The Christmas Wishing Tree: An Eternity Springs Novel

by Emily March

  Jenna almost dropped her ice cream cone. Did he just say what she thought he’d said? This from the man who’d kissed her socks off more than once? The man with whom she was moving in with tomorrow?

  Yep.

  Hurt rolled through her and it took every bit of acting talent to keep it out of her expression. Now she saw why Cam joked about Devin’s harem. He bargained away women like rugs at a bazaar.

  Boone was obviously caught off guard by the suggestion too, but the interest on his face proved a soothing balm to Jenna’s raw feelings. “Now there’s a fabulous idea. My bad for not thinking of it myself. Jenna, would you and Reilly do me the honor . . . and solid . . . of attending the Callahan’s Fourthfest with me?”

  Jenna didn’t bother to spare Devin a glance. “I’d love to, Boone. Thank you. Although I’ve promised to take Michael also. His parents aren’t planning to arrive until later in the day.”

  Boone’s smile beamed like a camera flash. “That’s one Murphy I don’t mind tagging along on our date.” Giving Devin a pointed look, he added, “I trust you have other plans?”

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Yeah. I’m going with my parents. My time here in Eternity Springs is limited, and I want to spend as much time with them as possible.”

  Well. That only made it worse. Jenna gave Boone her brightest smile. “What time are you planning to go to the Callahans?”

  “Actually, I was on my way now. Branch requested I come early to visit. Personally, I think he wants to grill me. Do you mind going this soon?”

  “Not at all. The boys are anxious to head that way.”

  “Cool. Do they like to fish?”

  Jenna recalled Michael’s excitement the day of the accident. “Definitely.”

  “Excellent.” Boone clapped Devin on the back. “You just made my holiday, Murphy.”

  “Oh joy,” Devin muttered

  “Shall we go?”

  As Jenna started to stand, both Boone and Devin reached to help her. When she had her crutch securely beneath one arm—and her churning emotions locked away—she gave Devin a cool smile. “Thank you for the ice cream.”

  “Sure. You’re welcome.” He hesitated a moment, then said, “Jenna, I . . .”

  She waited, but it quickly became obvious that the thought was to remain unfinished. Abruptly, he turned away. “I need to say goodbye to my brother.”

  Watching his long-legged strides eat up the distance between the bench and the playground, Jenna stewed. Devin Murphy ran more hot and cold than the shower room at Stardance Ranch at the end of square dance night. He called Michael’s name, and while he spoke to the boy, Jenna mentally focused on dismissing him. Forget Devin Murphy. I’ll go have a wonderful time with Boone and . . . and . . . and set off some fireworks.

  She looked away from Devin to find Boone watching her with a knowing look in his eyes. “It’s the Aussie accent, isn’t it?”

  Jenna winced. “I’m that obvious?”

  “I’m an extremely observant guy.”

  She tossed what was left of her ice cream cone into a nearby trash can. “It’s not the Aussie accent. It’s a long story and I’ll have to tell you when the boys aren’t around. Let’s just say I’m having Santa Claus issues.”

  “On the Fourth of July?”

  “Pitiful, isn’t it?”

  Leaning against the white bark of an aspen tree at the edge of a grove off away from the picnic goers, Devin watched his father approach with two bottles of a local microbrew in his hands. “So what put the bee in your Uncle Sam hat?” Cam asked as he handed Devin a beer.

  “I’m fine.” Devin took a pull on the bottle. Though he didn’t know why the heck his mother had chosen to lay out their picnic within spitting distance of the Callahan clan.

  Their spot was crowded to begin with because the Timberlake and Murphy families blended at all events ever since Chase married Lori. Today, in addition to his parents, his brother, and his sister and brother-in-law, their picnic spot included Mac and Ali Timberlake, their oldest son Stephen and his wife and three kids, and Caitlin Timberlake and her fiancé Josh Tarkington. And of course the Callahans had about a million people as part of their group.

  A million and one, because they had Jenna. She sparkled like a firecracker in a sleeveless, flag blue summer sundress, and she really lit Devin’s wick. He cleared his throat and added, “I’m accustomed to an ocean of water rather than an ocean of people. I just needed a little space.”

