21

 

“Why do you have to be so secretive? I’m going to see it when I open my eyes, anyway.” Rori stepped carefully into the barn, her vision covered by a cloth while Graham’s large hands guided her shoulders.

When his lips connected with her neck, she squealed, and then laughed. “Hey, no fair. I can’t see.”

“Sorry, couldn’t resist. I promise to behave now if you promise not to grumble about surprises.”

Her heart melted at his thoughtfulness, and citrus and sandalwood mingled with the barn smells of horses and hay, leather and mustiness. Pine and cinnamon, ham, and Christmas scents drifted through the barn. An intoxicating combination, made especially more vivid with the blindfold. She tilted her head towards Graham, his hands moving with her.

“It smells wonderful, Graham.”

“Different, huh? But I kinda like the hay and horse smell better.”

“I was referring to you.”

He rewarded her with another kiss, but this time to the top of her head.

“Are you ready?” His breath tickled her ear.

“More than ready.” He’d shooed her out of the barn yesterday and called a few friends to help him decorate for the family get-together today. He hadn’t allowed her back in until now.

“OK. Here goes.” His voice sounded almost child-like in its excitement, and his fingers fumbled with the tie. The fabric dropped away from her eyes.

Her lids opened to a Christmas fairytale.

“Wow!” Her jaw dropped.

“Do you like it?”

“How could I not like it?” She spun around, taking in the entire space.

White lights draped from the rafters, adding a festive sparkle to the interior. A Fraser fir towered in the corner, gorging with twinkling lights, pinecones and cranberries. Colorful gifts mounded under the tree and spilled over onto the bales of hay next to it. Tables, covered with spotless white cloths, displayed fine china and cranberry colored candle centerpieces, greenery, and more pinecones. Outdoor gas heaters, situated throughout the barn, warmed the wide-open space to a comfortable temperature.

He’d even decorated a couple long tables with those stainless steel serving trays for the food her family would be bringing. A man with a tall white chef’s hat stood behind one of the tables, his arms tucked behind his back. She smiled a greeting, and then turned back to Graham.

“It’s absolutely stunning, Graham! Thank you.” Covering his cheeks with her palms, she gave him a kiss he wouldn’t forget over the course of the evening.

Graham cupped her elbow. “Come on. Before everybody gets here, I want you to meet Louis.” Graham made the introductions, his arm draped around her back, encouraging her with his tenderness.

“So you’re the famous Louis. Your ham is scrumptious.”

Graham had brought her a sample earlier.

“Thank you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, ma’am. Graham speaks very highly of you.”

“And you as well.” Her gaze took in the chef’s cap and carving knife. “Call me Rori, please. It looks like you planned to serve, but I hope you’ll join us for dinner.”

An uncomfortable look crossed his face, and he glanced at Graham.

Graham spoke up. “If you’re OK with that, Louis, we’d love for you to join us. It’s Christmas, and this isn’t the racetrack where you have to feed a bunch of people in a hurry. It’s just a few family and friends coming tonight.”

Appreciation and respect glowed from Louis’s face, and he bobbed his head once. “Thank you. I’ll be happy to join you as soon as everybody goes through the line.”

“Good. Please excuse us. I have something to show Rori.” Graham’s hand moved to her elbow, and he guided her outside.

Stars twinkled from the now dark sky, and after leaving the warmth of the barn, Rori shivered and rubbed hands along her sleeves.

Graham tucked her under his arm, generating a different kind of warmth as he whispered next to her ear. “We won’t be out here long. I have another surprise for you.”

“Another surprise?” She sighed, content and secure. This man was so good to her that even the thought of the first large get-together at her place didn’t upset her tonight.

He tugged her to a stop when they reached the enclosure containing Snickers and Reesie. With his arm still wrapped around her shoulder, he hiked his boot up to rest on the wood rail.

Rori took her cue from him, letting her head settle against his solid chest. It was a beautiful night for stargazing. And she couldn’t think of a better Christmas present than being here with Graham.

Usually, when they came to the fence, Snickers and Reesie were quick to make an appearance. Where were they?

A head popped around the corner of the barn, followed by another.

She squinted, trying to focus. Those heads definitely didn’t belong to Snickers and Reesie. What was going on?

The florescent bulbs cast light across the pasture. Two silkies timidly stepped into view, curiosity winning over their initial shyness. Ungroomed fiber hung limply, almost to their padded feet, but worse than that, she could tell that the llamas were terribly emaciated.

“Oh! Those poor things.” With trembling fingers she unlatched the gate and crept inside the enclosure.

Graham’s boots thudded the ground behind her.

