Little Christmas Miracles: Her Christmas Wedding Wish / Christmas Gift: A Family / Christmas on the Children's Ward

“No, you shouldn’t have. I came down to make some coffee and saw the lights on. I thought maybe Albert had forgotten to turn them off.”

“I’ll turn them off now,” she said, jumping up from her chair.

“I have a better idea,” he said. “I’ll go make some decaf coffee for both of us and we can enjoy it in here.”

“Really, I should go to bed. There’s no need—”

Instead of answering her, he bent down and brushed her lips with his. “Watch the lights,” he said and walked out of the room.

Molly was completely flustered by that brief kiss. Why had he done that? Had he thought she’d flirted with him at the movies? She’d worked hard to make sure her voice sounded normal, even though he was pressed against her. She knew one thing. For all his complaints about lack of time, he’d found some time to work out somewhere. He was solid muscle.

She flushed from her head to her toes, glad he wasn’t in the room. Even in the darkness, he might’ve noticed her blush.

Within minutes Richard appeared in the doorway, carrying two mugs of coffee. He set one in front of Molly and he took the seat next to her, pulling it even with hers. “We did a good job, didn’t we?”

“Yes! The tree is beautiful,” she said breathlessly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course. I just wanted—I enjoy seeing the tree at night. As your mother said, it’s magical.”

“I realized that when I saw you staring at it today. You were remembering trees in the past, weren’t you?”

All she could do was nod.

“When did your parents die?”

She turned to stare at him. “You believe me now?”

“Yeah, I believe you. I’m not sure why you lied to me, but I believe you.”

Abruptly she said, “I was seven.”

“And you went to a foster home?”

“Several foster homes,” she muttered.

Richard frowned. “Why did you change?”

“Well, let’s see, in the first foster home, the dad was caught forcing himself on a couple of the older girls. So we were all moved to different homes. It’s like starting all over again. The second foster home closed down because the mom won the lottery and didn’t need the money she got from the state.”

“She didn’t mind letting you go?”

Molly gave a cynical laugh. “She dumped us so fast it made our heads spin.”

“Then what happened?”

“My third foster home I stayed in until I was eighteen. By then I’d worked for three years and had saved as much as I could.”

“What kind of work?”

“I was a telephone operator, part-time.”

“How did you get into nursing?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I got a scholarship. It didn’t pay for everything, but most of it. I paid for the rest.”

“And how—”

“No more questions about me. It’s your turn. Was your dad as awful as he seems?”

“He was difficult. I try not to say too much, because I think Mom loved him, but he was controlling, self-centered. I managed to get along with him, but he considered females to be second-class citizens. Susan wouldn’t buy that attitude. She fought him all the way.”

“Good for her,” Molly whispered.

“When my father tried to tell her who to love, that was the last straw. She moved to Florida with Kevin, Toby’s father, and never came back. My father disowned her after that.”

“I’m sorry, Richard.” Sympathy was audible in her voice. “That must have been hard on you.”

“Yeah. I called her a couple of times, but she obviously wouldn’t come home for a visit, after Dad cut her out of his life. It was stupid on his part.”

“Yes, it was.” She sat there for a minute staring at the Christmas tree. Then she said, “Life’s too short for such silliness.”

“As we both know,” he said softly. Then he stretched his arm on the back of her chair.

She thought about moving away, but the warmth of his arm felt good. They sat there in silence, looking at the tree. Molly had enjoyed the lights before he came down, but they were always better when shared.

After a few minutes, he pulled her a little closer and her head rested on his shoulder. They remained there for a long time. Somehow, in the darkness, she didn’t feel like it mattered.

Molly enjoyed his closeness, but she knew when daylight came, the magic would end.

Molly enjoyed the visit to their church the next morning. They only went to the main service in the large auditorium, where the minister gave an intelligent and entertaining sermon.

The only thing that bothered Molly was that Elizabeth again took Toby’s hand and led him into the pew first. Which left her between Toby and Richard. At least they didn’t have to separate, leaving her with Richard. And they had plenty of room in their pew.

They went out to lunch after the church service since Delores had the day off.

“We should’ve gone to Antares today,” Elizabeth said as they ate lunch at a local restaurant. “But I made the reservations for Monday.”

“That’s okay, Mom. I like the pies here.”

“Richard, I don’t know how you stay so lean, with all the desserts you eat. It’s disgusting!”

Molly thought so, too, but she wasn’t going to make any comments.

“I went to the gym every morning this past year, Mom. That’s how I can eat all those desserts. And I enjoy every one of them.”

“Maybe I should get up and go with you,” Elizabeth muttered.