by Mia Ross
“Yes, and yes. Are you happy?”
“Very.” Wrapping his arms around her, he tried to come up with some words that properly expressed what he was feeling. Like so many guys before him, Heath fell back on the three that had brought him to where he was now. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“Is that why you’re staying?”
“Yes. Is that okay with you?”
The eagerness in her tone contradicted the confident, assertive woman he’d come to treasure, and he laughed. “I think I can make it work.”
“By the way, you won’t believe who I ran into at the cemetery this afternoon. My dad.”
“That’s funny, ’cause I was talking to my folks, and they remember him from high school. They’d love to see him again. You should invite him over to join us.”
“I think he’d like that, too,” she replied. “You’re sure it’s not an imposition?”
“There’s always room for one more.” Adding another kiss, he asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Definitely. Something smells incredible in there.”
“Roast beef.”
“Let me guess,” she teased, “it’s your favorite.”
Opening the door, he chuckled. “Yeah. Mom always makes it for me when I’m home.”
“Maybe after they get settled in, she can give me the recipe. And teach me how to use it,” Tess added in a wry tone.
“That’d be cool. Then I’d get to eat it even more often.”
“And do the dishes,” she added tartly. “I’m gonna be busy with work and school, so I won’t have time for all that domestic goddess stuff.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
While her announcement had more than a little bite to it, her genuine enthusiasm for the future softened the impact. He wasn’t the greedy type, and right now the fact that she was settling in his hometown was more than enough for him.
* * *
After being awakened before dawn by the scent of fresh cinnamon rolls, Tess was occupied in Gram’s kitchen, prepping side dishes and babysitting two enormous turkeys the size of emus. The house was gradually filling with family, and she shuttled between greeting new arrivals, filling Gram’s silver chafing dishes and basting. Basically, she was in charge of any culinary task that didn’t threaten to poison anyone, and she was enjoying the hands-on approach to a holiday that Mom had always hired caterers for.
When Tess finally had a moment to herself, she got a glass of water and stood at the window to drink it. Something in the backyard caught her attention, and she nudged the lacy curtain aside for a better look.
Heath had snuck in when she wasn’t looking, and he was adding fresh firewood to Gram’s neat stack beside the garage. That wasn’t noteworthy, since he regularly helped out all over town with things like that. The newsflash was who he was talking to while he worked.
Her father.
Heath said something that made him laugh, and the sight of them together like that made her smile. Dad had made no secret of the fact that he was nervous about seeing his brothers and their families again after all these years. She’d been surprised to discover that, while he hadn’t visited in person, he’d kept in sporadic contact with Uncle Tom, who was the youngest. So while they hadn’t met her until now, the Virginia branch of the family had been aware that Tess existed.
If only she’d had the same knowledge, she thought with a sigh. Life would have been so much easier knowing she wasn’t an odd sock but meant to be part of another set altogether.
Speaking of odd, it was quite the experience watching her Brooks Brothers father chatting with her flannel-and-jeans country boy. Then again, Heath could have a conversation with a post. Since she was on the uptight side, his easygoing nature was one of the things she loved most about him.
Against all logic, she’d done much more than fall in love with the bighearted mechanic. She adored him in a way she once hadn’t even considered possible outside the covers of a romance novel. And if that wasn’t astonishing enough, he’d made it abundantly clear that he felt the same way about her. As Heath and her father came up the back porch steps together, she couldn’t imagine life getting any better.
“So what were you two doing out there?” she asked while they washed their hands at the sink.
“Debating which teams are gonna win the football games today,” Heath answered, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek while he dried his hands. “What else do guys talk about on Thanksgiving?”
“Good point.”
Now that her straightlaced father was back in his childhood home, she was seeing a whole new side of him. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that she’d spent most of her life so wrapped up in her own troubles, she didn’t have energy for much else. Heath had shown her another way to live, and no matter what happened between them, she’d always be grateful to him for that.
“I think I’ll see if Mom needs help with the buffet,” Dad said smoothly, taking a stack of dishes from the counter and into the dining room.
Tess caught the subtle wink he gave Heath on his way past, and when he was gone, she turned to Heath with narrowed eyes. “Okay, Weatherby. What’s going on?”
“Whattya mean?” He flashed her the most innocent look she’d ever seen, but the mischievous twinkle in his eyes gave him away.
“You and Dad were cooking up something out there in the yard. I want to know what it was.”
“I think you were imagining things,” he teased, sliding his arms around her to pull her closer. “All the cooking’s going on in here. We were just piling up some wood for Olivia is all.”
He bent down for a kiss, but she leaned back and glared up at him. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Okay, fine.”
