The Happiest Season (17 page)

*** 

“Mama, do you see the sheep?  We haven’t had a sheep visit
us yet.”  Rickey cocked his head in thought.  “Well, we had a baby sheep visit
us.  A lamb is a baby sheep, right?”

“You’re right.”  Maggie searched the nativity scene, and
spotted the lamb.  “There he is,” she said, pointing.  “Right over there by his
mama.”

“I miss him,” Rickey said softly.  “I hope he visits us
again.”

“How about we plan on visiting him again instead,” Maggie
suggested.

“I wish John was here,” Rickey said.

As if on cue, Maggie heard a deep, male voice from behind
them.  She turned to see John striding purposely toward them.  Dressed in jeans
and a sweat shirt, he looked casual but so rough and rugged he took her breath
away.  As he drew near, she saw he hadn’t shaved and boasted a five o’ clock
shadow that lent a rakish quality to his handsome face.

She bit back a gasp, surprised at the spark of attraction
that practically ignited between them.

“Hey,” he said, obviously pleased, “I was driving by and
thought I spotted you two.”

“We came to see the animals!” Rickey told him.    

“I see that,” John said, smiling into his eager little face.

“See, John, the lamb that came Friday night is right … over
there,” Rickey said.

“He sure is.”  John turned to Maggie and smiled, almost
self-consciously.  “So…” he began.  “Do you two have any plans for after…?”

“We’re going to have lunch at a restaurant and then we’re
going to go to the park,” Rickey volunteered.

John nodded.  “Oh, well, it sounds like you have a full day
planned.”

“You can come with us!” Rickey cried.  “Huh, Mama?  John can
come, huh?”

Maggie gave him a tentative glance.  “You’re welcome to join
us.”

“Are you sure?  I hate to intrude.”

“We’re sure!  Huh, Mama?”

Maggie nodded.  “We’re sure.”  She wondered though, was she
sure?  Was she certain it was a good idea to spend so much time with the
handsome police officer? 

***

After pizza at Rickey’s favorite pizzeria, and a couple
hours at a nearby park, Rickey fell asleep in John’s truck as they drove
home.   

John smiled at the sleeping boy.  “I guess all the activity
wore him out.”

Maggie nodded.  “I try to have him nap mid-afternoon
whenever possible.”

As John pulled up in front of Maggie’s house and parked, he
turned to her.  “I’ll carry him in for you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“He’s getting so big,” she said, as John carefully lifted
him out of the booster seat.  “It won’t be long until I won’t be able to pick
him up.”

“He’s tall for his age, isn’t he?” John whispered.

Maggie nodded.  “His dad was tall.”

She led him to the front door and opened it, stepping aside
to allow him past her.  “Upstairs?” he whispered.

She nodded and John carried him to his room.  She stood back
as he laid the little boy on the bed cover.  He gently tugged off his sneakers,
and then glanced around.  “Should we cover him up?” he asked.

She retrieved a blanket from a chest at the foot of the bed
and laid it gently over the sleeping child.  She kissed her fingertips and
pressed them to his forehead, before turning and leading John from the room.

Downstairs, she asked him if he wanted a cup of coffee.  “If
you’re having some, that would be great,” he said.

She quickly brewed a pot, while he sat at the island and
watched her.  As she poured him a cup, she noticed him glancing at the cookie
jar.  “You’re as bad as Rickey,” she chided, smiling. 

His face reddened.  “Sorry,” he said, laughing.  “But you do
make excellent cookies.”

She pulled two from the cookie jar and set them on a small
plate.  She passed it to him, and their hands bumped in the exchange.  Once
again, she felt a jolt of awareness, and her eyes lifted to his face.  His eyes
met her, and she watched as the brown depths appeared to darken, reminding her
of liquid chocolate.

She pulled her eyes away and smiled self-consciously. 
“Thank you again for lunch.  I didn’t mean for you to have to…”

He waved off her words.  “It wasn’t a problem at all.  I’m
glad I spotted you and Rickey at the nativity scene.”

“Would you … like to sit down in the family room?”

“Sure.”  He rose with his coffee and cookies and followed
her into the cozy space.  He sat down on the couch, and she took the other end. 
He smiled and glanced around, before turning back to her.  “I really like your
place.”

She smiled in return.  “It’s small but it’s mine.”

“It’s homey,” he observed.  “You’ve done a great job with
it.”  And she had, he thought.  Maggie had managed to create a warm and
inviting space, utilizing an array of colors within the small room.  The family
room walls featured a rosy hue, and splashes of additional colors featured on
the wall art and in the couch pillows enlivened the space.  Even the
blue-striped chair melded beautifully, without overpowering the room. 

Kim had favored bold, modern art prints against a pristine,
white wall.  Furnishings had sharp edges and featured cold, metallic tones.  He
hadn’t liked his wife’s choice of furnishing or wall art, but had gone along
with her, so as to avoid the inevitable fight if he had asserted himself.

It was odd, he thought, that on the job, he was tough and
decisive.  He always stood his ground, yet, with his ex-wife, he had always
deferred to her.  It had been a mistake.

If he ever married again, he would seek out a partner who
would be that, a partner—someone with whom he could communicate and with whom
he could make decisions—as a team.

“Would you like another cookie?” Maggie asked, interrupting
his thoughts.  “Or, I can offer you a slice of pie.”

“Oh, no, thank you.  The cookies are fine,” he said.  He
picked one up and took a bite.

When he offered her the second one, she declined with a
laugh.  “I’m afraid I’ve eaten too many sweets lately.”  She grinned.  “I’ve
always loved the holidays, with all the delicious foods.  Well, until…”  She
frowned.

John gave her a tentative glance.  He didn’t press her to
complete her thought, but changed the subject instead.  “Do you have any plans
for Christmas Eve?”

