Christmas In Silver Bell Falls by Samantha Chase

sadly.  “I’m not sure if I’m happy or mad about it.  I hate that Mel grew up without a mom, but I think it could have been worse if she’d come back at some point and then left again.”
    “I can understand that.”  He sighed and looked around and then decided to get to the heart of what he really wanted to talk about.  “So…about Christmas.”
    John looked up at him and let out a mirthless laugh.  “Yeah.  Christmas,” he sighed.  “I’m sure you think it’s a little odd.”
    There was no way he could honestly deny it so he didn’t even try.  “I have to admit, I was a little shocked when she first starting talking about it.  Then she explained why she felt the way she did and I could understand it.  Sort of.”
    “I always hoped we could overcome it, but if something bad is going to happen, it happens at Christmas.”
    “Surely there are some good memories?  Something, somewhere that was positive?  My family didn’t have a lot of money when we were growing up—there were six of us kids—but just because we didn’t get a lot of presents didn’t make it bad.  Did you have any traditions that Melanie enjoyed?”
    John studied him carefully for a long moment—almost to the point of it feeling awkward—before he spoke.  “She probably would never admit it, but she loves sugar cookies.  We used to bake them when she was small – before her mom left.  I’m not much of a baker so when I tried making them with her it was with refrigerated cookie dough,” he chuckled.  “But even when we don’t celebrate Christmas, she always seems to have sugar cookies in the house.  And she loves having them with cocoa.”
    “That’s a nice memory,” he said.  “I’d like to help her make some new ones.”
    John’s eyes narrowed slightly.  “You know she’s only here for the three months, right?”
    Josiah nodded.  “It doesn’t matter how long she’s here for.  She’ll be here for Christmas this year and I want to do something to make it special for her.”
    “What about you?  Don’t you have family of your own to spend it with?”
    “Normally I do.  But this is something really important to me, John.  If I only get to have one Christmas with your daughter, I want it to be the kind where, years from now, she’ll look back and have a good memory of it.”
    And then John seemed to relax and the look he gave Josiah told him he completely understood exactly how strongly he felt for Melanie.  “I like the fact that if I’m not here to spend Christmas with her, you are.”
    That made Josiah smile.  “I thought the two of you don’t spend Christmas together?”
    “We spend the day together, we just don’t celebrate.”
    With a nod, Josiah stood and walked over to the refrigerator to grab them something to drink.  “You’re welcome to celebrate it with us this year,” he said.  “I’m hoping to make it the best one yet for her.”
    “Son, if you can do that, I’m here to help in any way I can.”
    ****
    Melanie was still a little teary-eyed the following week when she thought about her dad.  She had thought she was okay with temporarily living so far away from him, but after his short Thanksgiving visit, she realized just how much she missed him.  Josiah must have noticed because he took her out on a proper date—out to dinner, a movie and dessert. 
    When they got back to the cabin, he didn’t even ask if he could stay.  They walked in the door and he helped her take her coat off before shedding his own and then took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom.
    It scared her a little at how well Josiah seemed to know her and could so easily read her wants, her needs, her moods, but right now in this very moment, she was grateful for it.  He kissed her as he undressed her and when they crawled into bed together, Melanie closed her eyes and sighed at how perfect it felt.  Every touch, every kiss, every movement not only showed her how much Josiah cared for