Page 30 of All I Want for Christmas

He’d thought about trying to locate them, but decided he loved his parents and didn’t want to hurt them. Overall, they had given him a great life.

Since he was a child, he’d known he was adopted as a baby, and he wondered what had led his birth mother to give him up.

When he pulled up in front of the house, he was kind of surprised. His father had made enough money that he was considered quite wealthy, but the house was a modest home. After parking the Jeep, he came around and helped Hannah out. Smiling at her, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

“You drove very well on the ice and snow,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said. “Any criticism? Any way I can do better?”

She grinned at him. “None at all.”

The woman was smart and knew he was trying to show that he was willing to listen to her criticism. He was not going to let them fall back into the trap he had created yesterday. Hopefully he’d learned from his mistakes.

His father met them at the door. “You made it and Hannah is with you. We’re so glad.”

A tall older woman stood behind his father.

“Come in and meet Wendy,” he said.

A big smile spread across his father’s face and Noah saw he was happy. His father wrapped his arm around her back when they stepped into the house. “Noah and Hannah, this is Wendy.”

Noah held out his hand and she pulled him into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. Welcome to our home.”

There was a warmth about her that he’d never experienced with his mother. Pulling back, he stared at her and then his father. They both had big smiles and he would bet they would be together to the end.

“Thank you,” he said. “I can tell my father is very delighted and that’s wonderful to see.”

The woman grinned and then she took him by the arm and Hannah by the other arm. “Come on in, there is so much to talk about. I see there is a beautiful ring on Hannah’s finger. I’m so happy for you two.”

Astonished by this woman, Noah walked with her into the big family room. “She said yes.”

“Good,” his father said. “Hannah, I’ve been waiting for years for this day.”

“Me too,” she said laughing. “It took him long enough to realize that I was the one.”

“He’s a very smart man, but he’s a little shy when it comes to commitment,” his father said. “And I blame myself and Francis for that.”

They sat on the couches and he could see that his father was nervous.

“Do you like living back here?” Hannah asked his father. “It’s so different from Houston.”

His father gave a chuckle. “Yes, it is. But you see Wendy was here. We went to high school together. We dated back then, but we were young and broke up when we both went off to college. Not long ago, we found each other again and here we are.”

Wendy reached out and took his hand. “My husband had passed away and, of course, your mother had passed as well.”

“What a wonderful story,” Hannah said. “I’m so happy for you. Do you have children, Wendy?”

“Yes, but they’re not going to arrive until the day after Christmas. We can’t wait for all of you to meet, but in the meantime, we’re going to have dinner at the Miller’s tomorrow.”

His stepmother gave a pointed look at his father and he could see that she wanted him to say something.

“What’s going on, Dad? You said you had something to tell me,” he said.

“When I returned to Whitefish, I ran into your birth mother,” he said. “She wants to meet you.”

Startled, Noah had no idea his birth mother lived here in Whitefish. He remembered his adoptive mother had sworn that she never wanted to go to Whitefish. Could this be the reason why?

“I didn’t know she lived here,” he said.

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