The Homespun Holiday (17 page)

“Well, I was just thinking, we’ve
got two hours blocked out for lunch tomorrow.  I could call Pastor Adams and if
you think we could get our marriage license in enough…”

“Already have the marriage license
arranged.  I’ve scheduled time with the County Clerk to get the documents
done.  We can pick it up tomorrow,” Mack cut her off.

Millie raised her eyebrows.  “You
were that sure that I’d say yes to you?”

“I was that hopeful that you’d say
yes.  I was prepared to beg, Millie.  Fortunately, it didn’t come to that,” he
shared with a chuckle.

“Damn, I’d have paid money to watch
you beg,” she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she rested her head
against his shoulder.

“Too late.  You already agreed to
marry me, and I’m holding you to it,” Mack rumbled, his arm contracting around
her shoulders.  “I don’t think you understand how badly I want you and
Paisley.  Now, continue with what you were suggesting for tomorrow,” he
directed firmly, pressing a kiss to her temple.  “I think I like where you were
going with things.”

“I just thought that I could call
Pastpr Adams and he could perform our ceremony over our lunch break.  We’d be
married by Christmas as long as you don’t mind your anniversary being on
Christmas Eve.”

Mack’s face brightened.  “I
definitely
don’t mind that.  In fact, I love the sound of your plan.  Call your
minister first thing in the morning, Mills.  That’s an order.”

Millie rolled her eyes.  “Aye, aye,
captain,” she declared with a smart salute.

“Just think, we could surprise
Paisley on Christmas morning.  She’ll get every single thing she wants for
Christmas in one fell swoop.”

Stiffening, Millie turned on her
side and looked at Mack.  “What are you talking about?”

Smiling, Mack shook his head.  “Oh,
just a little discussion Paisley and I had a couple days ago about her
Christmas wish.  It seems that our girl desperately wants a daddy for Christmas
like Heaven and that kid, Izzy, have.  She seemed to think that maybe she
hadn’t been good enough since Santa didn’t bring her one last year.”

Millie closed her eyes.  “Oh, man,”
she whispered.  “I didn’t realize not having a father bothered her so much,”
she whispered, dropping her head against Mack’s chest.  “I’m a terrible momma.”

“Bullshit,” Mack replied tersely,
his hand going to the nape of her neck and tightening slightly.  “You are the
best mother I’ve ever seen.  You’ve raised an exceptional young child
completely on your own.  She’s perfect, just as her mother is, and I’d
appreciate it if you’d quit criticizing my future wife.”

Millie smiled faintly as she lifted
her head.  “I didn’t know how badly the absence of a daddy was hurting her.”

“Honey, I don’t think it’s
something she spent a lot of time thinking about.  All this business about Christmas
wishes has just brought it to the front of her mind.  And as of tomorrow,
she’ll have a daddy.  One that loves her above anything in the world.  One that
is
never
going to walk out on her.  But most importantly, one that comes
with a pretty purple tea set for four.”

“Huh?” Millie grunted, tilting her
head as she stared at him with a bemused expression.

“Just wait and see, baby.  Wait and
see.”

Friday, December 25

Christmas Day

“Momma!  Dr. Mack!” Paisley squealed
from the doorway to the living room.  “He came!  Santa came!” she screamed
excitedly as she jumped up and down.  Still dressed in her Sofia the First
cartoon pajamas, she looked over her shoulder as her rumpled mother and Dr.
Mack hurried down the hall, both bleary eyed and yawning. 

“Merry Christmas, baby girl,”
Millie greeted her daughter, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as she
peered into the living room.  She loved seeing her daughter’s face first thing
on Christmas morning.  It never failed to warm her heart and knowing that she
was now going to get to share that with her new husband only made it better,
she thought to herself as she glanced down at the wedding ring now nestled
beneath her engagement ring.  Knowing there was a matching band on Mack’s
finger put an even wider smile on her already happy face.

“Boy, you must have been a pretty
awesome kid, Squirt,” Mack’s deep voice surmised from behind Millie and
Paisley.  “It looks like Santa’s sleigh threw up all over the living room.”

“Ewww, that’s gross, Dr. Mack,”
Paisley groaned, scrunching her tiny nose as she looked up at him. 

“I agree,” Millie chided with a
reproving look over her shoulder.  “Gross.”

Mack offered his wife a lazy
smile.  “I’m a doctor.  Not much is gross to me.”

“Still,” Millie admonished as she
followed Paisley into the living room, “Let’s leave the talk of throwing up at
the door, okay?”

