CHAPTER NINE
“Home For the Holidays”
“Baby?” Len’s knees went weak and to remain upright he braced his shoulder against the wall.
“Who told you?” Amy repeated.
“No one...” Len’s thoughts twisted around in his mind until he was convinced he’d misunderstood her. “To make sure I understand what’s happening here, I need to ask you something. Are you telling me you’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you think you should’ve mentioned this before now?” he demanded, not caring who heard him. “You must be at least three months along.”
“Three and a half... I love you, Len, but you’ve never said how you felt about me. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to marry me. My dad married my mother because she was pregnant and the marriage was a disaster. I refuse to repeat my mother’s mistakes, although I certainly seem to have started out on the same path.”
“Amy, listen, I swear I didn’t know about the baby. No one told me a damn thing.” He took a deep breath. “As for you being like your mom...this is different. I love you. I want us to get married. I wanted it even before I knew about the baby.” It hurt to think Amy had held back, not telling him she was pregnant. “Who else knows?”
“Jenny.”
“You’d tell your best friend before you’d tell me?” he said, hardly able to believe his ears.
“Why’d you ask me to marry you?” she returned, equally insistent. “Is it just because of the baby?”
“No... I already told you that. Isn’t loving you and wanting to spend the rest of my life with you reason enough?”
“Yes,” she whispered, whimpering now. “It’s more than enough.”
“Listen, Amy. I want to be with you. And I want my baby. We’re getting married, understand? Soon, too, next week if it can be arranged, and when I go back to Maine, I’m going to ask for married housing. Next month I’ll come down and get you.”
“Len...”
That was the reason she’d asked if she was just “his girl in Rawhide.” He hated the thought of her worrying and fretting all these weeks, wondering how he’d react once he learned the truth.
“You said you love me. Are you taking that back now?” he asked.
“No...”
“I love you. I knew it after my last visit home. I should have said something then. I regret now that I didn’t.” Then, remembering how he didn’t enjoy having his life dictated to him, he asked again, “Will you marry me, Amy?”
Her hesitation was only momentary this time. “Yes, Len, oh, yes.”
He could hear her sob softly in the background.
“I knew tonight would be special,” she murmured.
“How’s that?” Len’s mind continued to spin with Amy’s news, but it wasn’t unwelcome. He was ready to be a husband and had always loved children. His own parents had been wonderful and he was determined to be a good husband and father himself.
“Mr. Danbar came out of his room tonight when I sat down at the piano,” Amy told him.
Len could only vaguely recall the man’s name. “Mr. Danbar?”
“He’s the one who hasn’t spoken a word since his wife died three years ago. The man I eat my lunch with every day. I’m the one who does all the talking, but that’s all right.”
“He came out of his room?” This was big news, Len realized. He remembered now that Amy had written to him about the older gentleman.
“His wife used to play the piano and when he heard the music, he climbed out of bed and came into the recreation room. He sat down on the bench beside me and smiled. Oh, Len, it was the most amazing thing.”
His wife-to-be was pretty darn amazing herself, he thought proudly. She could coax a lonely old man from his room and brighten his life with her music and kindness. Len meant what he’d said, about their marrying as soon as possible. Their marriage would be a strong one, based on love and mutual respect.
He felt like the luckiest man alive.
* * *
“Are you awake?” Nick whispered to Kelly in the dead of night. He thought he’d heard her stir and realized they were both accustomed to Brittany waking and needing to be fed around this time.
Nick had been wide-awake for the better part of an hour. Sleeping upright with his head propped against the wall had been awkward, but he’d managed to get some rest. It helped to have his arm around Kelly and hold her close to his side. They hadn’t held each other nearly enough lately, but that was something he hoped to remedy.
In response to his question, Kelly yawned. “What time is it?”
“About two.”
“Already?” His wife smothered a second yawn.
“How’s Brittany?”
“Better than either of us.”
