A Christmas To Remember (Hero Hearts) Read online

  “Where are the birthday twins?” she asked.

  “Right through here,” he said with a smile.

  She fell into step beside him as she looked around at their home. It was clean and comfortable, with family pictures hanging on the walls and evidence of everyday life in the form of mail, jackets, and drawings strewn about. It was like controlled chaos and looked about the same as her classroom at the end of the day. It must be hard to keep up a house and take care of twins as a single parent.

  They stepped into the living area with a large, open kitchen and a great room that opened up to the backyard where April could see most of her class running around with balloons and streamers.

  Her face split into a grin as she saw Ella trying to show little Lizzie how to hula hoop, and Eric was passing a soccer ball from Kyle to Jake.

  “Miss Summers!” said a voice, and she looked over to see Kyle’s mother, a bubbly woman with red hair and a big smile.

  “Hi, Mrs. Walters,” April said with a little wave and a smile.

  “Oh, please, call me Brenda,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she said warmly. “Oh, it is so nice of you to come and spend time with your class on a weekend. Did Clay invite you?”

  “He did, yes,” April said, glancing over her shoulder up at him.

  A knowing smile passed over Brenda’s pretty face. She turned and touched the man sitting beside her on the couch on the shoulder. “Honey, this is Kyle’s teacher.”

  The man turned and looked up at her and his eyes widened. “Wow, the Miss Summers?” he said, holding out his hand to her. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” April said.

  She was introduced to the rest of the parents she hadn’t met yet, and she was pleased to see that everyone seemed happy to meet her. Many thanked her for her hard work with their children.

  “You are all that Lizzie talks about when she comes home,” said Mrs. Taylor. “You have really helped her to love school.”

  “Yes, I agree,” said Brenda, nodding. “Kyle was terrified of school at the beginning of this year for some reason, and after getting to know you, April, he was happier each and every day. You helped make it easier.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” April said as Clay passed her a glass of fresh lemonade that Brenda and her husband had brought over. She smiled at him, and her heart fluttered as he gave her a wink in return.

  An hour or so later, she was standing in the kitchen helping Clay to cut up the pizzas and divide them up onto plates for the kids.

  “Thanks again for inviting me,” she told him as she put a small square of pizza on another plate that Clay had passed her. “It’s been really nice to get to know everyone.”

  “No problem,” Clay said with a big smile. “I’m glad you could make it. And it seems like everyone else here feels the same way, especially the kids.”

  April smiled, thinking back to when she’d stepped out on the back porch, and Kyle had laid eyes on her and screamed. The others had quickly followed suit, and it was only a few seconds before she was swarmed by tiny hands wrapping around her, trying to push each other out of the way to get to her first.

  “You know, I always knew how much the kids loved you, but I think you being here has really made it that much more special for them,” Clay said as he pulled a two liter of soda out of the fridge, uncapping it. “I know it must have been kind of strange for one of your student’s parents to text you out of the blue like that, but…” he trailed off.

  “No, I’m glad you did,” she said with a smile. “Really. This has been a lot of fun.”

  He was quiet for a second, but she could see a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You know, there was something else I was wondering. I wasn’t sure if you were free or not, but there is this thing next weekend in town for Christmas with all these ice sculptures and lights and a dinner made by this chef I know.”

  Her cheeks flushed as she stared at him, wondering if he was asking her what she thought he was.

  He didn’t look at her as he poured some of the soda into the little plastic cups for the kids. “I have this extra ticket, and my sister has plans with some of her friends next weekend and can’t make it, so, I don’t know, I thought it might be sort of a fun way for you to see Savannah at Christmas time. You know, since this is your first Christmas in Georgia, and all.”

  “I’d love to go,” she said, glad she wasn’t holding anything more than napkins, which had fluttered to the floor near her feet.

  She was amazed how quickly the words had stumbled from her mouth. She hadn’t even stopped to think. Was this wise? Should she be going out with her student’s father?

  “Really?” he asked. The shock on his face told her that he really hadn’t expected her to agree to go out with him.

  She shrugged. “Why not? I think it would be great to have a local be able to show me around the area. You’re right, there is a lot that I haven’t seen yet, and I think it could be fun. I imagine downtown Savannah is stunning at Christmas time.”

  His face split into a broad smile, his blue eyes twinkling. “Great. Then it’s a date.”

  Date.

  She was going out on a date with Clay Barber.

  6

  “You have those roses I asked you to get, right?” Clay asked, tracing his finger over the badging on his steering wheel.

  “Of course,” said the man on the other end of the phone. “They have been trimmed and arranged already and are just waiting in the fridge until your arrival.”

  “Great,” Clay said, glancing at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “You sound nervous,” said the man.

  “I am,” Clay said. “And I don’t even really know why. It’s not like I haven’t been on a date before. I’m acting like a gangly teenager taking the head cheerleader to prom or something.”

  The man on the other end of the phone chuckled. “I’ll see you soon, Clay. Don’t be late picking her up.”

