I dont know if anyone told you, but Im adopting Ali, Sarah said.
A muscle twitched in Mikes jaw, as if he was unhappy about something, but when he spoke, his baritone was light and easy. Im glad for you, Sarah. Youve wanted a child for a long time.
I wanted your child. She held back the words with all her might. Her spirit was reaching out, leaning toward him like he was her missing half, and why? The distance between them was so vast, the entire earth could fill it. Longing filled her, and she fought that, too. How had they grown so far apart?
Homecoming Heroes: Saving children and finding love deep in the heart of Texas.
Mission: MotherhoodMarta Perry
July 2008
Lone Star SecretLenora Worth
August 2008
At His CommandBrenda Coulter
September 2008
A Matter of the HeartPatricia Davids
October 2008
A Texas ThanksgivingMargaret Daley
November 2008
Homefront HolidayJillian Hart
December 2008
JILLIAN HART
Jillian Hart grew up on her familys homestead where she raised cattle, rode horses and scribbled stories in her spare time. After earning her English degree from Whitman College, she worked in travel and advertising before selling her first novel. When Jillian isnt working on her next story, she can be found puttering in her rose garden, curled up with a good book and spending quiet evenings at home with her family.
Homefront Holiday
Jillian Hart
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jillian Hart for her contribution to the Homecoming Heroes miniseries.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love; in honor preferring one another.
Romans 12:10
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Chapter One
It was mid-December and the Coffee Break was busy, but not as busy as the street outside. Sarah Alpert drew her gaze away from the view through the wide glass window, where shoppers hurried about their seasonal tasks, to the little boy seated across the narrow table from her.
Ali. Her heart warmed simply from looking at him. She loved children, which was not surprising given she was a kindergarten teacher. But this one was special. She handed a paper napkin across the red plastic tabletop to her five-year-old foster son and student. Hey, you have some hot chocolate on your chin.
He grinned, the charmer he was, showing his heart-tugging grin and the dimple in his left cheek. He scrubbed at the wrong spot on his chin.
Adoration filled her like Texas sunshine. She leaned forward, reaching over to rub at the right spot. Two swipes and the kid was clean. This sweetheart had proven to be the balm her wounded heart had needed. Are you ready?
Ali hopped down from his chair. Yep. Can I call Dr. Mike yet?
Mike. She tried not to flinch at that name.
He hasnt called, Ali added. Hes comin home, you know.
Yes, I heard something like that.
Cuz I tol you.
About a thousand times. She managed to keep a smile on her face as she stood. All right, sunshine, we have errands to do.
Me and Dr. Mike are gonna get pizza and do lotsa stuff. Were buddies.
Sarah focused on her little boy and pretended he hadnt brought up Mike. Distraction, that was the key. Which do you want to do first? Pick out our Christmas lights or mail our Christmas cards?
The lights!
Her heart melted a little more. Already he was her family. She couldnt wait for the adoption to go through. Then he would be hers. Really and truly hers. Coat on and zipped up. Theres a cold wind out there.
Yes, maam. Ali hopped down and his bright red sneakershis favorite colorhit the floor with a squeak and a thump. His salute was the one Dr. Mike Montgomery had taught him. The two had met when Ali came in as a roadside-bomb casualty to Mikes MASH unit. The child had been injured, but his mother had been killed. Ali had formed a bond with Mike, and Mike had helped arrange to send Ali to the States for lifesaving surgery.
Her heart twisted with an old pain. She and Mike had ended their engagement a year ago, but losing him would always hurt. She tucked that hurt away the best she could and put what she hoped was a big smile on her face.
I get that. The little gentleman he was, Ali grabbed their garbage.
Thank you. Sarah unhooked her jacket from the back of her chair and slipped into it, unable to take her eyes off the little boy as he trotted over to the receptacle near the door. He had to go up on tiptoe to dump it.
