“She does.” Vanessa held back her tears this time. Introducing her daughter to a man other than Alan was not something she had ever planned to do. Still, here they were, and all she could do was believe Sadie would see in Ben what she herself had seen in him from the beginning. Not just that he looked like Chris Pratt inGuardians of the Galaxy. But more than that. How Ben was a godly, kind man. Someone they could both trust.
Sadie reached them. She turned to her mom first andimmediately noticed the Christmas ring. “Mom! How did you... ?”
“Ben found it. I’ll tell you later.” Vanessa hugged her daughter. “Sadie, I’d like you to meet Ben Miller.”
Tears flashed in Sadie’s eyes, but her smile was genuine. She held out her hand and then changed her mind and hugged Ben. “Nice to meet you, Ben.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Ben clearly understood the depth of the situation. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”
Sadie nodded. “Me, too.”
Hudson walked up then and Vanessa introduced him as well. Ben shook Hudson’s hand. “Thank you for your service, Hudson. We’d be nothing as a country without people like you.”
A glimmer of light filled Sadie’s teary eyes, and Vanessa could tell—Sadie liked Ben already. The four of them moved to the dance floor.
“Hudson’s quite the dancer.” Sadie’s tone was light, her spirit clearly filled with joy. She grinned at Vanessa. “Not sure you knew that.”
“Well.” Vanessa gave Ben a flirty look. “I think the real test is going to be which of the guys can dance better. Ben here... he’s got some moves, right?” She led Ben out onto the dance floor next to Sadie and Hudson. “That’s what you told me. Remember?”
Ben chuckled, reluctant as Georgia snow in December. “I was teasing. Didn’t I say that?”
“You didn’t.”
Both couples began to dance, and from across the way, Vanessa saw Maria and Leigh give her a thumbs-up. Withher hand Leigh made the phone call sign and mouthed,Call me later.
Vanessa laughed and Ben followed her gaze. “I think Leigh wants answers.”
“She can wait.” Vanessa slipped her arms around Ben’s neck and stayed close to him that way through the entire song.
Hudson and Sadie showed off their own moves and even drew an audience. But when the song ended, Vanessa still hadn’t noticed whether Ben could dance or not. It didn’t matter.
He was here and he was in her arms. God had brought him back to her, and God had found her Christmas ring, too. More than that, Ben was in love with her. And she was in love with him. Sadie had met Ben and she liked him.
Vanessa could never ask for a better Christmas than that.
Four Years Later—Christmas Eve
Vanessa still couldn’t believe how fast time had flown. In the spring she and Ben would be married four years. The engagement had been fast, but she and Ben were good with that. Time was short. They knew that better than anyone.
After a lifetime in Marietta, Georgia, Howard Miller had taken a liking to Columbus, and with the proceeds from selling the antique shop, he and Ben had purchased twice the space in Old Town. Howard’s cousin Gary had moved to Columbus, too. They were all one big family now. And Millers’ Antiques was not just an antique storethat specialized in vintage Christmas pieces. They also had a bookstore. One that featured Christmas books.
Across the church Vanessa saw Howard and Gary sitting in the third row. She couldn’t get enough of the two. She had even learned to play chess. Mostly so Howard would have someone to beat.
The music began to play, and one by one the couples in the bridal party came down the aisle. Ella and Cami and Bella, from Reinhardt. Every one of them was beaming.
After all, they had more than a wedding to celebrate today. Hudson Rogers was home for good. He had finished his four years with the Rangers, and now he was part of the training team at Fort Benning.
For a moment Vanessa looked down at her hands, at the Christmas ring on her right finger and the vintage diamond wedding band on the other. Sadie hadn’t wanted the Christmas ring yet. Maybe when she gave birth to her first child a few years from now, she had told Vanessa. That was fine. Vanessa had gone without it for years. She was more than happy to wear it now.
She looked around again. Yes, God had answered all her prayers. Life hadn’t turned out how either she or Ben had planned. But God’s plans were still good. Better than Vanessa or Ben ever could’ve dreamed.
Every now and then, she and Ben would take a walk and try to imagine what their lives would’ve been like if she hadn’t come through the doors of his store for that Christmas-in-July sale. What if Sadie hadn’t gone to Reinhardt or Vanessa hadn’t needed gasoline right at that Marietta stop?
But there was no point thinking about such things. God had ordered their steps and here they were. At another momentous occasion, one Vanessa had prayed about since Sadie was born.
A different song began to play, the traditional wedding march. The doors at the back of the church opened and there she was, her Sadie girl. She was dressed in the most gorgeous white gown, and holding her hand in the crook of his arm was the man Vanessa loved.
Ben Miller.
