His Christmas Bride

Reacting to her cue, Dylan came to his feet. The others around him stood, as well.

“In no time,” he repeated, stepping over to shake hands with Brad.

Jenna was less formal, hugging Kelly first and then bending to offer each of the boys a squeeze. They only grimaced a little.

As she moved on to hug Brad and the minister and his wife, Dylan slanted a perplexed look her way.

He couldn’t help but think about how she’d tried to make it easier for the Denton family to accept assistance, seeming to care as much about their feelings as their physical needs. The Jenna he remembered wouldn’t have thought to reach out to anyone else. She’d always been too preoccupied as the epicenter of her own universe. But was it possible that she had changed.

Again, he forced himself not to read too much into her efforts. She was probably just hurrying the process along so they could finish their charity project and get on with their Christmas activities.

Preoccupied, he didn’t see it coming, but Kelly caught up with him, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug.

“God bless you for your kindness.” Kelly squeezed again and then released him. “Let us know what we can do. We’re not afraid of work.”

“We definitely will…after you relax today.”

Dylan had to admit that Jenna’s suggestion was a good one. And he preferred not to have the family present for some of the delicate discussions that might have to take place with additional donors.

He stole another glance at Jenna, who was reassuring the boys about Santa, and his breath caught. Today would be tough. He grimaced. If he was having this much trouble ignoring her with a crowd around them, he couldn’t imagine how hard it would be when the two of them were alone together. Maybe if they kept busy the whole time, it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he could even send her off shopping for clothes while he took on another part of the project. Independent subcommittees, so to speak. Yes, staying busy and dividing duties, that would help. No time to look into her beautiful eyes. No time for her to bring up the day that forced him to put her out of his life. No time for him to change his mind.

Jenna didn’t have to look Dylan’s way to know he was watching her, instead of the Dentons, as they crossed the parking lot to return to their hotel. The way he’d been studying her the past twenty minutes, she wanted to tell him to turn up the microscope’s magnification and take a good look.

She hated guessing that shock was the reason for his sudden curiosity. Was he really so surprised that she’d been kind to the Dentons? Someone would have to be missing a heart not to want to reach out to that great couple and those sweet little boys. Did he believe she was that type of person? Sure, she’d been a little narcissistic in the past, but she couldn’t have been that bad. At least she hoped not. And even if she had been, she was different now.

He might not realize it, but she wasn’t the only one who’d changed, and from what she’d seen so far, some of his changes hadn’t been for the better. He might be this new assertive-doctor type, but where were his sweetness and vulnerability? The qualities that made him Dylan? He was barely recognizable under all of that authoritarian veneer.

Frustration welled up inside her. Dylan would never give her a chance to restore their friendship. She didn’t know why she’d ever thought he would. Four years had passed. If he’d wanted to reconnect with her, he would have done it by now, and if she’d expected to have the chance to make amends, she should have tried before now.

She didn’t want to believe it was too late. Hadn’t her mother always told her it was never too late to do the right thing? It had to be the right thing for her to at least apologize for hurting him, whether he forgave her or not. And even if he didn’t believe she was the kind of person to think of others, she intended to help the Dentons have the merriest Christmas possible. She had too many blessings in her life not to share them with others.

She would work with Dylan, even if he wasn’t happy about working with her. She would pray through the process that they would somehow reconnect. He wasn’t the same boy she remembered any more than she was the same girl, but Jenna sensed that buried deep inside him—maybe intentionally hidden from her—was the person she’d once been closer to than anyone else. With God’s help, she was determined to find him.

“This is one thing you could have done without me.”

At this newest round of Dylan’s grousing, Jenna looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. “And have you miss all this?”

She gestured toward the rows of sweaters in the discount store’s women’s department. He was bored, but if she had agreed to his suggestion that they divide the list of stores and meet up at the end of the day, she wouldn’t have had the chance to see him all afternoon. So much for not forcing him to work with her. She sighed. This was getting more complicated by the minute.

“Have some mercy, will you?”

Dylan leaned his elbows on the hand grip of the shopping cart and rubbed his eyes, yawning. They’d already found several outfits and coats for Brad and the boys at the charity clothes closets and resale shops she’d marched him through for hours, but they were purchasing a few clothes for Kelly now. Jenna was in her element, and she wanted her purchases to be just right.

“Okay. I’ll be finished here in a minute.” She made her final selections and dropped them in the cart. “How does someone so impatient survive a job where you stare at people’s eyeballs all day?” she teased.

She would have taken the strange sound he made as a laugh if he’d chuckled at any of her other jokes today.

“Believe me, even just asking, ‘Better or worse?’ and ‘Which is clearer, A or B?’ is more interesting than shopping for women’s clothes.”

