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“I got stuck in the storm on my way back to town. Can I please come in? I'm nearly frozen to the bone.” A male voice, slightly muffled, carried through the door. There was an urgent tone to it that made her heart beat a little faster. Frozen to the bone. Goodness! She hated to think of anyone suffering from the brutally cold temperature. She'd heard the local meteorologist earlier this afternoon saying it was eleven degrees outside.
There was a man standing on her front stoop who wanted to be let in from the storm. The very idea of it caused panic to rise up in her throat. What if he was dangerous? What if she was opening the door to someone who could harm her? Letting a man into her home was unthinkable. In the four years since she'd lived alone there hadn't been a single, unaccompanied male in her home, except for her father and brother-in-law, Cleave. And she liked it that way. It was safe and uncomplicated. She didn't have to worry about what to do if someone invaded her personal space or wanted to kiss her on the cheek by way of a greeting. She didn't have to worry about being hurt. But now, that peace had been shattered by a knock on her door and a cry for help. The passage from Matthew crept into her thoughts. I was a stranger and you invited me in. Regardless of her fears, she wanted to harbor this type of kindness in her heart. It was the very thing she’d learned at Gran’s knee. What kind of person would she be if she didn't provide her fellow man with shelter from a storm?
Filled with curiosity, she crept closer to the door. Rodeo stood behind her, his growl sounding way more ferocious than he was in actuality. Although he tried to act tough, Rodeo was a sweetheart right down to his wagging tail. Through the glass she was able to make out a tall, broad shouldered figure standing on her doorstep. This man appeared to be well over six feet! Her heart began to hammer a wild rhythm in her chest. After taking a deep breath for courage, she turned the lock with trembling fingers and slowly opened the door. She willed her hands to stop shaking as a cold blast of air hit her face. Don't believe the worst in people! It was something she struggled with every day of her life, this balance between keeping herself safe and wanting to believe in the goodness of others. She'd prayed about it, and now, there was nothing else to do than act on a leap of faith.
**
The moment the door creaked open, Brady Shepard offered up a prayer to the big guy upstairs for granting him mercy. He was frozen to the bone and covered with ice particles and slush. His car had broken down about a mile or so down the road and he'd been forced to walk here—the closest house on an isolated stretch of road—in the middle of a brutal ice storm. The freezing ice and hail had lashed against his face in punishing fury with every step he took.
Merry Christmas. Bah Humbug. Brady had come to Celebration to enjoy the Christmas holiday with his grandparents after decades of staying away. So much for Mother Nature welcoming him back with open arms!
When he had finally spotted the farmhouse just past the old Native American graveyard, he'd let up a shout of praise, thankful to be so near to shelter from the storm. At the moment he was experiencing a painful tingling in his feet. They were like two big
blocks of ice. He knew it wasn't a good sign. Hypothermia had probably set in. And all he could do was stand on the front stoop and gawk at the woman who'd opened her door to him. She was beautiful. So much so that he blinked just to make sure she was real.
With long, wavy dark hair and high cheekbones, she had a stunning face most men wouldn't be able to look away from. Her hazel colored eyes were opened wide, and he couldn't help but feel he'd alarmed her by his presence. The door was only partially open and she'd positioned herself behind it. She frowned at him, her eyes quickly scanning him as if she was taking stock of him. A long ago memory tugged at him for an instant, until it all came tumbling back to him. He knew her! Or at least he'd known her back in the day when she had chubby cheeks and pigtails. Way back in the day if he was being honest with himself. Nearly two decades! It would be impossible to forget that face.
“Eden Lassiter!” The words came bursting out of his mouth like a rushing river. Her eyes widened ever further.
“Y-Yes, I'm Eden. Do I know you?” His teeth began to chatter, and even though he wanted to tell her who he was, he felt powerless to even speak. How he was managing to stand at the moment was a mystery to him.
Eden made a tutting sound and opened the door wide. “I'm sorry. Please, come on in. It's brutal out there.”
As Brady stepped forward over the threshold he mumbled words of thanks. The moment he was inside the house he let out a sigh as a warm blast of air hit him square in the face. A cheerily lit living room sat to the right of the foyer and a roaring fire blazed in the fireplace. A bare Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room. Two weeks before Christmas and it still wasn’t decorated.
He stood still, not wanting to track ice and slush on to the beautiful hardwood floors. Eden didn't seem concerned in the slightest about the fate of her floors as she motioned him forward.
