Page 30 of Sugarplum Dreams
The Christmas Eve service was always excellent, and this year was no different.
What was different was the fact that Charity was standing beside Wilson, and even better was the fact that she wanted to and was enjoying it.
She didn’t know that standing beside a man, the right man, could make all the difference when a person went to church.
When she was able to get Clancy to go, he complained the whole time, came late, left early, and always wanted to sit in the back.
They were still sitting in the back, because of the children. They didn’t want them to interrupt the service for anyone else and didn’t want to have to walk halfway through the church if they needed to leave in the middle of it because one of them got antsy. Still, everything else was better. Wilson acted like he enjoyed the entire service, and it seemed like he enjoyed the music just as much as she did. Kyra had given her a special look and a great big smile when she saw that Wilson stood beside her.
She had grinned back, and the communication that had passed between them was happy and joyful.
Charity couldn’t deny that she was looking forward to her marriage, even though it was an adjustment, and every once in a while, she had an attack of anxiety. Was she making the right decision? Maybe she shouldn’t go through with it. Was she doing the right thing for her children? Was Wilson going to regret it?
That last question was probably the one that haunted her the most.
“I’ll never get tired of listening to the string music. So glad we have a trio like that in Mistletoe Meadows.” Wilson leaned down and spoke in her ear, and it sent shivers the whole way to her toes. Her two youngest children were in the nursery, and the three oldest had been trained since birth to sit quietly in the service, and they did so now.
It was a peaceful time, coming to church, sometimes the only break she had where she could actually sit and relax.
“Same. This is my favorite service of the entire year.”
“Mine too. I love Sunday evening services. They’re just always so comfortable, but this one beats everything.”
She loved Christmas Eve, loved the anticipation, the excitement, the idea that something special was coming, that God had sent His son, and the whole world rejoiced, the angels celebrated his birth. Even the mother and father gently watching over their child gave her that happy feeling in her stomach. The celebration, the quiet anticipation of Christians across the globe. It was the one time that they were all in tune together.
Of course, she loved the decorations and the sparkle and the lights and the good food and fellowship, just everything.
“Are we staying for refreshments afterward?” Wilson breathed in her ear as the pastor thanked the trio and invited everyone downstairs for refreshments.
“If it’s okay with you. I don’t know how long the kids will hold out, but I know we’d all love to get something.”
“I had my eye on that pie you made.”
“I have another one at home. You can have some of that.”
“I wasn’t sure I was going to get any or not, so I figured I probably ought to grab a piece here while I can.”
“You can have the whole thing.” She owed him that and so much more. Although she knew if she said that, he would brush her off, saying that she didn’t owe him anything and maybe even arguing that he owed her. But that wasn’t true. She was definitely the one who was getting the most out of this bargain, and she knew it. And she was grateful.
“All right then, let’s stay. And if we need to go, we’ll go. You just say the word.”
“All right.” He had said that he wasn’t going to stay overnight tonight, although he had asked for permission to come in the morning and spend Christmas with them. She had gladly given it, of course, and it would have been okay if he had stayed the night. But she didn’t tell him that. There wasn’t too much she would have denied him at this point, and it wasn’t just because she was grateful. It was because he inspired her to want to be better, to want to treat others the way she wanted to be treated because that was how he treated everyone.
Still, they were planning on getting married tomorrow sometime in the afternoon. And then he would be sleeping on her couch until they moved into his farmhouse, he’d already told her that much.
It had taken all the guesswork out of everything, and she appreciated that. She didn’t have to wonder what was going to happen and think about whether or not she should ask him. Of course, he’d already told her that he wanted her to feel free to ask him anything, but there were some things that were just harder than others, and that was one that would be difficult for her at any point, but especially now when they were just getting to know each other.
As the service ended, they stood, her children filing out behind them and Wilson casually putting an arm on her shoulder, she assumed to keep them together and not necessarily because he wanted to touch her.
There were some quizzical looks and a couple of raised brows, but no one asked, even though everyone had seen them sitting together, and she knew the rumors were going to be running rampant.
“We could have asked Pastor Connelly to announce that you and I are engaged and going to be married tomorrow. That would have saved us all of these looks.” Wilson spoke quietly into her ear, low enough that she was the only one who could hear.
She turned and smiled at him. “Do they bother you?”
“Not at all. I was thinking more along the lines they were probably bothering you.”
“They don’t bother me a bit. They can wonder all they want. And if they ask, I can tell them that I am the most blessed person in the world.”
