just awakened her maternal instinct when she’d least expected it. She felt it in her heart. And she felt it in her womb.
Wow.
Years ago, she’d begun to face the fact that she would probably never be a mom. Before Mick, she’d been in an ill-fated marriage that had never produced a child, and since Mick . . . well, she’d known going in that he didn’t want kids. And she’d understood that, and truly respected it, too. It wasn’t for everybody. And she’d even been okay with it. She loved him like crazy and she knew they could lead a happy and fulfilling life without children as part of the mix.
And yet . . . this one look at Mick with Sue Ann’s little girl was tugging on her heart strings, almost instantly, making her yearn to be a mommy, and to make him a daddy. As the two laughed together now, watching as Trouble pawed madly at the twinkling lights in Sophie’s little hand, it nearly stole Jenny’s breath.
“Um, hello—you’re blocking the doorway,” Sue Ann informed her from behind.
“Oh—sorry.” She moved on, making a wide path around the lights sprinkling the floor, then announced, “Hot chocolate,” as she lowered the tray to the coffee table.
“And cookies,” Sue Ann reminded them all, reaching to open the decorative box she’d brought. As Mick and Sophie both joined them there, Sophie went straight for a reindeer-shaped cookie, complete with a red Rudolph nose.
“So what do you want for Christmas this year, Sophie?” Jenny asked—then almost regretted the question, fearing the answer might have something to do with her parents.
So she was relieved when Sophie said, “A reindeer.”
Her relief was only temporary, however, squelched by the look on Sue Ann’s face. “But I keep explaining to her,” Sue Ann said, “that Santa doesn’t really have any reindeer to spare.”
Oh. Jenny got it. Sophie wanted a completely impossible gift, and it was going to heap one more big pressure on Sue Ann during this first holiday season without Jeff. She knew Sophie’s happiness was Sue Ann’s top priority right now and that she didn’t want to disappoint her on Christmas morning. “True,” Jenny chimed in. “I’m sure Santa would bring you one if he could, but he needs them all to pull his sleigh.”
At this, however, Sophie’s smile faded dramatically. She clearly had her heart set on having her very own reindeer.
Hearing a knock on the door just then, Jenny said, “That must be Amy. I was in the bookstore yesterday, so I invited her to join us.” Amy was the only one in their close circle of girlfriends who remained single—well, besides Sue Ann now. And while Amy never seemed to mind her single status, Jenny had sensed her feeling a little lonely lately, especially now that Rachel and Tessa were both busy making wedding plans.
“Hope I’m not late,” Amy said when Jenny answered the door, then held out a small red box tied with a white ribbon. “I made buckeyes.”
“Mick will love you for that,” Jenny said, since he loved the regionally popular chocolate-and-peanut-butter Christmas candies, then motioned her inside.
As everyone exchanged greetings with Amy and she stooped to scratch Trouble behind the ears, Jenny stood back and watched them all. She’d built a happy life here—far happier than she’d have dreamed possible when she’d returned home to Destiny following her divorce a few years back. I have everything a girl could want. A hot and loving husband. Dear friends. And a satisfying career. An astronomer at heart, Jenny loved teaching science at Destiny High.
“Sophie, you should get your mom to bring you by the bookstore soon,” Amy said. “We have a new stray kitten.” Amy, a major cat person, was getting famous around town for taking in strays at Under the Covers, and Jenny almost suspected that people with unwanted cats were actually dropping them off now. “I’m calling him Dickens,” she added.
“Because he’s a little dickens,”
Wow.
Years ago, she’d begun to face the fact that she would probably never be a mom. Before Mick, she’d been in an ill-fated marriage that had never produced a child, and since Mick . . . well, she’d known going in that he didn’t want kids. And she’d understood that, and truly respected it, too. It wasn’t for everybody. And she’d even been okay with it. She loved him like crazy and she knew they could lead a happy and fulfilling life without children as part of the mix.
And yet . . . this one look at Mick with Sue Ann’s little girl was tugging on her heart strings, almost instantly, making her yearn to be a mommy, and to make him a daddy. As the two laughed together now, watching as Trouble pawed madly at the twinkling lights in Sophie’s little hand, it nearly stole Jenny’s breath.
“Um, hello—you’re blocking the doorway,” Sue Ann informed her from behind.
“Oh—sorry.” She moved on, making a wide path around the lights sprinkling the floor, then announced, “Hot chocolate,” as she lowered the tray to the coffee table.
“And cookies,” Sue Ann reminded them all, reaching to open the decorative box she’d brought. As Mick and Sophie both joined them there, Sophie went straight for a reindeer-shaped cookie, complete with a red Rudolph nose.
“So what do you want for Christmas this year, Sophie?” Jenny asked—then almost regretted the question, fearing the answer might have something to do with her parents.
So she was relieved when Sophie said, “A reindeer.”
Her relief was only temporary, however, squelched by the look on Sue Ann’s face. “But I keep explaining to her,” Sue Ann said, “that Santa doesn’t really have any reindeer to spare.”
Oh. Jenny got it. Sophie wanted a completely impossible gift, and it was going to heap one more big pressure on Sue Ann during this first holiday season without Jeff. She knew Sophie’s happiness was Sue Ann’s top priority right now and that she didn’t want to disappoint her on Christmas morning. “True,” Jenny chimed in. “I’m sure Santa would bring you one if he could, but he needs them all to pull his sleigh.”
At this, however, Sophie’s smile faded dramatically. She clearly had her heart set on having her very own reindeer.
Hearing a knock on the door just then, Jenny said, “That must be Amy. I was in the bookstore yesterday, so I invited her to join us.” Amy was the only one in their close circle of girlfriends who remained single—well, besides Sue Ann now. And while Amy never seemed to mind her single status, Jenny had sensed her feeling a little lonely lately, especially now that Rachel and Tessa were both busy making wedding plans.
“Hope I’m not late,” Amy said when Jenny answered the door, then held out a small red box tied with a white ribbon. “I made buckeyes.”
“Mick will love you for that,” Jenny said, since he loved the regionally popular chocolate-and-peanut-butter Christmas candies, then motioned her inside.
As everyone exchanged greetings with Amy and she stooped to scratch Trouble behind the ears, Jenny stood back and watched them all. She’d built a happy life here—far happier than she’d have dreamed possible when she’d returned home to Destiny following her divorce a few years back. I have everything a girl could want. A hot and loving husband. Dear friends. And a satisfying career. An astronomer at heart, Jenny loved teaching science at Destiny High.
“Sophie, you should get your mom to bring you by the bookstore soon,” Amy said. “We have a new stray kitten.” Amy, a major cat person, was getting famous around town for taking in strays at Under the Covers, and Jenny almost suspected that people with unwanted cats were actually dropping them off now. “I’m calling him Dickens,” she added.
“Because he’s a little dickens,”
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