  “Uh-huh.” Cam gave Devin a look that said he didn’t believe a word of it.

  “Everything is great. The weather is beautiful, the food excellent, the beer cold. I’m enjoying the holiday with family and friends. What do I have to be pissed about?”

  “That’s my question.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Cam sipped his beer and chose not to argue.

  A full minute passed before Devin said, “Maybe it sticks in my craw a little bit to see everybody worshiping at the feet of that lawyer. He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s not the star of the Second Coming.”

  “Everybody? Or one body?”

  Devin took another long sip of his beer. “I’m going home in two weeks.”

  Now it was Cam’s turn to scowl. “I wish this place was home to you.”

  “It is. When I’m there. When I’m here, home is there.”

  “That’s not the way it should be, Devin. That tells me that your life is missing something vital.”

  Devin shrugged. He couldn’t argue with his father about that. He agreed with it. He simply hadn’t figured out the way to fix it . . . yet. “That’s a problem for another time.”

  “Bull. Are you forgetting every lesson I ever taught you? Life is short, Dev. Only a fool ignores that.”

  “I have a good life,” Devin defended. “My business is growing. I love what I do. I’m a damn good captain.”

  “I know. Been there, done that. I had a good life in Australia. I had a thriving business that I loved. I had a family—you. It was a good life and I thought I was happy. But it was half a life.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “Stuff it. You know I’m not talking about you. If Sarah and Lori hadn’t won that vacation to Australia and booked a snorkeling trip on my boat, you and I would probably have had a decent life. We might have even thought we were happy. But I will tell you this, son. My life would have been missing the biggest and best part of it.”

  Devin shrugged. “Not everybody has a high school sweetheart who they were in love with for most of their lives.”

  “If you like Jenna Stockton, you should explore the possibilities, not shuffle her off to–” Cam broke off as his daughter caught his attention with a wave.

  “Dad? Devin?” Lori called to the Murphy men. “Would you please join us?”

  “A Texan lawyer,” Cam finished. “I’ll share one last thought, son. The biggest mistakes I made in my life were the decisions I rushed. Take your time and be sure to keep your eyes open. Life presents more possibilities than are readily apparent. Now, it looks like we’re being summoned.”

  Devin trailed his father back toward his family. Cam took a seat in the empty lawn chair next to Sarah, who sat beside Ali. Mac Timberlake sat next to his wife. Lori and Chase stood and faced their parents.

  Chase said, “Lori and I had a conversation the other day about how lucky we are with regard to our families. We realized that whenever we refer to you all, we use the singular, not the plural. We really have become one big happy family, and that makes life even sweeter for Lori and me. Since the entire family is with us here today, we decided to take this opportunity to acknowledge and recognize what a great job our parents have done.”

  He gestured for Lori to continue. She smiled at the Timberlakes and then at Cam and Sarah. “You guys are the greatest. You’ve done an awesome job as parents. In fact, you’ve done such great jobs, that we think you should be promoted.”

  She reached into the picnic hamper at her feet a
nd pulled out two small boxes wrapped in Old Glory paper and tied with red, white, and blue ribbon. She handed a box to the mothers.

  Sarah and Ali shared a curious look, and then began tugging the bows. Ali got hers open first. She removed a smaller box wrapped in Christmas paper and ribbon. “What’s this?” Sarah asked when she revealed a similar box.

  “Open them,” Chase suggested.

  Ribbon slid. Paper tore. Sarah and Ali each opened her box.

  Sarah gasped aloud. Ali laughed.

  “What is it?” Michael demanded. “Let me see.”

  Chase and Lori clasped hands as their mothers pulled Christmas tree ornaments out of their boxes. Written across Sarah’s ornament was the word Nana. Ali’s read Mimi.

  Tears spilled down Sarah’s face and she launched herself at Lori. Grinning like an idiot, Chase said, “There are ones for you, too, Dad and Cam. Or should I say, Grampy and Poppy.”

  “Well, Merry Christmas to us,” Mac said, his smile wide.

