Spencer Nation's Christmas Miracle
Page 10
“I was just telling Spencer how sad I am that I missed your special Christmas morning breakfast last year,” Kit said with a big, earnest smile despite the lie. “You’re the best cook on earth, Rita.”
Rita smacked him on the shoulder with her dishtowel, but she blushed like a school girl. “Flirt,” she accused and he laughed in agreement.
Jordan, Amanda’s six month old baby, started fussing, and Spencer moved him up onto her shoulder. The youngest of Mack’s grandchildren had a head full of dark hair and the sweetest disposition. Spencer held him as often as she could, and since he wasn’t too keen on sleeping through the night, his exhausted parents were more than willing to hand him off every chance they could. As a result, snuggling the baby had become her official job. Actually, baby snuggling was pretty much her job within the family. If a kid needed a good snuggle, they looked for their Aunt Spencer.
It turned out there were some advantages to being part of this big crazy family after all.
“Hey, Allie,” Kit called out to the little girl who was trying to put on all five of the lip glosses Rita bought her at once. “I think there is another gift under the tree. Can you go look for it for me?”
At the mention of another present, both Allie and Maddie scrambled for the tree. More elbows and growls were thrown than in a WWE match, but in the end, Allie came out victorious, holding a small silver package above her head. “I have it!” she called out racing over to the couch. “It has Aunt Spencer’s name on it. See? S-p-e-n-c-e-r. That spells Spencer.”
“But I’ve already gotten all my presents.” The rule about Christmas gifts was every person only got one gift per family. Since Spencer had already opened one from Mack and Rita, one from Beth’s family, one from Amanda’s family, and one from Kit, she was officially done. No one broke the gifts rule. Not even for the kids.
“Maybe it’s from Santa,” Amanda said, reaching over to lift Jordan out of her arms. She gave Spencer a smile that screamed I know a secret!
All the moisture left Spencer’s mouth and her hands shook as she reached for the package. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew what boxes this size held, just as much as she knew every eye in the room was on her. Her fingers were clumsy as she pulled the paper off, and she almost dropped the little black velvet box before she managed to pry the top open. She got just the barest glimpse of a platinum band and a square-cut diamond before she started crying so hard she couldn’t see anything at all.
“I hope those are happy tears,” Kit said. At some point he’d slid off the couch and was kneeling in front of her. He took the box from her and gathered her left hand in his. “Come on, baby. Open your eyes and look at me.”
He eyelids fluttered open, releasing a fresh wave of tears down her cheeks. She thought she’d understood what kind of man he was a year ago, but she hadn’t had the first clue. She didn’t know then how he was the first to volunteer when someone needed a strong back to move furniture or repair a roof for a family down on their luck. She didn’t know how he could make her laugh on days when all she wanted to do was cry, or how he would help her conquer fears she didn’t even know she had. She’d loved him from the day she met him, but that emotion was just a drop in the great ocean of love she felt for him now.
“I have spent most of my life drifting from one place to another,” Kit said, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb. “My mom never liked to be tied down to one place or person for too long. Then came the military, where I was shuffled from base to tour of duty to wherever it was Uncle Sam thought I could serve a greater purpose. Even after I bought my house in Nashville I couldn’t find a place to settle, a place to be my own. The only true home I had ever known was this house, and then came you.” Spencer tried to wipe her eyes dry with her free hand, but it was a completely pointless gesture as new tears quickly took their place. “I used to think home was a place, but now I know it’s not. It’s a person. You, Spencer Ann Nation, are my home.”
“I love you,” she said, although the words didn’t feel like enough. What she felt for him went so beyond anything she’d ever known before that words didn’t do it justice.
“And I love you more than life itself,” Kit said. “Which is why, I’m asking here in front of our family, will you please let me have two years of Christmas miracles in a row and agree to becoming my wife?”
Years later, Maddie would point out that Spencer never actually said yes. Of course, she only said it to annoy her cousins, Joy and Evie, Spencer’s third and fourth Christmas miracles.
Did you enjoy Spencer & Kit’s story?
Be sure to look for a new contemporary romance series coming from Tammy Blackwell Fall 2018!
Meanwhile, check out some of her other books:
Of Magic & Machine series
(Adult Steampunk Romance)
A Dance Like Flame
A Desire Like Song
Timber Wolves Trilogy
(YA paranormal)
Destiny Binds
Time Mends
Fate Succumbs
Shifters & Seers
(YA paranormal - Timber Wolves spinoff series)
Fragile Brilliance
Infinite Harmony
Whispered Visions
World of Shifters & Seers novellas:
At First Sight
All We See & Seem