23. Jillian

Jillian stood in the church sanctuary nearly a week after Christmas, with Josie by her side. They both gazed out over tables of carefully organized books, bathed in beautiful hues of gold, red, and green light from the stained-glass windows.

“We did it,” Josie breathed.

“Your grandmother is a miracle worker,” Jillian told her, meaning it.

It was incredible to see how much this space had been transformed over the last few days in preparation for the sale. And she was planning to transform it again in a week.

Just like he promised, Brad was making sure they had the small church wedding Jillian wanted, with all his family there to celebrate with them. He had even surprised her by flying her sister, Rachel, and baby Duncan out already. The two of them were going to stick around for a few weeks, since Rachel’s husband was away .

It was the most time the sisters had enjoyed together in years, and the best wedding gift Brad could have given her.

And soon, there would be a gold band on Jillian’s finger to match the engagement ring, and her heart was full to overflowing every day.

“Volunteers,” Annabelle called out from the front of the church.

Everyone stopped chattering to listen.

“We’re going to open the doors now,” Annabelle said, a warm smile on her face. “For any first-time volunteers, it’s going to be wild for about an hour. Our job now is just to stay out of the way, and help out when people ask or look lost.”

Jillian glanced down at Josie. But the young girl looked absolutely game for anything.

A few days ago, she had admitted to Jillian why she was acting sad when she came home from school. And although she knew she should be stern about dishonesty, Jillian hadn’t been able to hold in her laughter.

“For heaven’s sake,” Jillian had said between giggles. “ All the other kids were waving to you. Why didn’t your dad and I figure this out on our own?”

Josie had only shrugged, and Jillian wrapped her in a warm embrace.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to leave you after all,” she whispered in her ear.

“Is that why you’re marrying my dad?” Josie had whispered back. “Or do you actually think he’s handsome?”

Jillian just wanted to melt into laughter again at that, but Brad was right there, and she was pretty sure he’d heard the question.

“You might not want to hear this,” she whispered to Josie. “But your dad is the handsomest man I’ve ever seen.”

“ Ewwwww,” Josie laughed, pretending to be grossed out. But she hadn’t wrinkled her nose or shook her head, so Jillian knew she was only teasing.

“Plus, I just adore his amazing daughter,” Jillian added.

They had passed the rest of that day uneventfully, but when it was time to watch their usual Christmas movie, Josie abandoned her middle seat on the couch, and made Jillian sit between them, so she could hold hands with Brad.

Things were definitely changing. But not enough to be scary, it turned out. Life wasn’t so different from before, after all. They had both been looking forward to this book sale, and now here they were, together.

“Here we go,” Annabelle called out as she headed out to open the doors.

“Do you think Aunt Rachel and baby Duncan will be the first ones in?” Josie asked.

“I think they’re just walking around since Duncan won’t nap,” Jillian told her. “But I’m sure they’ll be by to check out the baby section as soon as he settles down.”

“What about Dad?” Josie asked.

“He was helping the firefighters with the barbecue earlier,” Jillian said thoughtfully.

She really hoped he would come by at some point to admire all the work Josie had put into the sale. The sound of many, many footsteps was already echoing out in the entryway, but this was important.

“Sorry, Josie,” she said. “I just need to do one thing.”

“Now ?” Josie asked.

But Jillian was already typing away on her phone.

I know you’re helping with the burgers and dogs, but I would love it if you could come in and see the sale before too many books are gone. I can tell that it would mean a lot to Josie.

She sent her message, paused a moment, and then sent one more.

It would mean a lot to me too, actually.

Smiling, she went to put her phone away again, but it lit up with an incoming message.

Turn around.

She turned to find him standing right behind her, smelling like delicious grilled treats, with a big smile on his face.

“I wouldn’t have missed this for anything,” he said.

“I know,” she told him. “But I’m trying to get better about asking for what I want.”

“ That’s my girl,” he said, pulling her close for a quick embrace.

“ Dad, ” Josie said happily, launching herself into the hug and then detaching quickly. “You’d better look around before everyone buys everything.”

There were so many books on the tables that it should have been a ludicrous idea. But townsfolk were rushing around, exclaiming over covers and stuffing volumes into their reusable shopping bags like they might never see another book again.

And the prices were more than fair, with the proceeds going to a good cause, so Jillian couldn’t blame them. She had plans to do a little shopping herself once the town had picked through everything.

“Go on,” she told Josie. “I’ll hold down the fort over here.”

She and Josie had been assigned to the Parenthood section. So far, it was pretty calm, with readers easily able to find the most popular titles.

She was just wondering if anyone would ever need her help when Susan Grentz came bustling up with a smile on her face.

“Oh, Jillian,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. I heard back from my agent this morning and she has someone who would like to talk with you.”

“Really?” Jillian breathed.

“Now it’s just a conversation,” Susan warned her. “But this agent specializes in middle grade and YA. So worst case, I’ll bet she can give you wonderful advice as far as what to do next. And who knows, maybe she’ll be interested in representing you.”

“This town,” Jillian heard herself say.

“What about it?” Susan asked.

“I don’t know,” Jillian said, shaking her head. “ Something about being here seems to be making all my dreams come true.”

“Oh, you’re doing all that, honey,” Susan laughed. “You loved and cared for that man and his daughter like they were your family, and now they are. And those books you wrote are charming.”

“Well, I couldn’t have written them without Josie,” Jillian said firmly. “If anything happens with them, we’ll work on it together.”