  “I don’t understand,” Michael wailed.

  Devin slung an arm around his little brother. “You’re gonna be an uncle, Mikey. Lori’s going to have a baby.”

  Lines of worry carved across Michael’s brow. He stared hard at Lori. “But I’m not old. How can I be an uncle?”

  “I’m not old either, buddy,” Cam said. Having had his turn hugging his daughter and shaking Chase’s hand, he stepped back and rested his hand on his youngest child’s shoulder. “How can I be a grandfather?”

  “You are too old, Dad. You have some gray hairs.”

  “And you gave me every last one of them,” Cam fired back.

  Once the ’rents backed off, Devin added his congratulations to his sister and her husband. The festive atmosphere kicked up a notch and banished Devin’s foul mood. When talk turned to the due date—December, thus the Christmas wrapping—and morning sickness and swollen ankles and heartburn, he bailed and joined a game of Frisbee being played by a group of teens and other young adults. After that, he joined a horseshoe tournament and got his butt whipped by an eighty-seven-year-old.

  An hour before sunset, Branch Callahan and his sons congregated on the outdoor stage and officially welcomed everyone to the celebration. Mark Callahan said, “We’re about to fire up the band, but before the dancing kicks off, my son has requested a moment of our time. Brick, the floor is yours.”

  Brick sauntered onto the stage and took the microphone from his father. “Thanks, Dad. Howdy, everyone. Hope you’re all enjoying yourselves.”

  The crowd responded with cheers and whistles.

  “I’m going to try to keep this short, so I hope you’ll bear with me. Most of you probably know that I am the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce fundraising committee to benefit the Eternity Springs Community School. The Fall Festival remains our primary fundraiser, and I know y’all are looking forward to the third weekend in October. In the past few years the town’s and, subsequently, the school’s growth rate has skyrocketed. The Chamber has accepted the challenge to fund the addition of a new wing onto our school without raising taxes.”

  “Good luck with that,” someone called.

  Brick gave a dismissive wave. “Today, I’m announcing a new fundraiser to help us achieve that goal. I want to ask a few fellow citizens to join me here on the stage. Daniel Garrett, Sheriff Zach Turner, Flynn Brogan, and Chase Timberlake—y’all come on up here.”

  The men must have been tipped off to the request, because they all joined Brick onstage. Brick waved his hand in a gesture that encompassed all of them. “So . . . the five of us here . . . Anybody know what we have in common?” Without giving the crowd time to respond, he answered his own question. “We’re all fans of blizzards.”

  Zach got it first. He folded his arms and smiled at Brick. “You and Lili are expecting, too?”

  “We are.”

  The crowd erupted in cheers and catcalls with a few risqué comments thrown in. Off to the side of the stage, Brick’s father and uncles grinned, “So, there’s five families with babies due in December. Unless . . . is there anyone else who’s part of this club whose news I’ve missed?”

  No one joined them, so Brick continued. “So, back to the fundraiser. Because I always think events are more fun when wagers are involved, we are going to hold a contest. I have two words for you: permutations and combinations. Entrants have dozens of opportunities to win. We’re picking genders and weights and lengths. Birth dates and times. Chamber members are donating lots of prizes, including a brand new ATV—let’s all hear it for Poppy Murphy!”

  Cam waved. Devin saw his mother twist around to look at her husband. “Did you already know about Lori’s baby?” Cam turned his wave into a gesture of innocence, holding up his palms out toward Sarah. “No . . . no . . . that was a complete surprise. I knew about Brick and Lili’s baby and the others were already public news.”

  “Of course, the biggest prize we will award is bragging rights. Those are important here in Eternity Springs. Don’t you agree?”

  The crowd cheered.

  Brick continued, “We have five babies on the way, all due about the same time. Pick up your baby parlay entry form and make a predication and a donation before you leave here today. They’ll also be available from any Chamber member beginning tomorrow. Again, all proceeds benefit the Eternity Springs Community School expansion project. Now, I’m gonna get off the stage so the band can get going. Y’all come on and dance. Fireworks will begin in about an hour. Happy birthday, America!”

