Christmas in Sawyer Falls (5 page)

She watched Andrew play video games with his grandpa and she could smell the aroma of hot apple cider and her mother’s famous meatloaf wafting in from the kitchen where Tess was finishing dinner. It all felt warm and cozy and happy and Hannah thought about what a wonderful night it would be if Ben weren’t able to make it. Just as she was wishing that maybe he’d call and cancel, she heard the doorbell ring.

Tess ran from the kitchen into the entrance to the living room. She looked excited. “Hannah, maybe you should get the door.”

Hannah hesitated
, wincing
and her father must have caught a glimpse of her reaction because he offered to get it instead. She silently thanked his intuitiveness and kindness.

“Hi Ben, nice to see you again, come on in,” she heard her father’s hearty voice welcoming him in.

Tess came up behind her husband, smiling at Ben. “Let me take your coat for you! We’re so glad you accepted our invitation, it’s the least we can do to repay your kindness.”

“Th
e pleasure is mine, Mrs. Miller.
I just did what anyone would do.”

From her spot on the couch, Hannah could see that Ben was looking more handsome than ever. He was wearing a collared, button down shirt in the same forest green as his eyes. This was going to be mercilessly hard.

“Well, you’re too modest,” Tess cooed. “
And please, call me Tess. Dinner will still be a little while but why don’t you go into the living room with everyone. Oh, Hannah’s
there
on the couch, you can
go
sit by her
if you’d like
.”

Hannah cringed. Why was her mother being so obvious in her attempt to set them
up.
Now she was wishing she would have let her mother know that he was married.
This could get ugly.
Ben looked over at her and smiled.

The smile
.
Oh,
that smile
. How many times had she told herself that afternoon that she was going to control
herself.
And yet here she was, feeling like she was going to melt from one flash of the first smile of the night.
Lord, give me strength
, she prayed silently.

Ben came in and sat next to her. “Hi Hannah, it’s nice to see you again.”

“You too.”
Short, simple, polite.

“I like your sweater, red is a great color on you.”

Friendly, Hannah
,
she told herself;
he’s just being friendly.

“Thanks.”

Andrew put down his video game controller
and turned to greet Ben. Ben noticed the screen and his jaw dropped open in mock amazement.
“No way!
Is that the new hockey game that just came out this year?”

Andrew’s broad smile covered his whole face. “Yeah, I just got it
yesterday
. Do you want to play?”

“Only if I’m not intruding on your game with your grandpa”

David happily handed his controller to Ben. “Please, be my guest. I think I need a break from all of my losses. It’ll be nice for Andrew to play with someone who can challenge him.” He said with a laugh.

“Well, I don’t know how much of a challenge I’
ll be to him; h
e looks like he’s set some amazing scores, there, but I’ll give it a shot.”

As Hannah watched them play together, she felt a twinge of pain in her heart. It was obvious that Ben was great with kids. He was a fun-loving, big kid at heart himself. He was making Andrew laugh and she was enjoying watching them together. What a great dad he must be, she thought.

Shadow hadn’t left Ben’s side since he got there. She’d heard it said that dogs have a sixth sense about people and if that was the case, then Shadow sensed a kind soul with a heart for animals.
Of course he had a heart for
animals,
after all, he was a vet.
So many great qualities in one package.
If only…

She was jarred from her thoughts by hearing her name being called from the kitchen. Tess was asking for some help so she excused herself and went into the kitchen.

“How’s it going, Mom, what can I help you with?”

“Oh, you can…” she looked around as if she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted Hannah to do.

“Why don’t you set the napkins on the table for
me.
What I really called you in here for was to find out what’s going on with you. Why are you being so short with Ben? You’re not being very outgoing and he’s bound to think you’re not interested.”

“But that’s just it, Mom, I’m not interested. And I’m being polite, aren’t I?”

“Wait, what do you mean you’re not interested? He seems like such a nice man and we’ve only begun to know about him. Give him a chance, Hannah.”

“Well, I already know one thing about him. He’s married.”

Tess stopped mashing the potatoes and looked at her daughter in shock.

“What? Married? He told you that?”

“No, he didn’t have to. I didn’t say anything earlier but I saw them at the mall today with his wife and daughter. She looked just like him.”

“Oh
my gosh
. I had no idea. I just…the way he looked at you yesterday…I would have never guessed it.” She looked down into the potatoes and started mashing with a greater force.

Finally she looked up at Hannah again. “I guess what’s meant to be we’ve yet to see, sweetheart. I know there’s someone out there for you, you’ll meet him when the time is right. And in the meantime, we have a meatloaf dinner to eat.
Why don’t you call the men to the
table
.
”

Hannah walked back into the living room where Andrew and Ben were finishing up a game. It was obvious that Andrew had just won by the way he was jumping up and down in triumph and Ben leaned back and covered his face with his hands in exaggerated defeat. It made her smile at the site of them.

“Grandma says it’s time we wash up and head to the dinner table, guys. Make sure you turn the game off, Andrew.”

Ben looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye. “Say, Hannah,
are
you sure this is a new game for Andrew? He plays it like a pro.”

Andrew jumped in, “It is new! I just got it yesterday. The hockey one is my only game so far, though. I asked Santa for more games. I just saw him, today, at the mall.”

