“You never said anything about a job in New York.”
“Because I didn’t plan to take it until that night. You were in Dallas at your cousin’s wedding, so I just got on a plane and left. I wrote to you and explained it all but never heard back from you.”
Val’s mouth dropped open. “You wrote to me? I never got any letter or phone call, not even an e-mail message.”
A cold chill raced through Colt. “How could that be? I wrote and even e-mailed once. I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. I believed you ran away from me and all that we’d had together. I was furious with the way you waltzed back into my life as though nothing had happened. If I hadn’t seen that note from Aunt Cora saying she needed your help, you’d never have been asked.”
“And I would never have intruded into your life if you hadn’t accepted my help.” He grasped her hands in his.
“Where do we go from here? I’m sorry for hurting you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How can I believe you really tried to reach me all those years ago?”
“You have my word. I know I should have called, but putting words on paper or e-mail is so much easier for me. I never dreamed you didn’t get them.”
Val pulled her hands from his. “I want to believe you, but I’ll have to think about this and see if I can find out why I didn’t get those letters you say you wrote.” She stood. “I need to get back to the shop now. Thank you for dinner.” She strode away from him.
He wanted to go after her, but his good sense told him she needed time to think about what he’d told her. At least she hadn’t completely closed the door, and that left it open for step two of his plan to unlock her heart and be let in once again.
Tears blinded Val’s eyes as she raced the few blocks back to the store. Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea that Colt had written her. How could she believe what he said when she had nothing to show for it? Something wasn’t right, and she had to find out what that something was.
Two hours until closing and several customers still browsed the aisles. Val waved to Aunt Cora and Susie but headed straight for her office without stopping. She grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on her desk and pressed them against her eyes. Nothing made sense. If Colt wrote to her and e-mailed her, why didn’t she receive any of his letters?
A knock on the door frame was followed by a voice. “Want to tell me about what happened with you and Colt?”
Val lifted a misty gaze to her aunt and nodded her head. Aunt Cora closed the door and pulled a chair to sit beside Val. “Talk to me, child.”
“We were having such a good time. We ate at La Cocina del Rio and visited with Gabriela then went for a walk like we used to do. We were watching the carolers and even singing with them, and afterward Colt told me about why he left.” She paused then peered at her aunt. “You do know what went on with his mother. I remember asking you, and you said Colt should tell me.”
“Yes, Chase told me all about it.”
“But why didn’t you tell me then or when I asked you? I was heartbroken because he left, yet you let me believe he didn’t care.”
“I told you I didn’t think it was my place to tell you his business. I really thought he’d write and explain, and he said he did. You never mentioned it, so I just thought you’d decided to let him go.”
Tears threatened again, and this time Val let them fall. “I don’t know what to do. He told me he wrote, but why don’t I have the letters or the e-mail?” Her whole being ached with the realization that perhaps five good years had been lost because of a letter she never received.
“I say give him the benefit of the doubt, and work things out with him. Go slow and make sure you both understand what the other is saying and feeling.”
Val sniffed and wiped her nose with another tissue. “You’re right, but I need to know what happened to those letters.”
“Don’t worry about them, and concentrate on making things right with Colt.” She glanced at her watch and stood. “It’s near closing time. I’ll help Susie, and you decide what you have to do next.” She paused at the door. “I have a little something else that needs to be made right. Pray that it works.”
Whatever it was must concern Colt and Chase. Her aunt loved them like her own, and the fact that both their names started with C, like the names she’d chosen for the two baby boys she’d lost, made Colt and his brother even more special.
Val swept her hair back from her face with her fingers. She loved Colt and wanted to believe him. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Dear Lord, help me trust Colt. Don’t let us make the same mistakes. I love him and want him in my life. Show me the way, Lord, and help him to reach out to his mother. Soften her heart and show her Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
She’d taken the first step toward her future, but whether or not that future would include Colt lay entirely in God’s hands.
Chapter 9
Colt waited for Cora outside his mother’s home. His curiosity as to the reason for the visit grew as he remembered the last rejection. Whatever Cora had in mind must have to do with Chase and Julie’s baby, due any day.
Cora arrived a few minutes later, and Mrs. Barnes buzzed them through on the intercom. At the front portico, she met Colt on the steps. “I’ve already talked to Mrs. Barnes. She’s agreed to let us go up to your mother’s room. I’ll go in, but you stay in the hall until I call for you.”
“If you say so, but I don’t see how this is going to do any good at all. What’s going to change her mind after all these years?” As futile as it may sound, he would still try anything in hopes of getting his mother to once again accept her sons.
Mrs. Barnes greeted them and led them to the second-floor bedroom. Cora hugged the elderly housekeeper. “Thank you, Mrs. Barnes. Send up a prayer that this will work. I may have to say a few harsh words, but if those words hurt her and open her eyes to what she’s done, then it will be worth the effort.”
Mrs. Barnes nodded and went back downstairs. Cora pulled her shoulders back and lifted her head. “Say a prayer, too, Colt. This is for you and Chase.” With that she walked through the door.