“Momma, look at all the presents,”
Paisley yelled, gesturing toward the Christmas tree where gifts spilled out
into the floor.  “Can I open one?  Please?” the five-year-old begged, pressing
her hands together under her chin. 

“I don’t know,” Millie drawled. 
“You know we’re supposed to have Christmas breakfast with the whole family
first.  Then, once everyone is full, we open gifts.”

“Just one, Momma,” Paisley begged
hopefully, her big eyes round with excitement. 

“Yeah, Momma,” Mack murmured
against her ear, slipping an arm around Millie’s waist and pulling her against
his chest.  “Just one,” he said softly, nuzzling behind her ear.

“Okay,” Millie conceded, sharing a
private smile with her husband as he pulled a pretty wrapped gift from behind
his back.   She stepped to the side so Mack could kneel in front of Paisley.

“I’d like you to open this one
first, Princess,” Mack requested, holding out the slim box to the little girl.

“You gots me a gift, Dr. Mack?”
Paisley asked, her little face beaming as she took the present from his hand
eagerly. 

“I got you a few,” he replied
blandly, watching her small expressive face as she peeled the paper off her
gift.  Grinning when she reached the thin black box, he watched her take the
lid off.

“Ooooohhhhh,” she drawled, her eyes
wide on the sparkling jewelry in the box.  “It’s a bracelet!  Dr. Mack got me a
bracelet, Momma!”

Millie blinked back tears as she
watched her daughter reverently lift the jewelry from the box.  “I see,” she
said with a smile.

”This,” Mack began, taking the
silver bracelet from Paisley and showing it to her, “is what is called a charm
bracelet.  Every year, at Christmas and on other special occasions, we’ll get a
charm to add to each of these little links.  See,” he said, showing her the
only charm on the bracelet.  “Here’s the one for this Christmas,” he explained.

“It’s a teapot,” she whispered,
biting her lip as she looked up at Mack’s face.  “Santa brought a teapot for my
bracelet.”

“He did,” Mack agreed with a gentle
smile.  “He also left you something in the dining room that I think you should
see,” he remarked, blinking back his own tears as he gently turned Paisley toward
the arched doorway where the small dining room table was located.

Running toward the darkened dining
room, Mack and Millie exchanged a soft look as Mack took her hand in his and
followed the sound of Paisley’s thrilled screams. 

Entering the room a second later,
the first teardrop escaped Millie’s eye as she watched her daughter’s face as
she lifted a trembling hand to lightly touch the lavender porcelain teapot on
the table. 

“Is this for me, Momma?” she asked,
her voice small, but hopeful.

Millie tried to swallow the lump in
her throat as she nodded at her daughter’s question.  “Yes, baby.  It’s yours. 
You’ve got to be careful though.  It’s a real tea set and it’ll break if we’re
not careful.  But, that’s not everything Santa brought you,” she said,
motioning her daughter toward her as she felt Mack’s presence behind her.

“It’s not?” Paisley asked in a tiny
voice, her little eyes clouding with tears.

“What did you ask Santa to bring
you with your tea set, baby?” Millie asked thickly, trying to hold back her own
tears as she watched two fat teardrops roll down her daughter’s full cheek.

“A daddy,” the little girl
whispered to her momma.  “I asked Santa to bring me a daddy,” she repeated as
her eyes went from her momma to the man standing behind her. 

“Santa got your message, Princess. 
Yesterday, while you were with your grandparents, your momma and I saw a
minister who married us,” Mack explained patiently, showing her his wedding
ring before hooking her bracelet around her narrow wrist.  “I made a promise to
both God and Santa that I’d love your mother for the rest of our lives.  And
you know what else?” Mack’s heart constricted as Paisley shook her head
exuberantly, her brown hair flying about her shoulders.  “Well, I made God and
Santa that same promise about you,” he said, gently poking her belly with his
index finger.  “I swore that I’d love and take care of you for the rest of your
life.”

“That’s what a daddy does,” Paisley
whispered loudly, her eyes dilating as she took a small step toward Mack,
reaching for his hand.

“Yeah, it is.  See, I interviewed
for that daddy job with Santa and he agreed that I was the best guy for the
position,” Mack informed the child…
his
child as he took her smaller
hand in his.  “You okay with me being that daddy you wanted, Princess?” 

Nodding eagerly, Paisley threw her
arms around Mack’s neck and clung to him for dear life.  “Yes, please!” she
said against his ear as her little head kept nodding against his shoulder.