She stepped closer, not wanting to scare them, but needing to get a better look to see what she was dealing with. Knots and snarls coated the fiber on the one with the white head and black and camel-colored streaks. Open sores spotted the legs of the caramel-colored llama.

“What’s going on? Where did these two sweeties come from? And where are Snickers and Reesie?” She glanced sideways at Graham, caught the crinkles around his eyes.

So he had something to do with this. What, though?

“Snickers and Reesie are fine. I moved them into the back pen for tonight. I wanted to make it easy for you to see these two. Rori, meet your Christmas gift.”

“My Christmas gift?”

He nodded.

Her gaze landed on the two gaunt llamas again. His Christmas gift?

“Not impressed, huh?” He must have seen her confusion. He brushed a wisp of hair behind her ear, amusement in his tone.

She leaned into him. “You might have to do a little sweet talking.”

His brows arched, and his mouth curved up on one end, mischief and delight warring across his face. “I can do that.”

He smelled so good and looked even more delicious in his pressed cotton shirt and denim jeans.

Talking was the last thing on her mind. Kissing? Now that sounded more like it. Her gaze speared his lips. Her fingertips trailed his jaw.

Apparently, he had talking on his mind, not kissing, because he took hold of her hand, stilling it. “We’ll get to that in a minute, sweetheart, but let me explain. I don’t want you to be disappointed in my gift.”

“I’d never be disappointed in you.”

“Don’t say that. You haven’t watched me race too many times. I’m sure one of these times you’ll be disappointed.”

She shook her head. “Not going to happen. That’s not in my DNA.”

“You’re doing a great job of trying to sidetrack me.” He smacked his forehead. “Focus, Decker.”

She chuckled, and both llama heads popped up.

Loud hums sliced through the air, breaking the quiet of the evening.

“Uh oh.” Graham took her hand and pulled her back quickly.

She glanced over at their scared faces. “Maybe they’ve never heard laughter before? Poor things. We’ll have to see about changing that.”

They stopped at the fence, and he settled his back on the wood rail, tugging her against his rock solid chest, his hands linking around her waist. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.”

She must have missed his point. She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“These two represent my commitment for what you do, for your life’s calling.” The expression on his face was intent and serious as he cradled her hands in his big ones. “But what you do is also important to me. I want it to be our life calling.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her fingers landed on his forearms.

He continued, “I spotted a news article about this pair. They were about to be destroyed.”

She nodded, her gaze traveling back to the two animals. “I can see why. They’re going to need a lot of help. Not many people or organizations would be willing to invest the time and effort.”

He chucked her chin back in his direction with a thumb.

She would never tire of looking into the depths of those eyes.

“They’ve lived through suffering and pain, but with our help and God’s providence, they’ll make it. And even if they don’t, we will.”

Her mouth formed an “oh.” Would she wake up one day to find that Graham was a figment of her imagination? Or that she’d gone to bed after one too many nights watching romance movies to find that this was all a dream?

“We’ve both lived through pain and suffering and survived, by the grace of God. We survived, Rori, but that doesn’t mean we don’t carry our scars forever.”

Didn’t she know that?

“You’ve been hurt by the media. I was burned by a woman who I thought loved me, but was only after my money.”

“I’m sorry, Graham. You know that’s not how I—”

He squeezed her hands. “I know it’s not, honey. That’s the reason for my gift. My hope. My commitment. My love. I’d like Forever Family to mean our Forever Family.”

She wanted that, too, but she was still confused. “What are you saying, Graham?”

“Two things. First, that I love you, Rori Harmon. More than I ever thought possible.”

“Mmmm…I like the sound of that.” She leaned back against his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Loving the way she was free to run her fingers through his hair, to nibble on his neck, to breathe in his essence, sandalwood and lavender and some kind of citrus.

He moaned, sliding his arms around her lower back. “When we get married, I want it to be ‘we’, not ‘I.’ Do you agree?”

She nodded. She didn’t have much, but he could have anything he wanted.

“When you hurt, we both hurt. When you rejoice, I’ll be rejoicing with you.”

She got it so far.

He tugged something from his back pocket and handed it to her.

“What’s this for?” She eyed the black leather wallet.

“It’s all yours.”

She shook her head, pushing it away, alarm chasing away the contentment that had settled in her belly. “I don’t want it,” she whispered.

“I know you don’t want it, sweetheart, but I want to give it to you. From my heart. It’s ours, not just mine anymore. God’s gifted me with this to help you, to help this sanctuary.”

“I’d rather sign a prenup agreement, Graham. That way you’d know—”

“There’s no need for a piece of paper to be confident of what I already know in my heart to be true.”

