The old windows rattled as the north wind tried to get in the church, but the potbellied stove kept everyone warm. Max scanned the room for Jackie. She had to be in the back, helping with the kids. There was standing room only as Pastor Levi opened them in prayer.
Tonight they would be dedicating the building in honor of Cynthia Bergmann and Gabriela Delgado. Their mothers, two women who worked together despite old grudges and family feuds. Their dream was being fulfilled because of Jackie’s determination and faith.
Not only had she restored this building, she had given him a new life. For the first time, because of her, he had a place that felt like home. Now, if she said yes, his family would be complete. He hadn’t wanted to rush her, but he knew without a doubt what he wanted.
The path God had for them was so clear to him he prayed she saw it, too.
The small troop of miniature angels made their way along the row of windows and down the aisle. Several of the children stopped and waved as they spotted their families.
He saw his brothers searching the room. They saw Vanessa first and smiled, but Tomas immediately frowned and looked through the crowd. Worry distorted his sweet face.
Max raised his hand to let them know he was there. Isaac nudged his brother. With more enthusiasm than he deserved, the boys waved at him, then went back to being serious angels with a message to deliver. To think he had almost missed this moment.
Shepherds came in from the other door. The angels started singing with so much gusto that their excitement spread through the crowd. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” vibrated off the walls.
His throat went dry. Now he was starting to have doubts about the surprise he had planned for Jackie. Pastor Levi had thought it was a good idea, but now he wasn’t so sure. He’d never read any of his stuff in public. But his mother and Jackie had encouraged him to write. He wanted to honor the amazing women God had placed in his life. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.
Ethan nudged him on the shoulder. “Hey, you’re looking a little pale. You’ve managed much tougher crowds than this. Anyway, this is for Jackie, and she’s going to love it. Girls really like this kind of thing. I’m pretty sure she loves you.” He flashed him a cocky grin. “Why, I have no idea, so don’t mess it up.”
Max put his arm around Ethan. “Thanks.” Now he was getting advice from a sixteen-year-old. “You know I’m proud of you, right?”
The teen grinned. “Yeah. I’m kind of proud of you, too. There’s Kelsey. I’m going to sit with her to watch the rest of the show. You got this.”
Thank You for bringing these boys into my life. He looked back at Tomas and Isaac as they sang with the other angels. Six months ago, he would have said his life was full and he had everything he needed.
He had been clueless about what he was missing.
The double doors at the front of the church opened, and Jackie stood to the side as the kids representing Joseph and Mary entered. The angels started singing “Silent Night,” their voices soft this time, as Pastor Levi read the Scripture of the night Christ was born. The pastor’s wife, Lorrie Ann, followed that with “Mary, Did You Know?” The older students sang harmony. At that moment, Max knew that he was in the right place and that Jackie was his future.
For the first time, he had something worth fighting for. He might be broken, but God was strong enough to hold him together.
But would Jackie want his broken pieces?
He sang along with the last two songs, never taking his eyes off Jackie. She sparkled under the Christmas lights. When she turned and smiled at him, he felt anything was possible.
The choir all stood together for one last song. One by one, the older kids delivered the gospel, telling of the reason for the Christmas celebration.
Pastor Levi gave a final prayer, then the kids dispersed to join their parents. The boys came running to him. “Did you see us?” Isaac was all grins.
“I did. You sounded great.” He kneeled. “Remember you’re going to sit with Vanessa for this last part, okay?” They hugged him, then skipped off to sit with their aunt.
Jackie had joined Pastor Levi and was now explaining the history of the church and the reason they were dedicating it to Cynthia Bergmann and Gabriela Delgado, two women who believed the community could come together to heal and celebrate their collective history.
When they finished, the pastor gave Max a nod, and he made his way to the front of the church, past all the people who were such a big part of Jackie. Now they were important to him, because of her.
It was scary to care about other people after so many years of staying detached.
Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, but he just smiled. Once he joined them on the platform, he picked up his guitar and adjusted the strap.
The pastor introduced him. “I think everyone knows Max Delgado, who worked with Jackie and his family to make this night possible. This is just the first of several buildings to get the makeover. Knowing Jackie, by next Christmas we’ll have the whole village restored.”
Everyone laughed.
The pastor continued. “As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are reminded of the importance of a mother’s love. Jackie and Max both lost their mothers way too early, but they never lost their love. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Cynthia and Gabriela, but through the Bergmann family and Max, I have grown to know them a little. The love they had for the community and for their families is not gone. It’s everywhere around us. Not just in the buildings they wanted to restore, but in their children and even in the grandchildren they’ll never meet here on Earth. Max writes music and has written a piece for his mother and for Jackie’s. So, as we give thanks for all of God’s amazing gifts, we are going to close the night with a remembrance of Cindy Bergmann and Gabby Delgado. And a celebration of families, old and new.”
Pastor Levi winked at him, then moved down the steps. “The stage is yours.”
Max settled the guitar in his hands, then made the mistake of glancing at Jackie by his side. Her eyes glistened. Quickly he looked down at the strings.
“Max, what about your hands?” She tilted her head so the crowd wouldn’t hear her question.
“I’ve dealt with much worse pain coming off a bull.”
“You’re crazy.” She leaned in a little closer. “But it makes me very happy that you’re writing again. Our mothers would be proud.”
With that, she started to follow Pastor Levi down the steps. He reached for her hand and gently tugged her back. “Will you stay with me?”
She nodded. Vanessa and the boys sat in the row behind the Bergmann family.
Sitting with his new friends, Ethan gave him a thumbs-up. This had been his idea when Max came back to the house. Of course, that was before he’d burned his hands.
