A Texas Christmas Wish Page 20

  A loud cough caused them to jump apart.

  Tyler actually turned red. She couldn’t stop her smile. He was so cute.

  Dub had one eyebrow raised.

  Tyler glanced at the ceiling. “There was some mistletoe. It was right there. Who moved it?” He grabbed Bryce, who stood right behind Dub, and tickled him. “Did you move the mistletoe?”

  Bryce giggled. “I didn’t take it.” They all laughed.

  Tyler had Bryce in one hand and reached out to her with the other. “The family’s waiting.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Karly took the last sip of her hot chocolate. Tyler sat next to the tree with her favorite story in his lap. He closed the book and took a drink from his snowman-shaped mug. Pastor John and his family had left over an hour ago, and Dub had gone to bed. Bryce was too hyper to go to sleep, so Tyler suggested one last story under the tree.

  “Well, Cowboy, I think I’m done for the night. What about you?”

  He yawned. “One more.”

  “We could, but what if Santa comes by and we’re still awake? There’ll be more presents tomorrow.” Tyler stood, stretching out his long legs. He held out a hand to her and helped her to her feet. “Karly, this has been a perfect night. Thank you.”

  She didn’t know what to say. They had made all her dreams come true and he was thanking her. She went to unplug the lights from the tree and glanced out the window. “Tyler?”

  “What’s wrong?” He walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. “I can’t believe it.” He turned to look at her son. “Bryce, I think you got your wish for snow.”

  Bryce ran to the window and pressed his face to the glass. “Snow!” Before she could say anything, he had run out the door.

  The door slammed and she was right behind him. Snow. There was actual snow falling from the sky. Small soft white flurries danced on the air, zigzagging to the ground.

  She stood on the porch, staring with wonder at the light frosting covering the ground. Tyler stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. “I can’t believe we’re getting snow.”

  He gently squeezed. “It’s not going to last.”

  “It’ll live here forever.” She laid her hand flat on his chest. His heart jumped against her hand. “God has given us this gift, so we have to celebrate it, enjoy it and savor it. Later we can pull it out and relive the wonderful blessing we had in this moment in time—when the world was perfect and we had everything we wanted.”

  “How did you get so wise?” His eyes softened, and he moved to kiss her.

  She ran backward and laughed. “Hard knocks and love.” Her eyes lit up. “Let’s dance in the snow.” She joined Bryce and they swung each other in a circle.

  “It’s so beautiful, Momma.” He stuck his tongue out before running around in a large circle, stomping on the snow.

  Karly started after him, but Tyler took her hand and said, “Marry me.”

  She froze. “What?”

  “Marry me.”

  “Tyler, I’m flatter—”

  He put his fingers on her lips. “Don’t say anything right now. I get why you’re hesitant. You’ve jumped in before only to find fire. I’ve waited a long time. I can wait some more. No rush.” He tapped her nose. “We have to celebrate all the gifts God gave us. You and Bryce are a gift I want to cherish.”

  She couldn’t talk, couldn’t find the words to form a sentence. She swallowed, trying to clear the tightness in her throat. “I want to say yes now. I do. I’ve said yes too many times to too many losers. I don’t think you’re...”

  He kissed her. Lifting his head, he kept his arms around her. “I know you don’t want a relationship. But I’m here. I’m moving home, and I want to prove to you I’m worth the risk. I love you, Karly—completely and absolutely love you with my whole heart. You are an amazing woman. I also want to be Bryce’s father if you’ll let me.”

  She looked into those surreal blue eyes and thought of all the arguments she had for not saying yes. Before she could manage one word, he started talking again. He was adorable.

  “I’ll understand if you want to wait a year or two. That’s fine. The good thing about my job is I can live anywhere.” Cupping her face, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I know I want to marry you, so when you’re ready, all you have to do is ask me and I promise to say yes. Deal?”

  She nodded.

  “Momma, Tyler, look—the snowflakes are getting bigger.” He jumped, trying to catch the white flakes. “Do you think we can build a snowman in the morning?”

  “If it keeps snowing, we might be able to manage a Texas snowman.”

  “What’s a Texas snowman?”

  Tyler knelt down and picked up a handful of leaves and twigs. “It takes a little snow, a little earth, a few leaves and some twigs to make a Texas snowman.”

  “Cool.” Bryce looked up and twirled with his tongue out. “Momma, come taste the snow! Tyler! Look I have one on my... Oh, it melted.”

  Tyler pulled her into a waltz pose and started to spin. “Come on, Karly! Let’s dance in the snow. You asked for it and you got it.”

  Bryce turned and twirled, laughing in the night. “This is the best Christmas ever!”

  “Yes, it is.” She looked up to the sky as he spun her around the music in her head. God had given her everything she dreamed of, so why was she afraid? “Tyler Childress, will you marry me?”

  He stumbled briefly, but recovered and lifted her high as if she was as weightless as one of the snowflakes. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” he roared. She was sure they heard him across the entire canyon.

