“I lost the use of my leg?”
“No.” I frowned, hating that he would assume something so vile. “That has nothing to do with my decision. If you know me at all, if you love me as you claim, how could you possibly think that?”
His face fell, and with it, all his defenses. “I’m sorry, Maggie.” He was silent again as he looked down at the bed. Finally, he sighed. “I’m heartbroken, but I think I’ve known for a long time. As I pushed my feelings on you, I could see that you weren’t ready to receive them. I hoped I could convince you, but I know love can’t be forced on anyone.”
I took his hands again, thankful that he let me. “I’m sorry too, Zechariah. I never meant to lead you on or—”
“You didn’t.” His face was still grim but not shuttered. “You were just brutally honest with me. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so enamored with you. No one but you and Helen is willing to tell me what I need to know, to stand up to me regardless of how loud I bark.”
I smiled, thinking of how far he had come since I’d met him.
“I don’t know how I’ll continue to work alongside you,” he said, “knowing you belong to someone else.” He almost growled. “He’s a lucky man.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he wouldn’t have to worry about working beside me for much longer.
“Does he know about me?” he asked.
“He does. I don’t have any secrets from Gray.” Unlike Zechariah, who didn’t know the most important thing about me.
Zechariah looked down at our hands. “This wasn’t how I hoped our conversation would go.”
“I know. But thank you for making it easy on me.”
“I don’t want to, believe me. But you were the one who told me that God doesn’t always give us what we want, though He will always give us what we need. I’ll probably be miserable for a few weeks, but I’ll manage to be happy for you—one day.”
“Thank you.”
“Knock, knock,” came a soft voice from the other side of the curtain. It was Helen.
I stood and pulled back the curtain so she could enter Zechariah’s space. She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up in a way Ihad noticed a few times before. She tried to hide it, but I suspected Helen had been in love with Zechariah for a long time.
“Merry Christmas, Zech.”
He returned the smile—and something caught in his gaze, as if he’d just realized that the very thing he liked about me was also something that Helen possessed. “Merry Christmas, Helen.”
“I see you received the gift the nurses chose for you.” She nodded at the little monkey. “I hope we can get you back to eating your grain-free diet again. I think you were having good success before the attack.”
“I think you’re right.” He continued to study her as if he was seeing something he’d never seen before.
She noticed him staring, a question in the tilt of her brow, but offered him a smile. “I also hope you’ll feel up to dancing next Christmas.”
“I think my dancing days are behind me.”
“You’ll have the use of your leg again,” she assured him.
“That’s not why I’m giving up dancing. I was never good at it, and I didn’t enjoy it.”
Helen laughed. “Your honesty is your best quality.” She shook her head, still smiling. “I’ll see that you get your candy, Dr. Philips. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” he said again, and I echoed the sentiment as Helen slipped away.
Had I just witnessed the beginning of something new? I hoped and prayed, for both their sakes, that I had.
“I should leave,” I said to Zechariah. “I have a few more gifts to deliver. I hope you have a Merry Christmas as well.”
“Good-bye, Maggie.” He reached for my hand.
I paused, allowing him to take it. He kissed it and then let me go.
