“I don’t know if I can do it,” Kaylee said.
Bridget kept her mouth shut, disappointed that Kaylee wasn’t jumping at the chance of singing with them. Mac squeezed Bridget’s knee where she sat next to him on the sectional in his family room. Kaylee had stretched her legs out on the attached chaise longue.
They’d arrived a few minutes ago, and after waiting for Kaylee to change out of her pajamas, Mac had told her they were dating. Her reaction had made Bridget’s day. Kaylee had hugged them both, declaring this was the best Christmas gift she could have imagined. Then Mac had mentioned his idea about the three of them singing the solo, and the girl had shrunk into herself like old times.
“Would you be willing to try?” Mac asked gently. “If the three of us were up there and you felt like you were going to lose it, you could stop singing.”
“Mac and I could sing the rest.” Bridget gave her a tender smile.
“Why don’t you two sing it? I’ll just watch.” Kaylee was picking imaginary lint off her leggings.
“You could do that,” Bridget said. “But I remember how happy you were the day you told me you’d joined the Christmas choir. And I know how special it was for you to sing with your mom every year. That’s why you signed up.”
Kaylee looked up. “I didn’t think I’d be so sad. I didn’t think I’d miss her so much.”
“I know,” Mac said. “It seems to me like singing is a way to keep her memory close to you.”
“I do feel better today.” Fear lingered in her eyes. “But I don’t know if I can make it through the song without crying. I don’t know if it’s the song that triggers it or what.”
“That’s fair.” Mac nodded.
“You guys would really sing with me?” Kaylee asked.
“Yeah,” Mac said. “We want to.”
“Absolutely,” Bridget said.
Kaylee tilted her chin up. “Okay. I’m in. I think Mom would want me to keep the tradition going. She wouldn’t want me to quit. Not on Christmas Eve.”
Bridget was amazed at the light in her face. She was always pretty, and right now she glowed.
“I’ll call the choir director and let her know there’s been a slight change in plans.” Mac pushed off the couch to stand, bent to kiss Bridget’s cheek then grinned and left the room.
Kaylee came over to sit by her.
“Did Mac tell you I overheard you guys talking yesterday?”
“He didn’t.” Bridget’s stomach soured instantly.
“I’m sorry all that happened to you, Bridget.” Her eyes gleamed with sympathy. “Everything was taken away from you. And you’re not bitter. You don’t hide from your problems. I want to be more like you.”
The words wrapped around her heart like a hug.
“I did hide, though, Kaylee.” Bridget had to be honest with her. “Maybe not in body, but in spirit. I’ve been afraid of being myself because it felt like I had a target on my back. Remember the day you stood up for Joe when Janet made a fuss?”
She nodded.
“I knew right then and there I had to stop hiding in spirit. I was ashamed of myself. I had to start sticking up for my friends, for my beliefs, and that was because of you.”
“You? You always stick up for me. You’re one of the few people who gets me at all.”
“Well, I guess we’re a good pair.” She put her arm around Kaylee’s shoulders. “We make each other want to be better.”
Kaylee gave her a side hug. “I’m glad you’re dating Mac. I think you guys should get married.”
“It’s a little soon for that.” But Bridget loved the idea of forever with him.
“I’d better start getting ready.” Kaylee scooched off the couch. “If I’m doing this, I’m going to look good.”
“You always look good.”
Mac returned as Kaylee headed to her room. He jerked his thumb in her direction as he approached Bridget. “Is she okay?”
“Yep. Getting ready for tonight.”
“This early?” He lowered his frame next to her, his thigh pressing against hers as he slung his arm over her shoulders.
“It’s only a few hours from now.”
“A few hours?” He gave her a sly glance. “Plenty of time.”
“For what?” she asked innocently.
“For this.” He lowered his mouth to hers.
Yep. They had plenty of time. She sank into his embrace. Plenty.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Bridget whispered.
Mac studied her face. She looked pale and nervous.
Kaylee, sitting on the other side of her in the pew, patted Bridget’s hand. “You can. I’m right here next to you.”
And here he’d thought he and Bridget would have to be giving Kaylee the pep talk. Nope. Bridget was the nervous wreck. Kaylee, to her credit, seemed serene.
“Kaylee’s right,” he whispered. “You’re going to be great.”
He leaned forward and caught Kaylee’s eye. She gave him a thumbs-up.
The pastor wrapped up the reading from Luke chapter two. This was their cue.
Mac stood and waited for Bridget and Kaylee to exit the pew before following them up to the microphone. Kaylee stood in the middle, he stood to her left, and Bridget stood to her right.
The pianist began playing “To Shepherds as They Watched by Night,” and Mac was filled with Christmas joy. Lord, thank You for these two women who have become my entire life in just a few short months. Please give Bridget and Kaylee the courage to sing.
And then it was time. Kaylee’s voice projected clearly, purely, and Mac joined in, relieved to hear Bridget’s voice—wobbly at first—gaining strength. The first verse ended and the second began. As they continued, the three of them blended in harmony, filling the church with the love of Christ. When it ended, they quietly made their way back to their seats, where Mac held Bridget’s hand.