  Not much later the front door opened. Dub stood with his cane in the porch light. “What is going on out here? Is that snow? In December?”

  “Yes, but even more special, Karly asked me to marry her and I said yes.”

  “Karly asked you? What?” He threw his head back and laughed. “I knew she was a smart girl. Now, boy, that is the best news I’ve gotten in years. Welcome to the family, Karly.”

  Bryce jumped on them. “Yay! This is the most wonderful Christmas ever. Snow, and Tyler will be my dad! Do you think tomorrow I’ll get a horse?”

  Tyler laughed. “We’ll see, Cowboy. Now that I’m going to be your dad I’m sure we can work something out.”

  Karly said, “Wait a minute, Mom still has the last vote in that decision.” She went to Dub and kissed him on the cheek. He had tears in his eyes.

  His voice was low and hoarse with emotion. “I can’t tell you how happy I am. Thank you.”

  “Thank you for raising such a wonderful man. I hope I can do half as well with Bryce.”

  “Momma, come dance with us!”

  Dub waved her on. “Go join your family. Believe me, they grow up too fast.” After one last kiss on his cheek, Karly jumped down the steps and ran through the falling snowflakes. Tyler met her in the yard and swung her around.

  “I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me. So how soon can we say I do?”

  “Would it be okay if we wait a while to actually say I do? Maybe June, here on the ranch?”

  Moving closer to her, he leaned in for a kiss. She would take that as a yes.

  Bryce made a face. “Ugh, Mr. Childress, they must have found more mistletoe. They’re kissing again.”

  “I’m gonna be your grandpa now, so no more ‘Mr. Childress,’ and you might as well get used to the kissing. We’ll probably be seeing more of that stuff.”

  Bryce sighed. “I guess we’ll have to get used to it if it makes Momma happy.”

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE MARINE’S NEW FAMILY by Roz Dunbar.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for visiting my third story in Clear Water, Texas. Tyler and Karly are
very special to me. Karly is inspired by many of the students I’ve worked with over the years. Hearing their stories, I marvel at their ability to get up each morning and try again. Children raising children, and many of them without family support, breaks my heart. I ask that you keep our young parents across the country in your prayers. They face hurdles that are beyond my understanding.

  And then there is Tyler. He allowed his pain and grief to cut him off from his faith, the land and family he loved. He is also a pilot. Pilots are very dear to my heart. My father learned to fly from his father, then went on to become a commercial pilot. He had his own planes and loved taking the grandkids to air shows and fly-ins. My nephew now carries on the flying tradition.

  Being able to share these characters with you is really a dream come true. The idea that they became fully formed and live outside my own head is amazing.

  Clear Water, Texas, is a fictional town in the Texas Hill Country, but parts of it are very real. If you want to see some of the inspirations for the town and people, please check out my Pinterest boards under Jolene Navarro. You can also find me under Jolene Navarro Author on Facebook, or stop by my blog, www.jolenenavarrowriter.com.

  Nothing makes me happier as a writer than to hear from someone who has read my book.

  Jolene Navarro

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.

  You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.

  Enjoy six new stories from Love Inspired every month!

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  The Marine’s New Family

  by Roz Dunbar

  Chapter One

  Luke took the last nail out of his mouth and placed it precisely on the wooden beam. One strong whack of the hammer and the nail was halfway in the wood. Two more lighter thumps and it was all the way in. Job finished. One screened porch added to a beautiful old cottage on Bogue Sound. He felt an incredible sense of satisfaction and inner peace as he looked out at the sea from his vantage point on the roof. As if on cue, several dolphins surfaced, jumping playfully, breaking through the glassy face of the calm water.

  Luke was pretty certain that there was no more beautiful place in the world than this lovely little town on the North Carolina coast. And since he’d seen a fair bit of the world in his service as a marine, that was saying something. He stood up and stretched, deeply inhaling the tangy salt air laced with the softer scent of honeysuckle. The warm summer breeze caressed his body lightly.

  Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful day, he prayed silently, and the strength to help others in need.

  “Hey, Dad, look.”

  Luke snapped out of his reverie when he heard the young boy’s voice. Dad. He was still getting used to the title, and to the ten-year-old standing at the foot of the ladder. If only Luke had known he was a father. So much time wasted.

  Coming to terms with the fact that he had a son had been difficult for him, but he suspected that Caleb was having a more difficult time. First the boy had had to deal with losing his mother to cancer. Only then, as per the conditions of her will, had Luke and Caleb learned about each other. Now Caleb was coming to terms with a new parent and a new home—a new life, all things considered, although he really never talked about the huge turns his young life had taken in the past six months.

  “What is it, son?”

  “It’s those ladies.”

  “Luke! Yoo-hoo, Luke!”

  Luke smiled at the term “those ladies” as he turned his eyes from the tranquil scene in front of him to the hot-pink golf cart bouncing down the dirt lane. Nimbly, he climbed down the ladder, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel he picked up off a table. Casually, he ruffled the hair on Caleb’s head as he watched the vehicle approach them. The boy didn’t smile, but he didn’t pull away as he had a habit of doing when Luke touched him. They were still getting used to each other, and signs of physical affection from a father he had just met were new to him. Luke understood the boy’s caution and felt no irritation. He knew his son would come around, with God’s help. Luke prayed for it daily.

