to escape the house once she’d written in her diary to express her feelings about missing Logan. One thing she couldn’t understand was why her family was so against her communicating with him in the first place. Well, okay, she got that she’d dated Seth at the time when they’d first started corresponding, but it had been over twelve months since that had dwindled into nothing when Seth left town. So why continue to be unsupportive?

  Perhaps she needed to listen to her mom for a change and pull herself together instead of constantly having a cloud of heartache following her. Easier said than done, though.

  As she bent at one of the tables in the coffee section, Emma felt a chill race along her arms. It wasn’t unpleasant, and the goose bumps that were left in its wake made her glance around the store. Her gaze landed on the front window as she caught the back of a man as he left the sidewalk.

  Strange.

  Elizabeth nudged her hip with her own. “Okay, you need to talk.” Elizabeth followed her to the counter and waited patiently while Emma took her time with the dirty pots and the display. “You’ve acted odd for a while now, but today it’s...I don’t know really, but I guess it’s more noticeable. It’s as though you can’t be bothered with Christmas, and that isn’t like you at all.”

  Elizabeth knew her well. In fact, Elizabeth had known her since she was a teenager, and she used to come inside the store with Bree. She could talk to Elizabeth, at least, she’d never had trouble talking with her before, but now she found it difficult.

  “Emma, honey. You know I don’t spread gossip like the others in town, but please know that I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

  Emma nodded, not trusting her voice. She could feel tears burning her eyes but she didn’t let them fall.

  Elizabeth squeezed her hand before she went off to see if anyone else needed help, leaving Emma with her mind still on Logan.

  He held her heart, and she needed to do something to find him instead of feeling sorry for herself. So that’s what she’d do. She would head to North Carolina after the holidays, and find out about her man.

  Everything had been affected because of her sorrow: her writing, her relationship with her mom, and even working in town. Her mind was constantly elsewhere instead of on the present.

  She took in a steady breath and marveled at the calm flowing through her. It was definitely the best plan—to find Logan—and her spirits were starting to pick up. All she had to do was get through Christmas and keep everything to herself. There was no way she’d allow her mom, or the rest of her family, to talk her out of her brilliant idea.

  “That’s a beautiful smile.”

  Emma pulled herself back into the present and stared at Betty. Matchmaker Betty was what everyone called her, and she relished the title.

  “Thank you, Betty. I’ve just made my mind up about something so my smile is warranted.”

  “Hmm.”

  Betty crossed her arms and looked her over. Emma was used to this, and couldn’t keep the amusement off her face.

  “There was a man outside.” Betty smirked when Emma’s gaze flickered to the window. The same window that she’d looked through when she’d gotten the goose bumps. “He was mesmerized with you,” she added, and looked rather smug about it. “He was cute as well. Far too young for me.” She chuckled.

  Emma smiled. “I’m sure he was just passing by.” Even as the words left her mouth she wondered about him and whether or not he was the reason that she’d reacted not too long ago.

  “You need a nice young man, Emma. Someone to tangle in the sheets with.”

  “What?” Emma choked in surprise, heat rushing to her cheeks.

  “I might be old, but I was young once.” Betty had a dreamy look across her face. “You haven’t smiled for a while now. I think you should go visit with Adele and try to catch sight of the handsome young man who’d disappeared in that direction. Maybe he could put a smile on your face”

  Emma smiled softly. “I’m sure he was handsome, but I’m fine, Betty.” Emma bent and kissed Betty’s cheek. “I really am...now you have a lovely Christmas.” Emma quickly walked away before Betty had her agreeing to go and find the ‘handsome young man’.

  Chapter 7

  A new day, and more snow. He couldn’t remember ever seeing as much snow as he had since he’d arrived in town. It made everywhere look so pretty, and white. The whiteness would be blinding if he hadn’t brought his shades with him. But today he was going to claim Emma Kell
er for himself. At least, he hoped that was the outcome. He’d been unable to settle after he caught sight of her the day before, and it had taken a great deal of strength to not turn around and go back to talk to her.

