Page 10 of A Baxter Family Christmas
The song was wrapping up.O night divine. O night. O night divine.
Kendra hung the last ornament from the box of her mother’s antiques. Every day the idea became more something Kendra wanted to do. And every day Moe found another reason why they should stay home. Mind their own business.
But who cared what Moe thought? He was constantly at work. The way he was tonight.
Kendra took a deep breath, picked up her cell phone, and dialed John Baxter’s number. He answered on the third ring.
“Kendra. Hello!”
“Hi, John.” She hesitated. Her new heart suddenly pounded in her chest. “I’ve been thinking about your offer. Christmas Eve dinner.”
“Yes. I’ve been praying about that, too.”
There he goes again. Praying about their possible dinner. Is that why I can’t get the idea out of my mind?She squeezed her eyes shut. “I want to come. If you’re still willing.” Another pause. “It’ll be just me. Moe... he’s staying here.”
“Okay.” John didn’t hesitate. “Please tell him he’s welcome.” John seemed to think for a moment. “You’re okay with the drive here? By yourself?”
“It’s three hours from Lexington. That’s not a problem.” Kendra opened her eyes and stared at her hands. Her fingers were trembling. “You’re sure it’s all right with your family?”
John’s hesitation wasn’t long. “Most of them. The others will come around.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. “But you’ll tell me. If they decide it’s better for me not to come?”
“I will.” John paused. “What about Moe? Do you think he might change his mind and join you?”
Kendra appreciated this about John Baxter. In some ways John was like the father she never had. “He really doesn’t want to. But maybe... if you pray about that, he’ll change his mind.” She glanced at her phone. Moe should be home within the hour. “I’ll keep asking. But either way... I want to be there.”
The call ended a few minutes later. She would bring the trip up to Moe again. But she doubted any amount of prayer would make a difference. Kendra found another box of ornaments and worked until the tree was complete. She stood back and admired it.Perfect, really.
She sat down and studied the branches. She loved Christmastime. And this year—like last year—Kendra still worked only part-time at the hospital. More days to ponder life’s biggest questions. Why was she here? Was it possible for love to last forever? And why did Erin Baxter Hogan die, but Kendra got to live? And of course, the biggest question of all: Were her mother and John Baxter right?
Long ago on a silent, holy night... did the story of Christmas actually happen?
CHAPTER FOUR
Maddie loved the day before Thanksgiving almost as much as Thanksgiving itself. Everyone who could help out went to Ashley and Landon’s for what the Baxter family had come to call Pre-Thanksgiving.
It was midafternoon and in an hour everyone would be at the house except Dayne, Katy, and their kids. They wouldn’t fly in from California until tomorrow.
“Maddie, can you help me?” Her fifteen-year-old sister, Hayley, was standing at the sink next to a bag of potatoes. She had a single potato in her hand and she was trying with everything in her to peel it.
But the move was too much for her.
“Of course. Hold on.” Maddie had been polishing their grandmother’s silver. She set down the fork she was working on and hurried to Hayley. She washed her hands and then gently took the peeler and the potato. “Here. Like this.” Maddie easily shed the peeling into the sink.
“I can’t make it do that.” Her sister smiled at her, forever innocent in her approach to life. “You’re smarter than me.”
“No, Hayley.” She slipped her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “That’s not true.”
“It is.” Hayley smiled again. “That’s okay. I know it.”
Maddie handed her the next potato and together they worked to peel it. The process was painstaking and awkward. But when they were finished, Hayley lit up. “I did it! You helped me, Maddie! Thank you!”
For the next several potatoes, Maddie stayed at her sister’s side. By the time they’d completed eight of them, Hayley was brimming with confidence. “I really helped this year, right?”
“Definitely.” Maddie smoothed her sister’s blond hair off her face and kissed her cheek. “You’re an amazing help, Hayley. No one cares more than you do.”
Hayley giggled. “I believe you’re right, Sister.”
