Craig looked away for a moment, then said, a question in the words, “The sign…it still reads Hudson & Son.”
“One of my boys moved out here with me, and he works here, too. He’s off tonight, though. He has little kids and, well, you know. It’s Christmas Eve, he’s got a lot to do. I needed to be here alone today, anyway.”
“Yeah,” Craig said huskily, feeling awkward again. He cleared his throat and looked into the jeweler’s cases. “You’ve got some beautiful pieces here.”
“Thank you.”
“That solitaire…”
“Are you thinking about getting married?”
Craig looked at him and felt the oddest little tug in his heart. Was he thinking about it? Hell, yeah!
But was she?
He was scared. He knew all too well how many things could be stolen. Possessions, of course. Even life. But not the things that mattered in life, not unless you let them be stolen. Morality, love, belief in one’s self…these things were forever.
Would she say yes?
He would never know if he didn’t take the plunge.
“I’d like to see it,” he said firmly. “Although I’m not sure I can afford it on a cop’s salary.”
“They owe you a big raise, if you ask me,” Hudson said.
Craig flashed a smile. “Thanks. But it doesn’t actually work that way.”
“I can give you a price on that ring you can’t refuse,” Hudson told him.
“I—No, you don’t have to.”
“Humor me,” Hudson said. “Let’s honor my dad. The value isn’t in the thing, it’s in what you do with the thing, remember?”
“Thanks,” Craig told him. “Thanks very much.”
Twenty minutes later, Craig drove up the Gray-stones’ driveway, parked and got out of his car. He looked up at the sky and shook his head. This was a very different winter, thank God.
It was evening, but he could see the stars. Millions of them. The air was crisp, and there was snow on the ground. It was a beautiful night.
As he headed up the walkway, he could hear the music. Someone was playing the piano—Skyler, he was certain. Frazier’s violin and David’s rich baritone could be heard.
What a year it had been.
They had never gone back. Just forward.
Life was day to day. You laughed, you cried, you got resentful. You were thrilled, furious, jealous…a million different things. It was different, it was the same. Sometimes there was darkness. And sometimes there were special days, special times. Like Christmas.
He heard Paddy’s laughter, followed by Sheila’s. They had gotten married six months ago, saying they were both far too old to mess around with a long engagement.
The O’Boyles had wound up keeping the house on Elm, even though at first Skyler had wanted to sell it, would even have given it away.
Kat was the one who had said she wasn’t going to allow anyone else’s evil to steal what had made her happy. Skyler had thought about that for a while, and in the end they had kept the house, though they had completely redone the kitchen.
Even so, they had decided not to have Christmas Eve dinner there and had gratefully accepted Lydia Graystone’s invitation.
As Craig headed toward the door, it opened. And there was Kat, fiery hair blazing in the moonlight, her eyes bright with welcome.
“You’re late,” she announced, but she was all smiles as she ran into his arms.
He started to speak, to tell her about going by the jewelry store on the way, then decided that could come later.
“Merry Christmas,” he said simply. “Merry, merry Christmas.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-0787-9
THE LAST NOEL
Copyright © 2007 by Heather Graham Pozzessere.
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Heather Graham, The Last Noel
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