  As soon as Callahan vacated the stage, the band kicked off with an uptempo medley of patriotic songs. Following that, they segued into dance tunes and the dance floor began to fill up.

  Devin’s gaze drifted back toward the Callahan group where Boone McBride knelt on one knee talking to Gabe and Nic Callahan’s twin daughters. He appeared to be folding paper into origami figurines and delighting the girls. Was there anything Mr. Perfect couldn’t do?

  For once, Jenna wasn’t glued to his side. She sat in a lawn chair with her ankle propped on top of a cooler, talking with Cat Davenport and three of the Callahan wives. Devin didn’t consciously make a decision to approach her, but all of a sudden, there he was, standing in front of her.

  When she noticed him, the light in those gorgeous blue eyes went a bit frosty. She lowered her foot to the ground and stood. “Devin, I’ve been hoping I’d have a chance to speak with you. Please excuse me for a few minutes, ladies.”

  With her crutch beneath her arm, Jenna walked toward the aspen grove where Devin had sought refuge a little earlier. She held her back ramrod straight. Devin had enough experience with women to recognize when one was about to chew his ass. He shoved his hands into his pockets and braced himself for the onslaught.

  When they walked far enough away that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, she faced him and surprised him. She didn’t snap at him for embarrassing her or being a clod or serving her up to McBride like a steak. No, she tried to weasel out on him.

  “I feel terrible, Devin. I appreciate the sacrifice you were willing to make on my behalf, but I can’t in good conscience take you away from your family. We need to call off this move tomorrow. I’ll stay where I am. I’ve managed just fine so far without a live-in bodyguard. That’s really overkill.”

  “And that’s a really poor choice of words,” he fired back. “For one thing, living with you will be no sacrifice. An exercise in willpower, maybe . . . definitely . . . but in no way a sacrifice.”

  She pursed her pretty little lips. “Willpower?”

  Devin’s gut churned. He glanced toward the crowd and saw that they were the object of his mother’s and sister’s attention. He muttered a curse and said, “Let’s dance.”

  “I can’t dance.”

  “Sure you can.”

  He took her crutch and leaned it against a tree, and then he swept her up into his arms and headed for the dance floor.

  “Devin!” Jenna protested. She tugged at her skirt and
tucked it close.

  Having Jenna Stockton in his arms and away from Boone McBride lightened Devin’s heart in a dangerous way. As they reached the dance floor, the band began a country waltz. He stepped into the song, turning and twirling in time with the beat.

  She followed his lead gracefully and he pulled her close. They didn’t speak. Devin was vaguely aware that the other dancers moved aside to accommodate them, but his attention remained on the woman in his arms.

  He recognized the fragrance she wore—a lightly floral, old-fashioned scent with a French name. L’Air-something, it had been called. He’d always liked it and had gifted it to women he’d dated in the past. On Jenna, it smelled heavenly.

  At some point during the afternoon she’d taken her hair out of its customary ponytail, and now it brushed against the skin of his arm like a silken waterfall. She was soft in all the right places, but hardly any heavier than Michael. Devin couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a dance so much. The song ended way too soon.

  When the opening bars of the next number sounded, he swallowed a sigh and moved toward the edge of the dance floor. Navigating the choreographed moves of a line dance with Jenna in his arms was more than he figured he could manage. But he didn’t want to put her down. So, he didn’t.

  He was on shaky ground here. He should cart her pretty little ass back to McBride and deposit her in the pretty-lawyer-boy’s waiting arms. Devin needed for those two to become a couple. Devin had many faults, but he wasn’t a poacher. Once Jenna Stockton was officially some other guy’s lady, the buzz zipping through his veins would surely fade. He just needed to let things play out.

  But dammit, he’d delivered the gift this morning. He shouldn’t have to hang around and watch it being opened this evening. How much responsibility did Santa have? McBride could take it from here.

  And Santa should get his cookies and milk.

  The shadows deepened as twilight descended on the forest. The music and sound of partygoers faded. When it became obvious that this wasn’t simply a shortcut back to her date, Jenna slightly stiffened. “Now where are we going?”