  “I won’t,” Clay said. “I’m sitting in the parking lot of her apartment complex.”

  “Oh, for Heaven’s sake go on and get her. Goodbye.” And the call ended.

  Clay rubbed his hands over his face. Satisfied that he didn’t look like a grizzly bear, he dragged himself out of the front seat of his car and walked up to the front door with the big number seven on it.

  He took a deep breath. You are acting ridiculous, he scolded himself. You hardly know the woman. He hoped, though, that he would know her just a little better.

  He knocked three times, and was surprised when only a few seconds later, April had pulled the door open.

  He nearly swallowed his tongue. She was wearing a knee length green dress that made her hazel eyes pop, and she’d left her hair down and it was swept over one shoulder. A pretty white sweater was thrown over her arm. She smiled up at him.

  “You, uh…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You look great.”

  Her smile widened. “Thank you. You clean up pretty good, too.”

  His stomach did a flip.

  He walked with her back to his car. “I’m sorry we couldn’t take the trooper car,” he said, opening the passenger side door of his off-duty car, an older sedan that looked like it hadn’t been driven more than thirty miles in its entire life. “I know how much you were looking forward to that.”

  “Was it that obvious?” she asked with a smirk as she slid into the passenger side.

  He was nearly giddy as he closed her door and hurried around the side of the car to slide into the driver’s seat.

  As they were pulling out of the parking lot, she turned her big eyes on him. He could have melted underneath her gaze. “So, tell me more about this place we’re going,” she said. “I’m curious to hear more about these ice sculptures.”

  “Well, this is an event put on by one of my friends, Chef Roderick Prager. This restaurant we’re going to has a Michelin star, which it very mu
ch deserves.”

  “Wow, really?” she asked. “That’s amazing. I’ve never been to such a nice restaurant before.”

  He nodded. “He turns the place into a Christmas wonderland every season for his patrons as a way to give back to the community. The people of Savannah have been very loyal. He goes all out. It feels truly magical in there every year.”

  “Oh, my.” April’s eyes were still wide in awe of the idea and the experience she was about to have.

  “I took the kids last year, thinking that maybe they were finally old enough,” he laughed and shook his head. “The food was still too refined for their box macaroni and cheese palates, and while they enjoyed the decorations for a little while, it was too late and they were too fussy. Maybe in a few years we can enjoy it together.”

  “That’s very sweet,” April said.

  “And I thought you might like to see something that really is a staple in this town during the Christmas season,” he said.

  “I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “It’s been weird this year not seeing snow. Being out without a coat, scarf, and boots is also strange.”

  “I can imagine,” Clay said. “Is this your first Christmas away from Missouri?”

  “Yeah,” she said, and he could see a twinge of sadness in her eyes. “But it’s all good, I got to go home for my mother’s birthday at the end of October, and my dad’s birthday is in March, so I’ve already planning to go out there during spring break.”

  “That’s great,” he said.

  They drove along, talking about their families, their lives, and their interests. He was amazed at how frequently they shared similar interests, and how often they both said, “Me, too!”

  He was nearly delirious with excitement by the time they’d arrived at the restaurant. It was a full house that night, but he hadn’t expected anything less. If he wasn’t personal friends with the chef and hadn’t made plans ahead of time with him, then he would have been nervous about bringing her.

  He was still nervous, of course. He was amazed at how desperate he was for everything to be perfect. He really wanted the night to go well, and to make a good impression of himself. He knew his first one hadn’t been great and he was worried that some of that tension between them still hung on.

  She smiled at him as they walked up to the front entrance, which had been transformed with twinkling lights and icicles made from what looked like pieces of cut plastic sprayed with sparkling, frosted paint. It was like stepping through to another world as they entered the restaurant.

  Inside, Clay only had eyes for April. Sure, the lavishly decorated Christmas trees and the garland and ribbons hanging everywhere were spectacular, but he was enjoying her expression of joy and awe as they stepped up to the hostess stand. When Clay gave his name, the hostess grinned at him and told them to follow her.

  They wandered through what looked like a snow-covered forest, where couples dined at tables tucked away between the trees, and then proceeded into a room filled with what looked like falling snow from the ceiling, along with mountains painted in the windows and sparkling stars overhead.

  The hostess walked through a narrow opening in the wall, and Clay and April followed to find a little table draped in a red and gold table cloth nestled against a large bay window that was covered in frosted glass. A vase filled with fresh roses sat in the middle of the table.

  “Here you are,” said the hostess. “Your server will be with you shortly.”

  “Thank you,” Clay said, pulling out April’s chair for her. She grinned up at him; apparently, she appreciated his gentlemanly ways.

  He sat down across from her, and her beautiful face was accentuated by the flickering candlelight on the table, causing her dirty blonde hair to look more like spun gold.

  “This place is marvelous,” she breathed, staring around. More sparkling lights hung from the ceiling, and he noticed one of the ice sculptures was tucked into the window beside them, a reindeer overlooking their table.

