A Time for Giving by Raine Cantrell

Author:Raine Cantrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/Short Stories
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

Ellie carried both the burden of her indecision and the glow of the evening into the next day. Jacob brought down the small trunk of Christmas decorations for the tree, teasing her that she could be the angel gracing the top since her eyes sparkled so much. She held his words in her mind all day. Krista helped to turn the fruitcakes they had made weeks before, shooing her father and brother off with a broom when they wanted to steal one. But by early afternoon, the snow flurries began, and Ellie fretted that Thomas wasn’t home yet from his mysterious errand that required him using the sleigh.

Jacob found her once again at the front door, looking for his brother. “Ellie, Thomas is nearly a man grown.” He closed the door, but kept her caged between his warm body and the wood. “Boys his age are fighting in the south. It sickens me to see them, young and scared, dying before they’ve had a chance to live. I can understand why men on both sides desert the armies. It doesn’t make a man feel like one to beat those weaker than himself.”

The roil of emotion in his confession made Ellie turn. She allowed instinct to guide her, and slid her arms around Jacob to hold him close. “You are brave and strong, Jacob. To stay in the army, fighting this war, takes more courage than running away.”

“You’ve always made it easy to talk to you, Ellie.” He buried his lips against her braided hair, loving the faint scent of lilacs. “I’m so tired of death and war. I want to come home and plant my fields, watch my children grow, and see life around me. I long for an end to this senseless rage that builds inside me with every week that the war drags on. And I admit to you, Ellie, I’m weary of it. If it wasn’t for your letters that I read over and over, I think I would lose my hope.”

“No. Don’t say that, Jacob. There is so much waiting for you.” She rocked her body with his, longing to say more, afraid she would whisper her love. She knew why the words couldn’t be said. Jacob believed he needed her now, but once he was home for good, he would think clearly. She never wanted him to regret asking her to marry him. She was certain he would find someone to love. Letting him remain free would ensure his chance for happiness.

“You’re so good to me, Ellie. You listen without judging, and make me feel more a man, for having confessed my weak—”

“Don’t, Jacob,” she pleaded, pulling back to look up at him. His eyes were closed, but the lines bracketing his mouth had softened and tempted her fingertips to touch.

As if he had sensed her thought, Jacob brought her hand to his lips. “You are a special Christmas present,” he murmured, pressing kisses to her fingertips, “who goes on giving long after the day is over.

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