  He’d eventually talked himself into the fact that he’d made the right decision in the end because he didn’t want to approach her unaware in the middle of a store. He wanted her to be around her own home, which is why he’d waited and bided his time. He’d eaten sandwiches and soup for lunch and the snow had finally stopped.

  The snowplow had made the road through town passable, which was why Logan was dressed to face the outside elements. He was armed with a map and the print out showing the area that covered the zip code from Emma’s return address.

  He had to start somewhere, and that included getting the snow off his truck. All he could make out was a lump where it was parked. He sighed. It would take him about an hour to get the truck cleaned off from the snow.

  He turned to head back inside and nearly crashed into Greg.

  “Saw you headed out with keys in hand so figured you’d need help.” He smiled and held up a couple of snow shovels.

  “Thank you.” Logan smiled in relief, even though he felt that Greg was itching to get Logan’s destination out of him.

  He’d like to trust Greg and ask for directions, but Logan wasn’t sure he wouldn’t tell Adele, who he figured loved to gossip.

  “You know,” Greg started, “there is a winter fest on at the town hall in a few days. If you’re still in town, you should go.”

  Logan laughed. “You asking me out?” He teased.

  “Fuck no!” Greg laughed. “There will be a few single girls there is all I meant.”

  Logan paused from shoveling the snow from around the tires and admitted, “I have a girl. At least, I hope I do.”

  “Hmm,” Greg mumbled. “Now that’s telling.” He rested against the shovel in his hand. “So, if she’s not with you, then I’m guessing you’re visiting her.”

  Logan had probably said too much, but he hadn’t named anyone. “Maybe.”

  Greg laughed. “Okay, don’t tell me, at least that way, my mother won’t be able to get it out of me.”

  So Logan had been right to keep his mouth shut. “Sorted your own girl problems out yet?” he asked Greg.

  “No.” Greg frowned. “I’m convinced her mother has something to do with her decision to dodge my every move. I sowed a lot of oats when I was younger and I guess her mother remembers that. At least Anna wasn’t around back then. Just wish her mother didn’t have such a fucking good memory.”

  “Prove yourself, and I’m sure you’ll get under the mother’s skin before too long.” Logan laughed. “I’m done giving you advice about women...I feel like a fucking girl.”

  Greg laughed, and they continued to work in silence for a while until Logan’s truck was cleared and he’d be able to get it out to the road.

  When he was finally on his way, his stomach cramped with nerves.

  Chapter 8

  “Emma, can you go into town and pick up some groceries for me?”

  Emma looked at her mom, but she wouldn’t meet Emma’s gaze. Why? Emma’s brother, Travis, had headed into town as soon as him and Gabe, her brother-in-law, had cleared the road. What was stopping him from calling at the store?

  “Travis is already there, just message him the list.” Emma continued to read from her book.

  She felt the silence as it settled around the kitchen. Almost afraid to look up, Emma slowly marked her page and glanced from her mom, who looked surprised, to Bree, who couldn’t seem to believe Emma had spoken the way she had, before it settled on Gabe, who looked amused. He hid it well, though.

  “What’s going on?” she finally asked. “Why would you ask me to drive all the way into town, knowing the roads are probably bad, when Travis is already there? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Look, Emma, I was only trying to give you something to do, maybe, take your mind off everything.” Her mom sat opposite. “I’ve had enough of seeing you like this. Where has the fun loving girl gone? At one time you’d be outside in the snow- sledding or building a snowman.” She paused. “Sometimes, when you’re here, it’s as though only your body is, but your mind is elsewhere. You know that I never agreed with you writing to that soldier, a stranger, while you dated Seth. But you did, and this is why you’re like you are and I want it to stop. It has to stop and you need to forget about him.”

  Emma felt her anger as it slowly rolled through her. How could her mom speak like that about a soldier, her soldier, the man she was sure that she loved? “You’re out of line. He’s overseas risking his life to protect this country, and yes, I know you didn’t agree with me writing to a stranger, but I did and now that he’s stopped, I’m worried about him. I can’t help that I care. But you have to stop telling me to stop thinking about him. It doesn’t work like that. I can’t switch my feelings on and off like a faucet.” Emma came to the end of her tirade and didn’t know what the hell to do.