  “Hello, ladies,” he called. “Say hello, Caleb,” he instructed the boy.

  “Hi.” Caleb inched closer to his father and Luke draped an arm around his thin shoulders, feeling a burst of happiness when the boy let it rest there.

  “Hi there, Caleb!” Both ladies smiled broadly at the youngster.

  “Oh, it looks just fantastic!” Katie Salter declared as she pulled the cart close to the brick terrace adjoining the new screened porch.

  “Just perfect!” Annie Salter concurred as she sprang from the golf cart with the agility of a woman half her age, a wicker hamper in her grasp.

  “What have you got there?” Luke reached a hand to help the elderly lady, but she waved it off, carrying the basket with ease to the table.

  “Brought you and Caleb lunch. You both must be starved what with all of the work you’ve been doing for us this morning,” Katie chirped as she began pulling wrapped sandwiches and containers of what appeared to be various salads from the white basket. Luke’s stomach rumbled audibly at the sight. The women laughed, Annie reaching out to slap the source of the rumble lightly.

  “Guess I am pretty hungry. How about you, Caleb?” Luke’s face reddened slightly with embarrassment as another loud growl emanated from his midsection. This time Caleb laughed with everyone else.

  In no time the sisters had the small table on the terrace set with paper plates, napkins, forks and plastic cups. Katie deftly poured frosty sweet tea into four of the cups, while her sister made short work of setting out fresh shrimp salad, coleslaw and several kinds of sandwiches. Luke got Caleb to help him pull four chairs up to the table while the women worked on the food. Honestly, he could not think of a better place for lunch or better company.

  Once they were all seated Annie reached for his callused hand and the smaller, slightly wrinkled hand of her sister, while Katie reached for Caleb’s. The boy hesitated before placing his smaller hand in hers, a questioning look on his freckled face. She winked at him, giving him a reassuring smile.

  “Will you bless the meal, Luke?” she asked in her soft Southern drawl.

  “I would be honored.” He nodded. Reaching for his son’s other hand, he began.

  “Bless this food to our use, and us to Thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others, Lord.” He paused and continued with a twinkle in his eyes. “And thanks for the company of two such beautiful women and my son. I am truly blessed three times over, Lord. Amen.”

  The two elderly women giggled like young girls and Annie squeezed his hand in response.

  “Ah, Luke Barrett, if I were twenty years younger you’d be in trouble!” Annie proclaimed, her sparkling brown eyes taking him in appreciatively.

  Her sister snorted. “More like forty years younger. And even then you’d be a...what do they call it nowadays?”

  “Cougar. I’d be a cougar, which I don’t mind being at all!” Annie declared with a spirited nod, almost dislodging the wide-brimmed straw hat that covered her blue-gray hair.

  Luke choked on the bite of the ham-and-cheese sandwich he was eating. Katie absentmindedly began pounding on his back, her attention still focused on Annie. Caleb was following the conversation with a great deal of interest, his blue eyes moving from one adult to another as he dug into the food as though he was starving.

  “Annie May Salter!”

  “Oh,
like you never thought of it.” Annie laughed at her sister’s scandalized expression.

  “Well, yes, but good manners dictate that you do not voice such thoughts aloud. And there are young ears present.” Katie tried to be prim, but Luke noticed she was close to laughter, as well. He also noticed she was still thumping on his back.

  “I’m fine, Miss Katie,” he assured her.

  “Sure?” she asked kindly, giving his back a couple more wallops for good measure.

  Luke nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” Gently, he led the topic in another direction by asking, “When do the new tenants arrive?” Luke knew the cottage was rented out to vacationers each summer season.

  Miss Katie frowned slightly, her eyes focused on a hummingbird that was flitting gracefully among the flowers of a nearby scarlet hibiscus bush. “Tenant,” she corrected. “That poor girl,” she added softly. “She should be here sometime today or this evening. She’s driving down from Raleigh.”

  “She just needs a little R & R and TLC,” Annie asserted firmly. “She’ll be right as rain in no time. Isn’t that what you marines call it, Luke? R & R?”

  “Yes, ma’am, rest and relaxation,” Luke confirmed as he leaned back in his chair, stretching his long legs in front of him. “Although we don’t use TLC very often at all,” he said with a crooked grin. He couldn’t imagine telling his troops they needed tender loving care, no matter what condition they were in.

  “The cottage won’t be rented out for quite some time,” Annie said. “Tess has been invited to use it as long as she likes. That’s why we added the screened porch. Thought it would be a comfy spot to curl up and read on rainy days.”

  “Well, she is family, after all, and Swansboro is the perfect spot for her right now. I reckon she’ll be glad to get away for a while.” Katie began packing the hamper with the remains of the lunch as she spoke, then stopped when she noticed Caleb eating another sandwich.