A Forever Christmas. Missy Tippens

       Miss Radcliffe, I sure do need a hug today, he’d said at least once a week. At first, the comment cracked her up, because it was not the request of the typical kindergartner. But the more she hugged him, the more she’d grown to need the hugs.

      And now she felt like she was watching a replay, watching Gregory and his sons travel down that same road. Even though Harry was in the picture and was family, it apparently wasn’t enough for Hunter. He wanted more time with his dad.

      Was there anything she could do? To somehow bring Gregory and his boys together before Christmas? If she did, Gregory was certain not to like it.

      Yes, she had to do something. Her conscience wouldn’t let her do otherwise.

      She looked at the calendar in her cell phone and counted dated blocks. Twelve days until Christmas Eve and their pageant.

      Twelve days…. An idea began to blossom.

      She took a deep breath as she envisioned those empty blocks on her calendar and began to brainstorm ideas to fill them with activities for Gregory and his sons. But could she pull it off? It would take a lot of strength to spend that kind of time around Gregory.

      Strength she might not have right now.

       Thank you for bringing my mom and dad here. They even spent the night. We pretended we were staying in a tent. Peter had smiled at her from his hospital bed, happy even while needles and tubes stuck into his body, so sure she’d had something to do with his parents’ change of heart. But, no, a terminal diagnosis had seen to that.

      Hunter’s sad, angry face flashed through her mind.

      Yes, she had to do it. For Hunter.

      For Peter.

      Though she’d been powerless in Peter’s situation, at least she had time to try to make a difference in Hunter’s and Chase’s lives. To make sure Gregory spent time with his sons. Every single day. For the twelve days till Christmas.

       Chapter Four

       T he next morning, Sarah woke and got ready for church. Though she wasn’t on great terms with God, she knew her parents would expect her to go. As she suspected, they didn’t seem at all surprised.

      But when they got to the front door of the church, she hesitated. It was different from going in for a rehearsal. No longer a theater, the prospect of entering the sanctuary felt intimidating, suffocating. “I’ll be in in just a minute,” she whispered to her mom, then hurried down the steps to the front sidewalk. Okay, I’m just going to walk around for a moment to catch my breath.

      She steeled herself. She could do this. Simply walk in. Sit down in their regular pew. Appreciate the nice music.

      She yanked her coat tightly around her and marched right back up the steps. She plowed through the door and walked down the aisle as if she owned the place.

      Once seated, she searched to see if any of the Jones men were there yet. Only Harry and Gregory’s younger brother, Richard.

      A minute later, it sounded as if a herd of horses had entered the back of the church. Little footsteps stomped down the aisle.

      “Hi, Miss Sawah,” Chase called out too loudly. He grinned at her, his bright blue eyes shining so much like his dad’s.

      She wiggled her fingers at him.

      Then a big hand lighted on his shoulder.

      She scanned upward. Gregory, of course. Looking so handsome in khaki slacks and a long-sleeved button-down shirt. No coat. No tie. It wouldn’t be Gregory if he dressed up any more than he had. Of course, he looked amazing no matter what he wore.

      Hunter stood behind his dad, but she caught him take a quick peek at her. She waved, and he gave a half-hearted wave back. No smile. No sparkling eyes like his brother.

      If she was going to help Gregory and the boys, she was going to need access to Hunter and Chase. And she was afraid she would have to enlist Harry’s help to do so.

      Since the man blamed her for hurting his son, he was sure not to trust her.

      She had to find a way to persuade him to help.

      

      After lunch at his dad’s, Gregory spent the afternoon in his home office working on billing. Or trying to work on billing. His thoughts kept wandering to Sarah, and how beautiful she looked that morning in her soft, blue sweater. And those pearls—the real thing. Necklace and earrings. He assumed they were the same ones she’d gotten for her sweet sixteenth from her parents.

      The boys darted in and out, playing, fighting, trying to get his attention. He needed at least another hour of relative peace to finish up.

      He made a note on the calendar to follow up on a delinquent account. As he did so, he saw December 25 circled. Alarmed at how soon it was coming up, he did the math and saw he had only twelve days before the big day.

      “Man, I need to make a list and get on it.”

      First on the list: buy the trampoline. The boys needed a good outlet for all their energy. Once that was done, he would spend a day putting up the outside lights and decorations.

      It was going to be tough. There were only so many hours in a day. He’d have to plan carefully. And he needed to start ASAP.

      Using the notes he’d jotted, he marked everything on the calendar showing what he needed to do each day to finish all the preparations in time.

      He wanted so badly to do all Lindsay had always done to make the holidays so special. He realized now that he’d taken her for granted. Or maybe it was more a case of just not knowing how much work it was to pull off a big Christmas. But his boys deserved it.

      Beyond the gifts Lindsay was sending, he wouldn’t have any help from her. She and Bill were flying to Europe to be with Bill’s brother, Drake, this year. He couldn’t blame them for going. Bill didn’t get to see Drake often since he traveled the world for his photography. He hadn’t even made it home for the wedding.

      But the timing couldn’t have been worse.

      So not only did he have to pull off Christmas, he had to fill Lindsay’s void as well.

      His heart raced, and his chest tightened, a feeling that was getting a little too common lately. Stress-related, he was sure. Nothing to worry about. He just needed to get a grip.

      Maybe his dad was right. He needed to date a nice woman. Go out. Have some fun.

      But if all he could think about was Sarah, he was better off at home. Focusing on his kids. He could do this. He could be father and mother—and Santa—to his kids.

      Yes, the big Santa gifts would definitely take their minds off any disappointment over Lindsay.

       Christmas and all the trimmings, coming right up.

      He’d give anything to see a smile on Hunter’s face again.

      

      Later Sunday afternoon, Sarah decided to go to Harry’s house to speak with him.

      As she pulled in the driveway, she heard a screen door slam. Harry had walked out to the front porch.

      She couldn’t blame him for his surprise at seeing her at his house for no apparent reason. But he quickly masked the surprise and waved her over.

      She parked, climbed out, then walked up the sidewalk. “Hi, Mr. Jones. Could I speak with you for just a minute?”

      “I guess. Come in.”

      She couldn’t remember ever being inside Gregory’s childhood home. Their dates had all been on the sly since her parents had been so adamant that he was too old and too wild for her. She’d rebelled for a short while, but when he started talking marriage and about her going to college locally, despite her dreams of an out of state private woman’s college, she told him she couldn’t