Her Christmas Wish

Later that evening, Leah was doing a load of laundry when Ben was suddenly standing behind her.

“Are you finding your way around the house all right?” he asked.

Leah never failed to startle when Ben unexpectedly appeared. There was something about him that drained away her ability to think clearly. Or speak with any kind of intelligence whatsoever! At least it felt that way.

“You’re a jumpy little thing, aren’t you?” Ben frowned.

Only around you, Leah thought. The truth was, the sight of him did strange things to her heart rate. “If the floor creaked, you wouldn’t be able to sneak up on me like this. That’s what happens when you live with a carpenter, though. A squeak wouldn’t dare take up residence in this house.”

Ben leaned against the dryer and folded his arms across his chest, which stretched the fabric of his shirt taut across his torso. Leah felt like Alice in Wonderland—the laundry room was definitely getting smaller. She shifted her gaze to a point on the wall behind his shoulder, a safe focal point to dwell on instead of his lean, muscular frame and handsome face.

“I know Olivia put you in a tough spot today,” he said after a moment. “Don’t feel obligated to spend Thanksgiving with us if you have other plans.”

The plans she’d had involved renting a video and curling up to watch it while eating a turkey sandwich. “I don’t have other plans. If you’re sure your brother and his wife won’t mind me crashing their dinner party.”

“What’s that saying? The more the merrier? A Cavanaugh code, I’m afraid. My parents—especially my mother—live for family gatherings.”

Family gatherings. Those two simple words squeezed Leah’s heart. She knew some people took them for granted, but she knew she never would. If she were ever part of a family…

“Well,” she said brightly, closing the top of the washer, “this is done. I guess I’ll go upstairs now.”

“No saxophone?” Ben’s eyebrows shot up.

Leah’s face warmed. “Making all those pies wore me out.”

“Good night, Miss Paxson.” Ben watched her scoot out of the room. She always moved quickly, but with an unmistakable grace. Like a dancer. He shook the thought away. He was almost finished reading his novel, but now he found himself wondering if he’d be able to concentrate on it without the mellow music of the saxophone playing in the background.

“I’ll be right back.”

Leah took a moment to slip out of the kitchen, where she’d been helping Rachel Cavanaugh and Ben’s mother, Peggy, with Thanksgiving dinner. She retreated to Eli’s study to stabilize her racing thoughts.

Lord, Peggy keeps staring at me when she thinks I’m not watching. Maybe spending Thanksgiving with them wasn’t such a good idea.

Peggy and Tyrone Cavanaugh were openly friendly and welcoming, but from the moment Ben had introduced Leah to his parents, Peggy Cavanaugh had had a thoughtful look in her eyes. Especially when, in the process of telling Leah a secret, Olivia had pulled Leah’s head down so they were cheek-to-cheek.

After that, Leah had offered to help Rachel in the kitchen, leaving Tyrone Cavanaugh to entertain Olivia with a new book about seashells that he’d brought her. But she still felt Peggy’s gaze settle on her occasionally.

The chance to spend Thanksgiving with Olivia—and Ben—had been too tempting. Leah caught her lower lip in her teeth and wondered if she would make it through the rest of the day.

A chorus of groans suddenly erupted from the living room, where Ben and Eli were watching football. Leah couldn’t prevent a smile. There was an obvious affection between the two brothers. She’d seen that right away.

Drawn to a framed portrait on the wall, Leah stepped closer and studied the Cavanaugh family. The picture must have been taken when Ben and Eli were in high school. Her gaze lingering on the two boys, she wondered who in the Cavanaugh family tree Eli favored. Where Peggy and Tyrone had passed on their dark good looks to Ben, Eli was blond with light green eyes.

“They were quite a pair. I credit every gray hair I have on my head to those boys. And I’m still getting them, so what does that tell you?”

Leah heard Peggy Cavanaugh’s lilting voice behind her and her heart skipped a beat. Her plan to escape to a quiet place to think had backfired. Now she was alone with the woman who’d been responsible for her escape to begin with!

Peggy came to stand beside her. “Rachel and the turkey are in a standoff,” she murmured. “But my guess is that Rachel is going to win the battle.”

