A half hour later Haley was completely confused when Ben stopped his truck outside a cute little house that was beautifully decorated for Christmas. There were white twinkling Christmas lights and an adorable snowman out front.
“Where are we?” she asked as they got out of the truck and she looked around. “I thought you were taking me to dinner?” But before she could say another word, the front door of the home opened and Gail appeared. “Surprise. Merry Christmas!” she said, holding both arms out wide.
“What?” Haley looked from Gail to Ben. She couldn’t believe it, and then her eyes grew even wider when she saw Susie, Ian, and John all come out the door, too.
“Surprise!” Susie said.
“Merry Christmas!” John said.
Haley covered her mouth with her hand. “What? All of you are here?” She looked behind John. “Are the kids here, too?”
“They’re here,” John said. “They’re in the back room watching a Christmas movie they actually agreed on. It’s a Christmas miracle.”
“No, it’s Christmas Camp,” Susie said.
“Same thing.” John laughed.
While everyone laughed Haley was still looking and hoping for one more person to come out the door, but no one came. She looked at Ben. “So everyone’s here?”
“Except Jeff,” Ben said. “I’m sorry.”
To hide her disappointment Haley gave him a hug. “Best surprise ever. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Come on, everyone, let’s get inside, it’s cold out here,” Gail said as she hustled everyone in. Haley hurried over to give her a hug.
“What a great surprise,” she said.
“It was all Ben’s idea. It turns out we all live within an hour of each other, and he thought since you had to leave the inn so quickly, why not have one more great night. Plus, I needed help decorating my tree. I wasn’t going to decorate this year, but Ben thought I should . . .”
“And I agree with him one hundred percent,” Haley said. “So let’s see this tree.”
As they walked into Gail’s home Haley looked around and smiled. The little house suited Gail perfectly. It was cute and cozy, and the focal point when you walked in was a fireplace that had a nice fire crackling. On the mantel she saw a picture of Gail’s son, Ryan. He was in his military uniform and looked very handsome. Haley figured he was probably about her age. The picture next to it was the photo of Gail and Ben sledding. Haley looked around at her Christmas Camp group.
“I still can’t believe you’re all here!” she said She couldn’t stop smiling.
“I heard there was a Christmas party and who can say no to that!” John joked.
“And after you left Ben told us about how you’re helping him save his inn and his Christmas Camp by expanding to other resorts,” Gail said.
“It’s amazing, Haley, that you can help him do that,” John said.
“It really is,” Ian added.
“But just to be clear, Ben, we’re only coming to your Christmas Camp at Holly Peak Inn,” Susie said. “Because it’s our new Christmas tradition; right, honey?”
Ian put his arm around Susie. “That’s right, and we’re adding sledding and even turkey to the list of our new traditions.”
“Very nice!” Ben said. “And Laura wanted to be here, too, but she’s spending time with her family.”
“Well, please tell her we all missed her,” Haley said. “Especially her cookies.”
Gail smiled at her. “Well, if you come help me in the kitchen I might just have some that she sent along with Ben.”
“Really?” Haley’s eyes grew big and her mouth began to water. “I’ve been dreaming of those cookies. I’m in. Where’s your kitchen?”
Everyone laughed.
“Save some for the rest of us,” John called out as Gail and Haley disappeared into the kitchen.
As soon as they walked in, Haley noticed a group of Santa mugs lined up on the counter.
“Hey, those look just like the mugs we had at Christmas Camp!”
Gail nodded and smiled. “They’re exactly the same. Ben knew how much I loved them and got them for me for Christmas.”
“That’s so sweet,” Haley said.
“It really is. He’s a very sweet man.”
“Yes, he is,” Haley agreed, and loved that it looked like she’d been right about a potential match between Ben and Gail.
“And I have something for you,” Gail said, and went over and picked Jeff’s scarf off the kitchen table. “You loaned this to me and I didn’t get a chance to give it back to you.”
When Haley took the scarf, her heart hurt. “Thank you, but it’s not mine. It’s Jeff’s. You should just give it to Ben to give to him.”
Gail had already started pouring some hot chocolate into the Santa mugs when her cell phone rang. “Haley, can you grab that for me. My hands are full.”
