I thought about it. Before James died, I’d thought I’d just be a stay-at-home mom and wife and help manage our hobby farm. I had dreams of maybe having a small farm stand with goat cheese and eggs and whatever else I grew in the garden, but that wouldn’t be enough for a family tosurvive on. Not now that I was a single mother with a baby on the way.
I sighed. “You know what? Being an assistant is just fine.”
He chuckled, but I saw a sad smile cross his face.
I gasped. “Up ahead.” I pointed to the string of lit-up homes in the distance.
Seth grinned. “Candy Cane Lane. The best Christmas lights in Willow Harbor.” He fiddled with the tuner on the radio, and a Christmas song blared out of the speakers just as he turned down the lane. There were tons of cars, and it took me a second to realize that all the lights on the street were pulsing to the beat of the music.
“Okay, that’s cool,” I told him.
There was a small makeshift stand up ahead with a lady dressed like an elf standing inside the kiosk.
Seth drove right up to it and rolled his window down.
“Merry Christmas, Seth!” the woman with the auburn hair trilled.
“Merry Christmas, Helene.”
She handed him two chocolate chip cookies, and he gave one to me.
“As usual, we’re asking for donations for the children’s hospit—” She stopped mid-sentence when Seth pulled a hundred-dollar bill out and shoved it into the jar on her counter.
Helene beamed at him. “God bless you.”
“And you,” he told her and then rolled up his window.
Thatwas generous. I kept looking for a fault in this man and couldn’t find one.
My mom always loved to say, “You will know them bytheir fruit,”when speaking of a fellow believer. She was right. And Seth was about the most fruitful Christian man I’d ever met. Patient, slow to anger, generous, and full of faith. All the things I used to be. It made me sad to think of the “before James died” version of me and the “after” me.
We drove slowly down the street, watching the lights blink on and off to the music, and something settled over me. A calmness that hadn’t been there since before James died. A feeling that everything might just be alright.
“I’m grateful for you and Maggie,” I said suddenly. “I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d been all alone this whole time.”
Seth beamed at me, and my stomach flipped over as a rush of nervous butterflies took flight in my belly. He was very handsome when he smiled. “I’m grateful for you too, Ella.” His tone was serious, and I swallowed hard and leaned back into my seat.
We were both in a reflective silence for the rest of the drive home. When we pulled up to my house, the driveway was covered in snow.
“I’ll shovel that for you.” Seth threw the car into the park and jumped out.
“No, I can do it—” But he’d already jumped out of the car and opened my door for me. “It’s fine, really,” I told him.
He shook his head. “Maggie raised me right, Ella. I’m not letting a pregnant woman shovel snow. Especially not in those pajamas.”
I laughed. “What is wrong with my pajamas?”
He grinned. “Nothing. They’re great, so I don’t want you to getsnow on them.”
I playfully rolled my eyes. “I gotta learn to take care of myself at some point. You’re going to shovel my snow the entire winter?”
He nodded. “You betcha. Gotta keep my figure.” He rubbed his stomach.
I’d lost track of how many times this man had made me laugh. “Well, I guess I can’t say no, can I?”
“Afraid not,” he said and offered me his hand.
I took it, his warm fingers clutching my palm as I hopped out of his giant truck. I slipped a little when I hit the ground, but he was there to steady me.
