“Did you call her?”she asked softly.
Zach shook his head.“No, she hired a private investigator and found me.She was worried about me.”
Kathryn had come to him.“That was brave of her.”
A self-deprecating smile lifted the corners of Zach’s mouth.“I know.”He hesitated, then added quietly, “We talked.Really talked.Like we should’ve done months ago.”
“I’m glad.”And she was.He looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.But what did that mean for her?His being here with his mom was big, but what did it all mean?
“I looked at everything I’d done, and how I’d treated you, the woman I love.I was disgusted with myself.Can you forgive me, Tulip?Can you forgive me for being an ass and for all the things I said?”
He loves me.
He was standing in front of her, laying himself bare.And his mother was just off to the side, along with a crowd of people who were watching them intently.She caught Chrissy’s gaze as her sister blinked away tears and gave her a slight nod.Ryder stood behind her, his hand on his wife’s shoulder.
“You love me?”she whispered.
This time when he smiled, it reached his eyes, crinkling the corners.“I do.With my whole heart.I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Tilly didn’t need to hear anything else.She launched herself at him, and he caught her.For endless seconds, she poured all that she was feeling into a kiss.She pulled away and smiled up at him.“I love you too, Zach, and I forgive you.”
They stared at each other for a few more seconds, in the glow of first love announcements, until someone slow-clapped their hands, breaking the spell.
“I hate to be a party pooper, but we have a show to put on,” Chrissy declared, as she sniffed loudly.
Tilly laughed.“Yes, we do, but...”Her focus shifted to where Zach’s mom stood.Tears trickled down the woman’s cheeks, but Kathryn wiped them away and crossed to Tilly and Zach.
“I’m here to do whatever you need me to do.Zach gave me a rundown of what was happening, along with the script for the show.I’m ready to go.But if you’ve made other arrangements for someone else to do it, then I’m okay with that too.”
“I had planned to do it,” she murmured.
“Then I’ll happily walk beside you and let you do it all,” Kathryn said.
Was she about to let her dream for this event go?And for the one person she had truly wanted to be a part of this event to walk away from it?
“This is what you want, Tilly,” Zach said.“It’s what I want too.”
There it was, his acceptance of Kathryn’s presence, both in the show and in his life.
She didn’t need to be the one to tell the story.It had never been part of her plan for the event.What she did know was that she could have done it.It was time to bring her whole vision to life.“Thank you, Kathryn.That will be wonderful.I really appreciate your doing this.”
“Anything for my future daughter-in-law,” she said.
Future daughter-in-law?
There was so much Tilly wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time.
“Maybe not right now, but soon,” Zach said as if he could read her mind.
“All right, then.”Tilly turned to everyone.“I’m not going to go on and on because, well, we’re running out of time and need to get started.I want to thank you all for believing in me and believing in this live-action traveling Nativity play.You’ve worked so hard, and I’m so proud of you all.Have fun.Let’s do this!”
Everyone cheered and clapped and then made their way to the front door of the auditorium, in their respective positions.Chrissy and Ryder were leading the parade.
Maybe, just maybe, they’d win the contest.After all, the rest of her Christmas miracle had come true.She’d found love when she hadn’t even been looking for it.Winning would be the icing on the cake.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Excuse me, mywife is pregnant and about to have a baby.Do you have a room we could use?I’m sorry we don’t have much money to pay for it.”Ryder played the part of Joseph well.
