“Good morning, Carter residence.”
“Good morning, beautiful.” Trace’s deep voice carried across the line.
“Hi,” she said a bit breathlessly. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you, Tori. I wanted to give you a Christmas ring, so here I am calling you.”
“Yes, you are, and thank you.” Several sets of eyes watched her while everyone listened to every word she uttered. “Are you feeling well enough to join us for Christmas dinner?”
“Yep. I’ll be there. Thank you for welcoming Teresa and Billy. They both think the world of you and your family.” Trace cleared his throat. “I do, too.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she said, longing to see Trace. She’d rather wish him Christmas greetings in person than over the telephone.
“Do you think you could come outside for a few minutes?” Trace asked.
“Of course. When should I go out?”
“Right now would be good.” He disconnected the call before she could ask more questions.
Without an explanation to anyone, she raced to yank on the fur coat Aunt Octavia had given her as a gift, grabbed a pair of mittens even though she had no idea to whom they belonged, and accepted the blue scarf Claire tossed at her as she rushed out the door. It wasn’t until she was down the steps that she noticed the scarf perfectly matched the dark blue dress she wore.
She glanced around and saw Trace climbing down the telephone pole nearest the house. The lunatic was going to break open his stitches doing it, but the thought of him climbing up there, especially with the fear of heights that Billy explained had plagued him since his childhood, made her heart skip a beat.
Trace grinned as he hopped down the last few feet, shed the equipment he’d used to climb up the pole and place the call, then wrapped his arms around her, swinging her off her feet.
“Trace! Set me down before you injure yourself more than you already are.” She couldn’t imagine anywhere she’d rather be than in the circle of his arms, but she didn’t want him to hurt himself in the process.
“I’ll put you down, but not because I’m worried about getting hurt.” He set her on her feet, then stepped back to where he’d dropped the equipment. From a padded box, he pulled a bouquet of beautiful cream-colored hothouse flowers and handed them to her.
She sniffed the blossoms then smiled as he came to stand directly in front of her. He took the mitten off her left hand, lifted her fingers to his lips, and kissed the backs of each one, before drawing her ring finger into his mouth. Trace held something between his teeth. Something cold and round that he slid onto her finger. The intoxicating feel of the experience left her lightheaded, but the flame burning in his blue eyes brought her right back to the moment. Trace took her left hand in his, and she admired the beautiful ring set with a small diamond surrounded by sapphires that made her think of his eyes.
“This ring belonged to my father’s mother. She gave it to me, and I left it with Teresa. My sister insisted on bringing it herself, refusing to turn it over until she met you in person. You received both her and Billy’s approval. Not that any of that matters, though.” He kissed her fingers again. “What matters is how much I love you, Victoria Arielle Carter. I love you with my whole heart, today and for always. Life with me won’t be easy, not with this line of work, but I promise I’ll do my best to always make you feel cherished, treasured, and loved. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
“Tell him yes, Aunt Victoria! Tell him yes!” Maddie yelled from the porch where all the family had gathered.
Victoria ignored Maddie’s instructions and the laughter that ensued but kept her gaze focused on the man she loved. “I would be happy to accept your offer, Trace, and promise to cherish and treasure you, too, for always. I love you.”
“Then let’s seal this with a kiss,” he said, lowering his head to hers and giving her a kiss, not sizzling with passion but bursting with promises and love.
Cheers and claps sounded from the porch as Victoria buried her head against the front of his dark coat. “Merry Christmas, Trace. It was so nice of you to play Santa Claus for Maddie, Betsy, and Jimmy last night.”
“Santa Claus?” he asked, pushing her back until she could look in his face. “I was at the doc’s place, asleep.”
“No, you came last night…with the presents, and the bells, and…” She stared at him. “Surely you aren’t suggesting Santa really came for a visit last night.”
“Well, it is the season of miracles and wonder.” He winked at her and kissed her again. “Let’s make every Christmas ring with joy and love, Tori.”
“Each and every one,” she said, pulling his head down for one more lingering kiss.
Recipe
Although Victoria isn’t much of a cook, she and Trace both enjoyed a moist cake created by Elsa.
I found a Victorian recipe for raspberry jelly roll cake, but this updated version is one anyone can create in today’s kitchen.
Raspberry Jelly Roll Cake
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
Whipped cream
Fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and coat with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat eggs for about five minutes with an electric mixer until thick and lemon-colored. Slowly beat in the granulated sugar until well combined then add water and vanilla extract, blending on low speed.
Gradually add in the flour mixture, beating until batter is well blended.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading into the corners.
Generously dust a clean tea towel with the powdered sugar
Bake the cake for approximately 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When the cake is baked, immediately loosen it from the edges of the pan and turn it onto the sugar-covered tea towel.
Remove the parchment paper, trim any hard edges, then carefully roll the cake and towel while still warm. To roll, start on a longer side and roll the cake away from you.
Cool on a wire rack for about thirty minutes. Carefully unroll the cake and remove the towel. Spread the jam over the cake, roll again, then dust with powdered sugar right before serving. You can wrap the roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate until it’s time to serve. For added panache, serve the cake with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Author’s Note
Thank you for coming on another adventure in Hardman, Oregon. Last year, after the release of The Christmas Melody, many of you requested Victoria’s story, wanting her to find her own happily ever after. I hope you enjoyed her journey with Trace.
I thought it would be fun for her hero to be someone who wasn’t what he seemed, only in a good way. It was such a treat to create Trace’s character and come up with his name! I actually found it by looking through an old dictionary from the 1950s.