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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JOSH APPEARED at Bernice’s front door at noon on Christmas Eve bearing a box of decorated Christmas cookies.
The mood in the apartment had been somber all morning, but one look at his wildly mussed red hair and gap-toothed grin, and Sara couldn’t help but smile. “Hi there, kiddo. Want to come in? My mom makes the best Norwegian flatbread and lefse in the world. I think she’s got a fresh batch of cookies, too.”
Closing his eyes, Josh breathed in the warm scents of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. “I gotta go home and watch Timmy, so I can’t stay.”
He handed Sara the box he’d brought. “These are from my mom. She wants you to know how thankful she is, even if you made her cry.”
Taken aback, Sara stared at him. “I-I’m so sorry, Josh, I never, ever meant to hurt her feelings. I only wanted to help when I gave her that doctor’s name.”
“No—it was good crying! She called the doctor and talked for a long time, and that’s when she started to cry.”
“What happened?”
He looked up at Sara. “That doctor promised to see my mom really soon, and said that she wanted my mom’s records right away. She says there’s new laser treatments that can zap away the red marks on Mom’s face.”
“That’s wonderful, Josh.” Allen had come through with the referral to his sister, who had been working with port-wine stain patients for several years. “Give her our thanks for the cookies, okay? Wait a minute—let me send some gingerbread men back with you.”
He was shifting from one foot to the other on the entryway rug when Sara returned from the kitchen with a half-dozen gingerbread men she’d put on a paper plate and slipped into a plastic bag.
“So are you all excited about Christmas Eve?”
“You bet! Mom says it’ll be warm enough that we can walk to church. I love it when the moon sparkles on the snow and the stars are twinkling. There must be a gazillion of ’em! And all the Christmas lights are really cool this year.”
Back in Dallas, the stars never seemed as bright, nor as heavily strewn across the heavens as they did this far north.
He was right about the lights, too—almost every house in town was draped in lacy icicle lights or the big, old-fashioned multicolored bulbs. “I’m glad I could be here.”
His face fell. “Mom says you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I need to. I have a job back in Dallas.”
“Couldn’t you move?” His wistful gaze strayed toward Harold, who was curled up in front of the sofa, fast asleep. “There must be lots of things you could do here.”
She’d thought of that a lot over the past week. The quaint charm of her hometown. The pleasure of walking the familiar streets, seeing people she recognized. The value of spending time with her mother. The breathtaking beauty of Minnesota’s lake country and the vivid contrasts of each season.
But as much as this place called to her, staying was not an option. Nathan lived here. She’d see him around town, and there’d always be that corner of her heart that cared too much. It would be far better to make a complete break and slip back into the anonymity of the big city where absolute dedication to her career was all that really mattered.
“You are coming to see me, right?” Josh insisted.
