27. Eden
In the early afternoon of Christmas at the Williams’ Homestead, Eden sat on the loveseat beside Axel, watching all the children playing with their toys amid a sea of discarded wrapping paper.
Zeke and Jack were already chattering about going out to play in the snow later. Brad and Jillian’s daughter, Josie, and her cousins, Lucas and Wes, were looking over each other’s new stashes of paperbacks. Winona’s daughter, Parker, was playing with baby Flora and her new toys. Annabelle had just lowered herself to the floor to join the grandkids. And the other adults were just starting to talk about coffee.
It was a whirlwind of chaos, and still somehow the most calm, comforting scene Eden could think of.
“Wait,” Jack yelled suddenly. “I have to give you your present, Coach.”
Everyone smiled and turned to watch the happy little boy wade through the wrapping paper and over to Eden. She pulled the last gift out of the bag by her side and handed it to Jack, hoping that Axel received it in the spirit it was given.
“I made it for you,” Jack told Axel excitedly.
“Then I know I’ll love it,” Axel said warmly, tousling Jack’s dark hair before turning to the carefully wrapped little package in his hands.
“You have to be gentle,” Jack said. “I’m not sure how sturdy it is.”
Eden smiled, hearing him echo the exact words she’d said to him when he was trying to wrap his project.
Axel opened it up very carefully to reveal the present inside. Jack had worked so hard to build the goalpost shaped picture frame out of popsicle sticks. Inside was a photo Eden had snapped of the two of them singing during the carriage ride at the Hometown Holiday Celebration.
“Oh, wow,” Axel breathed. “Jack, I love it. This is the best Christmas present ever.”
Jack scrambled into his arms and hugged him hard, and Eden got tears in her eyes that she did her best to blink back.
“Well, Eden, you won’t top that,” Emma teased her, smiling from where she sat on the sofa opposite them with Baz.
“I already got the best Christmas Eve present ever,” Axel replied as Jack scrambled off his lap. He grabbed Eden’s hand and raised it up to show off her ring. “I don’t know how I pulled it off, but I landed myself the most amazing fiancée in all of Tarker County. You’ll never give me a better present than that yes . ”
There were a few awws and some cheers.
“Looks like the Philly Special wasn’t your biggest trick play after all,” his cousin Levi teased him, the joke so much sillier in Levi’s deep voice.
Everyone laughed and Eden shook her head at them, but couldn’t help smiling.
“I guess you’ve got a date for Captain Anderson’s wedding now,” Tanner teased him.
“That I do,” Axel said, smiling down at Eden. “If you’re free on New Year’s Eve, that is?”
“We’ll take Jack,” Valentina said before Eden could answer. “Zeke’s been asking for a sleepover.”
“I’d love to,” Eden said to Axel, before turning to Valentina. “And thank you.”
“Goodness,” Annabelle said from her spot on the floor with her grandchildren. “I think it’s about time to get the ice cream out of the big freezer so we can have it with our gingerbread cake and coffee.”
“I’ll grab it,” Eden said, hopping up. “Stay where you are.”
She hurried off through the dining room and kitchen and out onto the back porch, where the Williams family kept a deep freezer.
It was cold in the unheated space and it felt good on her flushed cheeks. She bent to open the freezer and then stopped in surprise at what was inside.
Under the big tub of vanilla ice cream were some very familiar looking cardboard boxes. She lifted one up, and sure enough, lettered on a label on the side were the words :
Contains Fifty Chocolate Bars - Trinity Falls Elementary
The fundraiser candy.
Axel must have bought some. But there were so many boxes here…
Had Axel bought all the candy from the kids?
She closed the lid again, but didn’t move from the spot. She was too floored by the generosity of the man. Most of these kids had sprawling families. They probably would have sold most of it eventually. But he clearly hadn’t wanted to take that chance.
Honestly, Eden had felt a little bad herself, wondering how the kids were going to do selling candy when some folks might not have had a great year. She had been impressed when Jack told her he sold all his at school.
But Axel didn’t even have a regular job yet.
“Hey,” a gentle voice said from the doorway. “Are you okay?”
“Valentina,” Eden said, looking up. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m… great.”
“Let me take that,” Valentina said, smiling at her indulgently and holding her hand out for the tub of ice cream Eden had clutched to her chest.
