A Trip Back to Snowy Pines (Book II in the Christmas Village Trilogy) (7 page)

“Romantic I know. He was bad news. You know,
hot, good kisser and all the rest, but bad news. Trust me. We were
better off without him and he came out way cheaper by me taking
that money than taking him for child support. It was the best thing
all the way around.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Lola
asked, reaching for her mama’s hand and urging her to face and sit
down on the bed.

“Because his last name was Kelly.” Alice said
with a shake of her head.

Lola felt the strangest sense of déjà vu as
if she should have known this already. As if she did know it
already.

“Does that bother you? Because I don’t have
to use Kelly. I can…”

“No.” Alice said, shaking her head again and
squeezing Lola’s hand. “Absolutely not. I kind of like it. There’s
symmetry to it. I mean he wasn’t a good guy, but he was a fun guy.
He fixed my car. And best of all he gave me you. I guess at the end
of the day, your father might not have been a man that I wanted to
be a part of your life, but you can bet my life would have been a
complete failure if Seth Kelly had never come into it.”

***

“It’s hospital policy Lola. You know the
rules.” Chris said, helping her in to the wheel chair.

“Fine but we’re ditching it in the elevator.”
She teased, giving him a wink. He kissed her lightly… absently. The
kind of kiss they used to share all the time and the kind of kiss
she’d believed they might never share again. Thinking of it now
after the week they’d shared in Snowy Pines made it not only
unthinkable. It made it unbearable.

“Mommy, all the snow melted already.” Ethan
said sadly.

“I’m sorry. But the weatherman says it’s
supposed to do more before Christmas. We might get a white
Christmas after all.”

“I don’t care. I’m getting a baby
sister.”

“Not till school gets out.” Chris
corrected.

“I know. Baby Alison is coming when school
gets out.” He said with a definitive head bob.

“Can we stop by pediatrics? I want to check
on a patient.” Lola asked.

A few minutes later she knocked at the door
and saw Florrie staring despondently at the TV.

“Hi Florrie. I wanted to come by and
introduce you to my family. This is my son Ethan and my husband
Chris.”

Chris and Ethan smiled and waved from the
doorway… both ill at ease around patients.

“I thought they were out of town?”

“They came back.” Lola explained.

“I heard you were in an accident.” Florrie
asked, looking thinner and more-pale than when she’d last seen
her.

“It was nothing major. How’s your arm?”

She shrugged. “My dad still isn’t awake.
They’re trying to find someone for me to stay with when I’m
released tomorrow. We don’t have a lot of family.”

“Florrie I wish I could tell you that
everything is going to be okay, but you know now that things don’t
always turn out the way you thought they would. The way you wanted
them to. But here’s what you have to remember. There are good
people out there who love you just because that’s the kind of
people they are. Remember when I told you about that time when my
mom was in rehab? Well I met a wonderful woman and she taught me so
much about life in just a few days that I could never repay her.
And then, I saw her again just recently and she still loved me, and
she was still there to help me just like before. She did that just
because she’s that kind of person. There are people like that in
the world. Never stop looking for those people okay?” Lola pleaded,
holding tightly to Florrie’s hand.

“People like you?” Florrie asked, her tough
exterior slipping just a little as her lip gave the slightest hint
of a tremble.

“I hope so. I hope that more than
anything.”

“
Hello, Bedford Falls! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry
Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!” … George
Bailey

Josh Callahan walked downstairs and found his
wife looking out the window as the first lights of sunrise began to
show.

"I guess the warm weather finally broke. The
kids will be thrilled to wake up and find snow on the ground a week
before Christmas ... even though it’s hardly enough to play in." He
added.

Kellany turned and smiled at him with tired
eyes.

Are you okay?" He asked joining her at
table.

"I'm fine... I just had the strangest dream.
It was so real." She shook her head. "Do you remember how I told
you about the dream I had before I met you about you and Lola?"

"How you met us in Snowy Pines and Lola was a
little orphan girl." Josh recounted with a bemused smile. "Of
course."

"Well she wasn't Lola... not our Lola anyway.
She was in my dream last night as a grown woman. We were older and
I helped her fix her marriage." Kellany explained as pieces came
back to her. "She was pregnant, but she didn't want to be. So I
told her about..." She stopped and her hand flew to her stomach.
"Oh God Josh. I'm pregnant."