Millie watched as Mack gathered
Paisley tightly against his chest and lifted her into his strong arms as he
stood, unashamedly shedding more than a few tears of his own.  Biting her lip
to keep from sobbing, she moved to his side, rubbing her hand up and down
Paisley’s heaving back.  Her little girl was overwhelmed and holding onto
Mack’s neck like he was the last lifeline in a churning ocean.  “It’s okay,
sweetie.  He’s not going anywhere.”

Mack’s arm contracted around his
new daughter.  In that moment, he knew there would be nothing, ever, that he
wouldn’t do for this child.   She might not have been his baby by blood, but
she was certainly his child in his heart.  And she had been for far longer than
she would ever realize.  “Your momma’s right, Princess.  I’m here to stay.  I’m
not leaving you.  Not ever, kid.”

It took several minutes for their
small, new family to calm, but finally, Paisley lifted her head to stare down
into Mack’s eyes.  “I’m glad Santa picked you,” Paisley announced with a
satisfied nod.  “Now you aren’t Dr. Mack.  You’re Dr. Daddy.”

“How about we just shorten that down
to ‘Daddy’, Squirt,” Mack suggested with a wink, kissing her warm forehead.

“Okay, Daddy,” Paisley affirmed in
a whisper.  “I can’t believ-ed my Christmas wish comed true.”

Mack just grinned because he
intended to make all her wishes come true ... for both her and her mother. 
“Well, I think we all need to get dressed before your two grandmas and your
grandpa get here.  Not to mention both your crazy aunties.”

“Do they know you married us yet,
Daddy?” Paisley asked with a toothy grin.

“Not yet.  You wanna help me make
the announcement?” he asked, setting her back on her feet.

“Uh huh,” Paisley replied
enthusiastically. 

“Okay, then.  Go get dressed before
they get here,” Millie ordered, stroking her daughter’s tangled hair.  “I put
your outfit on your dresser.  Remember to brush your teeth
and
your
hair, Little Miss.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Paisley agreed before
running full tilt toward her room.

Rising, Mack faced Millie with a
satisfied grin, wiping at his own damp cheeks before doing the same to hers. 
“We did it, Mrs. Daniels.  You’re mine, and she’s mine. My very own brand new
wife and daughter.   Merry Christmas to me.”

“No, Mack,” Millie corrected softly
with a blinding smile of her own.  “Merry Christmas to
us
.”

Epilogue

One Year Later:  Christmas Eve

What a difference a year could
make, Dr. Mack Daniels thought to himself as he watched his daughter watch her
mother in her acting debut as the Virgin Mary.  Heavily pregnant with their
child, Millicent was due to give birth to his son any time now.  Colin Anderson
Daniels would join his sister, Paisley, to make them a family of four. 

Shaking his head as he watched his
wife waddle toward the baby Jesus’ manger, he couldn’t believe that this was
now his life.  Nativity scenes in the Paradise town square ... he could hardly imagine
it himself.

“You look inordinately happy there,
Big Brother,” he heard Bree tease from beside him. 

Glancing down at his sister, he
grinned as the cold winter air blew around them.  “Just thinking how much my
life has changed.”

“You’re telling me,” she scoffed,
nodding her head.  “From a grumpy bachelor to a married man with a six-year-old
daughter and a son on the way.  All in a scant year’s time.  If I hadn’t been
here to witness it firsthand, I’d have sworn it wasn’t possible.”

Nodding his agreement, he suddenly frowned
as he watched Millie bend slightly and press a hand to her swollen stomach.  He
relaxed slightly a second later when he saw her turn to speak to their
daughter.  “Where’s our mother?” he asked his baby sister.

“Who knows?  Last I saw her, she
and Miss Orla were taking hits off the flask Miss Orla had in her purse.  For
all I know, we’ll have to bail them both out of jail before the nights over
unless Zeke takes some mercy on us,” she said with a friendly wave toward the nearby
Sheriff.

 “I still can’t believe Mom took me
up on my offer to build a mother-in-law suite over the garage, but I can’t deny
it’s been a godsend.  She’s been a huge help with Paisley since Millie got
pregnant,” Mack admitted, shifting slightly as the crowd grew around them. 
“I’m not sure what I would have done without her the last month or so.”

“Yep.” Bree nodded, pulling her
scarf tighter around her neck.  “We’re definitely one big happy family.  
Frowning as she watched the live Nativity scene ahead of them with the rest of
the town, she tried to remain calm as she asked her brother, “Mack, is there
any particular reason that Millie is hanging off that cow’s back?”

At the same time Bree was asking
her question, Mack spotted his excited daughter weaving through the crowd. 
“Daddy,” she called, running toward him, her red scarf flying behind her. 
“Momma said she needs you.  Now!”

