Mortimer took Toria’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

Toria nodded. She felt almost guilty that she hadn’t done anything to stop the fight, but the whole situation had seemed too dangerous to her. She simply wanted to get John away from the fight as quickly as possible.

John frowned at her as he headed for his own wagon. Toria grabbed the dish she had brought, feeling a small sense of pride that it was completely empty, and she walked with Mortimer to the buggy.

She could see there was a group of people surrounding Jim, the boy who had been stabbed, but the Angel of Death was no longer there. She had to assume that he had gotten what he came for.

On the drive back, she was mostly silent, not certain what to say at all. She was simply relieved that her own family was untouched.

“Do you know if John was involved?” Mortimer finally asked. He was nervous that his son had been part of the knife fight and the drinking that had preceded it. Even though John had said no, he needed confirmation, and he needed it badly.

“He wasn’t. I went out there and saw him backing away from the boys. His breath has no scent of alcohol on it. The boys asked him to drink with them, but he refused.” She was so thankful she could tell her husband the truth about what she’d seen.

“What made you go out there to begin with?”

Toria took a deep breath, deciding it was finally time to tell him. If he thought she was crazy, then so be it. “I’ve been receiving visits from a guardian angel. She told me that she arranged for me to be the one to respond to your letter.”

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her, and then he stared straight ahead again. “Tell me about her.”

“This is the part that’s going to seem crazy,” she said softly. “My guardian angel is Grace.”

He nodded. “I wondered if she was appearing to you as well. She’s made me crazy for the past five years, appearing every time I felt like I was finally getting over her and moving on with my life. I’ll always love her, but the constant reminders have been hard.”

“You mean she appears to you as well? Really?” Toria wasn’t sure if she thought he was crazy too, or if she was simply relieved she wasn’t the only one.

He nodded. “The first time was right after I got home from her funeral. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s happened so often over the years that I just wait for her to come to me again.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I felt like I was crazy, and I was afraid to tell you about her coming to see me. The first time I saw her was on the train on the way here, while I was making your socks. She told me I was doing the right thing—not by making the socks, but by going west to marry you.”

“Did you know she was my late wife then?” He’d always known, of course, but she wouldn’t have had any way of knowing what his first wife had looked like.

“No. I didn’t discover that until Sunday, I think? That’s when she told me she was my guardian angel. I thought I was just seeing this ghost. It was strange.”

“So did she tell you to go outside tonight?” He was very interested in her seeing Grace, but he was still trying to figure out how she’d gotten outside during the fight.

“She was there during the dance. I could see her behind you while we were on the floor, and then the next time I was facing her, she was doing everything she could to get me to follow her outside. I did, and I saw John standing apart from the others, looking very upset. And then I saw something that I didn’t recognize. Grace told me it was the Angel of Death. I didn’t want to see anything happen, so I went inside. For a moment, I thought about trying to stop it, but she told me it was already too late.” She sighed heavily. “I wanted to have John beside me indoors so no one would think he’d been part of it.”

“I see.” Mortimer thought long and hard about her words. “Thank you for looking out for my son when he needed it.”

“I feel like he’s my responsibility too, now that we’re married. I like John. I think he and I will continue to grow closer as we get to know one another better.”

He stopped in front of the house. “Go ahead and go up. I’m going to return the buggy to the livery. I hope Otto and Sophia are back from the dance so he can help me put them up.”

He looked over and saw John drive past him with the store wagon, heading straight for the livery. He needed to catch up with him and tell him how proud he was that John had stood up to the pressure his friends had put on him to drink.

When he got to the livery, Otto was helping John unhitch his horses. Mortimer parked the buggy and walked over to his son, patting him on the back.

John looked at him, and though his eyes were haunted, they were perfectly clear. “I think I’ve been scared straight, Dad.”

“You were already doing what you should have been doing before the dance tonight. You might have been scared this evening, but it didn’t change you. You were already changed, or you wouldn’t have refused their alcohol. I’m proud of you.”

John seemed to grow three inches while Mortimer watched. “Thank you.”

“I only tell the truth. Just like I always have.” Mortimer looked to Otto. “Do you need help?”

Otto shook his head. “I’ll do it.” He’d always been a man of few words, so with a nod of thanks, Mortimer and John began the short walk back to the store.

“It was a good night before the fight,” Mortimer said. “I gave Toria a ring tonight.”

“Good. I felt bad for her, never having an engagement ring or a wedding ring. I’m glad you finally gave her one.”

Mortimer smiled. “You really don’t mind her, do you?”

John shrugged. “She’s not my mom, but she doesn’t even expect me to call her Mom. She’s just Toria, and she’s your wife, and she feeds me and watches out for me. How can I complain about that?”

