Caitlyn's Christmas Wish Page 11

  As the solemn crowd left, Grant had a feeling they were no longer feeling hostile or disappointed. In fact, the soft smiles on their faces reflected what he was feeling inside. He sure would never forget this program. It had given him a lot to think about.

  And seeing Ridge with Caitlyn and Brody . . . well, that felt right as well.

  ***

  “Whew! That’s over.” Ridge reached up to remove his head gear. Underneath, his hair was damp with sweat.

  Caitlyn did the same after setting Brody down, keeping a careful eye on him so that he wouldn’t eat the straw. “Yes. I think we performed well tonight. Don’t you?”

  “You did,” Ridge agreed. “I didn’t do anything except hold Brody a time or two.” Which Caitlyn was thankful for. Her arms had become tired after the first few groups went through.

  “You did beautifully,” Jacinda said, walking up to them, her face wreathed in a smile. She enveloped Caitlyn in a warm hug. “I’m so proud of you. Thank you so much for coming to our rescue.”

  “You’re welcome.” Caitlyn’s eyes squeezed shut at this wonderful woman’s exuberance. When her eyes opened, she caught her breath and straightened. “Mom? Dad?”

  Her mother and father stood hand in hand, looking as distinguished as they always did, her mother in pearls and a long skirt paired with a yellow silk blouse and her father in a three-piece suit. She cautiously approached, wondering whether or not they’d seen her play the part of Mary. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, holding up her arms that were still encased in wide sleeves. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “We wanted to surprise you,” her father said. With a smile, he added, “I think we accomplished that.”

  “Did you go through the tour?” she asked tentatively.

  “We did.”

  How had Caitlyn not seen them? “What did you think of it?” She bit her lip while awaiting their answer.

  A tiny smile softened her mother’s features. “We enjoyed it very much.” She turned to Jacinda. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  Jacinda offered a warm smile in return. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  Ridge approached from behind with Brody in his arms. Sherri Drevier peered at him. “This is Grant’s brother, Ridge? The one I’ve heard so much about recently?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “And Brody, of course,” Caitlyn’s father said, smiling at her son. “I’d like to get to know my grandson better. And you, Ridge. You look like a decent guy.”

  Coming from her father, that was a high compliment.

  “Do you sing like your brother?”

  “No, sir. I design buildings like a Lego master,” Ridge said with a completely straight face.

  One corner of her father’s mouth lifted. “And I sell them like a real estate master. I think we’ll get along just fine.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Christmas morning arrived at his parents’ door in a flurry of white, as did Ridge a short time later. Brody, by virtue of his normal schedule, was awake bright and early. Max, on the other hand, awakened much earlier than usual and sounded the alarm for everyone to get up so they could see what Santa Claus brought them. Caitlyn, who stayed up late wrapping presents with Ridge, Sierra and Jacinda, already knew what Santa had brought. But it would be fun to watch the little ones discover the wonder of Christmas.

  Still quite young, Brody watched Max tear into a present. “Whoa! Remote control cars. Awesome!” Sierra helped Jacey unwrap a doll and Caitlyn helped Brody unwrap a soft, squeezable dinosaur.

  The adults opened a few gifts as well, but they all knew it was about the kids. “Come here, Max,” Ridge said as the little boy climbed onto his lap. Ridge handed him a present. “I got something for you.”

  Max didn’t need any help as he ripped the paper off to reveal a Lego set. Ridge grinned at Sierra. “Gotta start ‘em off young.”

  “You’re going to spoil him, you know.”

  “That’s what uncles are for.”

  Sierra gave him a one-armed hug. “Thanks, Ridge. Max, what do you tell Uncle Ridge?”

  “Thank you.” The boy hopped off Ridge’s lap and scurried under the tree for another look at what was there.

  With a shrug, Sierra apologized, “He really will play with it when the excitement dies down.”

  “I know, sis. No worries. He’s doing what any kid does on Christmas morning. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ridge caught Caitlyn’s gaze from across the room. “Well, maybe one other way.” He stood and made his way over to Caitlyn. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her up. With his other hand, he brandished a jewelry box.

  Caitlyn’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, Ridge.”

  “Open it,” he said softly. She did. A solid gold band with one small diamond stared back at her. Ridge shrugged sheepishly. “I know it’s nothing compared to what you’re used to. But it also comes with my heart.” His brows furrowed and his hand squeezed hers more tightly as he lowered himself to one knee. “Caitlyn Drevier Reel, I love you. I never thought I would be happy again but you’ve proven me wrong. Will you marry me?”

  Tugging on his hand as Ridge stood again, Caitlyn said, “You make me happy too, Ridge. Of course I’ll marry you.” She blushed, thinking she’d only bought him a colorful scarf from the hospital’s gift shop. She’d make it up to him somehow.

  “I’ll be a good husband to you.” Looking down at Brody, who had crawled up to them and was pulling on Ridge’s pant leg, he added, “And a good father to our children.” He bent and scooped the little boy into his arms.

  “I want that too,” she whispered right before his mouth settled on hers. Cheers went up around the room.

  A voice interrupted, “I also have a gift for you, Caitlyn.”

  She and Ridge pulled apart. Her heart hammered in her chest as Grant slowly approached. She must have raised her eyebrows at her ex-husband—an expression he knew well—because he answered her unasked question. “I snuck in the back door to snitch one of Mom’s cinnamon rolls.”

