Although she’d started the day early, doing one last walkthrough to make sure everything was perfect for the open house, Sarah had spent most of the day with her father. They’d gone to Maybelle’s for a late Christmas Eve lunch, then they’d met up with the Butterflies and others from church to go caroling, then they’d attended a Christmas Eve service.

She’d had a busy day. A good day. And yet…

“I was at Lou’s yesterday,” her father continued. “Everyone I talked to is excited about the Open House tomorrow.”

“Me, too.” Mostly. Because no matter how much she tried she couldn’t quite get past the wish that Bodie would be there.

He wouldn’t be.

“Your Aunt Jean would be very proud of what you’ve done with Hamilton House, Sarah.”

Sarah’s gaze lifted to her father’s and she fought tears. “You think so?”

He nodded. “The only thing she loved more than that old house was you. That you are there, breathing life into those walls again, would have meant the world to her. I know she’s cheering you on from heaven, and that Roy and your mom are right there with her.”

Putting her hot tea down on a side table, she got up, crossed to his recliner and gave him a hug. “Thank you for always knowing what to say to make me feel better.”

“Not always,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what to say when that idiot Richard left.”

Settling back onto the sofa and pulling her mother’s quilt back up around her, Sarah shrugged. “Richard did me a favor by leaving. If he’d stayed, I might have settled.”

Her father grimaced. “You should never settle, Sarah. What about that last one, Bodie?”

“Bodie was my handyman, not my boyfriend.”

“I’m a preacher, Sarah, not a blind man.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I saw how you looked at him,” he said.

“Not sure what you think you saw, but I never thought there would be anything permanent between Bodie and I.”

“Then you were the only one.”

“The Butterflies don’t count. They’re perpetual matchmakers. I’m surprised they haven’t driven you crazy over the years with trying to remarry you.”

Sadness flashed in his eyes. “Your mother was my soul mate. I never met anyone else who came close. It wouldn’t have been fair to marry when my heart would always belong to her.”

“You, Aunt Jean, Maybelle,” Sarah sighed. “I’m surrounded by people who loved and lost.”

He shook his head. “I loved, Sarah. There is no lost. Some never experience what I shared with your mother. I’ve no regrets.” He studied her a moment. “But I get the feeling your comment had more to do with a certain handyman than it did me, Maybelle, or your aunt.”