“I’m proud of you,” he whispered. With tears in her eyes, she squeezed his hand. “Both of you,” he added, smiling at Kaylee. The rest of the service went by in the blink of an eye, and soon they were mingling with everyone in the narthex.
Dina Jones practically sprinted to Mac, gushing at his generosity. Bridget edged away, but he caught her hand and wouldn’t let go. Then another person took Dina’s place. On and on it went with thank-yous and hugs for helping with the pavilion and the hospital bills and...he just smiled and listened and wished them all a merry Christmas.
During a lull, Bridget leaned into his ear. “Look at all the Christmas wishes you made come true. You’re a good man.”
He slipped his arm around her waist. “It wasn’t me. This is all God. These people are my community. I want to help them, because even if they don’t know it, they all helped me by giving me a place where I feel at home.”
“I know what you mean.” Her gorgeous black, slim-fitting dress—simple and elegant, the same as her—took his breath away for the thousandth time that night. He chided himself to focus on what she was saying. “Every person who comes into my shop is part of my community. They made it possible for me to make my home here.”
“I’m glad you made your home here.”
“I am, too.”
Kaylee rushed over, and to Mac’s surprise, Tanner was right behind her. “Mac, I want you to meet Tanner Voss. Tanner, this is my brother, Mac.”
Mac nodded, shaking the kid’s hand. “Good to meet you.”
“You, too, sir.” Tanner maintained eye contact with him, which was a point in his favor. “I wanted to thank you, too, for helping out the school. My best friend, Dante, plays football, and he’s pumped about the uniforms. The new football stadium is going to be awesome, too.”
“Do you go to the games?” Mac asked, not loathing the kid as much as he thought he would.
“Yeah, when I can. I’m on the rodeo team. Horses are in my blood.”
His kind of guy. “Mine, too. You should come over sometime.” Mac glanced at Kaylee, who seemed beside herself with happiness. “Kaylee and you could ride. I’ve got a lot of land.”
“I’d like that.”
Mac’s friends came up to them. Austin carried baby AJ, Randy and Hannah held hands, Jet and Holly kept a firm grip on Clara as she walked between them and Blaine was with his sister Reagan. Tess, Sawyer and little Tucker trailed the group.
Sawyer eyed the way Mac was holding Bridget’s hand before giving her a hug. “I think we have a lot of catching up to do.”
“What do you mean?” Bridget played coy.
Mac slid his arm around her waist and grinned. “He means he wants to know if we’re dating.”
The group went silent with excited anticipation.
Mac held perfectly still, waiting to see how Bridget would respond.
“Well, then, I guess we should tell them.” She looked into his eyes, hers dancing with merriment.
“We’re dating.” He loved the sound of it. Loved saying it out loud.
After everyone congratulated them, they found their coats and made their way out to the parking lot with Kaylee. When they got into the truck and Mac started heading home, Bridget turned to the back seat.
“So, what’s going on with you and Tanner?”
Mac listened attentively.
“He asked me out. It’s a group thing, Mac, so don’t get all big brothery on me. A bunch of us are riding the trails next week.”
“On horses or four-wheelers?” Mac asked. He liked the idea of a group thing. And he liked the idea of Kaylee enjoying the beauty of Wyoming in the winter with her friends.
“If the weather’s nice, horses. If it’s not nice, we’re watching movies at Kendra’s house.”
Bridget clapped. “I knew he liked you. Did he kiss you yet?”
“Bridget!” Kaylee yelled. “Mac’s here. Eww.”
“Point taken.” She faced the front. “You sang beautifully, Kaylee. I know your mom would have been proud. I sure was. But, boy, I thought I was going to pass out before the first stanza started. My voice was so tinny. Did you hear it? Yikes...”
Mac turned on the radio and they sang Christmas songs all the way home. As soon as they got inside, Kaylee ran to her room, claiming she had to tell Lydia everything, while he and Bridget went to the family room. He flipped the switch on the gas fireplace and turned on the Christmas tree lights. Then he picked up a small gift bag from under the tree and joined Bridget where she stood by the windows, staring out into the night.
“You’re beautiful.” He kissed her cheek lightly, and she turned, smiling up at him. “I have a gift for you.”
“You do?”
He nodded, handing her the gold bag with silver frills. She took it shyly as if she wasn’t sure what to do.
“It’s not going to open itself,” he teased, drinking in her stunning face.
Her lips twitched, and she pulled the wrapped box from the bag. Then she tore off the paper and lifted the lid.
She gasped. “Sparrows? Really?”
The sparrow earrings perfectly matched her necklace. He’d searched far and wide for them. He touched the sparrow in the hollow of her throat. “I’ve never seen you without the necklace.”
“I bought it when I got baptized on my twentieth birthday.” Her soft smile made her even more beautiful. “There’s a passage in the Bible that says you are worth more than many sparrows. It reminds me of how God plucked me off the streets and gave me a home, even before I believed in Him. That’s how good He is.”
Mac couldn’t agree more. “When I think of all my blessings, I’m humbled. You’re right, Bridget. God is good.”
“I love you, Mac.”
“I love you more than you could ever imagine.”
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“You’re the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.”