“Thanks, John. I appreciate that.”

“You don’t need my approval anyway, Dad. You waited five years after Mom died before you even thought about marrying again. I can’t complain about that. Well, I could if I didn’t like the woman you married, but I really like Toria, so I won’t.”

Mortimer laughed, walking into the house. John looked over at Toria. “I’m going to go to bed. I think you two need some time alone together.”

Toria looked at John and smiled, nodding. “Goodnight, John. I hope you sleep well.”

“I will, because I wasn’t part of the nonsense tonight. I’m so glad I wasn’t part of it.”

“Me too.” Toria sat at the table, drinking some warm milk. “I wasn’t sure I’d sleep after everything that happened tonight if I didn’t have something to help me.”

“Is there enough for two?” Mortimer asked, walking to the stove to peer in the pot she’d used.

“Of course. Do you want me to pour it?”

He shook his head. “No, I can pour my own milk. I don’t think it will break me.”

“I’m so glad to hear it.” When he’d sat down beside her, she covered his hand with hers. “I’m so glad you understand about Grace. I really thought I was losing my mind, but I feel so much better now that I’ve talked to you about it.”

“I feel better too, believe it or not. I like the idea that she chose you for me, because you are truly the wife she never was.” He took a sip of his milk. “I hope this doesn’t sound like I didn’t love her, because I did. With everything inside me. But Grace was not anything like you. She wanted to stay home and sew or work on whatever project she felt like doing. She liked to spend time with other ladies, talking and gossiping. She didn’t look for ways to fill her time. She did what she had to do, but she didn’t do more, if that makes sense.”

“It does. Does the way I always look for more to do bother you?”

He shook his head adamantly. “I love it. I think it’s great that you’re willing to work so hard to make my life easier.”

“You really do?”

He nodded. “Of course I do. I’m thrilled to not have to do the books anymore, the store is making more money than ever, and John is doing what he wants to do. How could I complain?”

“Then why don’t you want me to stay? Why do you think I should go back to Massachusetts?” She finally asked the question that hurt her more than anything.

“Because I could see you were sad. You’re not happy here.”

She blinked at him a couple of times, trying to understand him. “What do you mean I’m not happy here? I’m happier here than I’ve ever been in my life! I love having the freedom to do more in the store. I love the new friends I’ve made. Why would I want to go back to a place where I have no one, and there’s a man trying to force me into a marriage I don’t want?”

“You really don’t want to go back?” Mortimer felt as if his heart was beating double-time. He wanted her to stay so badly, but only if it was what she wanted. He couldn’t make her stay against her will. Her happiness was more important than his.

Toria shook her head adamantly. “Of course I don’t want to go back! I love the freedoms I have here. I love that I have a home and someone to cook for.”

Mortimer smiled. “Good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to let you go back, but I couldn’t keep you here if you weren’t happy.”

“I’m not happy feeling like I’m constantly competing with a ghost—or an angel, as the case may be—but you’ve explained that’s not the case. I know you don’t love me the way you did her, but maybe in time that will come.”

He shook his head at her. “It already has. I love the way you take care of me. I love the way you treat my son. But most importantly, I love you. I couldn’t bear it if you wanted to go back east, but I wouldn’t stop you, because your happiness matters more to me than mine does.”

“Really?” Toria could hardly believe her ears. “You love me? Even though I’m not a tiny little blonde?”

“I love you for you. If I hadn’t been so convinced that you would look just like her, I would have seen your beauty that first day. As it was, it took me a little longer because I so badly wanted you to be her. I wasn’t willing to accept you for you.”

She reached out and took his hand with hers. “I love you too, Mortimer. I was afraid to say it, because I thought you might just laugh in my face. Now that I’ve seen Grace, I can understand why she was so appealing. She was so beautiful.”

“So are you, but in a different way. I find your strength and your confidence very appealing.” He used the hand he was holding to pull her into his lap. “You are the woman who completes me in a way Grace never could. I love you with everything inside me, Toria Jackson.”

The smile that spread across her face at the moment seemed to make her entire face shine. “I love you too, Mortimer. I’m so glad I’m your wife.”

He buried his face against her shoulder, confidant in his future for the first time in years. When he lifted his head, he saw Grace standing behind her, smiling as tears rolled down her face. She nodded once and disappeared. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be seeing her anymore.

* * *

Toria threw herself into Christmas preparations the way she did everything else in life. She and Mortimer went out and found a Christmas tree that she asked him to carry back to their home. She popped popcorn and strung the kernels to make pretty garland to put on the tree.

She made candy and cookies, most of which they had to sell in the store, because even John and Mortimer couldn’t eat as much as she made. She gave small gifts of candy to all of her new friends, and she even took one to the pastor on Christmas Eve.

