Cabin Fever With My First Flame (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

16. Finn

Chapter sixteen

Finn

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and Micah hands everyone an envelope, a piece of paper, and a pen. “This is something our mom started when I was just a small child, but it’s grown into a tradition our family has adopted over the years,” Micah says. “This is just a simple request to God for one intangible thing. In essence, it’s a prayer that’s short and sweet. Tomorrow morning, we’ll open them up and read them aloud so that God hears our prayers.”

Micah faces Mia and directs his next comment at her because she’s always quick to correct and impart her vast knowledge to those around her. She’s 10 going on 60, and Micah has already recognized this in the short time he’s known her. “I know that God knows our hearts and thoughts, Mia, but Matthew 18:20 states, ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’ When we read these prayers aloud, we want Jesus present with us because we’re all together.”

Mia doesn’t argue and even gives Micah a genuine smile. Everyone nods their heads in agreement, and Ava immediately starts scribbling on her paper. Bailey stands up and hugs Micah. “This is something that’s special for you and your family. Thank you for allowing us to share in this moment.”

“You can be part of our family, Bailey,” Isaac informs her. “I like Ella and Ava because they’re sweet.”

“I like Mia because she puts Isaac in his place,” Jonah adds. “She can stay and be my friend.”

Mia throws her arm around Jonah. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

Isaac laughs. “Seriously, Bailey. We love you all.”

“How about we write our letters now,” I interject, hoping that Bailey won’t become uncomfortable by the invite into our family. She and I are still trying to find our footing as friends.

We each write our letters, and I can’t help but laugh at Ava, who is the last to finish. Her little tongue is sticking out of the corner of her mouth, and there are drawings all over the page. She hands Bailey the letter to fold and put in the envelope. “You can’t look, Mom. It’s between me and God.”

“God and me,” Mia corrects. Bailey glares at Mia, and Mia glares back. “What? Are you upset because I beat you to it?”

Bailey sighs and smirks. “A little.”

Bailey looks away as she folds the paper for Ava, and Ava shouts, “You’re messing up my prayer! Now, it’s all crooked!”

Bailey slides the paper over to Ava, who gladly takes it back and then folds it nearly a thousand times until it’s a tiny square instead of the trifold the rest of us have done. Her little nugget of paper is going to take until Christmas to unfold. She drops it in the envelope and seals it shut.

For the next few hours, Bailey and the kids have a ton of fun as they finish decorating the rest of the cookies. I sit on the couch and watch how they all interact. Isaac and Jonah are hanging on Bailey’s every word, but Micah is leaning on the counter, watching them just as I am. He winks at me and gives me a thumbs-up behind Bailey’s back.

Ella walks over to the window and says absentmindedly, “The snow has stopped falling.”

That’s my cue to get up and start shoveling. “Micah, I need you to help me dig a path to the shed and the garage. We need to get the ATVs and snowmobiles free and clear, ready to use.”

Ava frowns and starts to sniffle. “Is it already time for us to leave? I like it here.”

Bailey consoles her daughter. “Pops and Nana are waiting for us. All your Christmas presents are under their tree.”

“I don’t care about the presents. I want to stay here and play Pictionary,” Ava wails. “Jonah is so bad at drawing; I can actually win!”

Jonah’s eyebrows furrow. “I’m the next Picasso, Ava. My art just needs to be understood.”

I start laughing and then notice Ella and Micah sneak away into the dining room. Bailey is too busy wrangling the kids to see what’s happening, so I get up and approach the teens stealthily and hide behind the French doors.

“You know what you have to do, Micah,” Ella says with a conspiratorial tone.

“I’ll do what I can if I get the chance. You can count on me,” Micah replies. “We don’t have much time. Did you find what you were looking for?”

Ella huffs. “Not exactly, but it will do in a pinch.”

An hour later, Micah and I are wearing snowshoes so we can traverse the ten feet of snow that has fallen. I plant my shovel in the snow and stand with my hands on my hips, scanning the area. “The shed has got to be around here somewhere. We have to be getting close since the garage is right there,” I say, pointing to the structure to our two o’clock position.

Micah laughs. “It’s only the top five feet of the garage. There’s so much snow that the shed has completely disappeared! Finn, I know you don’t want to hear it, but you might have to concede defeat.”

“I can’t do that, Micah. Christmas is two days away, and we need to get Bailey and the girls to their family.” I pick up my shovel and start pile-driving it into the snow, hoping at some point I’ll make contact with the roof of the shed. Two minutes later, I hit pay dirt. “Here it is!”

