Free Island Christmas by Kimberly Rose Johnson Page B

and walked out the door.
    Disappointment washed over her as she watched him walk away, taking a piece of her heart with him. How had she fallen for him so fast, and what was she going to do about it?
     

     
    It took every ounce of willpower to walk out Rachel’s door without kissing her. She drew him like no other woman ever had. But the way things stood now, anything more than friendship was impossible. He prayed daily that she would come to a saving faith in the Lord.
    He ran a hand down his face as he sat behind the wheel of his car looking back at her little house. Rachel and Jason would make some man very happy one day. He started up the car and headed to the B&B.
    Jason was such a cute kid. He hoped to have a boy like him in the future, but would a woman even want him given his family history with heart disease and the men in his family dying so young?
    It’s not like he’d been required to disclose that information. His doctor said his heart, though not as healthy as it could be, looked pretty good all things considered. But Chris couldn’t help being a pessimist, considering his family history.
    He was lonely and wanted a family. If that was ever going to happen he must stop thinking about the condition of his heart and start looking for the right woman. One who was willing to take life as it came and accept the good with the bad. He already knew Rachel could do that, but he couldn’t put her through losing a spouse again. Nor could he consider dating her if they didn’t have the same beliefs. His faith was everything to him.

CHAPTER NINE
     
    Rachel stood at the kitchen counter at the Wildflower Bed-and-Breakfast. She’d stopped in for a cup of coffee, but Zoe was busy making Christmas cut-out cookies, so Rachel decided to roll up her sleeves and help. Jason was downstairs with Nick and his nephew Aiden, who was visiting for the weekend.
    “We could use more star cookies, Rachel.” Zoe handed her the cookie cutter, then pulled a tray from the oven. “Perfect.” She grinned and set the tray on a wire rack. “How are you and Jason adjusting to life on the island?”
    “It’s been rough at times, but all things considered, the transition has gone well.”
    “Good.” She motioned toward a set of cookie cutters. “Those are for the nativity scene. I want to make a display in the entryway.”
    Rachel wanted to ask Zoe about her faith but didn’t know how to bring it up. Ever since Chris had stated he was a Christian and invited her to church, she hadn’t been able to get his faith from her mind. He was a good guy, better than most, and she admired Zoe and Nick. They all had their faith in common. Was she missing out on something special by not believing the way they did?
    It wasn’t like she had anything against God. She’d never given Him much thought—even when she was pregnant and trying to decide what to do. She never would have terminated her pregnancy, but she’d seriously considered giving her baby up for adoption. Considering everything else she’d put her parents through, she’d been so afraid of how they would respond when they found out she had not only been married, but was with child.
    As it turned out they were cool about it. They hadn’t been happy to learn she’d married and not told them, or that her husband had died, or that she’d only married him because she was pregnant, but they had insisted she move back in with them. They had even supported her and watched Jason while she went to culinary school. She couldn’t have asked for more.
    Rachel pressed the star into the last empty space on the dough. She wanted to be a good mom for Jason. Was she being neglectful by not taking him to church? “Do you and Nick go to a church here on the island?”
    “Yes. There are actually a couple of different ones, but we like Wildflower Community Church near the golf club.”
    “I’ve seen that place. It looks like a historic building with the spire.”
    Zoe grinned. “I imagine it