Page 27 of A Baxter Family Christmas
He had picked up her book and handed it to her. “God isn’t real. We both know that. But if you want to read the book, that’s fine. It was a thoughtful gift. And Christmastime is for sharing nice thoughts.” Then he’d kissed her lips, tenderly, in a way that took her breath. “No matter what you believe about God.”
Every day since then, Moe had been kinder. More willing to talk about Kendra’s feelings, her interest in Jesus and His family. Her curiosity about John Baxter and Erin’s siblings. Like he’d undergone a different sort of heart transplant.
The memory lifted. Kendra closed the book and set it on the floor. She stretched her legs out on the sofa and propped her head on the arm. The tree was more beautiful this year. Or maybe Christmas was more beautiful. She put her hand on her chest and felt the steady beat. The pulsing rhythm that kept her alive and whole.
The heart that had once beat in the chest of Erin Baxter Hogan.
What had she been like?
Kendra replayed the details she knew. She’d looked her up on Facebook when she first found out the young woman’s name. Her family had left her page up. Forever frozen in time the day before the accident.
Erin had been a wonderful mother and a happy wife. She and her husband were killed in the wreck, along with three of their four daughters. The one who survived now lived with her aunt and uncle in Bloomington. Part of John Baxter’s extended Baxter family.
But beyond that, Kendra knew nothing. She could only wonder.
Something she didn’t talk about with Moe or her doctor or anyone else was the fact that she felt different since the surgery. Kinder. More calm. More aware of relationships at a deeper level. She closed her eyes. Was that possible? Had she gotten more than a piece of flesh and blood when she got Erin Baxter Hogan’s heart? Was there some other aspect of Erin’s soul that had crossed over, also?
Kendra breathed deep and sat up. She needed to finish the dishes and wrap a few gifts. Presents she had bought for John Baxter, and Erin’s siblings. And little Amy. Erin’s surviving daughter. Moe didn’t know she’d spent money on the gifts yet. But she had a feeling he wouldn’t be angry with her. Even though finances were tight.
Because for no earthly explanation, Moe had truly changed.
His apology that afternoon had stayed with him, and now it seemed he looked for ways to help her. He talked to her about her growing energy and her fears about whether her body would reject the heart. Sometimes he simply sat beside her and listened to her. The change was so great, so unexplained, that Kendra could only attribute it to one thing: the prayer she’d uttered that hopeless day a week earlier. Every day since then Kendra had pondered the other reality. There could be only one reason why her prayer had worked. A possibility Kendra hadn’t fully grasped—even though she thought about it constantly.
The possibility that not only was Christmas the most wonderful time of the year.
It might also be true.
As true as the God who—just maybe—really did love His people enough to come to earth that first Christmas morning.
Even for an atheist like Kendra Bryant.
CHAPTER TEN
Connor had prayed for a Christmas miracle for Maddie every day since they met. But instead of seeing her grow happier and more sure of her faith as Christmas approached, Connor watched her slip a little further away. Now it was the Sunday before Christmas, the day of their show, and Maddie almost seemed like a stranger.
They gathered in the auditorium two hours before doors opened to run through the performance a final time. Maddie was onstage, helping the littlest children remember their places.
In the empty seating area, Connor took the spot next to Bailey and for a long moment he said nothing. Just watched her. Maddie had a beautifully tender way with the children—especially the littlest ones. Those who needed extra help.
The truth Connor couldn’t escape was this: Maddie took his breath away more now than when they first met. And that night in the parking lot when he had prayed for her, Connor had hoped they still had a chance. But whatever had changed between them, Maddie was not interested. Not at all. Not even in being friends.
“What happened between you two?” Bailey looked pale as she glanced at him. She’d been chewing organic ginger candy all morning. She said it helped her nausea. “Maddie seemed so friendly at first.”
“Maybe you could ask her.” Connor was out of options. “I’ve tried talking to her and praying for her. She told me she was asking God for a Christmas miracle this year. She’s pretty much avoiding me now. Like I’ve personally done something to upset her.”
“No.” Bailey watched Maddie, laughing with three of the little girls onstage. “She’s not upset. That’s not it. She’s distant.”
“Exactly.” Connor sighed.
“Mostly with you.” Bailey turned to him. “Maybe I’ll talk to her.”
“I wish you would. After the show, we’ll probably never see each other again.”
Bailey patted Connor’s knee. “That’s not true. She lives here. You’re bound to run into her.”
“I never ran into her before.”
Bailey smiled at him. “You have her number now. That should make a difference.”
