Page 42 of Candy Cane Dreams
"If you say so," Marjorie said. "Maybe you could ask him. Or maybe you could ask him if there's a reason why you couldn't be more?"
Kate wouldn't have even thought about doing that on her own, but when Marjorie suggested it, it sounded totally reasonable. Why wouldn't she ask him and see what he said? After all, she had wondered.
But she wouldn't want to ruin whatever kind of friendship they had. They did have a nice friendship going, and rocking the boat could ruin that. Although something told her that rocking the boat could make it even better.
Chapter Seventeen
"Merry Christmas, guys," Jack said, smiling as the children at the Children's Hospital held their candy canes, the wrapping ripped open and most of them already sucking on the sweet confections. The nurses smiled, and parents beamed at children who lifted sticky, smiling faces.
His eyes landed on Kate, who seemed to be deep in conversation with a little girl who had no hair. Lilly stuck close to her side, her eyes wide, obviously hanging on every word Kate said.
Lilly loved Kate so much. And Kate had been working diligently with her for more than two weeks, and Jack could be wrong, but he was pretty sure that Lilly had been making progress, albeit slow.
"Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Henderson. The kids always enjoy it." The director of activities at the hospital, Dr. James Martin, shook Jack's hand.
"I wouldn't miss it. I think it does more good to my heart than it does to anyone else. It definitely reminds me of the reason for the season and why I do what I do."
"These children could teach a lot of people lessons, if we just took the time to learn them."
Jack nodded, and Dr. Martin moved on.
"I'm so glad you asked me to come. This was an inspiring experience," Kate said, at his elbow, and he turned to face her. She glowed—there was no other way to say it—and he felt his heart turn over. He wanted to reach out, to touch her cheek, to share the connection with a physical gesture, but he fisted his hand close to his side and nodded.
Then his eyes dropped to Lilly, who was glowing almost as much as Kate.
With their light eyes and delicate bone structure, Kate and Lilly could be mother and daughter. He had never thought that Kate looked very much like his late wife at all, with her dark hair and more slender build, but Lilly definitely had similarities that could make them pass for relatives.
"I think you had a good time too, didn't you, kiddo?" he asked, playfully ruffling her hair as she nodded.
"Let's get home. It's going to be almost bedtime by the time we get there," he paused as he saw Lilly's downturned mouth. "But you can spend a little bit of time with Miss Kate if you want to before bed."
That immediately made Lilly smile, and he was glad he had guessed correctly.
Sometimes having a daughter that didn't speak at all was very frustrating, because he couldn't figure out what she wanted.
He supposed he could just ignore her until she decided to tell him. That might be what people did a few generations ago, but... he just couldn't bring himself to do that. Maybe if he had no other choice, but as long as he was able, he would allow her time to heal.
The ride home was fun, as they talked about the kids and their smiling faces and the reactions as they opened the candycanes. Jack really couldn't afford to give anything away, but at the same time, he believed he couldn't afford not to. After all, a person reaped what they sowed, and he couldn't expect God to give to him if he didn't give to others first. It was a test of faith, since that was the one thing that God specifically commanded his people to prove Him by.
Not to mention, it truly was more blessed to give than to receive. He didn't want to be irresponsible, giving when he owed money or anything like that, but he didn't want to be so selfish that he kept more for himself than what he truly needed.
By the time they pulled into the shop, it was only a half an hour until bedtime.
"Do you mind if we spend a little bit of time together?" Kate asked, pulling her bottom lip in and worrying it with her teeth.
"Thirty minutes is fine. I do have a big order I need to get filled, but... Lilly so looks forward to this time with you, and I do believe it's been very beneficial to her."
"I was afraid you would tell me that I needed to stop when there was no discernible progress."
"I think there is progress."
"I mean, with her not talking," Kate said, watching Lilly disappear into the front of the store, hurrying inside to get her crayons and paper out before Kate came in, so that they would have as much time to draw as possible.
"She's definitely got her mother's artistic flair."
"I'd like to hear more about her mother at some point," Kate said, and then she shook her head. "But I don't want to pry or anything."
He didn't say anything. He'd like to tell her more about Lauren, about the fact that he was not pining away for his late wife, but in fact felt like he might be falling in love with his daughter's therapist.
