Page 25 of Christmas Promises

“Why do they shed them?”

“After mating season’s over they find them heavy and burdensome, so they get rid of them.”

“Kind of like me with Josh?” Laney asked.

“Something like that.”

Laney opened the window, holding her breath, hoping she didn’t spook him. But she needn’t have worried. The moose stood motionless, his breath making clouds in the cold air. “He’s posing for me.”

“Looks that way,” Edna said, chuckling. “Maybe he knows you’re a city girl who will properly admire him.”

Laney snapped several photos. As if on cue, the moose took a few slow steps back, his long legs moving with an elegance that belied his size. He glanced her way one more time before bounding across the snowy field until he disappeared into the thicket.

“He’s incredible.” Laney let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was still holding and turned to Aunt Edna. “I’ve never seen anything so perfect in my life.”

Aunt Edna chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling. “It’s not often we spot him. Like I said, he must have come out to welcome you.”

Laney nodded, her heart still racing. “This is a sign. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

Her aunt reached across the console to quickly squeeze her knee, just as she had done when Laney was small. “I’ve no idea if that’s true or not, but I’m awfully glad you’re here.”

Laney turned her head, resting her cheek on the back of the seat to look over at her aunt. “Thanks for taking me. I think you may have saved my life.”

“Let’s not be dramatic. You’re tough. You’d have been fine no matter what you chose to do after that disaster of a wedding.”

“We can agree to disagree on that. Regardless, thank you.”

“Honey, it’s my pleasure to be here for you. You’ve always been one of the best things in my life.”

“I don’t know why, but I’m glad.”

“If you could see you as I do, you’d know exactly why I say that.” Aunt Edna turned the car back on. “Let’s go before we freeze out here.” She pulled back onto the road, and they continued on their way toward the Hayes farm.

She hadn’t been espousing platitudes to her aunt. She knew in her bones that this was where her life was supposed to be. Staying here and starting fresh in Sugarville Grove was such a blessing. Her aunt’s generosity and love truly were saving her, whether Aunt Edna thought so or not.

Yes, this was her real life. Not the one she’d so dutifully succumbed to but the one she was meant to have. Josh and Dahlia had done her a favor. They’d let her out of the contract she’d made with herself to do what was expected of her. But she was like the moose now. Wild and untethered, yet purposeful too. She could make her own way, exactly as she wanted. No one, not even her mother, could dictate the direction of her future.

Only Laney was in control of her own destiny. One she was more and more convinced began and ended right here in Sugarville Grove, Vermont.

Minutes later,they arrived at Walter and Grace Hayes’s farmhouse, all lit up with holiday lights. Snow began to fall, as if it had been waiting for them to arrive. Laney grabbed the wine they’d brought and got out of the car, fighting the urge to run across the shoveled walkway and into the house. She absolutely couldn’t wait to see Nolan again. It made no sense, but that was just the truth. She was smitten just as she’d been that summer. How was it possible? She had no idea, but if she’d learned anything over the last week or so it was that she had to trust God more. He had a plan for her. One that had deviated drastically from the one she thought she’d have.

God sent me a moose.What more of a sign did she need?

Nolan greeted them at the door, hustling them inside and out of the cold. Laney brushed snowflakes from her coat as Nolan closed the door behind them. The warmth of the house immediately enveloped her, full of good smells—the piney scent of a Christmas tree, cinnamon and sugar, and Nolan’s spicy aftershave. She could hear the sounds of laughter and muffled conversation drifting from the kitchen, the unmistakable voices of children and adults’ laughter.

“Merry Christmas, ladies.” Nolan offered to take their coats.

“Yes, please.” Laney and Aunt Edna shrugged out of their jackets and tugged knit caps from their heads. Laney had braided her long hair in preparation for the sticky job of decorating cookies, and now she brushed baby hairs from where they stuck to her forehead and cheeks. She felt Nolan’s gaze upon her and glanced up at him, suddenly shy, but determined to make eye contact. When she did, her stomach fluttered. He looked ridiculously handsome in a blue flannel shirt and jeans, his hair disheveled as if he’d been roughhousing with his nieces and nephew.

Nolan opened a hall closet to hang their coats. “Thanks for coming,” he said as he turned back to them.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Edna said. “Where’s that mother of yours? I have something for her.”

“She’s in the kitchen.” Nolan pointed toward the back of the house.

Edna hustled away without a backward glance. Laney had a distinct feeling her aunt had purposely left them alone.

“Mom’s looking forward to seeing you again,” Nolan said. “My nieces and nephew have already started decorating. And Max, of course, since he’s basically a kid.”

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