1225 Christmas Tree Lane - Debbie Macomber [44]
In a few years Livvy would be able to go, but for now the toddler, at nearly eighteen months, was too young for Santa in his frightening red suit.
The back door opened, and her husband entered the house. Seth was a blond Swede who towered well over six feet. Just seeing him made Justine’s heart react with a surge of love. She’d never expected to marry, let alone have a family of her own. In fact, she’d gone out of her way to avoid serious relationships…until she’d worked on her ten-year high school reunion. That was when she’d run into Seth Gunderson, who was also on the reunion committee.
She’d known Seth nearly her entire life. He’d been her twin brother’s best friend. As irrational as it sounded, after the accident that claimed Jordan’s life, Justine had wanted to blame Seth. If he’d been with her brother at the lake that day, Jordan might not have died. Seth would have noticed that her brother hadn’t surfaced after diving off the floating dock. He would’ve gone after him. If only Seth had been there….
But he hadn’t. It’d been Justine who’d held her brother’s lifeless body on the dock until the paramedics showed up.
That fateful summer afternoon had forever changed her world.
Seth smiled at her as he stripped off his coat.
She smiled back and felt, as she so often had in the past, that Jordan would have approved of her marrying Seth Gunderson. Through the years, at various times, Justine had sensed her twin’s presence. During those indescribable moments of connection, she hadn’t felt the horrific loss of her brother; instead, she’d felt his blessing. Jordan seemed to be standing right beside her, smiling and happy, teasing her the way he’d once done, full of life and boyish humor.
The first time it’d happened was shortly after she’d given birth to Leif. Still in the hospital, exhausted and woozy from the drugs, she’d closed her eyes. Suddenly, Jordan was there before her, and he wore the biggest, goofiest grin she’d ever seen. He was telling her how happy he was for her and Seth; she was sure of it. She could almost hear him saying how excited he was that they’d decided to name their son after him: Leif Jordan Gunderson.
“Daddy, Daddy.” Leif shot across the room, dropping his handheld computer game on the way, with Penny barking at his heels. “Santa’s coming tonight!”
“He sure is.” Lifting the boy high above his head, Seth nuzzled Leif’s tummy while the little boy squealed in delight.
Hearing her brother, Livvy toddled out, clutching her teddy bear under her left arm, pressing its face against her side. Livvy and that silly bear were inseparable. She’d be getting her first doll from Santa this Christmas. Justine sincerely hoped Livvy would enjoy the doll as much as she did her teddy bear.
“How’s my girl?” Seth asked, setting Leif down and reaching for his daughter. He planted a noisy kiss on her cheek. She, too, squealed with delight.
“Hey, don’t I get one of those kisses?” Justine teased.
“You bet.” He came to her in the kitchen and slipped his arms around her from behind, planting his hands over her still-flat stomach. “How long have you been working in here?”
“A while.” The family cookbook her grandmother, Charlotte Jefferson Rhodes, had compiled, lay open in front of her. Various ingredients, organized according to the recipes, were spread along the counter.
“Seems to me you were in the kitchen when I left for work this morning. Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“Stop worrying, okay?” Hosting the family for Christmas Eve dinner required a lot of extra preparation, but Justine never turned away from a challenge.
“Did you bake those homemade rolls I like so much?” Seth asked, eyeing the covered breadbasket.
“I did that first thing this morning.”
Seth grinned. “I hope you doubled the batch.”
“I did.”
“That’s my girl.”
Justine reached up and kissed him. “I promise you can have as many as you want.”
“How are you feeling?