Read Online Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber - Free Book Online
Authors: Debbie Macomber
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could picture the way her mother’s face would light up when Ashley walked in the door.
“Don’t you think you should let her know?”
“No.” What was he thinking? “That would ruin the surprise.”
“What if she’s made other plans for Christmas? Are you sure she intends to sit at home alone, miserable without you?”
“She would be miserable without me. This would have been our first Christmas apart since the day I was born. It was killing us both.”
“Maybe she has a boyfriend.”
An interesting thought. Ashley needed to think about that and decided it would be a good thing. “I hope she does. My mother is far too wonderful to remain alone the rest of her life. It was hard for me to leave her for graduate school. I know she’d rather have me continue on at the University of Washington. It was hard to leave her, especially knowing how lonely she was after my dad died.”
“Maybe you leaving was what she needed.”
“How do you mean?”
“She might have grown too content in her comfort zone. With you away at school, she’ll be forced to reach out and become more involved in life, meet new people, that sort of thing.”
Ashley hadn’t thought of it that way. “That’s why you suggested Mom might have a love interest.” Her mother hadn’t mentioned anyone, but then she might feel a bit shy telling her about another man. What Dash said made sense.
“My mother dated some, but she’s never gotten serious about another man,” he said.
“Your mom’s a widow, too?” He hadn’t said anything about that earlier.
“Yes.”
Here was another something they had in common.
“I remember my first Christmas away from home and family,” Dash said, staring straight ahead. “I was in Afghanistan. From the time I could remember I’d always looked forward to Christmas. My mother loves to bake and the holidays give her an excuse to make dozens upon dozens of cookies. My favorites are these little round balls with nuts that she rolls in powdered sugar. I could eat a dozen in one sitting.”
“I love those, too. My family calls them Mexican wedding cakes.”
He glanced at her and smiled. “But as Christmas approached during my tour in Afghanistan, I dreaded it. All I could think about was everything I was missing at home.” He paused and shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. “Funny, I’ve never mentioned this to anyone else.”
“Why not?”
“No reason, I guess. No need to point it out when I was in the service. Everyone in Afghanistan was away from home and loved ones. We made the best of it. The cooks did what they could to create a great meal, but it wasn’t the same. Most of us made an effort to be cheerful, but deep down there wasn’t a one of us that wouldn’t have given just about anything to be home with our family and friends.”
By comparison, Ashley was feeling shallow. Dash had been half a world away while she was only a few hundred miles. He’d been in a battle zone and she was in graduate school.
“Even worse, my birthday is the twentieth, so I missed Christmas and my birthday.”
Ashley sat up straighter. “You have a December birthday? Get outta here.”
“You, too?” He held her gaze a bit longer this time, as if even he felt this strange connection between them.
“The nineteenth.”
“That’s crazy,” he said.
“It is crazy. Did you have relatives who gave you combination gifts—Christmas and birthday?”
“Yes, and it was the pits, especially when I was younger. I used to feel cheated, so my mother threw me half-birthdays in June. She served half a cake with half a scoop of ice cream. She set half the table. Everything was done in halves. It was really fun. My school friends all wanted to come to my half-parties.”
“What a wonderful idea.” Ashley had already decided that she liked his mother, and this gave her even more reason to do so. She loved the inventive way she’d made Dash’s birthday special.
The air between them seemed
“Don’t you think you should let her know?”
“No.” What was he thinking? “That would ruin the surprise.”
“What if she’s made other plans for Christmas? Are you sure she intends to sit at home alone, miserable without you?”
“She would be miserable without me. This would have been our first Christmas apart since the day I was born. It was killing us both.”
“Maybe she has a boyfriend.”
An interesting thought. Ashley needed to think about that and decided it would be a good thing. “I hope she does. My mother is far too wonderful to remain alone the rest of her life. It was hard for me to leave her for graduate school. I know she’d rather have me continue on at the University of Washington. It was hard to leave her, especially knowing how lonely she was after my dad died.”
“Maybe you leaving was what she needed.”
“How do you mean?”
“She might have grown too content in her comfort zone. With you away at school, she’ll be forced to reach out and become more involved in life, meet new people, that sort of thing.”
Ashley hadn’t thought of it that way. “That’s why you suggested Mom might have a love interest.” Her mother hadn’t mentioned anyone, but then she might feel a bit shy telling her about another man. What Dash said made sense.
“My mother dated some, but she’s never gotten serious about another man,” he said.
“Your mom’s a widow, too?” He hadn’t said anything about that earlier.
“Yes.”
Here was another something they had in common.
“I remember my first Christmas away from home and family,” Dash said, staring straight ahead. “I was in Afghanistan. From the time I could remember I’d always looked forward to Christmas. My mother loves to bake and the holidays give her an excuse to make dozens upon dozens of cookies. My favorites are these little round balls with nuts that she rolls in powdered sugar. I could eat a dozen in one sitting.”
“I love those, too. My family calls them Mexican wedding cakes.”
He glanced at her and smiled. “But as Christmas approached during my tour in Afghanistan, I dreaded it. All I could think about was everything I was missing at home.” He paused and shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. “Funny, I’ve never mentioned this to anyone else.”
“Why not?”
“No reason, I guess. No need to point it out when I was in the service. Everyone in Afghanistan was away from home and loved ones. We made the best of it. The cooks did what they could to create a great meal, but it wasn’t the same. Most of us made an effort to be cheerful, but deep down there wasn’t a one of us that wouldn’t have given just about anything to be home with our family and friends.”
By comparison, Ashley was feeling shallow. Dash had been half a world away while she was only a few hundred miles. He’d been in a battle zone and she was in graduate school.
“Even worse, my birthday is the twentieth, so I missed Christmas and my birthday.”
Ashley sat up straighter. “You have a December birthday? Get outta here.”
“You, too?” He held her gaze a bit longer this time, as if even he felt this strange connection between them.
“The nineteenth.”
“That’s crazy,” he said.
“It is crazy. Did you have relatives who gave you combination gifts—Christmas and birthday?”
“Yes, and it was the pits, especially when I was younger. I used to feel cheated, so my mother threw me half-birthdays in June. She served half a cake with half a scoop of ice cream. She set half the table. Everything was done in halves. It was really fun. My school friends all wanted to come to my half-parties.”
“What a wonderful idea.” Ashley had already decided that she liked his mother, and this gave her even more reason to do so. She loved the inventive way she’d made Dash’s birthday special.
The air between them seemed
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