Chapter 11

Chapter 11

December 25

T here was no coffee basket outside Brandt's door when he opened it. Though he was glad that no one in the Troyer family had gone to the trouble, he was still a little disappointed. He'd barely slept last night. A cup or two of scalding hot coffee would have helped him prepare for whatever Tricia was about to say to him.

What was he going to do when she gently let him down? Not only would he feel the need to escape the Troyers' farm as soon as possible, but Brandt knew that he would probably never return to their Christmas reunion. Oh, he knew he'd get an invitation. Even if Mark didn't deliver it, Abel or Annie would send him a note. They were good and decent people. Kind. They'd offer him a place to celebrate Christmas so he wouldn't have to be alone.

But there was no way he'd be able to take them up on next year's invitation. Christmas was a time of joy and hope. Not a time to dwell on the mistakes he'd made.

Certainly not the time to make lovely Tricia Troyer feel awkward and uneasy.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early?"

Turning on his heel, he spied Carter approaching with a coffee basket in his hand. "I, uh, was just up. What about you?" He noticed then that Carter had on a crisp-looking pair of slacks, a sweater, boots, and a coat. His suitcase was outside his door.

"I'm on my way out." He grinned. "My niece called to tell me that she had her baby two days ago. She invited me over for lunch."

"Hey, that's wonderful. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Looking sheepish, he added, "To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten the baby was due so soon. I'm not going to ignore her invitation, though."

"Of course not." He held out his hand. "It was good to meet you, Carter."

He shook his hand. "Same. I hope to see you again one day."

"That would be great."

"In the meantime, here." He pulled out a business card from a pocket and tossed it in the basket. "Feel free to call, email me, text . . . whenever you have a moment or two to spare. I'd love to keep in touch."

"Thank you. I'll do that."

"And enjoy the coffee."

"You don't want it?"

"Not this morning. Like I said, I'm anxious to get on my way. Plus . . . I think you might be needing it more than me."

Taking the basket from Carter's hand, Brandt grinned. "I'm not going to refuse it. Thanks. And merry Christmas."

"To you, too." Walking over to his suitcase, he called out, "I was serious about staying in touch, Brandt. I want to know what happens between you and your girl."

The lump that had eased in his throat returned in full force. "I'll be sure to let you know." He wasn't sure when he'd be able to do that, though. Receiving Tricia's rejection was going to be hard enough without sharing the news with a man he barely knew.

As Carter waved a hand, then started rolling his suitcase out a side door, Brandt opened the door to the main barn and walked inside.

Right away, two horses popped their heads out of their stalls and a goat bleated.

"Good morning, everyone," he said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

He was so startled he practically dropped the basket. "Tricia!"

Standing next to a stall near the back, she giggled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But come look!"

After depositing his coffee basket on the ground, he strode to her side and looked in the stall. There, nestled against a silky-looking white goat was a tiny one. It was curled in an awkward-looking ball. The little thing—was a newborn goat called a kid? He wasn't sure. Whatever it was called, all he knew was that it was as cute as could be. He smiled at her. "One of the goats had a baby."

"She sure did. I think it took my cousin by surprise. Mark is usually the one who tends to the goats."

Standing next to her, he copied her stance, resting his forearms and elbows on the top of the stall door. "It's a nice surprise though, yes?"

"Oh, jah ." Sounding a bit dreamy, she said, "Even though no one in the family can remember a goat being born in December, it's a blessing for sure and for certain. Added to the fact that it was born in a barn on Christmas Eve, well, it feels right, you know?"

He nodded. His mouth had gone dry. Yet again, he seemed to be mentally unprepared when he was beside her.

"Brandt, would you like to sit down in the same place we were last night?"

"Sure." Noticing that the bench was still in the same spot, he gestured for her to lead the way.

"You got kaffi , too?"

"No, Carter did. He had to leave early so he passed it on to me. I haven't opened the thermos yet," he muttered.

"I'll fix that." Tricia retrieved the basket, deftly opened the thermos, and poured him a cup. "Here you go."

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that."

"I've found that I kind of like looking after you, Brandt."

That sounded positive.

After taking a fortifying sip, he sat down next to her. "I think it's supposed to be the opposite, Tricia. I think I'm supposed to be taking care of you." If she allowed him the honor, of course. "I mean, if we were a couple."

