“You want me to award her an Angel’s Rest blazon?”
“I do. I think she’s earned it. Don’t you?”
Celeste’s eyes warmed, and her smile spread wide. “I think that’s an exceptional idea, and especially appropriate considering the other purpose behind my visit here tonight.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small white velvet box wrapped in gold ribbon, which she handed to Lucca. “Word got around that you have agreed to coach Tony’s team in a tournament so that he can have surgery on his knee.”
“That was fast,” Lucca observed, tugging the ribbon.
“The small-town telegraph is a wondrous thing.”
Grinning, Lucca opened the box. “A medal for me?”
“Yes. Allow me?” Celeste removed the chain from the box and, after motioning for Lucca to bend down, slipped it over his head. “In recognition of your embrace of love’s healing grace as evidenced by your return to collegiate coaching, I award you the official Angel’s Rest blazon.”
“I’m going to cry,” Maggie said.
“Me, too,” Gabi added. “I’m jealous. I want one.”
“There she goes again,” Max said. “Always wanting what everyone else has.”
“Oh, hush, or I’ll take back your Christmas present.”
“Speaking of presents,” Tony said. “Can we finally open them? We don’t want to be late to church.”
“Tear into ’em, kiddos.”
Accompanied by the sound of tearing paper, Lucca bent and kissed Celeste on the cheek. “Thank you, Celeste. This means the world to me. And I thank you even more for agreeing to my point about Hope.”
“She has a loving soul and a tender heart. You were right to recognize her courage, but I must caution you to remember that her wounds are deeper than most. I spoke to you before about the need for patience.”
“You’re right. I will remember.”
“Oh, cool!” Tony said. “A Nerf Blaster. This is awesome. Thank you, Gabi.”
Max laughed. “I got one, too.”
Lucca looked at his brothers’ gifts from Gabi, then searched for his own present. “Those are solid. You better not have left me out, sis.”
Zach shot a dart at Lucca and laughed. Minutes later, the foam was flying as the four grown men reverted to boyhood. Maggie Romano moved to stand beside Celeste. “Gabi always gives her brothers toys for Christmas. It’s a Romano family tradition.”
“You are blessed with your family, Maggie.”
“Don’t I know it.” Maggie gave Celeste a hug and added, “Blessed with my family. Blessed with my friends. Blessed to have found a home in Eternity Springs.”
“Amen,” said Celeste. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Hope said as she handed Roxy a big rawhide bone. The dog carried it over to her bed and stretched out to slobber and chew. Hope hummed “Silent Night” as she stoked the fire, intending to chase away the chill that lingered in her bones after the walk home from the midnight church service. Maybe she should have accepted the Davenports’ offer of a ride home, but it had been such a gorgeous, starry night, and her heart had been so full and warm from the fellowship of the service that she’d wanted to prolong the moment.
Plus, she hadn’t looked forward to going home alone.
She glanced over to her Christmas tree, where only the red foil– wrapped gift remained. Had things been different, she might have spent the evening with the Romanos, she knew. She always felt lonely on Christmas, but this year was worse than ever. Walking home from church, seeing lights on in her neighbors’ houses, she’d felt a little like Scrooge gazing into Tiny Tim’s window.
Better she had attended the daytime service. Nothing felt quite so hollow as standing outside in the dark alone looking inside where people were gathered in a warm, bright place.
“You think you’re lonely this year, imagine how you’ll feel next,” she murmured. Instinctively, she covered her womb with her hand. Could she really give this baby up? Did she honestly believe that her child would be better off without her in his or her life? Or had that been nothing more than panic talking in the wake of the accident?
How in the world would she ever find the strength to walk away from this child? Maggie and Celeste had both said it:
So, was Hope ready to accept that she could take the risk? Did hope spring eternal for Hope in Eternity Springs?
A knock at her back door distracted her from the troublesome thoughts. Her back door? Who would come to her back door on Christmas Eve?
But even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. Maybe he was here to talk. Maybe … just maybe … her heartbeat sped up. Her mouth went a little dry. On her way to answer the door, she passed in front of a mirror and smoothed her hair.
She opened the door to see Lucca standing bathed in moonlight. He looked solemn and serious. “Hello.”
“Come outside, would you? I have something I want you to see.”
She hesitated. “It’s late, Lucca.”
“Give me five minutes. Please?”
“Let me get my coat.” She retrieved her long wool coat from the front closet, then spied the gift beneath her tree. She picked it up and stuck it in her pocket, then returned to her back door.
Outside, she looked around but didn’t see him. “Lucca?”
“Back here,” he called from the deep shadows at the back of the house.
She knew then what his visit must be about. “You got a telescope for Christmas?”
“Not for Christmas,” he replied. “I ordered it after our trip to Texas. It’s pretty awesome.”
“It’s huge,” she said once her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she was able to pick out the shape.
She realized she had missed her friend. They hadn’t talked, laughed, or counted stars in what seemed like ages.
“I didn’t ask you out here to look at my telescope. I want you to see a star. Come here and look, Hope. I have it focused on the star I want you to see. Try not to move the scope when you look into the eyepiece.”
She wondered if he planned to tell her a Star of Bethlehem story. Looking into the powerful telescope, she spied a whole bunch of stars. “What am I supposed to see?”
“The binary star. See the pair?”
She had to concentrate. It had been awhile since she’d looked at the stars. Without him, searching the night sky had made her sad. “Okay. Yes, I see the pair.”
“Now, step away from the telescope. I want to show you how to find it. First, you look for Draco, which is a circumpolar constellation. That means it revolves around the North Pole and it can be seen year-round. You want to find the dragon’s head. See these four stars positioned in a trapezoid?”
As he’d done in the past when teaching her the stars, he stepped close enough so that she could smell his aftershave. The memory of lying on his chest assailed her, cutting into her chest like a knife. She mourned the loss of him, and here he was right next to her. “Hope?”
“I …” Inhaling deeply, she shook off the feeling and followed the path of his finger as he pointed out the four stars. “Okay. I’ve got it.”
“From the head, the tail slithers through the sky there to there to there,” he demonstrated, “ending between the Big and Little Dippers.”
She was distracted. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry she’d hurt him. Tell him she was sorry that she was such a mess. Sorry that she couldn’t seem to let go of part of her past. That she couldn’t see her way forward. “You’ve lost me.”
“Have I?” He studied her, searching her face, his expression troubled. “I can help you find it again.”
“Can you?”
“Of course.”
She looked back to the stars. “I don’t know, Lucca. It’s hard.”
“It can be. But all you really need to do is trust that once you find a place to start, you can find what you’re