  “So what is your gift?” she asked, her pulse kicking up nervously.

  As Grant came closer, Caitlyn noticed his swagger was gone. Her heart went out to him. Sure, he was pompous and self-centered but he was also Ridge’s brother. And he was in a tight spot. If he’d truly learned his lesson, Caitlyn would like to give him a one-time gift to help him finish paying off his debts. But she would need to speak with Ridge—her soon-to-be husband—about it.

  They would decide together.

  Grant first looked at Caitlyn, then Ridge. He offered his hand to him. “Congratulations on winning her heart, brother,” he said lightly before lowering his voice and adding, “You’re a good man. Take care of her. And as a Christmas gift—or wedding gift, whatever the case may be—I’ve set up an appointment with my attorney. As soon as the two of you are married, I’ll rescind all my parental rights toward Brody. We’ll draw up new papers that will protect him against vultures like me—” this was said with a wry grin “—and you’ll be free to adopt him as your own son, Ridge.”

  Ridge’s jaw dropped. Caitlyn stared in disbelief. “You don’t have to do that, Grant,” Ridge said in a hoarse voice.

  “No. I want to.” Eying the little tyke, he said, “Brody needs a real father. With my career, I can’t be him. But you can. You were always a great dad from what I could see. I’m sorry about the accusations I made.” He faced Caitlyn once more. “And I’m sorry I let you believe my parents wanted custody of Brody. It was a cheap trick to get you to remarry me.”

  “It wasn’t just you whom I heard that rumor from, though,” Caitlyn said in confusion. “The morning after the mistletoe kissing booth incident, I heard Charles talking to someone on the phone about having me give up my rights to Brody. I thought he was speaking to my parents.” She turned questioning eyes to Charles and Jacinda.

  They looked at each other. Charles looked back at her and said, “No, not your parents. I was speaking to my brother. His daug
hter has had some problems lately and is struggling to take care of her children.”

  Shame flooded Caitlyn’s face. “Oh. Forgive me. I-I didn’t want to believe you would ask me to give up my son, but—”

  “We understand, dear. You were misled,” said Jacinda, fixing a stern look on Grant.

  He squirmed but met her stare. “I’m sorry, Mom. I haven’t been thinking straight lately. I promise I’m going to do better from here on out.”

  Jacinda and Charles came forward and wrapped their arms around him. Before long, everyone was hugging. Caitlyn’s heart swelled, especially when she hugged Ridge.

  “Let’s go outside where it’s quiet,” he whispered in her ear.

  Not a minute later, she was wrapped in his arms and his lips were on hers. They didn’t even feel the cold. A while later, they parted. “Do you know how hard it is to kiss you without being interrupted?”

  She playfully punched his arm. “Better get used to it if you’re going to become Brody’s father.”

  “I will, Mrs. Reel. Because I plan to keep you and Brody around for a really long time.”

  Author’s Note

  I hope you enjoyed Caitlyn’s adventures in the fictional town of Danzy, Wyoming. She, along with Ridge and Grant, were fun characters to create. Part of the inspiration for this story came from the year my oldest son was born. A woman from my church group called me one day and explained that her “Mary” had to back out of their arrangement for an upcoming Christmas event for our church youth group. She further explained Mary’s role and asked if I would consent to play her part and my son the part of Baby Jesus. Even though I’m not a wonderful singer, I agreed. I made my own costume, which sadly, looked nothing like Caitlyn’s beautiful gown and waited with my son in our church leader’s backyard for the youth group to arrive. When they did, they were vocally expressing displeasure at having been rebuffed in their genuine efforts to spread Christmas cheer through song.

  I was instructed in what to say, which is very close to what Caitlyn told the group. As the youth listened, their anger melted away and their expressions changed to one of reflection and love for the Savior of the world who was born in such humble circumstances. My hope is that we will remember what it feels like to be turned away and embrace others in our hearts as the Savior would do. Merry Christmas! I hope you have a blessed holiday season!

  Laura

  Authors love to receive reviews! Help Laura spread the word about her new Christmas novella by leaving a review here.

  Thank you!

  Check out Laura’s other books:

  Pierced by Love

  The Matchup

  Visit Laura at www.lauralwalker.com for updates and other fun stuff.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my invaluable mentors and friends for encouraging me to complete this Christmas story: Jennifer Griffith who always seems to have time for my questions no matter how busy she is working on her own projects; my beta readers Teya, Donna, and Pam whose valuable input made the storyline much better; and my loyal readers who cheer me on with each new project. Writing wouldn’t be as fun without you.

  Also, a huge thanks to my family, including my husband, children, parents, in-laws, and ancestors—I must have inherited the writing bug from at least one of them, right?

  About the Author

  Laura L. Walker grew up in a large family in the beautiful Gila Valley of southern Arizona. From the time Laura was young, she spent hours drawing characters on paper and fantasizing about their adventures. Life became more serious, however, when Laura met her own hero at Northern Arizona University and they later became the parents of six children. In between spurts of grocery shopping, sewing costumes or quilts, transporting kids to practices, and making dinner, Laura still enjoys putting her imagination to good use. Laura is the author of two contemporary romances, Pierced by Love and The Matchup. Caitlyn’s Christmas Wish is her first e-novella.