Our mothers would be proud. The words reverberated around his head. The words he had spent years trying in vain to get from a father who hadn’t known how to give.
The emotions that flooded his system nearly choked him. He lowered his head in prayer. He couldn’t lose it, not here. Not in front of his brothers. Not in front of all these people.
These people that made up the community he now called home. This was what his mother had wanted for him. It took him a while, but he was here now. And his brothers would grow up surrounded by a family that loved them and supported them.
Taking a deep breath and finding peace in the midst of the turmoil, Max teased a few strings. “In Proverbs, we are told not to forsake our mother’s teaching.”
His gaze skimmed the crowd and found its way back to Jackie. “Returning to Clear Water has brought me back to the lessons my mother wanted me to learn. Lessons of faith, hope, love and family.”
Jackie pressed her lips tight and nodded. Her brilliant eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
His fingers started strumming. The words settled in his brain and merged with the notes.
Everyone faded except for Jackie. He gave her all the words of the love their mothers had for them.
His fingers finally stilled. He had put it all out there: the love, the loss, their mothers’ gifts. For a moment the silence was thunderous; then, applause rang as the congregation rose to their feet.
His throat burned. Tomas and Isaac ran up on the stage. Jackie joined them in a big hug. He glanced over her shoulder. All the Bergmann sisters were crying. Even Mr. Bergmann’s eyes glistened in the Christmas lights.
Max put his guitar down. Stepping back from her arms, he took her hand. His lungs struggled to take in air.
“Max, that was the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.”
“You might be a little biased, since it was about our mothers.”
“No—” She gasped when he dropped to his knee. Her right hand went to her chest. “Max?”
From inside his jacket, he pulled out the small box Mr. Bergmann had given him. “When I went to talk to your father, he gave me this.” He grinned, remembering Mr. Bergmann standing without a word and walking out of the room. Max had panicked, thinking the man was mad. But he had returned, handing him this box. Now Max offered it to Jackie, along with his heart. “This is your mother’s ring. When I asked him for his blessing he gave me this. Jacqueline Bergmann, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” His hands shook as he took the ring out of the box and waited.
Her mouth opened, but then closed again.
He broke out into a cold sweat. He squeezed her hand. “I love you, Jackie. With every broken piece of me. It’s all yours. I can’t imagine any other woman I would want to join our all-boy tribe. Or anyone else who’d be crazy enough to take us.”
“I love your all-boy tribe. I love you, Max.”
“Is that a yes?”
She nodded. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. He just held her there for a moment before slipping the ring on her finger.
People started clapping and whistling. Max blinked. He had forgotten they weren’t alone. Standing, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side.
The boys jumped around them. “She said yes!”
People started moving around, offering congratulations.
“It’s snowing!” someone shouted. Several people rushed to the windows.
Mr. Bergmann frowned. “It’s not snowing.”
“It is.” Nikki stood at the door. “Huge snowflakes.”
Danica wrapped herself around her father’s arm, as her husband and Adrian followed the others.
Outside, Jackie stayed next to Max, her hand on his arm. Her touch was the only thing keeping him grounded.
Excitement filled the yard as everyone looked at the sky. Huge white flakes already covered the trees and rooftops.
“Max! Look.” Tomas turned in a circle with his tongue out.
Max stood on the top step with Jackie. The white Christmas lights illuminated the crystals floating in the air. He laughed.
“Welcome to the Texas Hill Country, Vanessa. I think you and Ethan are the only two snow veterans we have around here.”
“Then I’d better get out there and show my nephews how it’s done.” She scooped up some snow and headed toward Isaac and Tomas. Even the adults were acting like kids.
He and Jackie stood alone.
“Max, look.” She pointed to a group of teens. Ethan was showing them how to build a snowman, Kelsey hanging on every word he said.
Jackie tucked her hand under his arm and moved close to him. “There’s actually enough snow to do something with. This is amazing.”
“Maybe it’s a gift from our moms.” He leaned his cheek against her head and slipped his uninjured hand over hers.
The laughter and shouts around them faded as he focused on her. She tilted her head back and looked up at him. A snowflake landed on her eyelash. “I’m starting to think you are my gift, Maximiliano Delgado.”
“I’ve been running around like crazy trying to fill the emptiness inside me. Trying to find that boy you believed in. Down deep, I feared he didn’t exist.” He looked up at the snow falling through the trees, coating the world in a clean blanket of white. “I want to spend all my Christmases with you. You are the Christmas star that led me home. I love you.”
“I love you, too. I always have, but I needed to grow up so I could love you the way you deserve. Wholeheartedly and with everything I have. No holding back. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?”
He bent his head and touched his lips briefly to hers. Lifting his head, he grinned at her. “That’s all you’re getting for now.”
A snowball hit him on the shoulder. Danica laughed. “Hey, that’s my sister, buddy!”
Max gathered some snow off the bush next to him, forming a ball bigger than his fist. Danica’s eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t throw that at a pregnant woman!”
Jackie took the ball from him. “He might not, but I will!” The sisters screamed and laughed as they threw snow at each other. The men and children joined in the fun, everyone switching sides when it suited them.
“Max, come on! We need you,” Jackie hollered at him.
Taking the steps two at a time he reached for her hand and pulled her back into his arms. Max pressed his lips against Jackie’s ear. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For seeing me. For seeing past the anger and giving me my first Christmas.”
She cupped his face. “I’ll always see you. You’re a good man, Maximiliano, and you deserve to be loved. Together we can make all our Christmas wishes come true.”
* * * * *