His playful expression gave way to a more serious one, and she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Wait. If it’s something I won’t like, it can wait. I don’t want to spoil today with nasty stuff.”
“Oh, I think you’ll like it.” Reaching into the watch pocket of his jeans, he pulled out a beautiful antique ring set with a modest diamond flanked by two smaller ones. Taking her left hand, he slid it onto her third finger and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. Returning her shocked look with a calm one of his own, he asked, “Whattya think?”
It took her a few seconds to find her voice. When she finally did, it occurred to her that he hadn’t said the words she wanted—that she needed—to hear. Rather than scold him, though, she opted to deflect his mischief back to him. “It’s very pretty.”
That got her a confused reaction, but true to the character she’d come to value so much, he recovered quickly. Chuckling, he said, “It’s been in my family a long time, and it’s got a great track record. I love you, Tess, and I’m hoping you’ll marry me and help me carry on the tradition.”
“You’re proposing to me when I’m covered in bread crumbs and turkey juice?”
“Well, yeah. Is that okay?”
It was time to put the poor guy out of his misery. Beaming up at him, she nodded. “It’s perfect.”
“Can I take that as a yes?”
“Yes.” Drawing his face to hers, she sealed her answer with a kiss.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when applause broke out. Standing a few feet away, framed in the archway that led to the dining room, stood a crowd of people cheering as if they’d just witnessed an unexpected touchdown. Now that the private moment was over, they all surged into the kitchen, surrounding Heath and Tess in a circle of hugs, back-patting and good wishes.
“How long were you crazy people standing there?” she demanded with a laugh.
“Long enough to know I was right,” Gram announced proudly. “No matter what anyone else thought, I always thought you two were a solid match.”
&n
bsp; Heath chuckled. “Have you called Helen and Lila yet to tell them?”
“Good idea. They’ll spread the word for you.” Patting them both on the arm, she hurried toward the living room for the phone. Pausing in the doorway, she asked, “Do you have a wedding date in mind?”
Heath angled a look at Tess, and she hesitated. “It’s silly.”
“I doubt that. What is it?”
“Christmas Eve,” she confided shyly. “It’s my favorite night of the year.”
“Any objections?” he asked the family. When he got a chorus of noes, he grinned down at her. “Christmas Eve it is.”
Delighted by his quick, unthinking agreement, she let out a very uncharacteristic squeal of excitement and embraced the man who’d made it all possible.
Simply by loving her. And always backing it up.
Epilogue
“With this ring, I thee wed.” After sliding Tess’s ring onto her finger, Heath lifted her hand for a kiss. Finishing the romantic gesture with a subtle grin, he whispered, “Merry Christmas Eve, magpie.”
Hearing his quirky nickname for her in such a solemn setting made her laugh. A few months ago, she couldn’t have dreamed up an evening as perfect as this one had been. But here she was, taking his gold wedding band from its place on Pastor Griggs’s open Bible, ready to make the commitment she’d resisted for so long. Silently, she thanked God for her country boy. Heath had found things in her she hadn’t known were there, and now she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Gratitude welled inside her, and she swallowed hard to make sure her voice would come out confident and clear. Slipping his ring into place, she repeated, “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Beaming proudly, Pastor Griggs pronounced them husband and wife and stepped back to let them have the spotlight for their first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Heath Weatherby. The entire congregation burst into applause, and they turned to face the people who’d stayed beyond the traditional service to attend their wedding.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Heath said as he put an arm around Tess’s shoulders. “We hope to see you all over at Paul and Chelsea’s.”
Their guests cheered in response, and fifteen minutes later the stately Colonial was filled with people talking, laughing and digging into the best Barrett family feast yet.
“I have to admit,” Jenna said, “getting married on Christmas Eve is pretty cool.”
“Even though you had to wear a dress?” Scott teased, plucking his best man’s boutonniere off the lapel of his suit jacket and tucking it into her bouquet.
“Even though. I mean, the church was pretty enough, but look at this place. Chelsea made it look like a Thomas Kinkade painting in here.”
Tess couldn’t argue with her matron of honor, even if she’d wanted to try. Which she didn’t, since this was her wedding day and she had a smile permanently fixed to her face. The entire ground floor looked like a page out of a designer’s magazine on how to decorate for the holidays. Fresh garlands tied with velvet ribbons were looped along the walls, dotted with antique ornaments every few feet.
The living room’s wide front window showcased a huge spruce that held the collection of vintage decorations Chelsea had collected over the years. Some were Victorian, others were hand-painted tin and ceramic, and still others looked like they were made of spun glass. Over top of it all, a lacy angel floated in the place of honor. Tess was just giddy enough to imagine the little cherub keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they were enjoying themselves.