Her expression softened. "You sound worried."

"Of course, I am. I put you on the spot last night with my clumsy speech."

"I think I'm the one who did that by making you wait until early this morning to respond."

"That was your prerogative," he said as he took another sip.

"I suppose." She flashed him a smile before staring straight ahead. "Last night, after we parted, I walked into the house. There must have been a dozen people in the living room chatting with my parents."

"Did you join them?"

" Nee . My mother called out my name, but I told everyone good night. Like you, I wasn't eager to be around a lot of people." She sighed. "Anyway, as I walked into my room and saw my bed waiting for me, right in between my sister's bed and a fold-out cot that one of her friends was using, it occurred to me that I was making everything too hard. I started thinking that maybe I should be a little bit like Mary and Joseph."

She'd lost him. "What do you mean?"

"Even in that crowded room, there was a place for me," she whispered. "It wasn't exactly what I was used to, but it was fine. I had my pillow and quilt and I didn't have to worry about anyone taking it or pushing me out of the room."

"Of course not, it's your room."

" Nee , it's more than that. You see, I started thinking about Mary and Joseph walking into Bethlehem and needing a safe place to stay for the night. Sure, there was no room in the inn, but they made do in the stable. I could be wrong, but I don't think they were worrying about much beyond having that baby and being safe and warm."

"They knew the Lord was going to look out for them."

Turning to face him, she smiled. "He did. Angels came and shepherds and Wise Men, too. And then later, they raised Jesus even though they hadn't been parents before, and he was special. Their best was good enough." She paused. "Don't you think?"

"Well, yeah."

She chuckled. "I guess all that is my roundabout way of telling you that becoming Tricia Holden is going to involve a lot of changes for me, but I know it will be okay. Because I'll have you."

She was saying yes. He was shocked and thrilled and honored. And his heart was so filled with love for this woman. Reaching for her, he said, "You're right. You'll have me and you'll have my heart because I love you."

"And I love you, too."

"So . . ."

"So I'm saying yes to you, Brandt Holden."

He didn't have a ring in his pocket. He wasn't on one knee. There weren't flowers lying beside her or soft music or any of the things that he reckoned a girl wanted when her future husband proposed to her.

But obviously he'd had it all wrong anyway. They didn't need any of that to find a happy life together. Just each other and the willingness to have faith in their future.

They certainly had that.

Some of the light shining in her eyes faded. "Brandt?"

"Sorry, I was just . . ." Oh, what did it matter? Pulling her into his arms, he tasted her lips again. Held her close as he realized that this was just one special moment in many, many of them in their future.

Just as he wrapped one hand around her jaw, pulling her toward him again, the barn door opened.

"Just wait until you see how cute she—" Mark stopped. "Brandt Holden, what are you doing?"

"Looks pretty obvious to me," Abel Troyer said.

Brandt had no idea how many people were standing there, maybe eight? After settling Tricia back on the bench—she'd been practically on his lap—he stood up. "I was . . . well, I was kissing my fiancée."

"Tricia, you agreed to marry this Englischer?" Mervin asked as Tricia got to her feet as well.

"I did, Daed. Just, um, about five minutes ago."

Before Mervin could speak, Abel grinned. "While I reckon there's lots to say, I think all of us should probably give these young'ens a minute or two of privacy, ain't so?"

"Ack," Tricia muttered as everyone started walking back out, except for Mark and his father.

"Are you happy, Tricia?" Mark asked.

"Very happy. As happy as I've ever been."

"That's all that matters then. Right, Daed?" he asked.

"Oh, jah ," Abel said as he threw an arm over Mark's shoulder. "Especially since next year we're only gonna have to worry about having one room to house the two of them. That's a blessing, right? We'll be able to invite another guest."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

When the barn door closed again, Brandt started laughing as he pulled Tricia back into his arms. "If that is a taste of how everyone is going to react, I think we're going to be just fine."

Resting her head on his chest, Tricia nodded. "Very fine indeed. Just about perfect."

"What an amazing, incredible Christmas," Brandt said, though whether it was to Tricia, the animals, or to the Lord above, he didn't know.

He supposed it didn't matter anyway. Everyone already knew it was.

Or maybe what they knew was that every Christmas was amazing and incredible. It was Jesus's birthday, after all.