Chapter Eleven

 

 

Baxter tried to process what Savannah had just told him. She’d turned down Jay’s offer? “Why would you do that?” He turned in his seat so he could see her face more clearly. “This is your dream. You can’t just walk away from it.” 

“My dream is to open my own bakery one day.” She paused. “Here in Romance. This is my home, Baxter. I never intended to live anywhere else.”

He’d never considered that option. He’d just assumed she’d move to wherever the opportunity might be. He’d always had respect for her, but it just jumped up a notch. That she wasn’t willing to sacrifice even the details of her dream showed a lot of integrity. “I admire that.” Her hands didn’t seem as red, so he pulled away from the curb and slowly made his way down the street in search of the dogs.

“Thank you.” She tipped her head. “Besides, I talked to Jay. He agreed it made more sense for him to do the training, anyway. I’ll manage the store here in Romance. If everything goes well with the others, Jay said I might have the opportunity to buy it.” She shrugged. “Besides, I’m happy where I am right now, either way.”

She rolled down her window and leaned out as she called the dogs’ names.

Baxter tried to wrap his mind around everything she’d told his as they toured the neighborhood. Large, fluffy snowflakes drifted through the windows to cover the armrest and their jackets.

Savannah’s phone rang, and she answered it immediately. “Hey, Dad. Any luck?” Her face brightened. “Really? Okay, yeah. We’ll head that way now.” She ended the call. “Someone told Dad they saw two dogs that matched Nessie’s and Nellie’s descriptions running near the town square.”

“Awesome. Let’s go.” He used the controls near him to roll their windows up and headed for the center of town. The place was a bustle of activity with people strolling in the snow, Christmas lights twinkling, and big red bows peeking out from underneath a layer of glittering white.

Scott and Main Street were both lined with cars as guests gathered for Chase Lockhart and Izzy Sutton’s wedding. Izzy was well-loved in Romance and ran the Interlude Inn just down the street. The extra traffic made it a little more difficult for Baxter to make his way around the square.

He was just starting to think Savannah’s dad was mistaken when they spotted the dogs. There, amidst a group of children, were Nessie and Nellie having the time of their lives. Savannah laughed and leaned her head against the seat. “I ought to be furious with them right now, but I’m more relieved than anything.” One boy threw a snowball, and Nellie caught it out of the air in her mouth before spitting it back out on the ground. Her antics had Savannah laughing even harder.

He turned the engine off and met her in front of the vehicle. “Let’s get these dogs back to the house before they go off on another adventure.”

They each lifted a dog into their arms, carried them to the truck, and got them back to his grandparents’ house. Savannah let everyone know the dogs had been found. The moment the furry trouble-makers made it into the warm interior, they curled up on the carpet in the living room and went to sleep.

Savannah shook her head in mock disgust. “Just wait until I tell the Potters what you two did.” Nellie’s ear twitched once. Savannah turned to Baxter. “Thank you for helping me find them.”

“You’re welcome.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about the other day.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry, too. For assuming you’d just skipped town again. I guess jumping to conclusions is something we both did a lot of this week, isn’t it?”

They shed their coats and washed up in the kitchen. Savannah placed chocolate chip cookies in a colorful tin, and Baxter quickly moved to help. She told him about the apricot cookies, and he made her promise to bake some for him to try another time.

When they’d finished cleaning up the kitchen, he reached for her hand and turned her to face him. “So, in the interest of making sure we’re on the same page… I’m staying in Romance.”

She tried to suppress a little smile. “And I’m staying in Romance.”

“You no longer hate my guts.”

Savannah laughed. “And you no longer hate my cooking.”

“Nope.” He snatched a cookie from the tin and popped it into his mouth. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Then we’re good,” she said, her voice soft.

“We’re good.” He nodded toward the mistletoe that she’d left hanging from the doorframe. “What do you say? I hate for the poor thing to only have one kiss to its name all Christmas.”

Savannah wrinkled her nose. “Nah. We don’t need mistletoe.” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Before she could move away, he caught her around the waist with one arm and pulled her closer for a proper kiss.

It didn’t last nearly long enough before she put a hand on his chest. “We’d better go next door. They’ll be wondering where we are.”

“So I’m still invited?”

“If you can behave yourself.”

“That’s something I never promise.” He gave her a playful wink.

 

~*~

 

When Savannah walked through her parents’ front door, hand in hand with Baxter, she earned several surprised looks from some of the guests. Her parents only nodded approvingly, and it was Katrina’s “Well, it’s about time” that had everyone laughing.

The delicious aromas of turkey and ham filled the air while Christmas carols played on the stereo system in the living room. Compared to the frigid air outside, everything about the house felt warm and cozy.

Savannah scanned the room until her gaze rested on Kyle intently watching through the front window. She lowered her voice for Katrina. “Have you heard from Don?”

“Not since he landed in Portland.” She watched her son with worry. “He so wanted his dad to be here today. So did I. But the way all that snow’s coming down… I’m just trying not to worry.”

Savannah put an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “He’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, I know. I need to keep us busy, though. So now that everyone else is here, what do you all say we eat?”

Kyle reluctantly came away from the window at the mention of food.

Dad held up his hand. “I’d like to say a blessing over the food, if I may.” Everyone nodded in agreement and then bowed their heads. “Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many blessings you’ve brought to our family over the last year and the promise of new adventures that await. We thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus. And we ask that you continue to be with Don as he makes his way home.”

As everyone chorused an “Amen,” a cold wind blew through the living room.

They all turned to find Don standing in the doorway, snow on his coat and a smile on his face. “Amen.”

“Dad!” Kyle raced through the room and into his dad’s arms. “I knew you’d make it!”

Don hugged his son and then gave Katrina a thorough kiss before he shed his coat and joined the rest of the family. He glanced down at Savannah and Baxter’s joined hands. “When did this happen?”

Savannah blushed as Baxter drew her close. He smiled at her in a way that sent warmth all the way down to her toes. “Let’s just say Christmas is a season of miracles.”

“Hear, hear,” Dad said as he looked around the room at his family. “And I, for one, count the meal in that list of miracles. Come on, gang, let’s eat before Kyle over there starts wasting away.”

“Grandpa,” Kyle objected, even though he was still the first to sit at the table.

Savannah enjoyed every moment of the meal. The food was good, but having everyone she cared about at the table with her made all the difference in the world. When they’d all stuffed themselves silly, everyone jumped into helping clean the kitchen before collapsing in chairs in the living room to visit.

Baxter caught Savannah’s hand and gently tugged her away from the noisy crowd to the Christmas tree. “I bought you a present.” The moment she tried to object, he put a finger to her lips. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a black velvet bag tied with a red ribbon, and laid it in her hand.

“You didn’t need to get me anything.” Even as she said the words, curiosity had her fingering the ribbon. It pulled open easily. She carefully tipped the bag over, emptying the contents into her palm.

A simple silver bracelet glittered in the lights from the Christmas tree. Attached to it were two charms. One was a tiny set of measuring spoons, and the other a cupcake complete with frosting and a cherry on top.

“Oh, Baxter, it’s perfect.”

He grinned as he helped her with the clasp. The bracelet fit her wrist perfectly. “There’s plenty of room for more charms.”

“This is such a sweet and thoughtful gift.” She couldn’t believe how detailed the little charms were. “The cupcake is a good addition.”

Baxter chuckled. “Yeah, I thought so, too.” His face grew serious as he softly touched her cheek with his hand. “I’m so in love with you, Savannah.”

She reached up and covered his hand with her own. “I love you, too.”

This time, when he kissed her, it was full of promise. In that moment, Savannah knew this would be the first of many Christmases in his arms.