“You were at the mall, today?” Ben asked. “I was there, too, but I didn’t see Santa.”

Hannah couldn’t help but interject. “I saw you there, today, actually. I was too far away to say hi, but I saw you with your wife and daughter.
I thought maybe she was there to see Santa, too.”

Ben looked at her like
she’d just told him that her
family were
aliens there to abduct him.

“My wife?
But, I’m not married.”

“You’re not?” Now Hannah’s face looked equally confused. “I don’t understand. Who did I see you with, then?”

Then, a knowing smile slowly crept over Ben’s face. “Oh, I think I know what you saw. That was my sister, Kim, and my niece, Megan.”

“Sister?”

“Yes, my sister. I dread shopping; malls kind of scare me,” he chuckled. “
I met my sister at the mall so she could help me with my Christmas shopping; I have a lot of nieces and if it were left up to me, I’d probably get them all hockey games or something they wouldn’t like.”

Andrew giggled.

“So, you thought I was married?”
He asked, now und
erstanding the change in her behavior towards him tonight.

“
You’re not married…” Hannah mumbled
in disbelief
.

Ben held up his left hand
and wiggled his fingers
. “See, no ring
here
.”

Hannah could have kicked herself. His ring finger,
oh
why hadn’t she checked it before? She felt her cheeks flushed with color at her misunderstanding. All of the doubt and disappointment that she had felt since seeing him at the mall vanished in a heartbeat. And that heart was beating faster and her stomach filled with butterflies as she held his gaze. She had been right all along, he wasn’t just being friendly. He liked
her,
his smile-it was for her.

Andrew
and David had already left the room to wash their hands before dinner, leaving Ben and Hannah alone, standing in the living room staring at each other. Yet, even if the room had been full
of people, they wouldn’t have noticed. They would have still felt like the only ones in the room.

Finally, Hannah spoke up.

“Your niece just looks like you.”

“Cute kid, isn’t she?” He winked at her.

She laughed and said, “I guess we better get to the table.”

They walked together to the dining room where David and Andrew were just getting seated and Tess was carrying in a platter of meatloaf. She looked at Hannah with sympathetic eyes but then noticed Hannah’s flushed cheeks and bright smile. She cocked her head and gave Hannah a look that asked what was up.

While Ben excused himself to quickly wash up, Hannah looked at Tess and pointed to her ring finger while mouthing the words, “not married”. Tess’s face lit up like a Christmas tree at the news.
She set the platter down on the table which held a feast-meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered green beans, salad and homemade rolls.

“Wow, look at all of this, it looks delicious,” Ben said as he came back into the dining room. “I guess I was pretty lucky that Shadow picked my barn to take shelter in.” His glanced wandered from the food on the table to Hannah, seated across from him, as he spoke. The double meaning wasn’t lost on her and she felt her heart beat even faster, if that was possible.

Once everyone was seated, David, at the head of the table, asked that everyone bow their heads as he led them in prayer.

“Dearest Father in Heaven,

We offer our h
umble thanks for
the bounty spread before us. Thank you for providing us with
food, good health, family and friendship. We ask
your
blessing over our meal and for those who are gathered around it. Amen.”

Hannah was slow to lift her head, silently adding her own prayer, “And God, thank you for hope. The hope you’ve given me this Christmas season. Hope for my future. Hope for love. Amen.”

They ate a happy dinner and enjoyed each other’
s company. Hannah was so thankful that she had mentioned his ‘wife’ when she did, otherwise the dinner would have been awkward and uncomfortable for her. But now, she was enjoying the best dinner-food and company-that she’d enjoyed in a long time.

After dinner, Ben jumped up right away to clear off the table, insisting that Tess take a break after all the work she’d put in cooking their meal. Hannah offered to help him clean up.

As she was loading the dishwasher, Ben brought in a stack of plates and set them on the counter.

He looked at her sheepishly. “I have a confession to make. When I first met you, the day you dropped your purse, I thought you were married, too. I noticed your wedding ring when you were putting everything
back into your bag. Then the day I brought
Shadow back over. I found out that you were actually widowed I was happy.”

She looked at him and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. “No, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. I’m not happy that you lost your husband and can’t begin to imagine how painful that must have
been. It was a poor choice of words. I guess I should have said that I was, um, relieved. Relieved because that first time I saw you, you took my breath away.”

Hannah laughed nervously and tossed some suds at him. He s
miled and went on, “I’m serious;
you
really
did. You were so beautiful, and funny, and I thought that you’d be someone I’
d love to get to know better.”

She started to speak but he interrupted her
, his eyes roving her face to sense her reaction
. “Now, please stop me if
I’m out of line, you don’t owe me an explanation because I have no idea if
you’re dating anyone or if you even date at all yet…”

He was tripping over his words and rambling on and she couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable it was. “You’re not out of line. I…I haven’t dated yet. It’s been over three
years now but I know that Micha
el would have wanted to be happy and live a full life. I just haven’t been trying to meet anyone, I’ve been happy in my little cocoon out here in the
country, safe from the dating life. It’s been a long time.”

“Well, actually, I
was wondering if we could
do dinner again. But
just the two of us
next time
. And I’m afraid that I’m not the amazing cook that your mother is, so we’d have to go out.
Do you like Italian?”