  “He really pulled out all the stops this year,” Clay said, looking all over as well. “I’m glad you like it, though.”

  “It sort of reminds me of home,” she said. “This is the first time that it is actually starting to feel a little like Christmas.”

  He smiled at her.

  They ordered some appetizers, and even though he saw her eyes widen at the prices on the menu, he assured her that she could order anything she wanted. They talked more about themselves, about their lives.

  “…And then Eric threw the whole thing right into the tub,” Clay said, laughing.

  April was laughing, too. “I can imagine the whole thing,” she said. “How long did it take you to get all that paint out of the tub?”

  “About a week,” he said. “The kids learned how to use the shower in my room that week.”

  She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Oh, that’s too funny. Wow,” she smiled over at him. “You really are very good with them. And they just adore you.”

  “Not as much as I adore them,” he said.

  She leaned closer to him, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on the back of her folded hands. “Clay, perhaps it isn’t my place to ask, but… what happened to their mother, um, your wife?”

  Clay set down his water glass.

  “I’m sorry if that’s too forward of me to ask, Eric just mentioned something about her to me yesterday in school, and I didn’t know how to respond.”

  He lifted a hand. “No, it’s fine. Really. Jennifer and I met when we were working together. She was high strung, and I was bull-headed. Some said that we were terrible for each other,” he smiled a tight smile. “We had dated a few times here and there, and after she went through a really bad breakup, I joked with her that we should just get married. She seemed to like the idea, so we just went with it. I guess it all happened a little fast.”

  He spun his water glass around by the stem, staring down at his half-finished plate of food. April waited, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts or his story.

  “We did get married, because honestly, I was twenty-six and hadn’t really thought all that much about marriage. She wanted a family, and we got along well enough. And then, she got pregnant with the twins only four months into our marriage. It was a really rough pregnancy, and after she’d given birth to the twins a blood clot moved to her brain. They did surgery to remove it and it seemed like she was going to be okay. Two years later, there was another one. It was fatal.”

  “I’m so sorry, Clay,” April murmured.

  He smiled at her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I had some good times with Jenn. I loved her, but not like I should have. I regret that. But, I think my biggest regret is that the kids didn’t get a chance to know their mom. They really were the best thing to come from that relationship.”

  He cleared his throat, sitting back in his seat.

  “I hate even saying this out loud, but I’ve laid awake many a night wondering if I ever really even loved her, or just the idea of being married, you know?” he asked. “It was more comfortable than the passion in a marriage, I think. And I miss the presence of a woman around the house. I think the kids get lonely sometimes.”

  “I can imagine,” April said.

  He smiled. “Well, I’m hoping that will change soon. I’ve been working hard the last six months or so to get a promotion, and as far as I know, my name’s at the top of the list.”

  “That’s great,” she said. “I hope it works out.”

  He nodded. “I’m hoping so, too. If I can get it, that would mean I could be home with the kids more often, work more reasonable hours. And that would be the best thing for me, too.”

  She smirked across the table, ducking her eyes.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She delayed looking up at him, and when she did, he could see she was sheepish. “You know, I was thinking about calling and canceling on you tonight.”

  His heart twisted in a knot. �
�Really?” he asked. “Why?”

  She shrugged. “I guess I thought it might be strange going out with the father of some of my students, but you know what? I can see now that I would have been really dumb to turn you down. I’m having a great time, and I feel like I’m really getting to know you. I like that.”

  He grinned at her. “Well, you know, you won’t be the kids’ teacher for much longer,” he said. “Come May and they’ll be in third grade.”

  She smiled a coy smile. “That is very true.”

  They finished their dinner, and Clay was certain he’d never had a better first date in his life. He felt like they talked about things that were important. More than that, she knew a truth about him that he’d hardly ever shared with anyone. How he’d really felt about his wife wasn’t something he was particularly proud of.

  He felt like a high schooler once again as he walked with her up to her door. They were both all smiles as they stood there underneath the warm glow of the exterior light. She had hung a pretty wreath on her door adorned with red ribbons and holly berries.

  “I had a really great time tonight,” April said with a smile, brushing some of her beautiful hair behind her ear. He couldn’t get over how thick and luxurious it looked, how it shone in the light, and how it seemed to change color every time she shook her head or laughed.

  He was very aware of the fact that he was enchanted with her. He wasn’t sure if it was the time of year, the low, romantic lighting of the dinner table, or the fact that she just wouldn’t stop smiling at him, but she’d gotten to him. Hook, line, and sinker.

  “I had a great time, too,” Clay said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out like that, just having a good time.”

  She smiled. “Me, too.”

  Clay’s smile grew wider. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had such pleasant company, too.”

  Her eyes darkened, and her smile grew warmer.

  His heart skipped a beat.

  He couldn’t stop looking at her. His heart was in his throat. Her eyes were large, beautiful, like dark sea glass in the heat of summer, washing in the waves, drawing him in like the tide. Her cheeks were rosy, and he was sure it wasn’t from the cold.