a matter of fact, my Class A’s were one of the very first things I packed, sis. Along with your Christmas present, of course.”
Kathleen instantly forgot the coffee. She came up behind her brother and, looping her arms around his neck, pressed her cheek against his. “You are going to tell me what it is, aren’t you?”
Nick chuckled wickedly. “Not even a hint.”
“Nick—” Kathleen began to plead, only to have Ella interrupt them.
“Kathleen, the coffee,” she reminded her. “I’m sure Nick could use a cup after his long drive.” The older woman wearily brushed back a wisp of hair. “I never realized getting ready for a wedding would be such a job. And with Christmas, too, I don’t know if we’re going to make it.”
“Of course we’ll make it. Nick’s here to help now,” Kathleen said happily.
Nick merely looked at the two women and laughed. “Me, help? I don’t know anything about weddings. I’d rather march five miles in sleet and snow than go to a wedding.”
“Scared all that love and commitment stuff might rub off, eh?” Kathleen teased.
His sister was so close to the truth it made Nick shift uncomfortably in his chair. “There’s not a man alive that can truly say he likes weddings,” Nick said defensively.
“The groom does, Nick. Isn’t there someone back in Lawton expecting a marriage proposal from you? You could make it a double wedding with Sam, you know, and save Mom a lot of extra work.”
Nick looked pointedly at his sister. “I’m doing just fine, sis. Thanks anyway.”
“I was only hoping,” Kathleen said with a laugh.
Tired of sitting from the long drive across Oklahoma, Nick got to his feet and joined his mother and sister at the work island in the middle of the kitchen.
“Is Old Lady Lee still living?” he asked thoughtfully. “I see Sam planted the fields around her house this year.”
“I’m sad to say she’s in a nursing home now,” Ella told him. “The poor dear could no longer see to take care of herself. And Allison, well, she has all she can do as it is. Still, the little thing feels so guilty about her grandmother.”
Nick turned to his sister in confusion. “Who is this Allison she’s talking about? The only person I ever remember living in that house was Old Lady Lee.”
“Nick!” his mother scolded. “Quit calling her that. You know her name is Martha. My word, she fed you licorice every day of your young life.”
“Yeah, and I hate licorice. But I kept going to see her thinking she’d give me something different,” Nick confessed.
“Oh, my, you were awful,” Kathleen said with a groan.
Nick gave her a wicked smile. “Awful good, sis,” he teased, then asked, “So, who’s living in Old Lady Lee’s house now? There was wood on the porch.”
His mother gave him an impatient look. “Why, Allison, of course! Martha’s granddaughter.”
“She’ll be here tonight for supper,” Kathleen explained, then with an impish smile, she reached up and grabbed his chin. “She’s coming over to help us with some of the wedding preparations.” Still holding on to his face, she glanced at Ella. “Look at him, Mother. Isn’t he the most handsome thing? Who do you think is more handsome, him or Sam?”
Nick made a face at his sister and playfully swatted her hand away.
Ella’s eyes were suddenly misty as she raised on tiptoe to kiss her son’s cheek. “It’s so good to have you home, Nick. Christmas wouldn’t be right if you weren’t here.”
“Of course it wouldn’t,” Nick said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “If I weren’t here, Santa would skip right over the Gallagher house.”
Kathleen quickly switched on the coffeemaker and grabbed him by the arm. “Come on while the coffee perks, Nick, and look at the Christmas tree. We trimmed it just last night and it’s absolutely beautiful.”
* * *
Allison Lee clutched her three-year-old son’s arm with one hand and waved at the day-care worker with the other. “See you in the morning, Cybil.”
“You drive safely, Allison,” the woman replied. “The radio reported rain moving in and the streets are so busy now—everyone is out Christmas shopping.”
Everyone but her, Allison thought wearily as she hustled Benjamin to the car. She appreciated her job as a bank teller, but even when the holidays weren’t going on, her paycheck did well to take care of the necessities of living.
Once Benjamin was safely buckled into his car seat, Allison started the car and headed home. Her route took her down busy Rogers Avenue. As she passed the huge shopping mall to her left, she noticed the parking lot was completely filled with cars.
With a wistful look in her green eyes, Allison thought of the few friends she would like to buy gifts for this Christmas. But it looked as though she’d been lucky to manage getting Benjamin’s toys out of lay-away.
Don’t be feeling sorry for yourself, Allison. You have a warm roof over your head and a beautiful, healthy son. That’s more than lots of people will have this Christmas.
The reminder made Allison shake back her long strawberry blond hair with a proud toss of her head. She wasn’t a person who whined or thought she deserved more than her fair share of things. She was doing the best she could as a single mother, and if her friends didn’t understand, then they weren’t her friends.
“I’m hungry, Mommy. Let’s eat.”
Allison glanced back at her son. He wasn’t a chatterbox, but when he did talk, his meaning was clear.
“As soon as we get home I’ll fix something, honey,” she promised, then suddenly remembered she was supposed to go to the Gallaghers’ tonight. Two days ago Ella had asked Allison if she could come over and help get things ready for Sam and Olivia’s wedding. Then this afternoon she’d called again to tell her that Nick had surprised everyone by coming home early, and that they’d be expecting her and Ben by six-thirty.
Allison stifled a tired groan at the idea. She’d had an extremely long shift working the drive-in window at the bank, and the steady stream of customers had scarcely let up throughout the day. Her head was fuzzy and her neck and shoulders ached from sitting in one position. A can of soup and bed was all she needed or wanted tonight.
But the Gallaghers were so wonderful to her that Allison could hardly ignore the invitation. Since she’d moved into her grandmother’s house, they’d taken her in and treated her almost like a family member. Benjamin felt at home there, too, and ever since S.T. had taken him for a ride on the tractor, he thought the older man was Santa Claus himself.
She glanced once again at her son. “How would you like to eat with Ella and S.T. tonight, Ben?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Tractor ride!”
Allison
