Lissa Manley - A Snowglobe Christmas - Yuletide Homecoming / A Family's Christmas Wish

An urge to snuggle into his broad chest and listen to his strong baritone troubled her. He smelled good, like the woods in spring, and she felt so secure in his arms.

She stiffened, remembering. She was not secure with Rafe, war hero or not. She could not trust him, never could, though she’d been foolish enough to believe for a while.

She backed away, fanning herself, playing the game, giving their friends a good laugh as she and Rafe finished the performance with a dramatic flourish.

Amy hoped no one noticed that her smile was a little too tight.

Rafe leaned into her ear and whispered, “Sorry to put you on the spot. You okay?”

She nodded, face frozen in a fake smile. Of course she was okay, even if she felt like crying.

Chapter Five

Amy thought about the Christmas party for days afterward, and each time she and Rafe ran into each other—an inevitability in Snowglobe—she was reminded again of that one tiny moment. The moment he’d pulled her close, even in jest, she’d flashed back to those perfect days of feeling secure in his love.

She rang up a customer’s purchase, a set of keepsake ornaments.

“No time for a cup of hot cider?” she asked the woman, a teacher at the elementary school.

“Not today, Amy. We have a family gathering tonight to decorate the tree. I still need to put on a ham and bake a pie.”

“Sounds fun.” Smiling, she handed the woman her bag. “Enjoy. And Merry Christmas!”

The jingle bells on the door wreath jangled merrily as the customer departed. Her mom, who looked especially pretty in a bright blue top with a flowy jacket, came from the back of the shop where she’d been unpacking today’s shipment of gift items.

“Are you working at the church tonight?”

“That’s the plan,” Amy said, nonchalantly. “How about you?”

Dana shook her head, dark hair swinging like something out of a shampoo commercial. “Not tonight. I have other plans.”

Before Amy could ask what those plans might be, her mom rushed on. “Why don’t you go ahead and leave? You’ll need to eat first anyway. I’ll close up and see you at home later tonight. Okay?”

Amy blinked, noticing the sudden bloom of color on her mother’s cheeks. Was her mom trying to get rid of her?

“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying. Rafe has plenty of help scheduled tonight. I saw the list myself.”

Mom’s hands stilled on a display of glossy gold wrapping paper. “How is that working out? You and Rafe?”

“If you mean, are we civil, the answer is yes.” She got her purse from beneath the counter.

“I heard you had fun together at Katie’s party.”

“Really? You heard that?”

“Did you?”

Had she? “Jake put us in an embarrassing spot. He forced us to sing a duet.”

“The two of you always sounded good together. Your sweet soprano and his strong baritone.”

She didn’t appreciate reminders of Rafe’s baritone crooning a love song in her ear. “We survived.”

“Mmm,” Mom said. “I heard there were sparks. That Rafe couldn’t take his eyes off you all night.”

Amy’s heart jumped. Was that even the slightest bit true? “Come on, Mother. You can’t want us to get back together.”

“I would never interfere in your life.” Her mom grinned. “Not much anyway. But Rafe is a good man who lives his faith. I want that for my child, a man who loves God with everything he has. Faith matters, baby.”

Amy heard what her mother would never say. Amy’s dad had attended church on special occasions, but he’d never really served God. He’d never really loved his wife and daughter, either. If he had, he wouldn’t have walked out on them.

“I’ll find a Christian guy. Don’t worry, Mom.”

Dana gave her a quick hug. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am.” Most of the time. She’d love to settle down and have a family, but God would send her someone. She hoped.

After slipping into her coat, she headed to her car, her mother’s words ringing in her head. Rafe was a good man. He was. He always had been, but his faith had been wobbly back then. Since coming home she’d seen how he’d thrown himself into the town, into the church, into his business, into the needs of others. He’d matured.

Okay, so she appreciated the man he appeared to have become, but she knew better than most that appearances could be deceiving.

* * *

The church family hall was crowded on this particular night, but Rafe knew the minute Amy arrived. The truth troubled him. Any time Amy was anywhere in the vicinity, he felt her presence. He’d thought he was over her, but the more he saw her, the more he wondered. She was a reminder of his failures as a man, but she also reminded him of what it had been like to be crazy in love. He’d never come close to that feeling with any other woman.

He’d prayed about it lately. Almost as much as he prayed about the bad dreams. Apparently, God wanted him to notice her. Maybe the Lord was pushing him to bring up the past, set it to rights. He certainly thought about it often enough, just as he thought about her.

She came toward him, shedding her coat, and he let himself enjoy the sight. Vibrant, glowing with health and energy, Amy made him appreciate the differences in male and female.

“What’s my assignment, Chief?” she asked.

“Early deliveries start tomorrow. Since you’re our premiere basket wrapper, why don’t you show some of the other ladies how to fancy up the finished boxes with those bow thingies your mom donated.”

“Works for me. Should we wrap the toys, too, or leave those for the parents to wrap?”

“Leave them. We’ll include gift wrap in the boxes. Your mother donated that, too.”

“Great lady, my mom.” Amy moved away to do his bidding and gathered a group of women around a table. In minutes, colored ribbon became fancy bows and boxes became pretty gift packages. The lady had a knack for making things beautiful.

Busy sorting and directing and keeping an eye on all phases of the operation, Rafe could work anywhere he chose. And he chose to work near Amy. He directed conversation her way and was gratified when she didn’t freeze him out. The talk turned from the Christmas tree lighting and the annual church drama to the amount of snow on the ski slopes.

“Have you been skiing yet?” he asked, pretending the question was casual conversation for all, though he directed it at Amy. There were at least twenty other people in the room, most of them asking him questions from time to time, and yet he kept returning to Amy.

Something was going on here, whether he liked it or not.

“I’ve been too busy with the shop,” Amy said as she wound ribbon around her outstretched fingers to deftly, quickly create a glittering bow. “Mom wants to go part-time after the holidays so I’m in a time crunch to learn everything.”

She zipped the edge of her scissors along the dangling length of red and silver ribbon. The strips curled into long ringlets around the central bow.

“You’ve worked in that shop all your life.”

“But Mom did all the ordering, dealt with vendors and billing. I know how. I just have to learn the nuances.”

“Ah, those pesky nuances,” he said wryly and handed her a roll of cellophane tape.

She laughed and the sound pleased him, warming him like a mug of hot chocolate after a fast ride on the Arctic Cat.

“How’s the sports rental business? Jake says you’re making a killing.”

She ripped off a strip of tape and handed him the dispenser. He laid it aside and went back to checking his list. When had she talked to Jake? And why? Was his brother up to something?

“The ski race brings in a lot of tourists,” he said. “Tourists want to have fun. The Westfield brothers are the kings of fun.”