She left the door ajar, and Colt leaned close to listen. Cora’s voice greeted his mother who shouted back. “What are you doing here, Cora Bennett? Who let you in? Mrs. Barnes, where are you?”
Colt cringed but heard Cora’s soothing tones trying to calm his mother. He couldn’t hear her words, but they must have had some effect because his mother lowered her voice and the conversation resumed.
“Sylvia, I’ve been your friend for more years than either of us would like to count, and it hurts me to be turned away every time I try to see you. I begged Mrs. Barnes to let me come up, and she finally agreed.”
“I’ll talk to her about that. She knows better. I don’t want to see anyone, especially you or any of my family.”
The bitterness in her voice sent a chill through Colt. Cora would never get through to her.
“I know you had a tremendous loss. You loved Trent with all your heart, just as I loved my Will, but you have two wonderful sons to help you carry on. I lost the only two boys I had. Charles and Christopher would have been a blessing for me when Will died.”
“But you had Will for a lot longer than I had Trent. He died too young. God was cruel to let that happen. God has given me nothing but grief.”
“Don’t you think I had plenty of grief with the death of my babies? Remember how we both promised to give our boys names that started with C because it was our favorite letter? Your boys lived, but mine didn’t.”
Colt’s heart ached for the woman who had given him so much. She would have been a wonderful mother, and the fact that she didn’t let death defeat her was a testimony to her faith in a loving God. He couldn’t understand why his mother’s reaction had been so completely opposite.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Cora, but I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I don’t want to see Colt
or Chase, and I don’t want to hear any more about God or any of that religion stuff. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave right now.” She raised her voice. “Mrs. Barnes, I need you.”
Colt didn’t wait to hear any more. His mother would never change. Satan had such a hold on her heart, no one could get through. He raced down the stairs and out to his car. The only person he wanted to see at the moment was Val, but he wasn’t even sure about how she’d greet him.
After the walk last night, he’d wanted to call her, but she needed space to think through everything. She would be at home now, as the store was closed early for Christmas Eve. He planned to attend the late candlelight service at church as he’d done so often in years past. Perhaps Val would go with him since she always went, too.
His fingers caressed the two velvet boxes in his jacket pocket. If she went with him, and things worked out like he prayed they would, step two of his plan to win her back would be in place, and he’d be ready for step three.
With renewed courage, he headed to Val’s house.
Christmas Eve, a time of joy and celebration—but at the moment, Val felt no joy and was in no mood to celebrate. Colt hadn’t made an appearance today at the shop, so she’d had no chance to talk with him about the letters.
A cup of hot cocoa would be good since a cold front had come in and the temperatures had dropped considerably. That was Texas for you. Nice and warm one day, and the next could be bone-chilling cold.
When Val stepped into the hallway, her mother came up the stairs. “Where’s Dad? I need to talk to you about something.”
“He had an emergency at the clinic. He hopes to be back in time to go to church with us. Come on into our room. We can talk there while I decide what to wear since it’s turned so cold.”
Val followed her into the room and sat on the bed. How many times she’d done this when she wanted to talk with her mother about different things in life? The memory of one of those times filled her now. Her mother’s words came back in a rush. “I say good riddance to that boy. He’s too wealthy for his own good. Never had a sense of responsibility, and this proves he never will.”
Realization dawned and Val gasped. “Mom, do you know anything about any letters Colt wrote to me five years ago?”
Her mother’s back stiffened, and she didn’t turn around. Her hands clenched the coat hanger she held. “Letters? Why would you ask that?”
“Because Colt said he wrote me and even e-mailed, but I never received any of them.”
“Then there must be some mistake. Are you sure he’s telling the truth?”
“Why would he lie to both me and Aunt Cora?”
Her mother still stood with her tensed body facing the closet wall. “Well, you know, he wasn’t trustworthy then, so it stands to reason he isn’t now.”
Val jumped from the bed and grabbed her mother’s shoulder. “Look at me, Mom. What are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything.” She turned to face her daughter, anguish written across her face. “Oh, Val, why can’t you leave well enough alone?”
Val’s insides churned with the possibility of the truth staring at her. “What happened to those letters?”
“I—I did what I thought was best for you at the time. You were getting ready to—”
“You took them?” Val clenched her fists and fought back anger. “What did you do with them?” Colt had been telling the truth. Her heart cried for the time they’d lost and her belief that the man she loved deserted her.
Her mother turned and reached up for a box on the closet shelf. “I don’t know why, but I saved them.” She handed the box to Val.
Val clutched the letters, her heart soaring with the proof that Colt had tried to reach her. At that moment her cell phone rang. She reached for it, and when Colt’s number appeared, she flipped it open. “Colt, I’m so glad you called. I have so much to tell you.” She had to see him. This was something she didn’t want to explain over the phone.
“Then come to the door. I’m right outside.”
She raced down the stairs, the phone still in her hand, and flung open the door. Colt stood there with his phone to his ear, and a grin spread across his face. “I take this to mean you’re coming?”
Her first impulse was to throw her arms around his neck, but she held back and slipped her phone into her pocket.