Leah would have to agree. With her chestnut hair and exotic hazel eyes, Rachel Cavanaugh could have easily been a contestant in a beauty pageant, but it was her easy confidence and warm friendliness that Leah had immediately been drawn to. That and the fact that the second the two women had met, Rachel had leaned over and whispered two words tersely in her ear. “Corn pudding?”

Leah could only assume she was being asked if she knew how to make it. She’d nodded. Rachel had discreetly looked at her watch and then flashed all five fingers at Leah. In that moment, any doubts Leah had had about her presence in Rachel’s home were firmly put to rest.

“We adopted Eli when he was six years old,” Peggy said softly. “His parents were killed in a car accident and Eli was with them but he only suffered minor injuries. Ben was seven at the time but we’d adopted him from Tiny Blessings as a baby. We were never told much about his birth parents. Back then, the records were sealed, you know. Not like nowadays, when there are open adoptions and contact clauses.”

Ben. Adopted. Leah felt her breath catch in her throat. She’d had no idea.

“It was good of you to give the boys a home.”

Peggy shrugged. “I don’t think goodness had a thing to do with it,” she said honestly. “From the time I was a little girl, all I dreamed about was having a family. After Ty and I were married, we found out that I couldn’t carry a baby to term. I had miscarriage after miscarriage. It was Ty who suggested we adopt. Funny how God’s plans shape our dreams, isn’t it? People tell me what a blessing Ty and I have been as adoptive parents, but the truth is, those two guys out there throwing pillows at the television screen are the blessings. All I know is somewhere out there, a young mother had a lot of love in her heart.”

Since Eli’s mother had died, Leah knew she was referring to Ben’s birth mother. Or was she? There was a thread of something in the older woman’s voice that made Leah uncomfortable.

Suddenly hungry to know more about Olivia, Leah dared to ask some of the questions she’d had since she’d moved in with Ben and Olivia. Questions she couldn’t ask Ben. “Were Ben and his wife unable to have children, too?”

Peggy shook her head. “As far as I know, they hadn’t been married long enough to start thinking about children. Julia was a nurse at the hospital and she was in the delivery room when Olivia was born. The couple who were supposed to adopt Olivia had just found out they were pregnant and didn’t know if they could handle two children so close in age. They decided not to, but in the meantime Julia and Ben had prayed about it and knew they wanted her.” Peggy’s smile was soft. “It worked out the way it was meant to.”

“You’re doing great,” the nurse told her. “It won’t be long now.”

“It hurts.” Leah panted the words and felt the young woman’s hand squeeze hers reassuringly, saw the compassion in her dark blue eyes.

“I’ll stay here with you.”

And she had stayed. Through the next two hours of labor and afterward. It was the blue-eyed nurse who had brought Leah’s baby girl to her, wrapped in a soft pink blanket. So Leah could say goodbye. Then, she’d wrapped her arms around Leah when she’d started to cry.

The nurse had been Julia Cavanaugh.

Tears burned Leah’s eyes. Tears she was unable to hide from Ben’s mother. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, my dear. You must be a sensitive soul! I know I am. Ty teases me because I even cry during TV commercials.”

Leah was rescued from a response by the pint-sized seven-year-old who suddenly careened around the corner.

“Aunt Rachel needs Leah,” she said. “And Grammy, Daddy said to tell you he’s got the chess board set up.”

“That’s my cue.” Peggy brushed a stray curl off Olivia’s cheek. “Every year your dad tries to beat me at chess.”

“He said this is going to be the day he wins,” Olivia whispered.

“He can try.” Peggy gave them both a mischievous wink.

Leah stepped into the hall but was still having a difficult time breathing normally again. She felt a soft touch on her arm and forced a smile, assuming it was Olivia. It wasn’t. It was Peggy.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Leah.”

Chapter Five

“You sit next to me and Leah, Daddy.” Olivia dragged Ben over to the table, where a perfectly roasted turkey had taken its place as the centerpiece. Across the room, Rachel lifted her chin and gave him a smug look.

“How did you sneak all this food in, Eli?” he asked innocently. “Is there a chef hiding in the kitchen?”