Luminaries lined the snow-covered sidewalk as the wedding guests arrived.
Over the course of the day, Clayton Christian Church had been turned into the setting of a fairy-tale wedding with hundreds of tiny lights, lush poinsettias, white roses and miles of white netting.
Lucas saw Kylie slip in through the front doors and join Zach in the foyer. There was no sign of Erin. He’d been lurking in the hallway for almost half an hour, hoping she’d changed her mind about attending the ceremony.
“Is Erin still setting up the buffet?” He had to ask.
Kylie’s pert nose wrinkled. “She made me leave but she insisted on staying to keep an eye on the food. She said, and I quote, ‘I’m your boss so you have to do what I say.’ Unquote.”
“She should be here,” Lucas muttered.
Kylie gave him a look. “Then convince her. I’ll keep an eye on Max for a few minutes.”
Lucas was out the door and across the street to the town hall, already formulating a list of reasons why Erin should attend the wedding.
I’m not part of the family, she’d said.
Well, if Lucas had his way, she wouldn’t be able to say that again after tonight.
He pushed open the door and saw her fussing with a centerpiece on the table. A white apron skimmed her trim frame but couldn’t completely conceal the filmy black dress that clung to her slender curves. Instead of a ponytail, silver filigree combs caught up her hair in a loose topknot.
“You look beautiful.”
Erin started at the sound of his voice. “Isn’t the ceremony about to start?” she asked, a blush staining her cheeks.
“That’s why I’m here. Come on.”
She balked. “I can’t. I’ve got to stay—”
“Everything looks great. And it will still look great a half hour from now when the reception starts.” Lucas took a step toward her and Erin took a step back.
“Max was asking where you were.” Okay, so it was low to use his son to get his way, but Lucas knew Max wouldn’t mind. And he had been asking about Erin.
“I suppose.” Erin started to fumble with the strings on her apron and Lucas gently pushed her hands aside.
“Let me.” He worked the knot free, overwhelmed by the urge to take her into his arms again.
But then they’d both be late for the wedding…
Five minutes later, they were seated in the back of the church, Max perched on his lap and Erin at his side.
Jack and one of Cade’s friends from high school took their place at the front of the church next to Reverend West. Most of the groom’s family was missing—Lucas had heard that Samuel and a few key members of his family had taken an extended vacation—but the George Clayton side was there in full force.
As the prelude began, Arabella’s triplets, adorable in emerald-green velvet, danced up the aisle, each carrying a basket of rose petals. Macy followed at a more sedate pace, the hem of her satin gown swishing around her ankles.
“There’s Julie an’ Jamie an’ Jessie!” Max sang out before Lucas could shush him.
Erin bit her lip to keep from smiling as laughter rippled through the church.
Everyone rose to their feet as Jonathan and Jasmine appeared in the doorway. The young bride looked stunning in a floor-length gown glistening with seed pearls. A veil covered Jasmine’s face but Lucas could see her wide smile beneath it.
“Please be seated.” Reverend West came to stand in front of the bride and groom and opened a small leather Bible. “I’d like to read from the book of Isaiah this evening.
“‘Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel,’ which means God with us.
“This is a familiar passage read at Christmastime, but maybe you’re wondering why I chose to read it tonight, as Jasmine and Cade exchange their wedding vows.”
Reverend West closed the Bible and his warm smile encompassed the people who were listening. “Because both are about promises. Tonight, Jasmine and Cade are making promises to each other. To love one another. To forgive one another. To forsake all others. Love is more than a feeling—it’s a promise.
“In Isaiah, almost seven hundred years before Jesus was born, God promised the world a Savior—His only son. God promises He will never forsake us. Never. Emmanuel. God with us. The promise of that first Christmas.” Reverend West nodded at the young couple. “With God as the center of your marriage, you will be able to get through the ups and downs that every couple faces as they journey together. He’ll help you keep the promises you make tonight—because He’s a God who keeps His.”
He gave Cade a reassuring nod as tears streamed down Jasmine’s face. Cade took her hand and offered a watery smile of his own.
Reverend West smiled. “Let’s pray and ask God’s blessing on this young couple.”
Lucas finally cornered Erin after the reception meal. Her cheeks were flushed and tendrils of hair had escaped from the combs, but she had never looked lovelier.
“I think we’re going to call it a night.” Lucas hoisted a giggling Max over his shoulder. “Would you like to stop over for a while?”
“Max is probably tired. And he’s going to have a busy day tomorrow.”