He did chuckle that time—at least something had brightened his spirits. He checked his watch again.

“You see,” he said, “I was right. At least in this one store we could have gotten more done, faster, if we’d separated and met up at the cash register later.”

Jenna frowned as she gathered several items in her arms. “We also would have gotten half as many things for twice as much if we’d done that. Haven’t you ever heard of comparison shopping? You can’t just march up to the undershirt display and pick the brand with the best commercials. You have to look at price. We only have so much money, and we want to get as much as possible.”

“But I could have handled toiletries.”

“Probably.”

“Probably? How do you think I earned my professional degree? Bid on it on an Internet auction site?”

When she whirled to look at him, Dylan had his arms crossed. Even with his chin tilted up that way, he looked…oddly appealing.

“No. Not the Internet. But can you tell me what kind of shampoo wouldn’t sting a kid’s eyes or would give long hair like Kelly’s a nice shine?”

At first he frowned, but finally he raised his hands in defeat. “Fine. You win.”

With this part of their shopping complete, Dylan wheeled the cart out of the women’s department and hurried with apparent relief toward Health and Beauty. Jenna had to jog to keep up with his longer stride.

“It wasn’t that much of a defeat, was it?” she asked when he finally slowed down in the toothpaste aisle. “What would you know about kids’ or women’s shampoo? Besides, you always hated to shop. You hated malls, too. Your mom used to bring clothes home for you to try on. She had to return the ones that didn’t fit.”

“Guilty.” He picked up the most expensive tube of cinnamon-flavored toothpaste, but when she lifted her brow, he set it back on the shelf and gestured for her to select one. “But in my defense, malls are just consumer prisons where they pipe in music with subliminal shopping messages and where the lights are so bright they convince you that whatever you’re trying on looks good on you.”

Jenna picked up a tube of toothpaste next to a sale sign and moved on to the toothbrush display. “Next you’re going to tell me about conspiracy theories and grassy knolls.”

“A little before my time, don’t you think?”

He had smiled at her comment. Finally. A success. She thought back to all the times he’d regaled her with stories from documentaries about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the sinking of the Titanic, realizing now that she’d only half listened. A better friend would have listened more closely as he spoke about his interests. Note to self, she thought.

Jenna selected two adult toothbrushes on a two-for-one deal and picked two junior-size brushes for the boys. “I still don’t understand why you assigned us to the clothes committee when you hate clothes shopping.”

Dylan pulled one of the toothbrushes from her hand and tapped her on the head with it. “Are you kidding? How could I not pick the shopping committee when I was working with the crowned queen of shopping? That would have been a waste of your talents.”

Jenna laughed, and for a second, it seemed like old times between them as he grinned at her. She smiled in return, and they just stood there for a moment until Dylan seemed to catch himself. He quickly turned away.

Jenna grabbed a container of dental floss and crossed it off on the list before moving on to the razors and shaving cream.

“I bow to your expertise here.” She waved toward the merchandise. “Just watch your prices.”

“At least I’m good for something here.” He pulled shaving cream, a reasonably priced razor and a pack of replacement blades off the shelf, even grabbing a set of disposable razors for Kelly.

“Do these meet your specifications?”

With all the items checked off on this first list, they went through the checkout line and headed to the car. If the others had accomplished as much as she and Dylan had, they were well on their way to a successful project.

“Whew,” Dylan said as he pulled on his seat belt. “Now that was an ordeal.”

Jenna didn’t say anything for a moment. He might think it had been challenging shopping with her, but if he thought that tomorrow she would agree to working separately on different portions of the project, then he had another think coming. They were making progress. She could feel it. And she wasn’t going to give up.

“You know we’re not done, right?” she asked.

Dylan looked at her with what she hoped was mock dread.

“After we meet with the boys tomorrow to help them write their Santa’s lists, we’re headed to the mall for Christmas shopping. You better rest up if you thought today was tough.”

Dylan groaned and leaned his head on the steering wheel. She reached over, laughing, and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. He didn’t even stiffen at her touch.

Yes, they’d definitely made progress.

Chapter Four

Dylan followed the enthusiastic chatter into his mother’s formal dining room. Already from the cars parked outside, he had no doubt they were the last to make it back to the house. And if all that laughter was any indication, they’d all had an enjoyable afternoon.

Had he? He wasn’t prepared to answer that question.

Stowing their coats in the closet, Dylan led Jenna down the hall to join the others. Last night he’d wished for any excuse to avoid the family reunion, but now he was anxious to join the crowd. He needed a break from spending time alone with Jenna before he said something he’d regret, something that put him right back where he was before he’d cut her out of his life.