“Gloria asked Rickey and me to join her family, but I don’t
want to intrude.  My in-laws invited us too, but they live out of state now and
I’m not much for travel over the holidays.  My folks asked us to come home too,
but to be honest, I think we’ll just stay home and spend a cozy evening
together.  I’d like to start establishing our own traditions.”  She chuckled. 
“I promised Rickey pizza.  He’d eat it every day if I let him.”

He nodded.  He was going to ask her if she and Rickey would
join him at a friend’s holiday party, but sensed something in her voice—that
she wasn’t open to celebrating with others.  He remembered the night he’d first
met her, and that she’d been invited to Gloria’s for a holiday party.  He’d
sensed her reticence to join the festivities then and remembered that she
hadn’t actually gone to the party. 

“Would you…?”  He gave an awkward smile, wondering if she’d
want to spend a quiet evening with him.  “I’d planned to attend a party at a
friend’s place, but I was wondering if you and Rickey might…?”

Maggie picked up a pillow and pulled it against her, as if
bracing for the question.  John noticed her discomfiture.  He hesitated to complete
the question.  To his surprise, Maggie spoke first.

“Would you … like to spend Christmas Eve here?  With Rickey
and me?”

He hadn’t expected the invitation and smiled.  “Are you …
sure?”  

“It’ll be a quiet evening, but…”

“Sounds perfect to me,” he said, as he took her hand and
held it.

She glanced down at their entwined hands, noting how his
larger hand engulfed her.  She felt the strength in his fingers, the warmth of
his palm, and realized, she missed the comfort of having a man in her life. 

She lifted her face to his, and he leaned in and kissed her,
pressing with a gentle insistence.  She found herself responding to his kiss. 

When he pulled back and searched her face, he smiled, and
then draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her safely into the crook of
his arm.

To her utter surprise, she felt as if she’d come home.  The
closeness felt … right.

Thoughts of Shane threatened to intrude, but she forced them
away.  Shane was gone.  She had loved him dearly, and would always hold him in
her heart, but he was gone.

“Is there any way you and Rickey could meet me for dinner?”
John asked.

Maggie, who was in her kitchen loading the dishwasher,
paused momentarily.  “You’re at work, aren’t you?”

“I am, but I was hoping you two could meet me at the diner
on St. Johns Road.” 

Maggie smiled.  “You’re spoiling us,” she told him.  “Why
don’t you come by here?  I’ll cook something.”

“I don’t want you to do that,” he said.  “It sounds like a
lot of work.”

“It’s dinner—which I have prepared almost every night during
my adult life.  Besides, I enjoy cooking,” she assured him.  “Can you come by
around six?  I’ll have the food on the table, so you can eat and run.”

“I don’t want to eat and run,” he said, and his voice held a
disappointed tone.

“Is there something wrong?” Maggie asked, picking up on the
subtle change in his manner.

“Oh, no,” he said.  “It’s just…”

“What?”

“Well, I used to work a day shift, but went to swing shift
because…”

“Because it’s more exciting,” she filled in for him. 
“There’s more action in the evening,” she added knowingly.

“Yeah, okay,” he said, chuckling.  “You’re on to me.  But…”

“What?”

He gave a self-deprecating laugh.  “I’d give my right arm to
be back on a day shift,” he admitted. 

Maggie understood why.  If he was still working a day shift,
he’d have his evenings free to spend with her and Rickey.  Her heart gave a
flutter.  If she were being honest with herself, she’d have to acknowledge that
she wished he was working day shift, as well.

Fortunately, despite the restrictions on his time posed by
his work hours, they’d managed to spend time together.  He had dropped by
Monday evening after Maggie had gotten off work.  He’d also invited her and
Rickey to dinner last evening.  It was now Thursday, so tomorrow marked the end
of his work week.

Maggie looked forward to spending Sunday with him.  The two
planned to go Christmas shopping together, while Rickey played with a school
friend at his home.  Maggie marveled at the ease with which she and John
interacted.  The more time she spent with him, the more she realized he was a
good man.

He was great with Rickey, answering the little boy’s myriad
questions with patience and humor.  Rickey was enthralled by the idea of John
being a law enforcement officer, and told his school and daycare friends all
about him. 

During dinner the prior evening, they’d run into one of his
fellow officers, who had shown Rickey the interior of his patrol car—introducing
him to all the gadgets.  When Rickey had been allowed to climb behind the
wheel, he had been in seventh heaven.

All in all, John treated Rickey with the utmost care and
kindness, and Maggie was grateful.   Of course, had he not, she would never have
continued spending time with him.  And he knew that.  He understood her little
boy came first. 

“Well, can you stop by?” Maggie asked.

“I’ll see you at six,” he said cheerily.

When six rolled around, John arrived right on time.  As
promised, Maggie had dinner on the table.  “I hope you like meatloaf,” she said
with a wince.  After suggesting he stop by for dinner, she’d discovered her
freezer wasn’t particularly well-stocked and her dinner choices limited.

“I love meatloaf,” he said with a smile, and kissed her on
the cheek.

Rickey came charging into the foyer.  “Hi, John!  Have you
arrested anybody yet?”

John draped an arm around the little boy’s shoulders and
pulled him into a hug.  “Not yet.  But it’s still early.”

“Yeah, it’s still early,” Rickey said seriously.  “Come on! 
Dinner is ready.”

John followed mother and son into the kitchen and sat down
at the dinette table.  “Looks good,” he said, meaning it.

“Well, I do happen to make a pretty good meatloaf,” Maggie
said.

“Everything looks good,” John said with a smile, his eyes
lingering on her face.

She understood his meaning.  It was no secret he felt
something for her, and she in return had feelings for him.  But she resolved to
take things slow, for all their sakes.