'No.'
'You never let us.'
'Darius!'
Mother and son stared at one another across the kitchen. Darius's lower lip swelled mutinously.
'Darius, remember about Santa. He rewards good little boys.'
Darius gulped in a big breath.
Then Leo said, 'Can we build a house by the tree with blankets and cushions?'
'Of course, but try not to make too big a mess.'
Sara laughed. 'You don't mind asking the impossible.'
Leo was running back up the stairs, and Darius was right behind him.
The showdown was over. At least the one between mother and son. Norie knew that Sara was more determined.
'So your brother-in-law spent the weekend here?' Sara asked softly. 'With you? Alone?'
Norie got up to pour more water into the kettle. Then she went to the stove. Her back was to Sara. 'He skidded into the ditch. I couldn't very well leave him there.'
'Something tells me you didn't want to leave him there.'
'Much as I love you, Sara, I'm just not ready to talk about Grant.'
'Well, I'll be here when you are.'
'I know. You have always been my dear, dear friend.'
It was a long time before Norie could turn around and pretend to Sara that everything was normal.
The next few days were the bleakest and loneliest Norie had ever known. They were even worse than when she had come to town pregnant and alone to live with Miss Maddie. No matter what she did or where she went, Norie couldn't quit thinking of Grant.
When she was Christmas shopping, she would see things she wanted to buy for him. She'd even bought one gift-a beautiful blue silk dress shirt that would look wonderful on him because of his blue eyes. It had seemed so stupid and silly, buying a present for a man she would never see again.
When she got home, she hid the gift under her bed. But sometimes she took it out to admire it secretly and dream of really being able to give it to him.
At night she lay awake thinking about him, seeing in her mind his every gesture, his every smile, remembering the exact things he'd said to her. Most of all, she remembered the way he'd gently, tenderly, brought her again and again to shuddering heights of ecstasy.
And every time she looked at Darius, she saw Grant. With his black hair and dazzling blue eyes, Darius was almost a miniature replica of his handsome uncle. Darius did not mention the special gift he had asked Santa for again, but every time Norie looked at him she knew that he was silently longing for a father-as once Grant had longed for his father. She felt Darius's special excitement, his expectancy, and these things only made her sadder.
Somehow she got through the days and the nights.
It was Christmas Eve, the night her church held a beautiful candlelight service. Norie was sitting alone on a wooden pew watching Darius, who was in the children's choir. Her black dress was tied at the waist with a handmade lavender sash. As always, large loops dangled from her ears…
Darius and Leo were wearing white choir robes with huge red satin bows tied beneath their scrubbed chins. They looked like angels, and they sounded like them too, as their voices and those of the other children filled the sanctuary with the lovely familiar melodies of sacred Christmas carols.
The service was an hour long, and it was a time of beauty and peace for Norie. All too soon the lights of the sanctuary were put out. For a moment there was darkness except for a single candle. Then the candles of the congregation were lit one by one. A hush filled the church, and Norie whispered a prayer that made her own candle flutter gently.
'Silent Night' was played, and so many candles were lit that the church became more brilliant than she'd ever seen it.
She felt an arm brush her waist possessively, and she turned.
Grant was there beside her.
For a moment he stood without moving, just looking down at her. Then he smiled at her boyishly, charmingly. His eyes were filled with tenderness and warmth, and some powerful emotion she couldn't be sure of.
She could barely see him for the mist of emotion that rushed at her.
'Grant… ' A radiant smile broke across her face.
Black hair, blue eyes. He was movie-star handsome in a dark, conventional suit and tie as he towered beside her.
Her pulse stirred with a thrilling joy.
His hand closed over hers, and suddenly she knew how much she loved him. It didn't matter that she could never be as socially correct as his mother or the other women he had dated. Norie was still scared, scared of loving him, but in all her life she had never felt the swell of love that she felt for this man. The past-Larry, the Hales, their money and its misuse, all the grief, the rejection, and the heartbreak-no longer mattered so much.
'Merry Christmas,' she whispered, her voice warm and light and happy.
'I had to come, gypsy girl,' he said quietly.
His low, raspy voice was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard; more beautiful even than the sound of the angels. Gently he touched one of her gold loop earrings.
Her lashes, strangely heavy, fluttered down, but she felt the warmth of his caring in every cell of her body.
For her the world held promise once again.
Shyly, she squeezed his strong hand.
She was wrapped in happiness as she listened to the haunting loveliness of the last verse of 'Silent Night.'
For the first time in years Christmas really seemed a time of love and renewal and rebirth. Then she glanced up and beneath the glimmering jewel-bright stained glass windows, she saw two angelic-looking little boys in white robes and red bows. Darius's big blue eyes were wide and curious as he studied Grant. Then he smiled happily, knowingly, and he sang so joyously that Norie imagined she could hear his voice soaring above all the others in the choir and congregation. It was Christmas Eve, and Darius believed very firmly in the magic of Christmas.
Darius!
Grant still didn't know about Darius!
Dear God. She made a quick, silent prayer.
After the hymn was over, and the lights came back on, Norie managed to slip away from Grant and ask Sara to keep Darius for an hour or two, so she could be alone with Grant and explain.
Then she rushed out of the church and found Grant waiting for her by her truck.
Chapter Seven
Norie's eyes kept flicking apprehensively to the bright reflection of Grant's headlights in her rearview mirror. What would he say? What would he do when she told him about Darius? Grant had always believed in her honesty.
Never before had the drive home seemed so long. How in the world would she go about explaining?
How could she make him understand why she had run away? Why she'd been so afraid of the Hales and what their money might do?
Larry had married her because she was different, and he'd wanted to defy his mother. Norie had been caught in