She hefted the shopping bags from beneath their table, slid her purse strap higher on her shoulder and held out her hand to her foster son. She was thankful every day that he was thriving, after all his losses. His grandfather Marlon, who had lived next door, had passed away last month. And while Ali had little time to get to know his grandfather, it was another loss all the same.
There were still shadows of his grief in his eyes that were always there, even when he smiled. Poor baby. She ran her fingertips through his fine, dark brown hair, hoping to comfort what could not be fixed.
I get the door for you, Sarah. Ali trotted ahead of her, his sneakers thumping on the tile. He gave the door a mighty push.
Thanks, kiddo. You are one strong boy. She complimented him as she sailed into the crisp overcast day and the busy sidewalk.
I real strong now. Ali beamed with pride. His little fingers wrapped around her hand, holding on so tight she could feel his need.
She held on tightly, too.
Sarah, look! Ali fastened his deep soulful eyes on a soldier in desert fatigues, who was walking down the sidewalk. The little boy turned on his heels to watch the infantryman stride away. Im gonna be a soldier and a doctor, just like Dr. Mike.
Her knees shook with every step she took. How long did it take a broken heart to mend? How long for regret to fade away? It took all her strength to swallow her sadness and hide every bit of her pain. You couldnt pick a better man to be like.
I know. Alis confidence was simple and unshakable.
Hers was not so sturdy. Life had not been the same without Mike. She missed him more than she cared to admit. Still, she had done her best to make something of her life without him.
She knew Alis next question would be about Dr. Mike, too. The boy was nothing if not persistent. Maybe it was best to try to distract him. What color house lights should we buy?
Red. He thought a minute, tilting his head to one side. No, wait. I want blue.
Sarah smiled. Ali lifted the sadness from her heart. Since this was his first American Christmasand their first one togethershe wanted to do it right. Thats what she had to concentrate on: what mattered to her now.
Dr. Mike! Ali ripped his hand from hers and barreled down the sidewalk, darting between families and a group of teenagers. He moved fast for a boy whod just recovered from open-heart surgery! Sarah leaped after him, bags slapping against her knees as she caught up with him two steps before the busy intersection. She grabbed his hand, but Ali, the good, smart little boy he was, was already stopping on his own.
Before she could drag enough air past the panic clutching her throat and the stitch in her side to set him straight about running off like that, Ali jumped up and down, waving his free hand.
Dr. Mike! Theres Dr. Mike!
Sarah squinted across the street through the traffic searching the pedestrians for him. For Mike. It took only one second for her gaze to find him. Perhaps she would always recognize his straight, strong back and wide, dependable shoulders, his short, dark blond hair and that confident, lanky stride.
Mike. Her pulse ground to a halt. All the ways shed fallen out of love with him paled next to all the reasons she had fallen in love with him. He hadnt heard Alis call above the rush of traffic as he stopped to look at a shops window display. She could see his profile now; his handsome face was still the same with that square, honorable jaw and well-cut features.
What a relief it was to see him again. Her toes tingled with happiness, warring impossibly with her sadness. He was back safe, unharmed and whole.
Thank You, Lord. She sent the little prayer up with a piece of her heart. Just because Mike wasnt hers anymore didnt mean she couldnt pray for him. His happiness was more important than her owneven now. She had tried to talk herself out of her feelings, but they hadnt budged over the last year that hed been away. Perhaps because of the way they had broken up right before he had gone off to war.
And now that she knew he was back home and unharmed, maybe she could let go of this sorrow. She planted her feet, hitched her purse back up on her shoulder and tightened her hold on Alis hand. The light chose that moment to change to yellow and on to red. The traffic slowed and quieted, and Alis Dr. Mike! must have reached the other side of the street because Mike looked up at the sound of his name. His eyes fastened to hers, just the way they used to do.
It was just nostalgia; thats what she told herself as she jerked her gaze from his. Thats the only reason she could give to explain the startle in her heart that felt, impossibly, like joy at seeing him again.