Lucas hiked a brow. “Does Max look tired?”
As if to underscore the point, Max wiggled around until he was facing her. “You haveta watch me open my present.”
“I wouldn’t want to miss that.”
There were a lot of things Lucas didn’t want to miss, either. Like every moment with Erin.
“So, that’s a yes?” Lucas prodded gently.
“Sure.” Erin smiled at Max. “Arabella hired a cleanup crew, so I don’t think they need me anymore.”
That was good. Because he needed her.
Erin’s car pulled in a few minutes after his. Max had brushed his teeth and prepared for bed in record time. Lucas put on an instrumental Christmas CD and pulled a plate of cookies Arabella had given him out of the freezer.
He was as nervous as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof when Erin walked in. Max didn’t have the same issues. He raced over to Erin, grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the Christmas tree, his patience finally at an end. Lucas knew the feeling!
Max flopped down and retrieved a lumpy package. “This one’s yours.” He handed it to Lucas. “A’bella helped me wrap it.”
Lucas carefully opened the present under Max’s watchful eye. Inside was a framed photograph of him and Max…and Erin. One of his sneaky cousins must have snapped it at the reception.
“That’s…” Erin’s voice trailed off in a squeak.
Max leaned in to see what all the fuss was about. “Us,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Which one are you going to open?” Her cheeks pink, Erin redirected the attention back to the gifts.
“This one!” Max wrapped both arms around the largest present and hauled it out from under the tree. He unwrapped it and tunneled through a thick layer of red tissue paper.
“Cowboy boots!”
“Every cowboy needs one to go with his hat,” his dad said.
Max hurtled himself into Lucas’s lap. “I love them.” The tip of his nose touched Lucas’s and brought them eyeball to eyeball. “I. Love. You.”
“I love you, too.” Lucas somehow managed to get the words out.
“Where’s Erin’s?” Max tilted his head, looking at Lucas expectantly.
“I don’t—”
Lucas cut her off with a smile. “It’s the one with the pink bow.”
The one with the pink bow?
Erin slanted a look at Lucas, feeling self-conscious. She didn’t want him to feel obligated to give her a present because he’d allowed Max to open one.
“It’s a new tradition. One present on Christmas Eve,” Lucas said.
“Yup.” Max nodded vigorously. “You gotta open it.”
“All right.” Erin slid her fingernail through the tape and unwrapped layers of gold paper until she found a plain pine… box. Obviously old. And judging by the whittle marks in the wood, handmade.
She gave Lucas a questioning look.
“It belonged to my great-grandfather, Jim Clayton,” Lucas explained. “Grandpa George gave it to me when I was twelve years old. I have to admit, I was disappointed.”
“So you…regifted it?”
“In a way.” Lucas didn’t smile in response to her teasing. “I didn’t appreciate what it meant at the time. Grandpa George said he was passing it on to me because I would understand it’s value. It took me long enough, but now I do.
“In his will, my grandfather asked each of us to think of one good memory of him. I realized it was the day he gave me this gift because it reminded me of what was important.”
Erin couldn’t hide her confusion. “If it’s a family heirloom, shouldn’t you keep it?”
Lucas shook his head. “My cousins think God brought us back here to reconnect with our roots, but I don’t believe that.”
Erin’s heart sank. “You don’t?”
“I’ve been thinking—and praying—about this a lot over the past few days. And I believe God brought me back to Clayton for you, Erin. Because He meant for us to be together.” Lucas took the box from her numb fingers and opened the lid.
Tucked in a nest of gold tissue paper was another box. A very small, velvet box.
Erin couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak.
“You got another one, Erin!” Max wiggled closer. “Open it!” But she still couldn’t move. So Lucas lifted the cover. When he did, a diamond solitaire winked at her from its setting in a simple gold band.
“Erin Fields, I love you more than life itself,” he said softly. “Will you marry me and make me the happiest man on earth?”
She couldn’t speak, either.
“Why’s Erin cryin’, Daddy?” Max said with a worried frown.
“I’m not sure.” Lucas sounded just as worried.
Erin decided it was time to put their fears to rest. And hers, too. Their lives may have taken different paths for a few years, but Lucas was right. God had brought them back together.
“They’re happy tears,” she sniffled.
Max frowned. “What’s that mean?”
Laughing, Erin launched herself into Lucas’s arms with the same enthusiasm that Max had just moments ago.
“Yes,” she whispered in his ear. “It means yes.”