“Sure.” Haley picked up the phone, but when she saw who was calling she quickly ran over to Gail and took the hot chocolate from her. “You need to get this.”
“What?” Gail looked confused until she saw it was Ryan calling on FaceTime. Her hand shook as she answered. “Ryan? Is everything okay?”
Ryan grinned back at her. “Everything’s great, Mom. I only have a few minutes, but I just wanted to call and say I love you. Merry Christmas.”
Gail’s eyes filled with grateful tears. “I love you so much. I miss you . . .”
Haley’s own eyes were tearing up as she slipped out of the kitchen to give Gail some privacy. As she entered the living room everyone was talking and having a great time. When she looked over at Susie and Ian sitting by the fire holding hands, she saw so much love . . . and it reminded her of what she didn’t have. She needed to get some fresh air.
As she slipped out the front door the chilly night air whirled around her. When she realized she was still holding Jeff’s scarf, she wrapped it around her neck, savoring how it felt. She walked over to the snowman and noticed Madison’s scarf, Blake’s gloves, and John’s hat. The hat was a little lopsided, so she adjusted it and then looked up at the stars.
“You can see the stars a lot better at Christmas Camp.”
Haley spun around, and when she saw Jeff walking toward her, for a moment she wasn’t sure if it was real. It had begun to snow and in the darkness everything was starting to blur. But as he got closer she knew it was him. She felt it before she could even see him clearly.
“I didn’t think you were coming . . .” she said, still straining to see in the darkness.
“I had to come,” he said as he got closer.
“To see everyone?”
“To see you.” He had now stepped into a stream of light that was coming from the Christmas lights decorating the house.
Haley also stepped into the light, meeting him halfway. She’d thought about it, so many times, what she’d say to him if she saw him again, but now that she had the chance, her mind was blank and her heart was racing. Finally, she just looked up at him and said, “I’m sorry.”
As he came closer he looked into her eyes. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I know you were only trying to help my dad,” he said.
When Haley shivered he immediately took off his coat and wrapped it around her. “I just really believe that I knew what was best for him, and I was wrong.”
Haley touched his arm. “You love him. You were just trying to help.”
“I was, but my dad and my mom have always followed their hearts, no matter what the risk, and the inn is part of my dad’s heart. I’m grateful to you for finding a way he might be able to keep it.”
“Really?” Haley asked, her voice full of hope.
Jeff took her hands in his. “And I need to follow my heart, no matter what the risk, and that’s why I’m here tonight. I know we’ve haven’t known each other very long, but I know that my life is already better with you in it. I don’t know if you can forgive me, but I was hoping maybe we could start over and—”
Before he could finish Haley kissed him with all the love and hope in her heart, and when he kissed her back, she could feel that love returned along with the promise of many more Christmases together.
When she looked into Jeff’s eyes she saw her future. “I finally made my Christmas wish,” she told him. “I wished for you.”
When they kissed again she heard Ben say . . .
“Now that’s Christmas spirit!”
When Haley and Jeff turned around they saw the whole gang had gathered by the door and all of them were watching them and celebrating.
She looked embarrassed, hiding her face, but Jeff smiled back at them.
“It looks like we have a fan club,” he said as he took her hand and held both their hands up in the air.
Everyone cheered.
“Do you know another reason I had to come back?” Jeff asked, turning back to face her.
“No, what is it?”
Jeff took both ends of her scarf and pulled her closer to him. “To get back the scarf you stole.”
Haley laughed and snuggled into the scarf. “I think it looks better on me.”
Jeff kissed the tip of her nose. “So do I.”
When she turned back to the group, her eyes lit up and she took Jeff’s hand. “Look at your dad and Gail,” she whispered. Gail had just kissed Ben’s cheek and Ben was holding her hand. “I think something special might be happening there.”
Jeff smiled when he saw how happy his dad looked. “I hope so.”
When Haley kissed his cheek just like Gail had kissed Ben’s, everyone watching cheered again.
Haley and Jeff laughed.
“Merry Christmas!” Haley called out to everyone.
They all answered back in unison . . .
“Merry Christmas!”
When Haley looked up at Jeff and saw so much love in his eyes, she felt so thankful that she had been able to open her heart to Christmas, and to love, and she couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.