A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets #6) - Rachel Hanna Page 0,44

to find a beautiful silver charm bracelet. On it, Julie had added three charms. One was a cross for Tina’s Christian faith. Another was a starfish to remember her time in Seagrove. The third one was a little Christmas wreath to say thank you for her help at the festival. Julie explained what each charm meant.

“Wow. This is the most beautiful bracelet I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much!”

Julie stood up and hugged her. “You’re very welcome. I hope it will always remind you of the time that you spent here with us. We consider you a lifelong friend, and we expect you to come back and visit sometime.”

Tina stood there quietly for a moment, a couple of tears escaping her eyes. “Thank you. Truly.”

“Well, ladies, it is now time for the unveiling of the most amazing and wonderful Christmas gift ever given to anyone!” Dawson said, standing up dramatically. He puffed out his chest and held one arm in the air like he was about to give a stirring speech.

Julie playfully hit him in the stomach with the back of her hand. “Did you have to ruin such a beautiful moment with your crazy antics?”

“Actually, I did because I’m about to go nuts to get to show you my gift.”

* * *

Dawson took Julie’s hand and led her out the back door with Tina and Dylan following. They walked across the lawn toward the big barn where Dylan had first stayed at their house.

“Now, you need to close your eyes when I open the door. All of you,” Dawson instructed.

Once they all closed their eyes, Dylan probably peeking, Dawson unlocked the barn and pushed open the two big doors. He had never been so excited to show someone something in his life.

When he was growing up, his father had taught him a lot about carpentry. He’d also been really close to the shop teacher at his high school who showed him many building techniques. He remembered building his first piece of furniture, a little end table for his grandmother, which still sat in the living room.

“Are you ready?” he asked Julie as he helped her step into the barn without tripping over anything. He caught Dylan sneaking a peek, but sent him a warning glance. Dylan quickly closed his eyes again.

“I am more than ready!”

“Okay, open your eyes!”

When Julie opened her eyes, she was staring at the large walnut dining table that Dawson had made for her. Long and wide, it would take up most of the dining room, but it would help to house not only their family but any guests that were staying at the inn. Plus, they could use the existing chairs they had until Dawson could build some custom ones to match.

Not only had he made the table, but he had put a long section of blue glittery resin down the center that was covered with polyurethane. It gave the feeling of the ocean waves right in the middle of the table. On one corner, he had carved their name, “Lancaster”.

Julie stood there, no words coming out of her mouth as she stared at the table. At first, he couldn’t tell if maybe she was disappointed and thought she was getting something else. Then, he noticed tears forming in her eyes as she walked over and touched the end of the table with her fingertips. She ran her hand across the word “Lancaster”.

“Dawson, it’s the most beautiful table I’ve ever seen in my life. How in the world did you come up with this idea?”

“Actually, I dreamed about it. It’s made from walnut, and I cut the tree down right here on our property. I had William and Tucker come over and help me one day while you were at work.”

“I love the blue part in the middle,” Dylan said, walking over and sliding his hand across it.

“That’s supposed to look like the ocean,” Dawson said. “The ocean unites us and it’s where we became a real family.”

“Thank you so much,” she said, hugging him tightly. “This table will be in our family for generations.”

“I hope so. I worked really hard on this, and I almost ran away from home a couple of times.”

Julie laughed. “How are we going to get it into the house?”

“Oh, we will hire some special movers for that!” Dawson said, chuckling. “This thing is heavy as lead, and I have no interest in moving it.”

As he watched Julie and Dylan continue to walk around the table and look at it