“We need to get you warmed up,” she said briskly. She motioned him into her mud room, where she quickly began to take charge.
Before he knew what was happening, he was sitting on a bench while his jacket was being unzipped and Eden was helping him take off his boots and socks. Somehow she knew to help without even asking. And he needed the help. Badly. He could barely stand when she took his hand and pulled him up. At this point he wasn't at all certain he could walk more than a few more steps. She gently led him into the living room and instructed him to sit in an oversized love seat by the fire. He sat down, wincing from the painful throbbing in his feet.
“I need to go get some blankets and put the kettle on. I'll be right back, all right?” He nodded his head, lulled into a peaceful place by her sweet, comforting voice. Almost against his will he felt his eyelids getting droopy.
“Hey, don't go to sleep on me. Drowsiness could be a symptom of hypothermia. I need you up and alert.” He opened his eyes to find Eden standing beside the love seat with her forehead furrowed as she gazed at him. She handed him a few blankets and a gray T-shirt, then placed a steaming mug on the end table. “You need to switch up into this T-shirt and then cover yourself with the blankets. You have to warm up your torso before we get to your hands and feet. I'll give you a few minutes to change while I get a tub of warm water ready.”
“Thank you,” he said as she quickly and soundlessly left the room. He rid himself of his damp shirt and replaced it with the one she'd given him. Although it was a size too big, it was warm and comfortable. He let out a sigh as warmth began settling into his bones.
He couldn't believe Eden still hadn't recognized him. That knowledge left him a little deflated since he'd recognized her instantly. And how could he not? Even as a child she'd been just as beautiful. Unforgettable. For a long time after he'd left Celebration he'd thought about his childhood crush and wondered what she'd made of his family's fast exit out of town. He felt a painful twinge at the idea that his family had been the object of gossip and innuendo in the weeks and months after their departure. It shamed him to think that Eden knew about his family's disgrace and his mother's betrayal of his father.
After all these years Brady knew he should get over it, but it still sat like a huge weight pressing against his heart.
A few minutes later Eden returned, just as he was taking a huge gulp from the mug of hot chocolate. Involuntarily, he let out a sigh of satisfaction. Hot cocoa had never tasted so good. Unless he was mistaken, there was a slight hint of peppermint laced in with the chocolate. Eden stood in front of him, biting her lip and fiddling with her fingers. She seemed to be studying him.
“When you first came inside you called me by my full name. How did you know my name?”
He took another sip of the hot chocolate, grateful for the warmth returning to his body. “You really don't remember me, do you?”
“Remember you?” she asked as she squinted at him. All of sudden she let out a gasp and raised her hand to her throat. “Brady? Brady Shepard? Is it you?”
Brady couldn't help but grin at Eden's shocked reaction. “Yes, Eden. It's me. I’m all grown up and back in Celebration.” It had taken him seventeen years, but he'd finally found his way back home. He considered it fairly ironic that his arrival back in town was just as dramatic as his exit.
A huge smile popped up on her face. Her entire face lit up with joy. Within seconds it disappeared, replaced by a smooth veneer that gave no hint as to her feelings. It was such a sudden shift. It was almost as if she'd caught herself, then readjusted her demeanor. He sensed that somewhere along the way she'd perfected the art of covering up her emotions. Even though he'd only been in her presence for a few minutes, he could tell how much she'd changed over the years. The pint-size Eden had been gregarious and a bit of a chatterbox. He remembered the way she'd talked a mile a minute, both in school and in Bible class. The grown up Eden seemed distant and self-contained. Miles and miles away from the girl she'd been. “It's been...how long has it been?” she sputtered.
“A long time,” he acknowledged. “Almost twenty years.”
She shook her head. “Vicky didn't say a word about you coming back,” she said. “And I just saw her yesterday at work.”
“You work at the Country Vet?” He didn't know why he was surprised, since Eden had always had a thing for animals back when they were kids. She'd happily played Florence Nightingale for every broken winged bird in town. “For almost three years now,” she answered, pride ringing out in her voice. “My grandmother never told me.” Although why would she have done so when he'd always made it perfectly clear he didn't want to talk about Celebration? The memories were far too painful. He had never wanted to be reminded of everything he'd been forced to leave behind. In one fell swoop they'd lost everything, most of all the wonderful community he'd been such a part of. The memories were still painful.
