Jillian Hart - Homefront Holiday

A muscle twitched in Mike’s jaw, as if he was unhappy about something, but when he spoke, his baritone was light and easy. “I’m glad for you, Sarah. You’ve wanted a child for a long time.”

I wanted your child. She held back the words with all her might. Her spirit was reaching out, leaning toward him like he was her missing half, and why? The distance between them was so vast, the entire earth could fill it. Longing filled her, and she fought that, too. How had they grown so far apart?

Homecoming Heroes: Saving children and finding love deep in the heart of Texas.

Mission: Motherhood—Marta Perry

July 2008

Lone Star Secret—Lenora Worth

August 2008

At His Command—Brenda Coulter

September 2008

A Matter of the Heart—Patricia Davids

October 2008

A Texas Thanksgiving—Margaret Daley

November 2008

Homefront Holiday—Jillian Hart

December 2008

Jillian Hart grew up on her family’s homestead where she raised cattle, rode horses and scribbled stories in her spare time. After earning her English degree from Whitman College, she worked in travel and advertising before selling her first novel. When Jillian isn’t working on her next story, she can be found puttering in her rose garden, curled up with a good book and spending quiet evenings at home with her family.

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jillian Hart for her contribution to the Homecoming Heroes miniseries.

Be kindly affectioned one to another with

brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.

—Romans 12:10

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

It was mid-December and the Coffee Break was busy, but not as busy as the street outside. Sarah Alpert drew her gaze away from the view through the wide glass window, where shoppers hurried about their seasonal tasks, to the little boy seated across the narrow table from her.

Ali. Her heart warmed simply from looking at him. She loved children, which was not surprising given she was a kindergarten teacher. But this one was special. She handed a paper napkin across the red plastic tabletop to her five-year-old foster son and student. “Hey, you have some hot chocolate on your chin.”

He grinned, the charmer he was, showing his heart-tugging grin and the dimple in his left cheek. He scrubbed at the wrong spot on his chin.

Adoration filled her like Texas sunshine. She leaned forward, reaching over to rub at the right spot. Two swipes and the kid was clean. This sweetheart had proven to be the balm her wounded heart had needed. “Are you ready?”

Ali hopped down from his chair. “Yep. Can I call Dr. Mike yet?”

Mike. She tried not to flinch at that name.

“He hasn’t called,” Ali added. “He’s comin’ home, you know.”

“Yes, I heard something like that.”

“’Cuz I tol’ you.”

“About a thousand times.” She managed to keep a smile on her face as she stood. “All right, sunshine, we have errands to do.”

“Me and Dr. Mike are gonna get pizza and do lotsa stuff. We’re buddies.”

Sarah focused on her little boy and pretended he hadn’t brought up Mike. Distraction, that was the key. “Which do you want to do first? Pick out our Christmas lights or mail our Christmas cards?”

“The lights!”

Her heart melted a little more. Already he was her family. She couldn’t wait for the adoption to go through. Then he would be hers. Really and truly hers. “Coat on and zipped up. There’s a cold wind out there.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ali hopped down and his bright red sneakers—his favorite color—hit the floor with a squeak and a thump. His salute was the one Dr. Mike Montgomery had taught him. The two had met when Ali came in as a roadside-bomb casualty to Mike’s MASH unit. The child had been injured, but his mother had been killed. Ali had formed a bond with Mike, and Mike had helped arrange to send Ali to the States for lifesaving surgery.

Her heart twisted with an old pain. She and Mike had ended their engagement a year ago, but losing him would always hurt. She tucked that hurt away the best she could and put what she hoped was a big smile on her face.

“I get that.” The little gentleman he was, Ali grabbed their garbage.

“Thank you.” Sarah unhooked her jacket from the back of her chair and slipped into it, unable to take her eyes off the little boy as he trotted over to the receptacle near the door. He had to go up on tiptoe to dump it.

She hefted the shopping bags from beneath their table, slid her purse strap higher on her shoulder and held out her hand to her foster son. She was thankful every day that he was thriving, after all his losses. His grandfather Marlon, who had lived next door, had passed away last month. And while Ali had little time to get to know his grandfather, it was another loss all the same.

There were still shadows of his grief in his eyes that were always there, even when he smiled. Poor baby. She ran her fingertips through his fine, dark brown hair, hoping to comfort what could not be fixed.

“I get the door for you, Sarah.” Ali trotted ahead of her, his sneakers thumping on the tile. He gave the door a mighty push.

“Thanks, kiddo. You are one strong boy.” She complimented him as she sailed into the crisp overcast day and the busy sidewalk.

“I real strong now.” Ali beamed with pride. His little fingers wrapped around her hand, holding on so tight she could feel his need.

She held on tightly, too.

“Sarah, look!” Ali fastened his deep soulful eyes on a soldier in desert fatigues, who was walking down the sidewalk. The little boy turned on his heels to watch the infantryman stride away. “I’m gonna be a soldier and a doctor, just like Dr. Mike.”

Her knees shook with every step she took. How long did it take a broken heart to mend? How long for regret to fade away? It took all her strength to swallow her sadness and hide every bit of her pain. “You couldn’t pick a better man to be like.”

“I know.” Ali’s confidence was simple and unshakable.

Hers was not so sturdy. Life had not been the same without Mike. She missed him more than she cared to admit. Still, she had done her best to make something of her life without him.

She knew Ali’s next question would be about Dr. Mike, too. The boy was nothing if not persistent. Maybe it was best to try to distract him. “What color house lights should we buy?”

“Red.” He thought a minute, tilting his head to one side. “No, wait. I want blue.”

Sarah smiled. Ali lifted the sadness from her heart. Since this was his first American Christmas—and their first one together—she wanted to do it right. That’s what she had to concentrate on: what mattered to her now.

“Dr. Mike!” Ali ripped his hand from hers and barreled down the sidewalk, darting between families and a group of teenagers. He moved fast for a boy who’d just recovered from open-heart surgery! Sarah leaped after him, bags slapping against her knees as she caught up with him two steps before the busy intersection. She grabbed his hand, but Ali, the good, smart little boy he was, was already stopping on his own.