“Work on what together?” Josie asked, skipping up and looking happy.

Brad followed behind her, a stack of books in his hands.

“Our picture books,” Jillian told her. “If Susan’s agent’s friend thinks they ought to be published, then it will be our project together.”

“A mother-daughter project?” Josie asked, her eyes dancing.

“ A mother-daughter project, ” Jillian echoed softly, tears prickling her eyes as a wave of emotion rolled over her heart. Again . Josie sure knew how to push her buttons.

But the girl seemed to be pushing her own buttons too, because she came in for another tight hug.

“I’m going to be surrounded by authors,” Brad said.

“Getting some reading material made in-house ought to be good for your book budget,” Susan teased, eyeing the stack of books in his hands.

“Books keep kids out of trouble,” Brad said defensively. “That’s my mom’s motto.”

“I like that,” Susan said. “I think I’ll make it my motto too. Books keep people out of trouble. ”

Josie giggled at that.

“I’ll email you her info,” Susan said, turning to Jillian. “Get in touch as soon as the sale is over, okay?”

“Definitely,” Jillian told her. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Well, Sarah down at the bookshop gave me the push I needed to catch my second wind,” Susan said with a smile. “We have to help each other out.”

Josie scampered off after Zeke, who had just appeared in the kids’ stacks.

“And she’s gone,” Brad said, shaking his head.

“She was a very helpful volunteer,” Jillian told him. “But she is only nine, and she has cousins around now. It’s everything you wanted for her.”

The rest of the sale went well, and Jillian enjoyed feeling like she was part of something in the town that was now her home.

That evening, Jillian tucked Josie in, as usual.

Moose leapt onto the bed and curled up on the blanket at Josie’s feet, as if he were exhausted too.

“Do you think we’re going to publish a book one day?” Josie asked for about the hundredth time, patting Moose’s silky fur for a moment.

The call with Susan’s agent’s friend, Billie, had gone well. There hadn’t been anything set down for sure, but Jillian felt confident that they had a new friend who was full of excellent advice, if nothing else .

“I don’t know,” Jillian told her honestly. “If we didn’t, would that matter a lot to you?”

“You wrote them just for me,” Josie said, shaking her head.

“Does it bother you to share them with other people?” Jillian asked.

“I really liked it when Aunt Caroline was reading them to the children,” Josie said, smiling at the memory. “I like the idea of sharing them with other kids.”

“Then we’ll do that somehow,” Jillian told her. “Whether it’s with a big publishing house, or we do it ourselves and give them out for free. Deal?”

“Deal,” Josie said.

“I love you, Junebug,” Jillian said.

“I love you, Mom ,” Josie whispered.

That earned her another hug, whether she wanted it or not. Hearing that word out of Josie’s mouth always filled her with emotion.

She slipped out, closing the door behind her, and leaning against it with her eyes closed for a moment.

Sometimes the way her life was coming together was overwhelming. Could any one person deserve all this happiness? What did you wish for when all your wishes had come true?

“You okay?” Brad asked softly as he came out of the bathroom.

He still smelled like hamburgers from his time manning the grill, but there was a faint whiff of toothpaste about him now too, and it made her smile.

“I’m so happy,” she told him honestly. “Sometimes I’m just… overwhelmed. ”

“She’s an amazing kid,” he said, his eyes sliding to Josie’s door.

“And you’re an amazing man,” Jillian said, making the mistake of meeting his eyes.

“Let’s go check for deer,” Brad suggested, taking her hand and leading her downstairs.

Her heart pounded, but she felt grateful to him. They had agreed not to let things get physical until after the wedding next week. And other than a few stolen kisses, they had kept their promise to each other.

They reached the first floor together, and Jillian marveled at how peaceful the house felt at night, with the table lamps glowing cozily, and the lights on the Christmas tree still twinkling.

Brad moved to the sofa under the big window, kneeling on the seat with his arms resting on the back so he could look out into the night. Jillian smiled and knelt beside him, taking in the peaceful view. The ice had melted, but there was still snow. It seemed to almost glow in the moonlight.

Jillian started to say something about how nice this was, but Brad put a hand on hers and nodded out the window before she had a chance. Jillian followed his gaze and saw the trio of deer from before, munching on some greenery poking through the snow.

They watched the beautiful creatures in silence for a minute. It had been fun to use the idea of looking for deer as an excuse to steal a quiet moment here and there, but Jillian honestly hadn’t expected to see them again. With the house occupied now, she figured they had simply moved on .

“Why do you think they came back?” she whispered.

Brad seemed to think it over for a few seconds.

“I think they just know that this is the perfect place to be a family,” he told her.

She gave his hand a squeeze, soaking in the idea of their own little trio.

“I’m sorry I waited so long,” Brad said, his voice breaking on the last word. “I only wanted to love you, from the moment I met you. It took everything I had to hold back.”

“That’s part of what I’ve always loved about you,” she said, turning to him. “You’re a powerful man, and you were my boss. We hardly knew each other, but you were already trying to do the right thing.”

He nodded, his jaw still tight.

“Besides, it’s all part of our story now,” she said with a smile. “And I wouldn’t change a word of it, not if it brings us all right here.”

His gaze softened and he bent to press his lips to hers in a sweet, chaste kiss.

Jillian closed her eyes as the magic of his love swept through her, lifting her heart.

***

Thanks for reading Architect’s Christmas Nanny!