Chapter 11
Fisher smiled as he came up the walk. He could see Tris inside, sitting at the desk, reading a book. She had glasses perched on her nose, and she looked adorable.
He took a moment just to admire her. He loved how loyal she was to her mother. How she loved her hometown, and how she was natural and didn’t put on airs or have a facade of kindness that hid a nasty person.
In other words, she was beautiful inside and out.
He didn’t typically put God to the test. He assumed that God wanted him to do his best, and it was his duty to follow Him, wherever he went.
But he needed an answer, and he felt like he needed it quickly because he didn’t think it was right for him to take the promotion that he’d been offered if he wasn’t planning on staying in Richmond for several years at least, to give the company stability.
The short visit home had reminded him of everything that he’d loved and missed about his hometown, but more than that, it had reminded him of why he’d never been interested in any other woman .
He’d found the one he wanted when he was a senior in high school, and she was still available, and so was he. And he’d asked the Lord to show him, to give him an actual sign, that she was the one for him.
The Lord had come through for him.
He was already fairly certain. What God had done for him tonight had made him absolutely sure.
Now, he needed to see what the woman herself was going to say. Because that was the second part of the equation. He had God’s green light, now he needed to see what Tris said. But first, he was going to have to admit what he had done.
He walked in the door, and she looked up right away, removing her glasses and setting her book down. She stood up and came around the desk.
“You’re back,” she said, smiling, like he had been gone for years instead of for an hour and a half.
He’d only stayed as long as he needed to.
“I am. Although, I need to be at the church tomorrow at ten.”
“I figured you’d have to be there early. Family only, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you win?” she asked, a knowing smile on her face. She was so confident. She didn’t know that he had gotten the Lord involved.
“Can I tell you a story first?” he asked.
“Sure. Would you like some hot chocolate?”
“I’d love it,” he said as he took his coat and hat off and hung them on the coat-tree by the door.
“So, you don’t have any left?” she said, looking back over her shoulder and noting his empty hands.
“No. They were gone. First thing.”
“I told you,” she said, smiling like she knew that he had gotten first place, but she was going to be surprised.
“What’s your story?” she asked as she got two mugs out and went to the hot cocoa machine, filling the two mugs full .
He came over and stood beside her, putting a hand lightly on her back.
She glanced up at him but continued to work the machine.
“I talked to the Lord some tonight.”
“Good. I try to talk to Him morning, noon, and night, and multiple times during the day.”
“I figured you did. You just have that air about you.”
“Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said as she turned, handing him a cup and nodding at the Christmas tree. There were two chairs in front of it, but when they walked over, they just kind of stood, facing each other.
“So… I have a confession to make.”
“All right. Go ahead and confess. I hear it’s good for the soul.”
He pushed down his nervousness and figured that if he couldn’t tell her, then he shouldn’t have done it.
“After I kissed you today,” he began, and he noted that her cheeks started to get pink. That made him smile. “I was thinking pretty hard about the promotion I was offered. I actually was supposed to respond to an email yesterday accepting the promotion. But I didn’t.”
“All right,” she said cautiously.
“I talked to the Lord on my way to the Christmas cookie contest, and I asked Him for two signs.”
“Two?”
“I know. I felt like this was a pretty important day in my life. An important decision, and I didn’t want to make a mistake.”
“I understand that.” She blew on her mug of hot chocolate but didn’t drink any.
“I told God I wanted to move back here to Mistletoe Meadows. I told him that I missed my hometown, but it was mostly because of you. I… I’d like to pick up where we left off in high school, with an eye toward a lifetime relationship.”
Her eyes got big, and she nodded slowly but didn’ t say anything.
“I told Him I thought that it was the right thing to do. I just felt a peace in my soul when I thought about it. There’s a good church here, my family is here, they want me, and so I said, ‘I want two things to happen tonight if this is what I’m supposed to do.’”
He paused, not necessarily for dramatic effect, but just because he wanted to get the story right.
“I told Him that I wanted my dad to approach me this evening, even though we were at a Christmas cookie contest and nobody was talking business, I wanted him to approach me and offer me a position in the family company. Any position. I didn’t care what it was, I just wanted him to offer me a position. And I asked Him that if I was supposed to continue to pursue you, to move back here, that He would also have your cookies not win.”
