Christmas With the Colburns by Keely Brooke Keith Page B

started to irritate her.
She couldn’t find decorations anyway. “I’m going home. Have you seen Connor?”
    “He’s at the messenger’s booth.” Mandy frowned. “You are
upset, aren’t you?”
    “No.” Lydia pressed her lips together. “I’m not.”
    “Yes, you are.”
    “All right, I am, but I’ll get over it. I have my own family
to focus on this Christmas. Besides, Adeline and Maggie and their families
always come to Good Springs for the day, so the Colburn house will still feel
full,” she said as she cuddled Andrew close and started for the messenger’s
booth. “I have to go.”
    Mandy blew a kiss to the baby. “Merry Christmas.”
    “You too,” Lydia called over her shoulder as she hurried
away. She squeezed through the bartering villagers toward her husband.
    Despite the flurry of activity around him, Connor stood near
the messenger’s booth like an immoveable pillar in the midst of whitewater
rapids. He laughed at whatever joke the messenger told and easily focused on
their conversation until his eyes met Lydia’s. He held a finger up to the
messenger and parted the crowd for Lydia.
    Ignoring the hubbub, Connor grinned at her. “That never gets
old.”
    “What doesn’t?”
    “Seeing you walk toward me.” He bent down and kissed her as
if he had just come home from war. The baby squeezed a drool-covered hand
between their faces. When Connor released her, his expression bespoke a mixture
of affection and arrogance. On him, it was charming.
    He passed a hand over the baby’s head, still gazing at Lydia.
“Did you find what you needed to make your decorations?”
    She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
    Connor’s brow furrowed and his brown eyes filled with
compassion. “Of course it does. You were really looking forward to this
Christmas. What happened?”
    She couldn’t hide anything from him. “Five of the people I
was counting on won’t be there.” She wanted to add that the news had crushed
her spirit and might have ruined Christmas, possibly forever. She swallowed the
complaint to keep it from passing between her lips, just like her mother had
always instructed. “Roseanna is making Christmas dinner for Levi and Mandy and
Everett and Bethany.”
    Connor put his hand on her shoulder. “Your younger siblings
have the right to make their own plans. That’s what happens when people grow
up. Hey, you still have Andrew and me, your dad, and Isabella, plus your two
elder sisters are coming with their families.” He caressed her arm. When she
didn’t muster a smile, he continued trying to cheer her up. “What if I go into
the forest and find a bunch of pine twigs and wind them together to make you
some garland?”
    He was kind to offer, but she had seen his attempts at crafts.
The image made her chuckle. “No, that’s not necessary.” She readjusted the baby
and pointed to Connor’s fistful of letters. “Did the messenger have anything
for me?”
    He flipped through the envelopes and drew one out. “You got a
letter from one of your sisters in Woodland.”
    “Splendid! Is it from Adeline or Maggie?”
    Connor shrugged. “I can’t tell their writing apart.”
    Lydia took the envelope and read it. An extra flourish
adorned the L in Lydia. “It’s from Adeline. She’s probably letting me know what
time they plan to arrive on Christmas.” Her excitement grew as she unfolded the
letter. “Maybe they’ll come a day early and stay the night on Christmas Eve.
Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
    “Uh huh,” Connor hummed his answer as he opened one of his
letters.
    Lydia read Adeline’s letter twice. It was only three
sentences, so it didn’t take long. Her cheeks grew hot and pressure built
behind her eyes. She would not cry over this, and certainly not in public. She
drew a long steadying breath and looked up at Connor. “They aren’t coming.”

 
    Chapter Two

 
    Clouds dimmed the afternoon sunlight, darkening Lydia’s
medical office, so she moved an oil