Page 47 of Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope
“Come look at what all I found,” Grammy said.
Morgan was almost afraid to look in case her grandmother had indeed pulled out the mistletoe. “Greyson showed me the angel.”
Grammy gave a sly grandmotherly look. “I have more goodies.”
She did, too. Lots more goodies. Some that put a smile on Morgan’s face at the same time as tears prickled her eyes. Oh, the memories!
“Andrew was telling me that Ruby puts up a tree full of handmade ornaments from her loved ones,” Morgan mused, running her fingers over a plastic canvas snowflake that had her mother’s name written on the tag. “I’m pretty sure you have enough here to do the same, Grammy.”
Grammy smiled. “I love Christmas, but I’m not the type to have a bunch of trees. I like the one tree and want it to be super special. These ornaments will be put on it with the ones I add each year as the perfect combination of past memories and the ones we’ll make this Christmas.”
Morgan smiled at her grandmother. “You’re right. That’s the perfect combination.” And this Christmas really was going to be the best Christmas ever for Greyson thanks to her grandparents. Her gaze went to where Andrew was peering in the box, smiling as he eyed different items. Yes, she was so glad she had moved to Pine Hill.
Greyson came back inside and peered in the box, too.
“That you?” Andrew asked picking up a photo ornament that had Morgan’s throat constricting.
Greyson glanced at the photo ornament and wrinkled his nose. “I didn’t have any hair.”
Although struggling with a wash of emotions from the sight of the ornament, she smiled at Greyson.
“You were a beautiful baby,” Morgan said. “Just as you’re a handsome young man now.”
“I’m glad I grew hair, though.”
“Be careful what you say,” Grampy said, laughing as he came back inside and running a hand over his partially bald head. “Some of us have lost more hair than we have left.”
Her grandfather had once had a head full of light brown hair. Now, what little he had left was white. It didn’t matter. Grammy still looked at him as if he hung the moon, especially now that he’d started taking her on trips. With Morgan’s parents being military, Morgan had moved every few years and had seen a lot of different places. Until recently, Grammy had barely left Pine Hill’s city limits. Now she and Grampy were exploring the continental US while also collecting passport stamps left and right, and they couldn’t be happier.
She went over to her grandfather and kissed his cheek. “No worries, Grampy. You’re a handsome young man, too.”
Grampy said, “You obviously didn’t pay attention in church this morning when Pastor Smith was talking about fibbing.”
Morgan laughed. Busted. He was right. She’d tried to pay attention, but between making sure Greyson stayed quiet and pretending that Andrew’s hand that had rested on her back when he’d draped his arm on the back of the pew wasn’t burning a hole through her dress...well, she hadn’t paid nearly the attention she should have. Obviously.
“This is my daddy,” Morgan heard Greyson say, making her think she still wasn’t paying nearly the attention she should be. Greyson had dug out another photo from the box and she knew which one it had to be.
She sucked in a breath and her gaze met her Grampy’s empathetic one. Of course, Greyson would want to show Andrew that particular photo. She kept a family photo in his bedroom so he’d have it to look at and would always remember Trey. But she struggled seeing photos of him as it served as a reminder of how she’d lost him. Her heart tightening from memories, she turned to look.
Greyson held up a Santa photo frame that featured a young couple holding a one-year-old Greyson. A young couple who had been happily in love and thought they had decades of happiness ahead of them. Would she have done anything differently, had she known what fate had in store?
Greyson was looking up at Andrew to gauge his reaction as he pointed toward the photo. She was struck at the oddity of the moment, Andrew looking at a photo of her little family when it had still been intact. Andrew studying a photo of the first man who’d ever owned her heart.
First? The only man to ever hold her heart.
But it was Andrew who, for the first time since Trey, made her miss being part of a couple. When she was around Andrew, she became aware she was still young, and that maybe her heart hadn’t died along with Trey after all. Was she a bad person to feel that way? It had been two years, but until recently, it always felt like every day, she awakened to remember he was gone. Every day, she had to struggle to try to make sense of life without him.
The truth was, since moving to Pine Hill, losing Trey wasn’t the first thing she thought of each morning. Not even prior to meeting Andrew. And, since she had met him...Guilt hit. What was she doing? She shook her head to clear her thoughts and moved closer to where man and boy were looking at the portrait.
His face full of compassion, Andrew squatted by Greyson to get a closer look at the photo. Then, glancing at Greyson, he gave him a smile that was full of compassion and so much more. “Your mom is right. You do have your dad’s nose.”
Greyson’s chin lifted as if to show off his nose, then maybe thinking Andrew was going to grab it, he covered it with his hand and giggled.
“But your eyes, kid,” Andrew continued, “are your mom’s. Most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.” His gaze connected with Morgan’s.
She gulped. Grammy made a happy little noise. Grampy cleared his throat.
With a nervous laugh, Morgan said, “Now, isn’t it time we get started decorating the tree? Andrew, maybe you could help Grampy with the lights while Grammy and I get the ornaments sorted.”
