The Christmas Miracle

Chapter 3: An Old Flame

The following two days come and go rather quickly. Noah is still giving me the silent treatment and Wyatt keeps to himself in his room. My day consists of working in my room on my article for work and helping prepare dinner.

By day three, I have to get out of the house. I decide to head to the supermarket and pick up some groceries for dinner. Vada was kind enough to let me use her car to drive into town.

After getting the bags loaded up into the trunk of the car, I am halfway into the vehicle when I hear my name being called.

"Lina! Lina Hartley is that you?" The voice is so familiar.

I turn around and find myself staring into the bright blue eyes of Brayden Daniels. My high school sweetheart. "Brayden Daniels," I greet a little tongue-tied. "It's been a long time."

I note that his hair is still the same thick black color, only now it is a tamed from the unruly curls he had as a teenager. I like it. He looks just as handsome as I remember. He gives me his adorable side smile, revealing his dimples.

"It sure has. What brings you home?"

I frown. "My dad."

His face falls. "Shit, I'm so sorry. I heard that he was sick. How bad?"

"Pretty bad," I reveal. "I'm still learning all the details myself."

He nods. "Well, I would love to catch up over a cup of coffee or something. Are you free anytime soon? How long are you in town for?"

"The plan was to stay through until Christmas, but I might extend my trip depending on how everything goes," I explain.

He grabs a card from his wallet, "Here is my business card. It has my cell number on it. Give me a call when you have time." He turns around to head back to his truck. Before getting inside he turns back around and shouts, "If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

I wave and watch as he goes. Brayden Daniels. Wow. Now that's a face that brings back a lot of memories.

We basically grew up together. We met in the second grade and became fast friends. We didn't start dating until my sophomore year of High School. From the time we were eight years old until eighteen we did everything together. The night before graduation he even told me that I was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. I was young and naïve, and I knew that I didn't want to get married that soon. I wanted a life full adventure and to get away from this small town. He wanted to stay and get married and have a family. New York gave me that adventure that I so desperately longed for and after everything, I don't regret leaving. I only regret not coming home more frequently to see my family.

Brayden proposed to me on graduation day in front of my entire family. I couldn't respond, so instead, I ran. Apparently, I run from my problems. A few short-lived therapists of mine had told me that was one of my problems. That I was holding on to too much anger. I am beginning to think they were actually right about me.

I needed to do something to make amends and quickly. Christmas is almost here and nothing in this home felt remotely jolly. Maybe this is how I could truly begin to repair my relationship with my family and make up for all the lost time.

When I arrive back at the house, everyone is sitting in the living room.

I clear my throat. "I have decided that what we need is some Christmas spirit. Cookies, music, lights, and decorations. Let's bring this house back to life."

Noah scoffs, "You are joking, right?"

Vada frowns, "Yeah, Lina. That sounds like a lot of work."