Page 62 of The Holiday Gift

“I don’t...need an ambulance. The breath...was knocked out of me...but I’m okay.”

The alfalfa he had been forking down for the animals had cushioned most of the impact and he knew there was no serious damage, even though everything still ached. He might have a broken rib in there, but he wasn’t about to tell her that.

“Are you sure? That was a hard fall.”

“I’m sure.”

Her hand fluttered in his and he suddenly remembered what she had said and his complete shock that had made him lose his footing.

He sat up and wiped at her tears.

“Faith. What were you saying just before I fell?”

She looked down, her cheeks turning pink. “I... Nothing.”

It was the exact antithesis ofnothing. “You said you loved me,” he murmured.

She rubbed her cheek on her shoulder as if trying to hide evidence of the tears trickling down. “That was a pretty hard fall,” she said again. “Are you sure you didn’t bump your head, too?”

“Positive. I know what I heard. Why do you think I fell? You shocked me so much I forgot I was ten feet up in the air. Say it again.”

Her hand fluttered in his again but he held it tight. He wasn’t going to let her wriggle away this time. After a moment, she stopped and everything about her seemed to sigh.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I’ve known it for a while now. I just... I’ve been so afraid.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

He hadn’t wanted to make her suffer more than she already had. But maybe they both had to pass through this tough time to know they could make it through to the other side.

He pulled her toward him and his breath seemed to catch all over again—and not at all from the pain—when she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest.

Joy began to stir inside him, tentative at first and then stronger.

She belonged exactly here. Surely she had to know that by now.

“After Travis died, I never wanted to fall in love again. Ever,” she said, her voice low. “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

He frowned in confusion, nearly groaning at the possibility of more mixed signals from her.

And then she kissed him. Just like that. She lifted her head, found his mouth and kissed him with a fierce emotion that sent joy rushing through him like the Cold Creek swollen with runoff.

“I didn’t need to fall in love,” she said, her beautiful eyes bright with more tears and a tenderness that madehimwant to weep. “I was already there, in love with my best friend. That love surrounded me every moment of every day. I just had to find the strength to open my heart to it.”

“And have you?”

She kissed him again in answer and he decided he wanted to spend every Christmas Eve right here with her in her barn, surrounded by animals and hay and possibilities.

He had no idea how all his Christmas wishes had come true but he wasn’t about to question it.

“I love you, Chase Brannon,” she murmured against his mouth.

He didn’t want to ask but he had to know. “What changed?”

“Why am I not afraid to admit I love you?” She smiled a little. “Who said I’m not? But I have been thinking about something my dad told us over and over when we were held prisoner in Colombia.Remember, girls, he would say in that firm voice.Faith is always stronger than fear. He was talking about faith in the abstract, not me in particular, but I have decided to listen to his words and apply them to me. I can’t let my fear control me. Iamstronger than this—and during the times when I’m not, I’ve got your strength to lean on.”

He kissed her, humbled and overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for this amazing woman in his arms, who had been through incredible pain but came through with grace, dignity and a beautiful courage.

He wiped a tear away with his thumb, grateful beyond words that such a woman was willing to face her completely justifiable fears forhim.

---