It takes Micah and me nearly two hours to dig our way to the door. We create a “snow” ramp on the side of the shed so we can get the snowblower out. Although it’s nearly freezing outside, I’m dripping with sweat from the exertion. “At least the hard part is done. Now comes the fun part!”

“You really need to get out more if you think shoveling anything is fun,” Micah retorts.

“It’s character building. And if manual labor isn’t your thing, then you can consider it exercise. We didn’t get gym time this morning, and now we can count this as our full-body workout!”

“I have enough character,” he says. “Let’s see how much we can get done. I’m missing out on decorating the last of the cookies. I take my job as ‘Quality Control Specialist’ very seriously.”

I laugh and fire up the motor. “At least you take something seriously.”

Six hours and two breaks later, we’ve accomplished the task of digging a path to the garage that’s wide enough to drive the ATVs outside and park them under the balcony on the back side of the house. There’s about six feet between the top of the snow and the bottom of the deck. We finish just as the sun makes its final descent.

Micah pulls off his hat, and his head is soaking wet. “I need a hot shower and some dry clothes.”

“You and me, both.” I slide open the window and allow Micah to crawl through first before I follow. As we sit on the floor and take off our snowshoes, I say, “We don’t have much time to take the girls into town. Another storm is heading our way, and I don’t know how long it will be before it gets here.”

Micah heads into the attached bathroom to remove the snowsuit so that he doesn’t make a mess on the carpet. I do the same. As he sits on the edge of the bathtub to remove his boots, he says, “It’s too late to take them tonight. We should wait until tomorrow—for safety’s sake.”

“You just want them to stay. Micah. I know that having them here has been fun, but it’s not going to be the last we’re ever going to see of them.”

“Does that mean that you and Bailey are a couple now?” he asks, his tone hopeful and his eyes shimmering with joy.

“We decided to be friends for now, and I’m honestly surprised she’s willing to do that after how I treated her years ago.” I gather up our snowsuits and head downstairs.

Micah chases after me and stops me at the edge of the landing. He lowers his voice, “But you want more, right?”

I nod. “I’ve told Bailey that I’ll wait until she’s ready. She has a lot on her plate right now, and she needs a friend more than she needs a romantic relationship. The ball is in her court. She knows where I stand.”

Micah rests his hand on my shoulder. “Finn. Finn. Finn. You’re going to get friend-zoned if you go in with that attitude. You need to give her a taste of what she’ll be missing out on. Have you kissed her yet?”

I’m not about to divulge any details about our kiss in the basement, but it was enough for Bailey to understand that my feelings for her aren’t purely platonic. “Yes, but that doesn’t change the circumstances.”

Micah rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm.”

“‘Hmm,’ nothing, Micah. You got your wish and brought Bailey and me together, even if it wasn’t how you expected. Let’s leave well enough alone and let the relationship progress naturally. If it’s meant to be more, then it will be. Now, go get a shower, and then meet me downstairs.”

As we amble down the steps, Micah grumbles, “Sometimes even nature needs a helping hand.”

I let the comment go and continue toward the mudroom in the basement, having to pass by the kitchen on my way. Bailey smiles, and her shoulders slump in relief when she sees me. “I was starting to get worried about you two. You guys were out there a long time.”

“There was a ton of snow to clear, and even then, we only managed to clear enough to get the ATVs. Thankfully, I had already installed the snow track conversion kits. Otherwise, I’d still be out there for another few hours. They’re parked out back under the balcony.”

Bailey walks over to one of the windows facing the back of the house, and she grimaces. “Are you planning on taking us to town tonight?”

When Micah mentioned that it wouldn’t be safe to travel tonight, he wasn’t wrong. However, I knew that his motivation for not leaving right away had nothing to do with safety and everything to do with keeping Bailey and the girls here a little longer. “We can if you absolutely need to go, but tomorrow after breakfast would be better. My only concern is not knowing how much of a lull we have between storms.”

She wraps her arms around her delicate frame and slowly heads in my direction. “It’s a concern of mine as well, and I know my parents are giddy with excitement for our pending arrival. They haven’t seen the girls in over a year. However, I like the idea of waiting until morning when everyone is well-rested, fed, and can see where they’re going. It’ll give me the warm fuzzies.”

“I like warm fuzzies,” Jonah says. “They keep my toes from getting cold. Besides, you can’t leave until we open up the envelopes.”

Bailey gives him a noogie on his noggin. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world. Jesus is the reason for the season, after all, and I absolutely love that you write letters to Him instead of Santa.”