Looking up from where he’d been
checking his phone for messages, Mack’s jaw dropped as his eyes automatically
went to Millicent.  Sure enough, his wife was hung over Bessie the milk cow’s
back, hanging on for dear life.  “Damn it!  I told her that she was too close
to her due date to do this!” he growled as he began to weave through the crowd,
waving his hand in the air to get Zeke’s attention. The way it looked from
where he stood a few feet away from his wife, they were definitely going to
need an escort to Paradise General Hospital.  Turning, he quickly addressed his
daughter.  “Paisley, go back and stay with Aunt Bree.  I’ll come get you after
I take care of your mother.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Paisley nodded,
scampering back toward her aunt obediently.

Quickly resuming his path to his
wife, he reached Millie’s side at the same time this year’s Joseph did.

“Is she okay?” a worried Abel
Turner asked, jerking down his faux beard to stare at Millie.  “Oh, man!  I
know that look,” he said, panic in his voice as he pointed wildly at the
panting woman as a contraction gripped her.

“Millie, how long have you been
having labor pains?” Mack asked sharply as he wrapped an arm around her thick
waist to steady her on her feet.

“I don’t wanna answer that,” Millie
managed to communicate through her clenched teeth, squeezing her eyes shut and
concentrating on not screaming in agony.

“Why not?” Mack and Abel asked at
the same time.

“Because the answer isn’t going to
make either of you very happy,” Millie hissed, breathing the way she’d learned
in Lamaze class.  “Hee hee hee, hoo hoo hoo,” she panted, gripping Mack’s hand
as another labor pain gripped her abdomen.

“Are you having
another
contraction?” he asked just as the Sheriff finally reached them.

“What’s going on?” Zeke asked,
taking in the scene in a sweeping glance.  “Never mind, I think I see what’s
going on.  Do you wanna carry her in your car or do you want me to get an
ambulance, Mack?”

“No time,” Millie managed to wheeze
through her bared teeth, her knees starting to buckle as she felt her body
dropping slightly.  “This is happening now.”

“What are you talking about?” Mack
growled, glaring at his sweating wife.  “Your water hasn’t even broke yet!”

“Yes, it did.  I ruined the Virgin
Mary’s shift,” Millie retorted sharply, shaking her head manically.  “That’s
why I was leaning on this nice cow here,” she said, patting Bessie’s side
tiredly.

“Oh, crap,” Abel muttered, taking a
step back and bumping into one of the three Wise Men.  “She’s having their
baby,” he shared with Wise Man #1 which happened to be his brother, Cain.  “You’re
a doctor, numnuts!  Help her,” he ordered, shoving his brother toward Millie
and Mack as he joined Wise Men #2 and #3.  Looking between his brother-in-law,
Jake, and Zeke’s brother, Ice Monroe, respectively, he shook his head. 
“There’s no way I’m going near
that
situation.”

Exchanging a look with Mack, Cain
asked, shifting quickly into professional mode, “How far apart are the
contractions?”

“Based on what I’m timing, they’re
less than two minutes apart,” Mack informed the Emergency Room doctor.  “You up
for helping me deliver my son?” he asked, helping Millie to the ground just as
the so-called wise men around him quickly covered the cold grass with their
costumes.

Peeling off the top layer of his
costume, Cain nodded.  “I delivered my own kid with Faith not too long ago. 
It’s like falling off a bike, right?” he asked in a rush as he knelt beside
Mack.

“It should be a text book
delivery.  Millie hasn’t had any problems during her entire pregnancy,” Mack
informed the other man as his wife began to moan again.  Looking over his
shoulder at Abel, Jake, and Ice, he growled, “We’re gonna need some clean
towels and warm blankets here.  See what they’ve got inside the church, guys. 
And somebody get the freaking livestock away from here!”  Spotting a worried looking
Harmony and Patience, he smiled tightly.  “Ladies, could you find me some hot
water, string, rubbing alcohol, and scissors?”  Seeing their ready nods, he
watched as they scurried to do his bidding.

“Oh, God.  I’m having my baby in
front of half the town, Mack.  I’m not exactly being displayed in my best light,
am I?” Millie wailed as she felt her husband move between her splayed thighs. Gripping
his arm as another pain tore through her midsection and made her entire body
stiffen, she turned her head toward Cain.  “Maybe you could stay up by my
head?  I think both me and Faith would appreciate that,” she stated
breathlessly.

“Don’t worry about me, Millie,”
Faith called out from her spot in the crowd.  Wedged between her Aunt Orla and
Mack’s mother, Joy, she had a front row seat to the miracle of childbirth. 
“You’re doing great!” she yelled out supportively.

