Page 31 of A Baxter Family Christmas
He nodded. His eyes shifted to the backyard again. “She was our fourth little girl, but she had her own way. A happy, gentle spirit that defined her...” He smiled at Elaine. “Till the day she died.”
Elaine’s eyes looked damp. “I always loved Erin.”
“But that heartbeat, the one unique to my youngest daughter, that’s what this is about.” He looked intently at Elaine. “Right?”
“It’s more than that.”
“I know, but I want to hear it. My baby girl’s heartbeat.” John took a step back. “All of this... it’s for me. Which makes me wonder, Elaine. It does.”
“I’m sorry.”
John turned and slowly walked toward the front porch. “Come sit with me. For a few minutes.”
Elaine followed him and they grabbed their jackets on the way outside. John brushed a fine layer of snow off the porch swing and then he took hold of Elaine’s hand as they sat down. Snow was coming down hard, swirling in the wind. But they stayed dry where they were sitting.
John sighed. “I care about Kendra. I do. But it’s Christmas Eve.”
“And you want to hear your daughter’s heartbeat one more time.” Elaine laid her head on his shoulder.
“Exactly.”
She turned so she could see him. “It’s okay. The kids understand.” Her voice remained calm. “Don’t you think they feel the same way, John? Deep down?”
That hadn’t occurred to him. After all, he’d presented the meeting with Kendra as something Erin would’ve wanted, something good for Kendra. A chance to open her life to the possibility of faith.
A feeling of peace came over him. Peace he hadn’t felt in weeks. Maybe Elaine was right. “So you think the real reason Kari and Brooke and Dayne are willing to be here is because... it’ll feel like we have Erin back. For one night, anyway?”
“I think that’s part of it.”
“Hmmm.” John nodded. “Thank you.” He eased her into a hug. “Do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Pray for me. That I’ll care about Kendra, as a person. That this will be about more than hearing Erin’s heartbeat.”
“I will. I’ll pray all night.”
“Thank you.” He breathed deeply. “I feel good about that.” He stood and helped Elaine to her feet. “Let’s go make dessert. It’s freezing out here. And we have less than an hour until everyone shows up.”
With that, John and Elaine went inside and the two of them made a baked apple crumble and fresh whipped cream for after dinner. John stopped at the window and stared outside again. He was going to be okay. He cared about Kendra Bryant, he truly did. Tonight would be about her, not Erin. But deep down, Elaine had helped him understand that he was normal to hold on to one very real thing.
The fact that tonight—for the first time in years—he would have a part of his daughter Erin back again.
They’d been home from church for an hour when Luke Baxter asked his wife, Reagan, to meet him in their bedroom. She had been helping little Johnny get dressed for dinner at their favorite restaurant.
“I think I made a mistake.” Luke sat on the edge of their bed. “I feel like we should be there tonight. At Ashley and Landon’s house.”
Reagan sat beside him, confusion clouding her eyes. “I thought you didn’t want to go. Because of that Kendra woman.”
“I don’t. Not really.” He faced her. “But Tommy asked me this morning if it was really true. If we weren’t going tonight.” Luke felt sick about the situation. “He said the Baxter cousins look forward to Christmas Eve dinner all year.”
Reagan took a few seconds, but then she nodded. “That’s true. They do.”
“I should’ve changed my mind earlier.” He shook his head. “I’ve been so busy on the case at work, I didn’t take time to think about it. To talk to you and the kids and make a right decision.”
Outside the wind howled. The snowstorm forecast to cover Indiana was just hitting. Reagan glanced out the window. “Looks like the weather may have made the decision for us.”
“Nah.” Luke walked across the room and peered outside. “We’ve driven in snowstorms before.”