In the doorways hung more of the garland, with mistletoe added in the centers of the wide openings to encourage plenty of kisses. People seemed to have no reservations about putting the romantic greenery to good use, and the air was filled with a warm, loving vibe even the most talented wedding planner couldn’t have come close to duplicating.
“I never would’ve been able to pull all this together without your help,” Tess told her ruthlessly organized cousin-in-law. Ticking the red and green bow on her very junior bridesmaid’s head, she smiled, too. “Or yours, Aubrey. You did a fabulous job during the ceremony.”
“Slept through most of it,” Paul informed her with a chuckle. “I couldn’t get her to settle down no matter what I did, but your father’s a natural when it comes to fussy babies.”
Seeking him out in the crowded dining room, she found him standing in a masculine circle with his brothers and cousins, laughing about something or other. “Yeah, I’m learning a lot about him I never knew before.”
“We all are,” Paul said quietly. “It’ll be nice to have him around for a couple weeks. He and Dad still have a lot of catching up to do.”
He’d just finished speaking when Jason and Amy bounded over to join them. After they delivered another set of congratulatory hugs, Jason got right to the point. “What’d you guys think of the kids’ Christmas pageant tonight?”
“Adorable, like always,” Jenna answered. “Why?”
“Of course it was,” Amy said, “but we could make it even better next year. What if—” she held up her hands in a director’s framing pose “—the messenger angel flew over the manger?”
No one responded at first. Then Scott nodded. “You could put in a track on the beam over the altar. You can’t damage the wood, but we could use some strapping hefty enough to hold someone around fifty pounds or so.”
“Wait a minute,” Tess cut in, once again the voice of reason. “You want to dangle someone’s child from the ceiling of the church?”
“Oh, I’ve got a student who’d do it in a heartbeat,” Amy assured her. “He played Peter Pan and said the flying was his favorite part. Scott and Jason did the rigging for us, and it worked perfectly.”
After some more back and forth on the basics, Scott and Jason broke off into a huddle with their wives to hash out artistic and engineering logistics. Someone called out Paul’s name, so he and Chelsea promised to catch up with Tess later and moved off into the crowd.
Alone for the first time all day, Tess’s stomach growled as she eyed the overflowing buffet table. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and suddenly she was starving.
While she was contemplating where to start, Heath appeared at her side with two full plates and a grin. “Thought you might be hungry.”
“Famished.” Taking the food from him, she smiled. “How did you know?”
“You were eyeballing the buffet like a half-starved wolf. I took a shot.”
He was so cocky about it, she couldn’t resist yanking his chain. “Like you did when you asked me to marry you?”
“Sorta.” His grin made it clear he knew very well what she was doing and it didn’t bother him in the least. “That was more of a timing thing, though.”
“Really? So you weren’t worried I might say no?” Popping a strawberry in her mouth, she gave him the skeptical look she’d once trotted out on a daily basis but hardly ever used anymore.
“Nah. Even if you did, I’d just ask you again sometime.” Slipping his arms around her waist, he reeled her in for a kiss.
“And if I said no again?”
“I’m a pretty patient guy. Eventually I’d wear you down.”
“Let me get this straight,” she teased, toying with the burgundy tie that to her knowledge was the only one he owned. “You’d keep asking until I said yes, no matter how long it took?”
“Yup.”
“Why?”
One of those sunshine grins slowly worked its way across his rugged features, and he leaned in to nuzzle her ear. “Because you’re worth the trouble.”
“Good answer.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from NURSING THE SOLDIER’S HEART by Merrillee Whren.
Dear Reader,
I love Thanksgiving! It’s often overlooked in our eager
ness to get to Christmas, but for our family, it’s a great time to get everyone together and catch up on what’s been happening throughout the year. Not to mention have a great meal and watch football.
Sometimes, when you’re looking for something, the hardest part is figuring out where to search. The opportunity that opened up for Tess at Barrett’s Sawmill might have seemed nutty at first, but she believed it was at least a step in the right direction. From Heath, she learned how to listen to her heart. His generous, forgiving example encouraged her to put aside her old ways and embrace what’s truly important: faith, family and friends.
Heath’s experience in Alaska gives him a unique perspective on the future, which for him needs to include a family. He wasn’t planning on falling in love with someone as challenging as Tess, but he’s smart enough to recognize that the best things in life are worth some extra effort. Fortunately for both of them, they find a way to make things work and end their year looking forward to a long happily-ever-after. It’s a reminder to all of us that the past is only part of who we are. The rest is up to us.
If you’d like to stop by for a visit, you’ll find me online at www.miaross.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. While you’re there, send me a message in your favorite format. I’d love to hear from you!
Mia Ross
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