Isaac’s upper lip curls. “My mom would say that ‘Jesus is the reason for every season.’ She never taught us to believe in Santa Claus. Bailey, do you believe in Santa?”

“I don’t, but I used to when I was Ava’s age,” she admits. “It was very disappointing to learn that Santa isn’t real. It’s why I never taught my girls to believe in him. I wanted them to know that I would always tell them the truth, no matter what.”

Jonah grins. “Our mom said the same thing. If she taught us to believe in Jesus and Santa, and then we learn Santa isn’t real, she was afraid we would question if Jesus was real, too.”

I dip my chin toward the pile of snowsuits in my hand that are getting heavy. “I’m going to hang these up to dry and then warm up with a quick shower.” Bailey waves me away as she continues her engaging conversation with the twins.

While downstairs in the basement area, I reflect on a conversation between Jenny and Bailey when my sister was home from college for the holiday break in my senior year. They discussed the merits of whether or not teaching kids to believe in Santa was a good or bad thing. I remember my sister saying, “I don’t begrudge the families that teach their kids about Santa Claus—to each their own. Personally, I don’t want to deal with the fallout, and I don’t think it’s going to ruin the holiday if my children don’t believe in a mythical being.”

Bailey had asked her, “Then how will you explain why there are presents under the tree?”

Jenny had laughed. “That’s easy. What do you give when it’s someone’s birthday? A present, right? I’ll just tell my kids that we exchange presents because it’s a party for Jesus’ birthday. Look, Bailey. When you and Finn get married and have kids of your own, it will be up to the two of you to decide what to teach your kids and what you want them to believe in. Regardless of what you decide, I’ll still love you.”

It’s evident that my sister had an impact on Bailey, considering that Bailey took her advice to heart. Jenny loved Bailey like a sister and had urged me to fight for her. Jenny hadn’t believed for one second that Bailey had betrayed me but respected me enough to refrain from discussing or pursuing it any further. It wasn’t until Jenny was near her end that she finally spoke up.

“Finn, you know I love you, right?” I held her hand and nodded, waiting for her to continue. Whenever she started off a sentence with that particular question, what she liked to call ‘constructive criticism’ often followed. “You have spent your entire adult life pining after Bailey because you let pride get in your way. I know that you still love her, but brother of mine, you need to make things right so that you can move on. You need closure.”

“Bailey is happy, and the last thing I want to do is drudge up the past, Jenny,”

Jenny laughed and then groaned in pain because her Leukemia made it painful to breathe. “I’m happy when I have a scoop of salted caramel ice cream, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for me. All I’m sayin’ is that God may provide you an opportunity to set the record straight, Finn. When He does, don’t waste it.”

I had no idea what she meant at the time, but I do now. Jenny must have heard the rumors through the Lake George grapevine but was kind enough to keep them from me. I’m surprised that no one else in town has mentioned anything in the three months that I’ve been back.

I go upstairs to take a shower and see the walkie-talkie on my nightstand. I switch to the private frequency for the Chief and squawk, “Zimmerman, this is Hollister. Over.”

It takes a few seconds, but the Chief responds. “This is Zimmerman. I read you loud and clear. How are you all holding up.”

“We’re good. I’ll be bringing Bailey and the girls home tomorrow morning. Can you pass on the message to the McNamaras?”

“Sure. Sure. That should give you plenty of time to return before the next storm hits. Christmas is supposed to be white-out conditions, and the storm is supposed to gift us with two to three more feet of snow.”

I grunt. “Thanks for the heads-up. I’m just checking in and have a question.”

“Fire away,” he says, laughing at his “firefighter” joke.

“How long have you known that Daniel and Bailey were getting a divorce?” I ask bluntly.

Zimmerman hems and haws. “Since before you moved back here.”

I palm my face in frustration. “Why didn’t you or anyone else say anything? Even Bryce didn’t mention it, and he’s friends with Daniel.”

“Do you really want to know?”

I nod, although he can’t see me. “Please.”

Zimmerman clears his throat. “The ink wasn’t dry on the divorce until a few weeks ago, Finn. No one wanted to get your hopes up in case they reconciled. I should have warned you that Bailey was returning home once I found out and at least prepared you for the encounter. If it’s any consolation, we’re all rooting for you now.”

I press the talk key with a smile. With nearly the whole town in support of Bailey and I getting together, maybe that second chance Micah is praying for is closer than it appears. “Rah-Rah.”