Alyssa laughed softly. “Hey! Weren’t you the one giving me the you-can-do-this pep talk back at Big Dog’s when I went into that teeny tiny panic attack?”
“Sorry,” her friend apologized. “I have all the faith in the world you can do this. Really I do. It’s just the mom in me coming out. It can’t be helped.”
“It’s okay,” Alyssa said with a grateful smile. “It’s nice to know I have someone in my life that truly cares about me.”
“The right man is gonna come along,” her friend assured her, knowing that Alyssa longed to have the kind of family Erica had.
“Not if I keep dating Mr. Not-So-Rights.” Not that she had dated much since the accident. As soon as her dates found out she was legally blind, they bailed. She supposed she couldn’t blame them. A relationship with her would involve some major adjustments. But at least her visual impairment wouldn’t get any worse than it was now. She could live with that, even if the men she had dated couldn’t.
“Don’t give up on love,” Erica beseeched her. “Mr. Right is out there.”
Reaching out, Alyssa opened the back passenger door to collect her suitcase. “I suppose I’ll just have to take your word for it.”
She leaned into the vehicle and grabbed her suitcase. Lowering the black spinner onto the sidewalk beside her, she stepped away from the SUV and turned to her friend. “I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks. Maybe sooner.”
Erica gave her a hug. “If you change your mind about doing this—”
“I know,” she said, cutting her off with a grin. “You’re only a phone call away.”
“I’ll miss you,” Erica called out as she made her way around to the driver’s side door.
“Same here,” she replied, lifting her hand in a wave as her friend drove away. Then she stood watching as the blurred image of her friend’s SUV disappeared from sight. A sudden surge of panic had her entire body tensing.
Her hand moved over the soft leather of the purse she had draped across her as she fought the urge to dig inside it for her cell phone. No, she thought determinedly, she would not call Erica to come back for her. Fear would not control her. She could do this. Closing her eyes, she prayed for the Lord to give her the strength to do what she had come to do. As she did so, a sense of calm slowly settled over her.
Opening her eyes, she let her gaze drift down what she knew to be the main street of town. Braxton, much smaller than San Antonio according to the information she’d found on the town’s website, stretched out before her in a distortion of shapes and colors. The closer buildings she could almost make out, just not the fine details. Never since the damage done to her vision from the accident had she felt the loss of her perfect eyesight more. She was far from familiar surroundings in a town where she knew no one. At the same time, she was grateful that her impaired vision would get no worse when so many others were forced to live their lives in total darkness.
“Hurry up, Daddy!” a tiny voice squealed behind her.
Alyssa turned just as a flash of red whooshed by, bumping into her with enough force to knock her off-balance.
“Sorry!” the little girl called back over her shoulder as she raced away.
A strong hand closed around Alyssa’s arm to steady her. “Sorry about that,” a deep, very male voice apologized. “I’m afraid my daughter had a little too much sugar at dinner.”
Her gaze climbed up the giant of a man standing before her. He had broad shoulders, a black cowboy hat shading a charming smile as he towered over her five-foot-two-inch frame. As their gazes met, Alyssa was startled by the intensity of the man’s blue eyes. “It’s all right,” she managed.
He released the grasp he had on her arm and held out his hand. “Nathan Cooper.”
“Alyssa McCall,” she said, smiling as she placed her much smaller hand into his. “You were in the restaurant.”
He nodded. “It’s one of my daughter’s favorite places,” he explained with a warm smile. “Best milk shakes around if you find you have a hankering for one.”
She laughed softly. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
“Daddy, come on!” The excited cry was followed by the sound of bells tinkling as the store’s door swung open.
Releasing her hand, his gaze shifted toward the store. “I’d best get in there before my hyperactive little bull takes out the entire china shop.”
“This is a china shop?” she replied in confusion.
“What?” he asked with a chuckle.
Alyssa’s brow creased with worry. “I’m supposed to be at The Toy Box.”
He studied her for a long moment before pointing to the sign that hung over the storefront. One that was little more than a blur to her. “You’re in the right place. Largest mom and pop toy store in the county.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “You had me worried for a minute.” She reached for the handle of her suitcase, but he was faster.
“Allow me.”
“There’s no need—”
He held up his other hand, effectively cutting off her refusal of his help. “It’s the least I can do after my daughter practically ran you over.”
She relented, allowing him to carry her suitcase for her. And he didn’t stop there. He opened the door and held it, motioning her inside.
“Thank you,” she said as she moved past him into the store. If everyone in Braxton was as kind as Nathan Cooper, her stay would be far easier than she’d prayed it would be.
“You aren’t by any chance a traveling Slinky sales rep, are you?” Nathan Cooper asked as he followed Alyssa inside.
“Excuse me?”
“The suitcase,” he said, with a charming grin. “I’m guessing you’re in toy sales of some sort.”
She laughed softly at his teasing. “Not even close. I’m here to see Mr. Clark.”
He nodded.
“Look, Daddy!” his daughter exclaimed as she pointed to the collection of animated figurines strategically placed in the storefront window. “It’s Rudolph.”
Alyssa stepped closer to watch the musical display. “You know, Rudolph’s story was first told by Robert L. May in 1939 in a booklet he created for a department store called Montgomery Ward. That was over seventy years ago.”
The little girl tipped her tiny face upward in wide-eyed amazement. “Rudolph’s that old?”
“The story is that old,” Alyssa explained with a smile. “But Rudolph is a very special reindeer,” Alyssa said. “He doesn’t get old. In fact, none of Santa’s reindeer do.”
“Because they’re special, too!” Katie exclaimed.
Alyssa nodded. “That’s right.”
Nathan called out to his daughter. “We don’t have much time, Cupcake. You’d best get started on that list.”
His daughter, needing no more coaxing, scurried away to disappear between the aisles. Alyssa had spent enough time in physical therapy not to miss the slight limp to the little girl’s gait. Probably nothing more than a bruised knee, but it brought Alyssa back to a time in her life she’d just as soon forget.
She