All day he’d tried to work with her and keep his distance at the same time, a tough enough challenge without her making it even harder by being sweet and funny. Combine all that with the fact that he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her, and he had every reason for the exhaustion he felt now. He’d thought he could tuck away his personal battle and handle the work without breaking a sweat, but compartmentalization like that took practice.

“Aunt Jenna and Uncle Dylan are here,” Lizzie announced as they stepped into the doorway. “We went shopping today.”

“You did? Did you buy lots of food?” Dylan heard the false-sounding enthusiasm in his voice and grimaced. He would have to try harder if he planned to convince everyone that all was well in his corner of Markston.

“Even yucky stuff like peas.”

The look of horror on the child’s face had the whole table laughing.

“You’re just in time,” Amy said as she came through the swinging door from the kitchen, carrying two steaming bowls of Dylan’s favorite beef stew.

“Here, Jenna, you sit next to Haley.” Amy gestured toward a vacant space. “Dylan, you take your usual spot. We were just about to say grace.”

Dylan felt a flash of annoyance when he discovered that he’d been seated next to Caroline and not Jenna. He chose not to dwell on that thought. Caroline acknowledged him with barely a nod. He wasn’t the only one who’d realized they were matchmaking targets, and she was keeping her head low.

Matthew’s enthusiastic prayer of thanksgiving made him curious, so as soon as he released Caroline’s hand on one side and Mrs. Scott’s on the other, Dylan leaned forward. “So it sounds like we’ve had some success today. Does anyone have a report?”

“Why don’t you two go first?” Haley suggested. “What were the Dentons like?”

Jenna had just started to take a bite, but she lowered her spoon. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. “They were amazing. And those boys were so cute. I just wanted to hug them to pieces.”

Logan didn’t miss a beat. “Haven’t they had a hard enough week already?”

The sound of Jenna’s laughter made Dylan feel warm inside—too warm. If today was any indication, he’d be crazy by the time the holidays were over. “They even volunteered to help with whatever they can, but I don’t know what that would be,” he said.

“We know exactly how they can help,” Caroline declared before suddenly looking Dylan’s way. “I mean…if you think it’s a good idea.”

Dylan couldn’t help but grin. Even the Scott family’s resident control freak had given him a vote of confidence. “Okay, what’s your plan?”

“Matthew convinced one of his friends to allow the Dentons to stay in one of his rental properties rent-free for one year,” Caroline announced.

A chorus of cheers erupted around the table, with Logan throwing in a whoop for good measure.

“That’s amazing, you guys.” Dylan breathed a contented sigh. If all their plans fell together this easily, they would have the Dentons sipping cocoa by their own fireplace by the first of the week.

Matthew lifted his index finger. “There’s one caveat. The house is one of Kevin’s new purchases. It’s going to require work before it’s even inhabitable. Kevin’s willing to split the cost on the materials, but we’ll have to supply all the elbow grease.”

Dylan thought for a minute. This project, which had started as an exercise in hunting and gathering, had just morphed into an undertaking of brawn and sweat. His mother’s warning didn’t seem so out of place now. “I guess Brad and Kelly will appreciate having the chance to help.”

“Many hands make light work.” Mrs. Scott used the old adage she and his mother used to pull out when they were sending their six children off for kitchen duty.

His mother leaned forward in her chair. “So it’s a good thing we have ten pairs of willing adult hands.”

The others chimed in their agreement, but his mother’s response had surprised Dylan the most. “You’re right, Mom. With this many hands, we can do anything.”

He smiled at her, glad to see she was becoming more interested in the charity project. She hadn’t been wild about having her Christmas plans ditched, but he knew better than to think it was because she didn’t want to help a family in need. It was just hard for her to give up the Christmas traditions that were so important to her.

“What needs to be done to the house?” Dylan braced himself as he waited for the answer. Although he and his brothers had learned how to repair things like leaky faucets and holes in walls, which were the results of an absentee dad and overenthusiastic wrestling respectively, he wasn’t qualified to take on advanced plumbing and electrical work.

“Most of it’s cosmetic,” Caroline explained. “Just a deep cleaning and some fresh paint. The place was in pretty bad shape when Matthew’s friend bought it.”

Dylan took reports from the other committees and then asked the two mothers to add researching new and used kitchen appliances to their list, since the house would require them.

“I have a few leads for those things,” Mrs. Scott said.

“Speaking of leads,” Haley began as she hurried to the living room. She returned holding a few pieces of paper. “They gave us these at the food bank. They’re long-term aid sources the Dentons might qualify for. But most won’t be available until after the holidays.”

“Need doesn’t take a holiday,” Dylan groused.

“I found the same thing when I checked with a few of my legal clients to see if they had leads on jobs for Brad and Kelly,” Matthew said. “Basically nothing until after the New Year.”

