A Texas Holiday Miracle

“Let’s get our coats and go, then.”

Emma grabbed her coat from a chair. As Lacey went to her room to get hers, the buzz of her cell phone stopped her.

“Just a minute, Emma. I have to answer my phone.”

It was her mother. Lacey sank onto the bed, ready for another round of complaints. “Hi, Mom.”

Her mother wasted no time getting started. “Since you couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with me, I was hoping we could spend Christmas together.”

Lacey closed her eyes and counted to three. “Mom, you know I can’t leave Emma at Christmas.”

“What about me? Your own mother? You have no time for me anymore. I don’t know what Jack was thinking when he asked you to take care of that child. You’re a young woman and should have your own life.”

They had been through this so many times, and Lacey had grown weary of the subject. “It was my choice. Mona’s sister offered to take Emma, but she has four children of her own. If Emma was taken from the home she’d shared with Dad, I knew it would be detrimental for her. I love my sister and I couldn’t put her through that. I’m here and I intend to stay here. I will work something out for Christmas.”

“Like what?”

“If you would just accept Emma, you could come to Horseshoe.”

“I’m not stepping foot in the house your father shared with that woman.”

Lacey wanted to beat her head against something. “He shared this house with his wife.”

“I’ll never forgive you for accepting her.”

“Mom, have you been drinking or something? You’re not making any sense. You’re the one who told dad to leave. You’re the one who remarried three months later. I don’t know why you feel like the victim.”

“Jack would have come back if it hadn’t been for her.”

“You’d married someone else. Are you forgetting that?”

“I only did it to get back at him. That’s why the marriage didn’t last.”

“Mom, I’m not going through all this again. Mona and Emma made Dad very happy.”

After a long pause, Joyce said, “Maybe I am being a little irrational, but I loved your father and I never meant for him to stay away. It just turned out that way.”

Finally, her mother was admitting the truth. “I know you loved him, but you were miserable the last years of your marriage.”

“Lacey,” a little voice call from the hallway. “Are we going to the park?”

“In a minute, sweetie. I’ll be right there,” she called back. “Mom, I really have to go.”

“Am I going to see you at all this Christmas?”

“What about Mervin?” That was her mom’s new boyfriend.

“He’ll want to spend time with his kids, and I don’t get along with them.”

No surprise there. Her mother enjoyed being the center of attention. “Call me when you have a day off and I’ll come for a visit.”

“I work a lot during the holidays.”

Same old line. Same old verse. “Please think about coming here for Christmas. Once you meet Emma, you’ll love her. She had nothing to do with your marriage or your divorce. She’s just an innocent little girl.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” her mother said, and clicked off.

Lacey sat for a moment and wished her mother would come to grips with the past and her part in it. But maybe some things just were not doable. Or realistic, considering the way her mother felt.

Now Lacey had a little girl who was eager to go to the park. She reached for her jacket and hurried to the kitchen. But Emma wasn’t there and she wasn’t in the living room. Or anywhere in the house.

No! No! No!

Lacey ran out the back door and stopped short. The gate was open. Gabe had removed the board? She walked slowly to the opening and could see Emma sitting on a lawn chair, huddled in her red-and-black coat. Gabe sat next to her in a black hoodie and jeans. They were staring at Pepper in her bed. Neither was speaking. There was complete silence.

What were they doing?

Gabe didn’t seem upset that Emma was there. Lacey’s first instinct was to go over and make Emma come back to their house. But something stopped her.

A plane flew overhead. A car honked and the wind rustled through the leaves of the tall oaks. Other than that, the two of them sat there in perfect harmony. Perfect silence. Lacey couldn’t bring herself to interrupt.

Suddenly, Emma said, “Pepper is sick. When I was sick, my daddy took me to the doctor. You have to take Pepper to the doctor.”

Gabe didn’t answer or look at Emma. His eyes were on the dog.

“My daddy died, so he can’t take me anymore. Lacey does. Daddy’s in heaven and Lacey says he can see me. But I can’t see him. I miss my daddy.” Emma wiped at her eyes and Lacey wanted to run over, but again she didn’t. “Do you miss your son?”

Lacey’s heart sank at the question. She should get Emma before she caused Gabe any more pain. But for some reason she couldn’t explain, she stood there, holding her breath, waiting for Gabe to answer.

Chapter Four (#ulink_ccd79624-b829-5a35-b200-d28860127ffb)

Gabe’s throat locked tight. He couldn’t push a sound through. Nor could he breathe. His body stiffened in protest, needing oxygen. Just when he thought the pain would get him, Pepper saved him. She whimpered, and the child jumped from her chair and went to the dog.

The little girl stroked Pepper and Gabe wanted to scream, Don’t touch her. She’s Zack’s dog. Get away from her. But the words wouldn’t come. In that moment he realized just how insane his thoughts were, and the lock on his throat lessened. He breathed in deeply, his lungs expanding from the much needed relief.

“Pepper is sick, Mr. Gabe,” the kid said.

He knew that. He wanted to tell her it was none of her business and that she should go home. But once again the words wouldn’t come. Maybe because Pepper had lifted her head and licked the child’s hand. Pepper liked the kid. He’d never noticed that before. He hadn’t noticed many things beyond the pain in his chest.

“She’s shaking. I think she’s cold.” The kid noticed the blanket by the basket and gently tucked it around Pepper.

It was getting colder. He should take Pepper inside, but whenever he did, she whined to go out. He was just giving her a little more time.

The kid stood up. “I gotta go. Lacey’s probably looking for me. She doesn’t like it when I come over here. But you don’t mind, do you?”

Yes, I mind. Please, just leave me alone.

“Lacey and me have the same father. We’re sisters. Her mama lives in Austin and I’ve never met her. Do you have a sister?”