Page 45 of The Blessings of Christmas
“Maybe. But not until you’re older.” She gave them one more kiss and then left the door open a crack. The night light was on in the hallway.
Walking back downstairs, she locked up. Their pathetic little Christmas tree sure didn’t look like much. Some of the branches hugged the trunk, straight up. Yep, this was a sorry sight. “Little tree, what are we going to do with you?” The house smelled heavenly, though. Nuking some water in the microwave, she stirred in some sugar, just as Lila had taught her. Then she added some cold water so the mixture was warm but not hot and added it to the tree stand.
“Drink this up, little tree. It will help you keep your needles until after Christmas.” Then she fixed herself some cinnamon peach tea and settled onto the sofa. Her life was so busy that she rarely had these moments.
Without any lights or ornaments, the tree tugged at her heart.
“You and me, kiddo,” she told the tree. “We need a redo.”
Sitting there, she felt the Christmas season fill her heart. If she could string together these happy moments, then maybe she could rebuild her life. After all, wasn't that what Christmas was all about? Hope and love.
She felt the weird sensation of teetering on the brink of something. The feelings she had for Ryan grew deeper every time they were together. Running her fingers gently over her lips, she closed her eyes and relived that kiss. Yep, she sure liked it. Pushing up from the sofa, she turned out the lights and went to bed.
Later, as she lay with the covers up to her chin, she had her usual conversation with Jamie.
“The boys had such a good time today, picking out a tree. You should have seen them. But the tree’s pretty pathetic. You wouldn’t believe it. The boys had fun, though. They love Ryan. And I...” But she carefully placed the picture back on the nightstand.
Oh, Jamie. Please send me a sign.
As he carrieda tray of fresh bread to the front the following morning, he overheard Sarah talking to her mother. And he stopped. They’d mentioned his name. So he rested the trayof cookies he’d been bringing out and listened. Sure, this was eavesdropping. He didn’t care.
Sarah had just said something like, “I’m so glad you’re moving on.”
“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions?” Lila said. “After all, Stuart and I just met.”
“But he really likes you, Mom. I can tell. And you should move on, shouldn’t you? I mean, it’s time.”
The sound he heard sounded like a sigh. Or maybe it was just the wind whistling through the leaky door in the back. Ryan edged closer.
“Oh, Sarah, how can you measure what the right time is? It’s about the man, not any set amount of time.”
Silence. Ryan was afraid to move.
“Is it that simple, Mom?” Sarah finally asked.
Ryan stepped back. Clearly, this was a personal moment.
“It is, sweetheart. When the man is right, it’s that simple.”
All right!Ryan brought a knee up and pumped a fist. His knee banged the tray and lemon bars went flying everywhere.
“What is going on back here?” Sarah peeked around the swinging door. Her face fell when she saw the mess. “Oh dear.”
“I-I just tripped,” he stammered, scrambling to pick up the bars. “Maybe these can be saved.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” She helped him clean up.
“I’ll start a new batch. But first I need more coffee.” He escaped to the front, wanting to hug Lila as he passed.
“So did you choose the perfect Christmas tree?” she asked while he filled his mug with coffee.
Ryan shook his head. “I don’t know how perfect it is. But they like it.”
Sarah joined them, wiping her hands on her apron. After yesterday, he could hardly look at her without wanting more.But this morning she couldn’t meet his eyes. Was she mad about the lemon bars?
“Your mom just asked me about the tree,” he said. “Is it perfect?”
“Perfectly awful,” Sarah said, pursing the lips he really wanted to kiss again. “But it’s the tree the boys wanted.”