I do not love him, she told herself. She wouldnt let herself again. She wished Mike well and that was all, nothing more. She would walk Ali right over to Mike and prove it to him.
And to herself.
Sarah. Mike stared in disbelief and then in dread as she started heading his way, with Alis hand in hers. As she crossed the busy crosswalk, he had time to take her in. She looked different somehow. Her auburn hair was the same deep color and shone like silk in the afternoon sun. She was still as lovely as hed remembered with her big blue eyes and soft, ready smile. She was wearing the wool coat shed bought new around this time last year, right before theyd broken up. He couldnt quite put his finger on what exactly was different, but everything about her appeared a little brighter.
At the back of his mind came a small voice, one he didnt want to listen to. It was saying She looks so good to you because you missed her so much.
No, that was one voice he could not afford to listen to or encourage. He held his heart firm, dissolving away any lingering emotion. It was over and done with between him and Sarah. What he needed to focus on instead of their past was his little buddythe boy hed come to think of as a son.
It was a gift that Ali had come into his life. Theyd had an instant connection in triage, when the nurse had called him over with worry in her eyes. Worry for a child caught in the middle of warfare. Ali had become his family over the last five months.
He thought of the paperwork he had on his truck seat, ready for his lawyer. Alis adoption papers. He wanted the little boy with everything he had left. This last tour had taken out a big chunk of him, but that didnt matter now.
Hello, Mike. Sarahs quiet, sweet voice could reach right in and grab hold of his heart if he let it.
Hello, Sarah. He couldnt look at her. Time had not healed his wounds. He squared his shoulders, at a loss. Maybe he ought to just concentrate on Ali. The little dark-haired, dark-eyed boy was running toward him. True joy lit that little face.
Dr. Mike! You came! You came!
Sure I did, buddy. Just like I promised. I didnt forget you. All the pain and exhaustion from this last year seemed to fade as the little boy flung out his arms and launched into the air. The world felt right as he caught the little fella in midair and swung him high before snuggling him to his chest.
Thin arms wrapped around Mikes neck so tight, it hurt. He set the boy on the ground. Let me get a look at you. Youre gettin big.
Cuz I eat my veggies. But not broccoli. He shook his head. The two of them shared a great mutual dislike of that green vegetable.
I told Sarah you come. Ali danced in place he was so happy. You didnt call. I waited and waited. There was no ringing.
Sorry about that. Mike swallowed, battling down the last of his emotions.
I told him you were probably busy. Sarah spoke up in that quiet way of hers.
Her serene tone could lure him closer if he let it.
I heard Whitney is back home and in the hospital. Sarah tried again to make conversation.
You know Whitney Harpswell? He spoke to her, but he kept staring at the crack in the sidewalk.
Two girls in my class chose her and her husband for the Adopt a Soldier program, and we were writing to them before they disappeared. Sarah was genuinely concerned. I heard that you found her.
She was found by a villager woman. They brought her to my MASH unit. I just recognized her. He resisted the need to look at Sarah and studied the boy instead. Alis color was good. So was his energy level. His respiration clear and even. Hed heard reports through Dr. Nora Blake, the local surgeon handling Alis case, and had talked to the boy as often as he could, but seeing was believing. There was nothing like being able to watch Ali hop eagerly in place to make the knot of worry relax in the center of his chest.
He wasnt a religious man, but he gave thanks right then and there standing in the middle of the street. He thanked God the boy had pulled through his risky surgery two months ago. He thought of all the others hed treatedboth soldier and civilian alikewho had not been so fortunate. Right from the start there had been something incredibly special about this plucky boy.
Ali stared up at Mike with his wide soulful eyes. How come you didnt call? Why?
Talk about feeling like a heel. Mike jammed his fists into his coat pockets and did his best to ignore Sarah standing protectively behind the boy. I couldnt. I was on a plane flying home. I wanted to talk to you. You understand, right?