He reached for her hand. “Get your coat and let’s go for a ride.”
Val simply nodded and headed back for her coat. Now that he was here, all the things she wanted to say scrambled in her brain to incoherent thoughts. She folded the letters and tucked them into her pocket.
Now bundled up against the cold, she met him at the door and they headed for his car.
He started up the motor. “Let’s go to the river. I know it’s cold, but it’s Christmas Eve, and the lights are so pretty.”
Glad that she’d wrapped a wool scarf about her neck and pulled on both gloves and her hat, she nodded. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Fifteen minutes later he parked, and they walked toward the lights. As they crossed one of the bridges, he stopped and leaned on the side. “It’s almost like magic, a fairyland of light and beauty.”
She tucked her arm under his and leaned against his shoulder. “Yes, it is.” She searched for a way to tell him about the letters and her mom, but she didn’t want to spoil the moment.
His hand covered hers. “Cora and I went to visit Mother again tonight. Cora got in to see her, but it didn’t help. Mother still doesn’t want to see or have anything to do with me or Chase.”
“Oh, Colt, I’m so sorry.” That must have been the other thing Aunt Cora had wanted her to pray about. Now was the time to tell him her news.
“I’m also sorry to have doubted you. When I hadn’t heard from you, I believed you no longer loved me and went to New York to get away from me.”
He grasped both her hands in his. “I never wanted to get away from you. I wanted you to come with me. That’s what was in those letters I sent you.”
She pulled one hand from his and extracted the letters from her pocket. “You mean these letters?”
He gasped. “But I thought you didn’t get them.”
“I didn’t. Mom intercepted them and hid them from me. She had just given them to me when you called. I should have known something was wrong and that you would never have just left me dangling with no word at all.”
“Of course I wouldn’t.” He leaned forward as though to kiss her but stopped.
Fear clutched her heart. He had second thoughts and didn’t want to kiss her.
Then he grinned and held out a black velvet box. He flipped it open to reveal a gold key.
“This is a key that I hope and pray will unlock your heart and release all those feelings of anger, doubt, and resentment you held against me and fill it with my love for you.”
Tears filled Val’s eyes, and she didn’t trust her voice. The key gleamed in the light and beckoned to her. She grabbed it and held the key close to her heart. “It’s unlocked and empty, just waiting for you to fill it again.”
This time he did kiss her, and when his lips touched hers, all the good memories of the times they’d kissed before swirled in a kaleidoscope of color.
His lips lingered, and then he stepped back. “Let’s go to church. It’s Christmas Eve, and I have so much to be thankful for tonight.”
Val couldn’t argue with that. This was a perfect ending to a perfect day with her heart so full of love at the turn of events that right now she held no anger at all against her mother. They had a few things to get straight, but love and forgiveness were the main themes for tonight, nothing else.
Chapter 10
Val’s heart filled with peace as she walked out of the church with Colt. Mini lights twinkled on the trees lining the walk from the sanctuary to the parking lot, adding to the magic already in the air. A few minutes past midnight on Christmas morning gave her renewed hope for her future with Colt. He still loved her—af
ter five years of thinking she’d rejected him. But then her love for him had remained, too.
The only blemish on the entire evening had been Colt telling of yet another rejection from his mother. A chill that didn’t come from the cold air caused her to shiver. Colt would be gone in a few days. The time she had left with him became even more precious.
She hugged Colt’s arm. “I’m not ready to go home just yet.”
“I’m not either. After that wonderful message and the beautiful music, it seems wrong just to end it.”
His cell phone rang out, and he fumbled to retrieve it from his pocket. “It’s Chase. Hi, bro, what’s going on?” Colt’s eyebrows shot up, and he grabbed Val around the shoulders. “We’ll be right there.”
He snapped the phone closed. “Come on. This night is far from being over. Chase and Julie are at the hospital. Looks like we’ll have a Christmas baby.”
What a perfect ending for an incredible day. Val ran with Colt to his car and jumped in. As they drove from the parking lot, she asked, “How long has she been in labor?”
“I’m not sure. He said they’d been there since just after seven. This is the first chance he’s had to call. Guess it’s been a few hours.”
“Then we should have plenty of time to get there for the birth. First babies usually take awhile to make their appearance.” A lot she knew about babies and birth, but that’s what she’d heard. But being a Jamison, this baby wouldn’t do the ordinary. “Do they know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“Yeah, it’s a girl. Name will be Chelsea. Chase wanted to keep the C thing going.”
“Oh, I like that name. But what made your mother and Aunt Cora want all C’s for their children’s names?”
“I overheard her talking with Mother about it. Something about it being their favorite letter. We can ask Cora. I’m sure she’ll be there tonight.”
With the way her aunt felt about Chase and Colt, Val had no doubts about Cora being at the hospital for the birth of this little girl. Her mind envisioned a time when she and Colt might be having the same experience as Julie and Chase. She blinked her eyes. Too early for those thoughts. He said he loved her, but that was all. No talk of marriage yet. Still she could hope.
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