“But—”

“Please, Rori, allow me the joy, the pleasure, the privilege of sharing this with you. All of it. The joys, the triumphs, the work, the finances…” His hand swept through the air, encompassing the pastures and her beloved animals. “That’s the true meaning of my gift.”

What a treasure! How could she refuse when he was so sweet?

 

****

 

“The last one’s for Graham.” Rori leaned down, scooped up the last package from under the tree, and handed it to him.

He took the small package, wrapped in red paper with a white bow, and stared at it.

Ooohs and ahhhs came from all around.

His gaze took in the scene.

After eating, they’d gathered around the giant tree, sitting on hay bales, unwrapping presents, with soft Christmas music playing in the background. His parents, Patsy and Larry, had finally made it back from their two-week tour of the Caribbean islands, just in time for the Christmas celebration.

Although Angela’s doctor recommended complete bed rest until the baby was born, his sister and her husband, Mike, had decided to join them for a couple hours.

Graham narrowed his eyes at Angela. She looked uncomfortable. She kept blowing out through her mouth, and her hand curled around her giant belly. She’d surely need some help getting off that hay bale.

Rori’s mom and Savvy had been here most of the day, cooking and helping in the kitchen.

Ryan had spent the day helping Graham set up in the barn.

Rori hadn’t batted an eye when Burk brought a friend, Lacie, and her teenage daughter, Violet.

Graham had even convinced Louis into joining them for dinner and had tucked a gift under the tree for him as well. Louis had exchanged his white chef’s hat for a fluffy red one with a snowy white ball hanging from the end, and the chef looked quite comfortable sprawled out on his own bale of hay, a piece of straw sticking out of his mouth as he flipped pages in his new cookbook, occasionally looking up when someone oohed or ahhed.

This was the first time he’d ever experienced Christmas in a barn. They would definitely do this again. There was something so homey and comfortable, so humbling and almost ethereal about celebrating the birth of Jesus in a barn. With the makeshift manger scene by the tree, the lingering animal odor and even the straw, the actual birth of Jesus in a stable became much more vivid and real.

“You’ve already given me a present.” He tugged Rori down on his lap and pressed his lips against her silky hair.

“Ack! Enough of this mushy stuff.” Burk groaned, but he was smiling, especially when Lacie gave him a playful swat on the arm.

“Get used to it.” Graham warned.

Rori’s cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink. “Open it.” She nudged.

He complied. With his arms wrapped around her, he managed to tear off the gift paper. He lifted the lid to the box and pulled out a framed picture of the two of them, taken at the last race, with “May 18th” written with a sharpie across the top.

“May eighteenth,” he read aloud. Could it be what he thought it was? His head snapped to her, brows arched, pulse racing in wild anticipation. “May eighteenth?”

She nodded, smiling.

He bolted from the bale, lifting her petite frame off with him. He twirled her around, shouting, “We’re getting married on May eighteenth, everybody!” He stopped, long enough to kiss her, just to make sure this moment was real. He pulled back when hands slapped his back and congratulations were offered.

A crowd had gathered around them.

Love and happiness glimmered from Rori’s face.

He cupped her cheeks with his palms.

“Rori Harmon, you have made me the happiest man alive tonight. On May eighteenth you’ll become my bride. You’re the woman God made just for me, and I love you beyond my comprehension.” His gaze traveled the faces that were so dear to her, men and women that would become his family soon, and then moved on to his family before turning back to the depths of her emerald eyes. “I can’t keep life from hurting you or causing you pain, but I can promise you this, sweetheart. To the best of my ability, I will protect you, and I will love and cherish you always and forever.” He kissed her to the tune of sniffles, lots of them, and pleas for tissues.

“Oh!”

That was a different kind of cry. A groan.

His lids bolted open.

Angela! Both hands pressed against her belly, and she panted in quick, short bursts. “Oh!” Even louder this time.

Mike’s jaw dropped, and he stood, frozen in place, eyes wide.

“Looks like the baby’s coming.” Rori stepped away from him, taking her warmth with her. In two steps, she was next to Angela, draping an arm around his sister’s shoulders. “Let’s get you inside the house until the ambulance gets here.” Rori glanced at Mike then speared Graham with her gaze.

He adored the look of concern on her face.

“Graham, can you call 9-1-1 and then show Mike into the house?”

Nodding, he pulled out his cellphone.

Rori led Angela from the barn, her dark head tilted towards his sister’s, nodding and bobbing, apparently whispering words of encouragement.

His mom stepped to Angela’s other side, and together, they led her indoors, Lessa following the trio.

Graham gave the 9-1-1 dispatcher the requested information and disconnected. He turned to his brother-in-law. “Come on, buddy. Looks like it’s going to be a long night.”