  She wanted to scream! One letter was all she needed to know that he was okay, but she didn’t know how to contact him if he wasn’t deployed. Logan had told her that he didn’t have a place he called home. Instead when he got back from his deployments, he would always check in to a hotel until he found another apartment to rent until it was time to ship out. Through his words, she’d gotten the feeling that he’d grown tired of not having anyone to care about him or anything to call his. At the end of all her letters to him, after the first few, she’d signed them with love and told him to stay safe for her. She only prayed that he had.

  “Emma, you know Mom means well. She cares about you. We all do.” Bree sat beside her husband of six years with his hand on her swollen stomach.

  Her sister had two months to go before Emma’s niece or nephew was born. As she watched Bree and Gabe, she longed for that. She longed for her man to be beside her while he caressed her belly that was swollen with their child.

  “Look, I know you all mean well,” she admitted, “but I need to get through this on my own. None of you understand the relationship I had with him, it was special. More special than anything I’ve had with anyone else, and it’s going to take me time, especially because there was no goodbye…no explanation. You all just need to be patient with me.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell them that she planned on moving out in the New Year. She’d move out tomorrow if she didn’t think that she’d make this whole thing with her family worse.

  Of course, her family would worry about her, but why couldn’t they just give her space, and talk about something else instead of her all the time? The answer to that was because she had stopped listening to what they had to say.

  “This is all my fault,” her mom whispered. “I should have been honest from the start.”

  She frowned. “What? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

  “I...I stopped…”

  Bang. Bang.

  Who would call to the house with how bad the weather had been?

  Bang. Bang.

  “I’ll get it.” Emma jumped up, anything to break the tension in the kitchen.

  With a heavy heart, she headed toward the front door and could make out someone, a man, bundled up, through the glass of the door. He stomped his feet on the mat, either to get the snow off or to keep warm.

  Hurriedly, she pulled the door open.

  “Can I help you?” Emma asked, and looked up into the most mesmerizing pair of blue eyes that she’d ever seen.

  Her heart stopped as she quickly glanced over him, but her eyes wanted to look at his face, and those eyes. There was a spark of some indefinable emotion in his unwavering gaze...that looked so familiar…

  It couldn’t be.

  As realization slowly started to sink in, Emma’s hand slipped from the door and went limp beside her. Her heart picked up a frantic beat in her chest as tears gathered on her lashes.

  He really stood before her.
>
  “Emma?” Logan whispered, and took a step closer.

  “Is it really you?” She reached up, and caressed one side of his face. She watched as his eyes closed on a sigh, and he leaned into her.

  And that’s when the tears started to fall from her eyes. There was no control over them as they fell down her face. Logan hesitated then reached out and pulled her into his arms. Emma had no trouble embracing him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms held her tightly against him while she cried into his neck.

  He was alive.

  “You stopped writing,” she whispered. “I thought something bad had happened to you.”

  Logan didn’t answer, but kept his face buried in her neck, like she did with him. His scent was delicious, and probably lingered from his shower. She kissed his neck and felt his reaction when he shuddered against her, and held her closer.

  Emma was afraid to let go of him in case he disappeared, but gradually the cold had started to seep through her clothes.

  She should invite him inside. Where had her manners gone?

  Not wanting to break their embrace, Emma stepped back slightly and kept her hands on his arms. When she met his gaze, his eyes were damp. “Come inside.” She stepped backward and Logan followed her through the door, closing it behind him with his foot.

  With a watery smile, she stepped around him and reached up to remove his hat; her fingers ran over his short, dark hair and she didn’t want to stop touching him. Her hands slid down to his chest and she unfastened his jacket—helping him remove it along with his gloves. Once she’d placed them on the stand by the door, she turned and found him directly behind her.

  His hands cupped her face, his thumbs caressed along her cheekbones. “My Emma.”

  Her tears started again at his words, and the obvious emotion behind them.

  “Don’t cry.” He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her back into his embrace. Her arms slipped around his waist, and she clung to him.