Nick grinned into the darkness and gently squeezed her shoulder.
“I never thought we’d spend our first Christmas as parents stuck in some train depot,” Kelly said, her words barely audible.
“Me, neither.”
“It hasn’t been so bad.”
Nick pressed his face into her hair and inhaled, delighting in her warm female scent. He loved Kelly and Brittany more than he’d thought it was possible to love anyone. More than it seemed reasonable for any human heart to love. Little in his life had come easy, and this parenting business might well be his greatest challenge yet. But his struggles had taught him to appreciate what he did have. Tonight, Christmas Eve, had taught him to recognize what he had.
He’d considered the trip home to Georgia unnecessary, but Kelly had wanted to introduce Brittany to her grandparents. Besides, traveling in winter was a mistake, he’d told her over and over. In the end he’d agreed only because Kelly had wanted it so badly. He hadn’t been gracious about it, and when troubles arose, it was all he could do not to leap up and tell her how right he’d been.
Nick felt differently now. Being with these people on Christmas Eve hadn’t been a mistake at all. Nor was taking Brittany to meet her extended family. They needed each other. He’d stood alone most of his life, but he wasn’t alone anymore. He had a wife and daughter. Family. And friends.
More friends than he’d realized.
* * *
At six o’clock Christmas morning, Clayton Kemper received word that the tracks had been repaired. He hurriedly dressed and rushed down to the train depot, not sure what he’d find. It came as a pleasant surprise to discover everyone waking up in a good mood, grateful to hear his news. While the travelers stretched and yawned, Clayton put on a pot of coffee, then dragged out the phone book and called the hotels in town to alert the passengers there that the tracks had been repaired.
“I don’t imagine this will be a Christmas you’ll soon forget,” Clayton said as he led the small band from the depot to the train. The engine hummed, ready to race down the tracks toward Boston.
Mrs. Norris was the first to board. She smiled as she placed her hand in his. “Thank you again for all your kindness, Mr. Kemper. And Merry Christmas.”
“I was glad I could help,” he said as she climbed onto the train.
The couple with the baby followed, along with the young navy man who lugged his own bag as well as the infant seat. It never ceased to amaze Clayton that one baby could need this much equipment. Time was, a bottle or two and a few diapers would suffice. These days it took the mother and two full-grown men to cart everything in. Clayton was pleased to see that the couple had struck up a friendship with the sailor. They certainly seemed to have a great deal to talk about.
The sales rep boarded next, after helping an elderly black couple with their luggage. This was the man who’d spent a large portion of the day before scowling and muttering under his breath. Kemper didn’t know what had happened to him, but this morning the man grinned from ear to ear and was about as helpful as they come.
“We appreciate everything you did for us, Kemper,” he said as he made his way into the train.
Five-year-old Kate bounced onto the first step and told Clayton, “Santa came last night and dropped off a present for me and Charles.”
“Did he now?” Clayton asked, catching Elise Jones’s eyes.
“Indeed, he did,” Elise said with a wide smile.
Apparently the adults had arranged something for the children. Clayton was glad to hear it. He wished he’d been able to do more himself, but he had his own family and plenty of obligations. It was a sad case when the railroad had to put people up in a depot for the night, especially when that night happened to be Christmas Eve.
He waited until everyone was on board before he stepped away from the train. Glancing inside the compartment, he watched fascinated as the group of once-cantankerous travelers cheerfully teased one another. Anyone looking at them would assume they were lifelong friends, even family.
Was it possible, Clayton wondered, that this small band of strangers had discovered the true meaning of Christmas? Learned it in a train depot late on Christmas Eve in the middle of a snowstorm?
The question seemed to answer itself.
* * * * *
Keep reading for a special preview. is another story about searching for perfection over the holidays.
Three friends, each wishing for a perfect man, get some intriguing predictions from Santa Claus!
A brand-new novel by Sheila Roberts.
Available now from MIRA Books