Page 79 of Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope
She might not have wanted to risk her heart again, but from the moment she’d met him and he’d flashed that smoldering grin and winked at her, her heart had been on the line.
“If we see him today, I’m going to tell him I’ve missed him,” Greyson announced. “And that we caught snowflakes today and I wished he’d been here to build a snowman with us.”
“Good idea,” Morgan told him, thinking back on the last time she’d told Andrew she missed him. It had been the last time she’d seen him.
He’d told her he was leaving.
She didn’t want him to go. And not just because he was heading into a dangerous job.
But because she wanted him to stay with her and Greyson. Forever.
Later that day, Morgan drove her car up the winding drive that led to the main buildings at Harvey Farms where Rosie’s wedding was taking place. Snow capped the black picket fence that lined either side of the road and the large evergreen trees at regular intervals were decorated with giant red balls and gold ribbon. Twinkling lights peeked out from snowy branches. Long before they reached the farm, Morgan had decided they’d left Pine Hill and been transported to some magical place. Greyson obviously agreed.
“Wow,” he breathed as Morgan drove through two giant candy canes. Once through them, a ‘toy soldier’ directed her on where to park her car. An elf waited in a utility vehicle to haul them to the picturesque barn with its giant wreath centered in the gable just beneath the roof. “Are we at the North Pole?”
“It does look that way, doesn’t it?” Morgan had only been to Harvey Farms a couple of times. It had always been charming, but nothing like the snow-capped scene visible beyond the parking area. Rosie had said she wanted a winter wonderland wedding, and that was certainly what she’d gotten. The snow had stopped an hour or so ago, leaving a fluffy white layer over everything. The sun had come out, warming the nip in the air and making the world around them glisten.
“It’s magical,” she said out loud as she and Greyson climbed up on the utility vehicle and pulled up the provided thick wooly blanket over them for the short trip to the barn.
“I want a Christmas wedding when Brynne and I get married,” Greyson announced.
Morgan’s eyes widened. “Um, yeah, that’s great, but let’s wait a few years before we start planning your wedding, okay?”
Greyson giggled. “I know, Mommy. I have to go to firefighter school and get a job first. Then Brynne and I can get married the next Christmas.”
Seeing the excitement in his eyes, the love of firefighting that he’d had for months, she smiled at him. “I’m proud of you, Greyson, that when you grow up you want to do something that makes the world a better place.”
She’d worry about him, but ultimately, didn’t she want him to be happy? If firefighting made him happy, then she couldn’t stand in his way. She still hoped he changed his mind between now and then, though.
He grinned at her. “Like Andrew?”
Morgan’s heart squeezed. “Yes, honey, like Andrew. He is a hero.”
Greyson patted her thigh. “You are, too, Mommy. I’m glad you take care of sick people.”
“Thank you, honey.” Morgan’s chest swelled with pride and love and gratitude to the Lord for blessing her with such a precious child. She hugged him a little closer to her. “Brrrrr.”
“I’m not cold,” Greyson said. Most likely he really wasn’t, as he was bundled up from head to toe with only his round little face peeking out, and the blanket covered them as well.
Morgan wasn’t really, either, not with her layering beneath her fuzzy ‘ugly’ Christmas sweater, but she snuggled up to him anyway just because she wanted to be close. “Good, then you can keep me warm.”
Greyson hugged up with her, trying to warm her, until something to their left caught his eye. “Is that a ballerina skating with that soldier?”
Morgan’s mouth dropped. “It’s a ballerina ice skating with a nutcracker! Oh, wow.”
Morgan had heard Rosie was having a small skating rink set up, but she hadn’t known the bride had arranged for professional skaters to be there to entertain. Wow. Wow. Wow.
“Is that the book we read with the rat?”
Morgan nodded.
Greyson’s nose crinkled. “I hope there aren’t any rats here.”
“I don’t think Rosie would want rats to come to her wedding,” she said.
A choir group dressed like characters from a Dickens novel sang Christmas carols just outside the gorgeously decorated barn and Morgan couldn’t resist humming along.
The elf drove past the barn, where Morgan had assumed they’d be going, and instead delivered them to a spot surrounded by so many Christmas trees, it was like walking into an enchanted Christmas forest. Once inside, as a focal point, an altar decorated with snowflakes and butterflies had been set up with the pines behind it, providing a perfect Christmas backdrop. Hay bales with red coverings were set up in long rows creating an aisle leading to the altar. Splashes of color came from decorated Christmas trees that included stacks of presents of various sizes, some as tall as Greyson.