Groaning, Millie met Mack’s eyes. 
“I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

“Probably not,” Mack agreed, easing
Millie’s drenched panties down her legs.  “Just hang on, baby.  None of this
will matter once we’re looking at our new son.”  Glancing over his shoulder at
Zeke, he asked, “You got an ambulance in route to us?”

“Should be here real soon,” Zeke
said with a nod, his eyes avoiding the prone woman on the ground as he motioned
for his deputies to move the rest of the crowd away.

“I need to push, Mack,” Millie
moaned, breathing rapidly as she drew in the cold winter air.  “Can I push?”

Mack quickly checked his wife’s
progress.  Damn!  She was already dilated to the requisite ten centimeters and
fully effaced.  “You’re ready, baby. You know the drill.  On the next
contraction, I’m gonna count to ten, and you’re gonna push with everything
you’ve got.”  Looking around rapidly, his eyes landed on Honor McKinnon’s
concerned face in the crowd. “Honor!” he shouted, jerking his head to indicate
he wanted her to come to him.  Waiting until the young friend of Millie’s
reached his side to speak, he ordered, “Honor, go around behind Millie and get
behind her back.  Help prop her up while she pushes.”

Honor quickly complied with his
directions while he and Cain helped hold Millie’s legs up to aide in the
birth.  Feeling his wife’s abdomen begin to tense, Mack ordered, “Push,
Millie.  One, two, three…” he began to count, watching as the crown of his
son’s wet head began to appear.  His voice suddenly faded off into nothingness.

“Four, Five, Six,” Cain took up
counting for Mack when the other man could only stare at his approaching son,
barely aware that the supplies he’d asked the Wise Men to find were arriving
and being stacked beside him. 

Snapping out of his stupor, Mack
continued counting, “Seven, eight, nine, and ten.  Okay, baby, take a little
rest,” he told his panting, sweaty wife.  “You’re doing great,” he praised as
Honor dabbed Millie’s sweating forehead with a handkerchief Zeke passed her.  “I’m
so proud of you.  Take a deep breath for me.   Another contraction is going to
start any second now.”

Whimpering as another labor pain
began, Millie heard Mack repeating the process, counting to ten as she felt him
delivering their son’s head, “I’ve got his head, Millie.  He’s gorgeous.   One
more big push to deliver his shoulders, honey.  You can do it!”

They went on like this for another
two or three minutes until suddenly a broken wail erupted from the red-faced,
wrinkled squalling infant that was his son.

“Oh, God!  That’s him, isn’t it?”
Mille sobbed, lifting her head to stare down her body where Mack placed the
angry infant on her belly for a brief moment.

“We’ve got our boy,” Mack announced
proudly as a cheer went up from the small crowd behind him. 

Quickly cleaning off his son and
clamping the umbilical cord, he wrapped his child in a soft, warm blanket and
passed him into his mother’s outstretched arms.  Covering Millie’s legs with
another blanket the men had brought him, Mack saw Zeke motion for the
paramedics out of the corner of his eye.

Moving to her side, he took the
baby while the EMS crew efficiently moved his wife from the ground to a gurney
and quickly transported her to the ambulance.  Looking over his shoulder, he
winked at his daughter where she stood beside Bree.  “Bring Paisley to the
hospital for me, okay, Bree?”  Seeing his sister’s quick nod, he climbed into
the ambulance after Millie.  Sliding onto the bench seat, he cradled his son protectively
against his chest and smiled at his wife.  “I’m so in awe of you right now,” he
confessed.  “You just gave birth to our son in the middle of winter, on the
ground, without a single painkiller.”

“It all happened so fast,” Millie
replied, shaking her head as she tried to comprehend the shock of the entire
situation.  “Honest to goodness, Mack.  I wasn’t even sure I was having
contractions for the longest time.  By the time I realized what was happening,
my water broke.  Thank
God
that I’m married to an obstetrician.  Are you
sure he’s okay?” she asked worriedly, staring in amazement at her slumbering
son.

“He’s perfect, baby.  Ten fingers,
ten toes, and a healthy set of lungs.  You just rest now.  We’re going to be at
the hospital in no time.”

And as Millie closed her exhausted
eyes, she knew that for the second year in a row, Paisley had gotten her
Christmas wish, and this year’s wish was currently resting safe in his daddy’s
arms.

THE END

If you enjoyed this little visit to Paradise, check
out the other books in the Passion in Paradise series at
Sarah O’Rourke’s Amazon
page
!  Read a free sample and you’ll be hooked!