He sank down heavily across from her, his jaw rigid, his eyes dark. 'That kid's got energy. He was so excited, I had to bribe him to get him down for the night.'
'We have to talk,' Noreen said.
'That's the understatement of the year.'
'Grant, I was going to tell you.'
'When? Did you ever stop to think what the past five years have been like for me? I cared about you. After Larry died, I wanted to help you. I would have done anything in the world to try to make you happy. But what were your feelings for me? My only brother died. Knowing where you were, knowing about Darius would have meant everything to me. Not only to me. But to Mother. Larry was her favorite child. I was very little comfort to her.'
'I want to explain.'
'It's too late for that. I'm going.'
'Grant, no.'
He looked up. 'Don't you understand? I believed in you. I believed that deep down you cared something for us, for me. You think the Hales rejected you. Honey, by keeping Darius from us, you rejected us. The one thing I never expected from you was dishonesty of this magnitude.'
'I wanted to tell you,' she said softly, each word carefully enunciated. 'I almost did, the day of Larry's funeral. But then I heard all the Hales talking, and I thought you felt the same way.'
'Norie, none of it matters anymore. You're free of me and the Hales. If you're so afraid of us, you don't need to be anymore.' Slowly he got up. 'I'm going. I won't tell Mother. Be happy. You're finally really, truly free of us all.'
Norie went to him and put her arms around him. 'But you know that's not what I want anymore.' She was speaking rapidly, desperately.
At her touch, everything in him went as still as death. He released her gradually, slowly pushing her away, all the time staring into the shadowy depths of her eyes.
'Grant, please-' Her lips barely moved as she whispered.
But he wouldn't let her finish.
'Tell Darius… Tell him, Merry Christmas from me tomorrow, will you? Tell him… maybe next Christmas Santa will do the job right, and he'll get a daddy who'll teach him how to play football. I'm not the right guy.'
Then without speaking to her again, Grant turned and strode out of the house, letting the door close behind him on a whisper of icy air.
Tears pooled in Norie's eyes, but she didn't chase after Grant. He had decided to go, and no matter how much she wanted him to stay, she knew that no amount of pleading could persuade him.
The house seemed frigid and empty, as frigid and empty as her own heart.
She heard a slight sound on the stairs, and knew that Darius had not gone to bed after all. He came into the kitchen, his eyes as big and sad as hers. He was dragging his favorite red teddy bear.
'Where's Grant?'
'I don't know.'
'Will he come back?'
'I don't know that, either,' she admitted.
'But he's my special present from Santa.'
She took him into her arms and ruffled his black hair. 'Mine, too, darling,' she murmured softly.
'Mine, too. But he's your uncle, and you'll see him from time to time.'
Darius sat on her lap and sucked his thumb.
'You're a big boy now, Darius. Big boys don't suck their thumbs.'
He pulled his thumb out reluctantly. His face was very serious. 'I didn't ask for an uncle. I asked for a daddy.'
'Well, it isn't Christmas yet. Maybe, just maybe, Santa realized he'd delivered our special present too early. Go back to bed. Santa doesn't come until little boys are asleep.'
'Do you really think he'll send Grant back?'
'Maybe, if we both pray very hard.'
'Mom, do you really believe in magic?'
Behind them the Christmas tree lights were softly aglow. Grant's ring was still on her finger. His other gifts were still under the tree. Her gaze stole to the manger scene that she and Darius had built together, to the tiny figure of the baby Jesus.
'Yes, in a way,' she replied gently. 'You see, when it's Christmas, I believe in miracles.'
Chapter Eight
Norie sat up in bed, her heart beating expectantly, not knowing what it was that had awakened her.
And then she knew.
It was Christmas Day.
She fell back against her soft cool pillow in a daze of happiness.
Her bedroom was cozily warm. Someone had come in earlier and lit the space heater. From the kitchen wafted the aroma of coffee and bacon and biscuits. A man's deep husky voice was accompanying a radio that was playing 'Joy to the World.'
Grant had come back to her as she and Darius had prayed he would.
She listened to Grant sing with her eyes closed, his baritone washing over her, caressing her.
At last she got up, pulled on her robe and stumbled barefoot across the cold floors into the kitchen.
'Grant?' His name was a broken cry across her lips.
His dark gaze smoldered with love for her.
'I thought it was you,' she managed to utter dreamily. Then she was flying across the kitchen into his arms. 'You did come back.'
Tenderly, he enfolded her into his strong arms and lowered his black head to the long pale curve of her beautiful neck. She felt his hands smoothing the snarls from her sleep-tangled, silken curls.
'I had no choice. I know from experience that life without you holds nothing but emptiness. I love you, gypsy girl. I always have and I always will.'
'Enough to forgive me?'
His dark eyes moved over her face, and his expression grew momentarily soft. 'There's nothing to forgive.'
'Last night I was afraid you despised me.'
'I was angry. But after I calmed down, I understood why you did what you did.'
'I should have told you about Darius years ago. Instead I ran away.'
'We drove you away,' he said gravely.
'After Larry died and I heard your family saying they didn't want me, I felt completely alone. The only thing I had was my unborn child. When Mike Yanta called and offered me this job, I took it. I came here and made a life for myself, but because I never resolved my conflict with you and your family, there was always something incomplete in my life. You see, I wanted to belong to your family, to be a real Hale, for Darius's sake as well as my own. I knew I was keeping your mother's only grandchild from her. But I was afraid of her, afraid that she might try to dominate my child the way she had dominated Larry. I was afraid she might use her money to alienate Darius from me. But I couldn't forget you, Grant. No matter how hard I tried.'
'Mother won't use her money like that again. She knows she made a terrible mistake.' Grant's tone grew gentler, lower. 'But I was as guilty as she. From the first, I was insensitive to you. To the person you really were. I hurt you. I promise I'll be more careful in the future.'
'Oh, Grant… ' She could scarcely speak. 'My values were so wrong. I was so mixed-up about the power of money that I attached more importance to it than I should have. I should have believed in you, in myself.' She winced as she thought of all the hurt she had caused everyone. 'I'm always going to wonder what would have