Dylan shook his head. “Who knew it was so tough to get help?”

“Only the people who really need it.”

Until Jenna answered his rhetorical question, Dylan hadn’t even realized he’d spoken it aloud. He swallowed as he looked across the table at her. The compassion that filled her eyes tugged at his heart with some unnamed emotion. The connection he’d always felt with her was right there again, but it had shifted somehow. This new, kinder Jenna pulled him in a different way, a way that seemed to be even harder to resist.

The room had become quiet except for the carols filtering from the CD player in the other room. To cut the stillness, Dylan turned to Matthew again. “Hey, thanks for looking into job prospects. I’ll check with everyone at church tomorrow and then at work on Monday.”

“Oh, right. Work. Some of us aren’t on Christmas break this week,” Logan joked, earning a frown from Haley, who’d been taking some graduate classes.

“So you two, we’re all dying to know how your work went today,” Dylan said.

“Us?” Haley asked.

“We got along just fine,” Logan retorted.

Lizzie climbed up on her knees in her seat. “But, Mommy, you said Uncle Logan was being ridiculous after he picked up so many cans of ravioli. And Uncle Logan said you picked the bad tuna that trapped dolphins.”

Haley didn’t get the chance to answer before the room filled with laughter, the solemn mood from moments before having disappeared. Dylan took another look at the others seated around his mother’s table. He’d shared a lot of history with the Scott family. He’d hiked down mountain trails, bodysurfed in the Atlantic and taken on the challenges of the newest and fastest roller coasters with Jenna, Haley, Caroline and even Mrs. Scott.

He’d let the painful memories of Jenna obscure the happy times he’d spent with her family. But it didn’t have to be that way. He was determined to have a great Christmas with these people he’d known all his life, doing some good and even sharing a few of his mother’s traditions. If he could keep things in perspective—and keep his heart under control—maybe these holidays wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

The tree looked like a little girl playing dress-up with the contents of her grandma’s jewelry case. Okay, an especially tall little girl, Dylan decided, one who wore more strands of lights, glass balls and novelty baubles than any child needed. If that wasn’t enough, tinsel clung to the branches like some sort of icing explosion. Despite his determination to enjoy tonight’s festivities, Dylan winced at the sight.

After cleaning up dinner together, their families had taken on the challenge of decorating the huge Scotch pine in the living room. Now, as Bing Crosby crooned in the background about the white Christmas they seldom experienced this far south in Indiana, the tree’s branches drooped with so much finery he was surprised none of them had broken. After he’d spent the morning with a family who’d lost everything, the holiday display felt like a symbol of excess.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Lizzie stared up at the monstrosity with awe on her face.

“It sure is, honey.” Amy gave her granddaughter a squeeze.

“It’s amazing, that’s for sure.” Matthewbacked down the ladder he’d used to place the angel on top of the tree.

Dylan tilted his head, trying to see the display from a child’s perspective. What kid could resist all those pretty ornaments and lights? He hadn’t been able to when he was a little boy. Even now he could pick out a few ornaments that he and his brothers had made in Sunday school or bought for their mother by pooling their quarters. Those pieces represented happy memories, even if they were buried beneath tinsel in the chaos of extremes.

“Well, that’s done.”

His mother’s words brought Dylan back to the present. He turned her way as she brushed off her hands.

“Now we can draw names for the gift exchange,” Amy added. “I was thinking we could—”

Dylan held up a hand to stop her. “Wait, Mom. I thought we were going to focus on the Dentons’ Christmas, instead of ours. You know, sacrifice a little.”

“Believe me, we already have.” His mother lifted out her chin, looking offended.

“Sorry, Mom. I know how important all this is to you.”

“Do you?”

The sharp question and the frown came from his mother’s best friend. Usually Dylan appreciated Mrs. Scott’s undying support for his mother, but this time he felt his mother needed to get her priorities straight.

Leaning against the fireplace, Mrs. Scott crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you realize she turned in her third-row Nutcracker tickets so they could be resold?”

Dylan coughed into his hand. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t realized.

“She plans to use those proceeds to add to our project fund.”

Jenna spoke up before Dylan had the chance to recover. “That was so nice of you, Mrs. Warren. I’m sure the Dentons will appreciate every sacrifice any of us make.”

“Sure glad you think so, Jenna,” her mother said. “Because Amy and I returned most of the Christmas gifts we bought for you kids. We have some mall vouchers for you and Dylan to spend when you buy holiday gifts for the Dentons.”

“That’s a great idea.” Jenna looked at Dylan. “I bought mine in Detroit, but most of those stores will be in the mall here, too, so I can return mine. What do you think, Dylan?”

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