She loved going to service on Christmas Eve. Truly, everything about the holiday thrilled her. As she walked home from the service with the two men in her life, she smiled, knowing she had done her best to have special gifts waiting for them under the tree. And for Mortimer, she had the most special gift of all. She just had to wait until Christmas morning to tell him, if she could hold out that long.

When they got back to their home, she reminded them both to hang their stockings.

“That’s for children!” John protested.

“Well, I have things to put into both of your stockings, so if they’re not hanging in front of the fire, I won’t be able to put anything into them. I would think you’d want the presents, whether you were a child or not.” For Toria, the stockings were an important part of Christmas. If he didn’t want to hang one, that was fine, but he wouldn’t get his gifts.

He shook his head at her, but he found a clean sock from his room and hung it by the chimney. “There. Are you happy now?” He leaned down and brushed his lips against her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Toria. I hope it’s half as wonderful as you deserve.”

She smiled at him, watching as he headed off for bed. She turned to Mortimer. “You go to bed, too. I need to put out the presents, and I don’t want you seeing what you’re getting.”

Mortimer just shook his head. He’d long since realized she was obsessed with Christmas, and there was no point in arguing with anything she had to say.

Once she was finished, she looked around the room, making sure everything was just perfect for her first Christmas in her new home. Her first Christmas as a married woman. Her first Christmas she’d cared about in many, many years.

* * *

Early the next morning, Toria got up early to fix breakfast. She was determined to make the men’s favorite before they were up. So she went into the kitchen and mixed up the batter for pancakes. As usual, as soon as the smell of bacon filled the house, both men stumbled into the kitchen.

She poured them each a cup of coffee, but drank milk herself. After their breakfast, she took them excitedly into the parlor, watching as John got down on the floor and pulled gifts out for all three of them, dividing them into piles.

Her favorite gifts had always been the homemade kind, so that’s what she gave, carefully working on socks and scarves for both men while they worked. In their stockings she’d put some of the candy she’d made, excited to see their reactions to it.

She’d gotten a gift from each of the men, and she opened them slowly, savoring the experience. It had been so long since she’d had a real Christmas that she wanted to remember every single moment of this one.

From Mortimer, she received a string of pearls, her eyes widening. “They’re beautiful!”

He smiled. “I thought you needed something pretty to wear to church on Sundays.”

“I love them.” She immediately fastened them behind her neck, happy that he’d thought to get her something so personal.

When she opened John’s gift, it was a pair of leather gloves, soft as could be. “These are perfect! I’ll wear them happily.”

Mortimer stood up, walking to the window. “It looks like we’re snowed in today. Big storm.”

“Good,” Toria said with a smile. “I want to be inside all day. We’ll drink hot chocolate, I’ll cook a turkey for supper, and we’ll celebrate.”

“Sounds good to me.” Mortimer took her hand in his, smiling at her. He still found it difficult to believe that someone as special as Toria had become his wife and that she loved him. God had truly been smiling at him.

John wandered away to put his things in his room for a minute, and Toria took the opportunity to talk to Mortimer privately. “I have one more gift for you.”

Mortimer looked at her with surprise. “I don’t have anything else for you.”

“Oh, this isn’t one of those gifts that needs to be reciprocated. It’s different.” Toria peeked at him through her lashes, realizing she had his full attention. “We’re expecting. We should have a baby around August.”

He stared at her for a moment, as if he was in shock. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I saw Dr. JT just last week. I thought it would be best to wait ‘til Christmas to tell you. Are you happy?”

“Of course I am! I hadn’t really thought much about the possibility of more children, but I’m thrilled. I wonder how John is going to feel about being a big brother.”

John stepped into the room, hearing the last sentence. “Wait. I’m going to be a brother?”

Toria nodded. She hadn’t been sure about telling John right away, but now that he knew, she was nervous about his reaction. “Yes, you are. In August.”

“I—I don’t know what to say.”

“You’ll have time to get used to the idea,” Mortimer told him. “I’m thrilled.”

John shook his head. “You seem way too old to have another baby around, Dad, but if you’re happy then I’m happy.”

Toria hid her laugh at the look of disgust on Mortimer’s face. “I don’t think he’s too old at all. I think he was too young when you were on the way.”

“Oh, I won’t deny that.” John looked between the two, a grin taking over his face. “I’m going to be a brother!”

“And I’m going to be a mother for the first time. We’ll all have to figure it out together.”

“I think we can do anything, as long as we do it together,” Mortimer said.

“It helps to do things with love.” Toria looked at the two men in her life and thought about the baby growing inside her. She really could do anything as long as there was love.