"Are you... are you sure?"

"I think so. I'm late. I've been so busy with
Zach and Alison coming and going back home and Pax is
potty-training and Lola's got this active 7 year old social life.
But... yeah I'm pretty sure."

Josh eyed her for a minute. "What are you
thinking?"

Her face fell and she sighed and sagged
against the table. "That there's going to be another Zach and
Alison and if we can help I want to. And I'm swamped at work. And
Pax is potty-training and Lola has the active social life of a 7
year old... And I'm 39. I'll be 40 when he's born."

"He?"

"It’s another boy." She said with a shrug.
"Don't question the magic of Snowy Pines. Crawford... we'll call
him Ford."

"Okay so what did you tell Lola about her
unplanned pregnancy?"

Kellany's face split into a smile and her
eyes filled with tears. "I told her that the last thing on earth I
thought I wanted was to be a wife or a mother... until I crashed my
car into a snow bank and woke up in Snowy Pines and met you and
her, and I fell head over heels in love with both of you... And I
told her that I remembered sitting at my kitchen watching the
sunrise over the first snowfall of the year and telling you that I
was pregnant again. And I had no idea I wanted another baby... till
I saw in your eyes how much you already loved it. And then I loved
him too."

When their eyes met again, his were swimming
in tears too and he reached for both of her tiny hands with one of
his massive ones. "I guess that means we're having another baby
Kellany Callahan."

"I love you so much sometimes it takes my
breath away."

He grinned and kissed her before pulling away
and saying, "I love you too. Even though you're as crazy as my
nana."

"I'm not crazy! Lola McCauley is a real
person." Kellany argued vehemently.

"Of course she is." Josh said with a smirk as
he kissed the top of her head. "Now let's go get the kids up to go
play before this melts."

They started for the stairs just as they
heard Lola screaming down the hall for everyone to get up and see
the snow, and the phone began ringing.

Josh dropped her hand and stopped, "You get
the kids. I'll answer."

Kellany topped the stairs and found Lola,
long blond hair still in knots, trying to zip a wriggling Paxton
with sticky up dark hair into his puffy coat, over his Spongebob
footy pajamas.

"Mommy it snowed!"

"I know it did baby girl." Kellany said, the
fears of a moment ago melting into giddy excitement. "But let's
brush teeth and hair and put on real clothes before our coats and
boots, okay?"

Kellany got Paxton dressed and moved on to
herself while Lola was finishing up as Josh came into their bedroom
and into the walk-in closet where Kellany was quickly dressing.

"That was Eleanor."

"Our caseworker Eleanor? Before 8 am?"

"They have a little girl they need to place.
It's an emergency situation. They want to get it nailed down
today."

"What's her story?"

"She was in an accident with her parents. Her
mother was killed and her father is in critical condition. They
don't have any family or anyone willing to take her in. She's had a
minor surgery but is okay. I told Eleanor I would check with you
and get back to her."

"I don't know."

"Listen Kell, we've got a lot going on right
now. No one would blame us for sitting this one out."

"Come on Josh. You know I'm a pregnancy pro.
No morning sickness, no swollen ankles, no heartburn. I don't even
crave weird food."

"So is that a yes?"

"It's a week before Christmas. I can't say
no, can you?"

Josh shook his head. "She's at UMMC. We'll
take the kids over to meet her this afternoon. She should be ready
to come with us in a couple of days."

Kellany leaned up to kiss him. "I do love
you."

"I love you too."

Josh started out of the closet but Kellany
caught his hand. "What's her name?"

"Florrie."

“Remember, George: no man is
a failure who has friends.”

“Thanks for the
wings!”

Love, Clarence

Dear
Readers,

Not ready to say
goodbye to Kellany, Lola and the rest of the Snowy Pines
characters. Well neither I am. So join
me for one more trip into the Christmas village where two friends
will finally come face to face and learn the truth about the
connection that has always been guiding them – not just to Snowy
Pines, but to one another.

And watch as one more
young-woman finds herself, her love, and perhaps the home she’s
never had, when she gets lost in Snowy Pines!

Merry Christmas – all year
round!

Love,

Lisa