“Oh, thanks,” Eden said, letting her take it.
“I’m so happy for you,” Valentina said. “Your ring is so beautiful.”
Eden glanced down at the pretty little ring twinkling in the afternoon light and suddenly felt tears prickle her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Valentina said. “You don’t like it? ”
“I love it,” Eden said, trying hard not to cry. “But I feel bad about it too. Axel is such a generous person, but I know he just got home, and he doesn’t even have a real job yet…”
She stopped herself, but tears were already escaping her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.
“Oh, dear,” Valentina said.
“What’s going on?” Axel’s voice was deep and worried as he stepped into the space with them.
“Someone is worried that you shouldn’t have bought a ring when you don’t have a job yet,” Valentina told him firmly.
“It’s not like that,” Eden said. “I mean, I know you’ll land on your feet, and we’ll make things work just fine until then. I just… I don’t want you to feel any pressure just because you thought you had to buy me something.”
“We have to talk,” Axel said firmly.
“See you two out there,” Valentina said. Eden couldn’t help noticing that she was smiling and her eyes were twinkling, which didn’t really make sense in the current situation.
“Listen,” Axel said, sighing and leaning against the wall. “I felt a little awkward telling you this. And I want you to know I don’t plan on bumming around for the rest of my life. But I invested my pay while I was deployed. At least, part of it, along with some other guys.”
“Oh,” Eden said, not exactly sure where he was going with this.
“And I did well,” Axel said, meeting her eyes. “Well enough that I probably don’t have to work again ever, if I don’t have too wild of a lifestyle. Like I said, I’m not planning to sit around. But I figured it would buy me time to figure out what I really want to do, instead of just taking the first job I could get. Valentina offered me a job at the community market the minute I got back, but I wanted to take my time. And I’m glad I did.”
Eden blinked at him as he took her hands in his.
“You don’t have to work either, if you don’t want to,” he told her.
“I love my job,” she told him.
“Well, then,” he went on, giving her a smile. “If you don’t like the idea of having a good-for-nothing husband, I’ll load boxes at the community market for Valentina until I figure it out.”
He squeezed her hands and his eyes narrowed.
“Are you okay, Eden?” he asked.
“I just…” She took a deep breath and tried again. “I guess I was so worried, and this isn’t what I was expecting you to say… at all.”
“You’re angling for a bigger ring now, aren’t you?” he asked.
“ No, ” she said, horrified. “Never.”
But he was already laughing, his head tilted back and his handsome face even more beautiful than ever because it was so clear he was happy.
“I was just teasing,” he said, bending to press his lips to the crown of her head.
“Well, I think it’s wonderful,” she told him. “And I promise to help you find the thing you want to do, no matter how long it takes. ”
“I think you might have already helped,” he told her. “I’ve been thinking that if the flag football club takes off, maybe I could try to start a local league for the kids.”
“Where are you guys?” Jack’s voice sang out from the kitchen.
“Here we are,” Eden called to him, taking Axel’s hand and heading back inside.
“There you are,” Jack echoed happily as they joined him in the kitchen, where Annabelle was waiting with him, a big smile on her face.
Axel opened his arms and Jack ran into them, only for Axel to lift him up and spin him around once, narrowly missing the gingerbread cake that was cooling on the counter as Jack squealed with delight.
“That was funny,” he said, as the big man placed him down again. “Now do my mom.”
“I think I’d rather give her a kiss,” Axel decided, eyeing Eden appraisingly.
“Come on, munchkin,” Annabelle told Jack with a smile. “Help me carry this cake out to the big table.”
Axel turned to Eden, his dark eyes filled with joy and longing.
“You don’t mind a quick wedding, do you?” he asked, his voice rough as he wrapped his arms around her.
“As long as my parents can make it I’ll be happy,” she told him, feeling her cheeks heat.
“And I’m happy as long as you’re happy,” he told her. “So, the sooner the better.”
He bent and claimed her mouth with his, sending her pulse fluttering and her heart alight .
Eden didn’t need intuition or any kind of sign to know that she was right where she was supposed to be. Every moment of the future might not be quite as perfect as this wonderful, noisy family holiday. But she was sure the three of them were going to make each other very happy. And as far as Eden was concerned, that made every day a lot like Christmas.
***
Thanks for reading Soldier’s Christmas Comeback!