“That’s impossible!” she blurted out.
And he almost laughed. In fact, he did chuckle a little. “That’s exactly what I thought. But God is the God of the impossible, and I wanted to make it hard for Him. So, that’s what had to happen.”
“And?” she asked, and he didn’t think that she had quite forgotten about her hot chocolate, but she wasn’t paying any attention to it at all.
“So, we were setting the cookies up, and everybody was tasting them. By the way, you were right. They’re delicious, absolute manna. My favorite cookie hands down ever.”
“All right.”
“My dad came over to me and said, ‘I’d like to step down from the company, but I’ve been kind of waiting on you. I was hoping that you might come home and take it over.’”
He lifted his hands up, because he couldn’t explain it. “It was out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting it, even though we’d kind of talked about it at times. I guess I didn’t think he was serious, or maybe that it was way, way down the road. But God clearly showed me that that was what I was supposed to do, and I didn’t hesitate. I told him yes on the spot.”
Her mouth drew into a big grin, and her eyes lit up. There was no doubt that she was ecstatic for him. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Don’t you want to know about your cookies?”
“I just know they can’t come in second. Which makes me sad,” she said. He wasn’t quite sure whether she was teasing him or not.
“So, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I have a niece who had cancer. This fall, she completed her treatments, and at her last appointment, which was three days ago, they said that she was in remission.”
“That’s great news,” she said, but he could tell that she was confused. Why was he talking about this?
“Right. Great news, and she happened to bring cookies she’d made to enter in the family contest. They were just chocolate chip, run-of-the-mill, nothing special. But everyone voted for her cookies to win, because she’s missed the last three family cookie contests because she’s been in the hospital.”
“Oh my goodness,” she said softly.
“Yeah. So, people had to rank the cookies in the order that they liked them, and everyone ranked hers first, and every single person ranked yours second. There was no dissent.”
She laughed. “I see. All right. I believe that,” she said, still laughing and shaking her head. “I’m so happy for your niece. I bet that made her day.”
“Maybe. But it just amazes me the way the Lord worked that out. It made my day. He answered both of my requests immediately, and there’s no doubt in my mind I’m supposed to stay here, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’m supposed to be with you. The thing is, now the ball is in your court. How do you feel?”
Tris didn’t hesitate. “I love you. I realized that today after you kissed me. I never stopped. I love you, and I’m pretty sure I always will. It’s been a decade and a half now, and no other man compares.”
He knew his smile was a mile wide, and he didn’t care. “All right then. That works out pretty well, because I love you too.”
He held out his hand, and she looked confused for a second, and then he said, “Do you want to hold your hot chocolate? Because it seems like every time I kiss you, something happens to interrupt us, and I want to set these down so I can hold you the way I want to and so that we don’t end up spilling something in the middle of everything.”
She laughed, but her eyes were twinkling as she handed him her hot chocolate.
He set both mugs down and came back, gathered her up in his arms, and kissed her like he promised.
Read Sleigh Bell Dreams , the next book in the Mistletoe Meadows series featuring Terry and Judd. As their efforts to help others during the holidays lead them to realize an undeniable attraction, but Judd has a secret he’s trying to keep and Terry is tasked with exposing it. Read the official book blurb below!
Dr. Terry McBride is thrilled to come back to her hometown of Mistletoe Meadows to take over the practice of the town's retiring physician. Unfortunately the tight housing market has her sharing a duplex with quiet and mysterious Judd Landis. Terry is unsure about the situation, since they'll share a kitchen and bathroom, but Judd turns out to be the perfect roommate, except it's obvious he's hiding something. Maybe a lot of things .
Judd wants to do the good doctor a favor, and give her a place to stay, because he knows she is giving up the opportunity for a more lucrative career to come back to her hometown, but he has carefully cultivated a cover to hide the Secret Saint things he's been doing in town and he doesn't need the noesy doctor blowing his cover, no matter how kind and compassionate - and attractive - she is.
When Terry is tasked with posting on the town's social media page about the actions and possible identity of the Secret Saint, Judd is in danger of being found out. But, as they work together through the Christmas parade and a hot chocolate contest as well as helping needy members of their community, the attraction between them is undeniable. Will they see that they can do more for the community - and each other - if they pair up permanently?