by Vivian Arend
His grin was firmly back in place. “Sweetheart, that’s a perfect lead-in. Remember, I said you got to set the pace. Frankly, I would be very happy to put that ring on your finger right now and slide into engagement town.”
“Too soon,” Yvette said quickly.
“Exactly.”
“Not because I don’t want to get there, maybe—but no, just no.” Her face had to be flushed. She didn’t want to make it sound as if she were rejecting him. “This is coming out all wrong.”
Once again, she found herself in his lap, his strong arms around her. Fingers linked at the back of her head to direct her gaze straight on with his. “You said you love me. I don’t need any other bells and whistles. Or rings, or bows.” He lifted his free hand and teased a finger over her lips. “I do want to talk about what it means when two people discover they’re in love. Where they live, how they spend their time. But I don’t need any pretty trinket on your finger, or mine, to know that we belong together. Period.”
Okay. Although a teasing moment of guilt did slide in and out faster than she thought possible. “Would it make you happy if we were engaged?”
His instant reaction was a light shrug. “Sure, but it doesn’t have to be today.” His smile widened again. “Also, I would like to be the one to give you a ring. Something we pick out together, instead of one you found lying around.”
“Hidden away in the desk that has been in your family for years is not lying around,” she said with mock seriousness.” Then she leaned in and kissed him. Every bit of concern washed away. The goodness of his understanding made the warm spot inside grow again.
They sat there for a while, kissing and touching and talking about what might come next. They even went out on the porch, wrapped up from head to toe in blankets as they sat together and watched enormous snowflakes gently fall on the picturesque farm scene.
Alex used his phone to give them music, and this connection between them also felt right. They sang, his deeper tones a wonderful complement to her alto as they crooned “Winter Wonderland” and “White Christmas.”
“It’s a pretty place,” Yvette said, fingers linked with Alex’s under the covers. “It’s got good bones.”
“It’s a fantastic place for you to set down roots.”
That sounded sweet, but not quite right. Yvette repeated the words in her head. Definitely something she wanted to clear up. Diving into rings and talk of marriage—those were too soon. But she was one hundred percent sure of the feeling inside her heart.
She loved him. That part was rock solid, which meant this part needed to be crystal clear.
“For us,” she corrected, meeting his gaze straight on. “This is where we can set down roots, together.”
His smile could’ve lit up the countryside. “Together.”
15
Their free day and a half out at the farm had been a little bit of heaven. Having to head into work on Christmas morning seemed a cruel punishment.
But first, they got to celebrate.
Far too bright and early, Yvette rolled on top of him in bed, bouncing like a little kid with excitement. “It’s Christmas Day,” she all but shouted. “Merry Christmas.”
He rolled her under him, trying to ignore the time. “Merry Christmas. Sorry, there’s nothing under the tree for you. Oh, wait. Maybe there is.”
She blinked then all but threw him off, scrambling out of the chilly bedroom into the slightly warmer main room.
Laughter welled up as she settled on the floor beside the “tree” he’d pulled together last night, sneaking out of bed to get it set up. He’d lashed a branch from a spruce tree to one of the straight-backed kitchen chairs. Then he put her Christmas present on the seat of the chair, the package done up in shiny red paper with an enormous silver bow.
He joined her. “You do realize it’s five in the morning.”
“Which gives you just enough time to open your present and still get to your shift on time.” Yvette reached underneath the couch and pulled out a brightly wrapped package. “Ta-da. Here’s part one.”
It was Alex’s turned to be amazed. “I knew ahead of time I was doing this, which is why I’ve got yours with me. You had my present with you in your truck?”
She looked sheepish. “I bought a present for Creighton and decided to get you a set as well. Your real present is something else. You get it later today.”
He dropped to the floor beside her. “Well, Merry Christmas to us.”
Paper flew. A lot of paper, because Alex had wrapped Yvette’s gift in five separate layers, just to make her smile.
Her gift to him turned out to be a set of sheepskin-lined work gloves. Sturdy and warm. “I love them.” He slipped them on, and they fit perfectly. “You knew the right size.”
She paused as she placed a finally unwrapped photo album in her lap. “I’ve had your hands all over me enough for the past month. I knew what size to get.”
Amusement shot to high. Alex pressed the soft leather over her breasts. “Please, tell me you did this in the middle of the store.”
She outright snickered.
He blinked, hands falling away in surprise. “You did?”
Yvette lifted her fingers to her mouth. “I told you, I wanted to get the right size.”
She was blooming in so many wonderful ways. “I wish I’d been there to see it.”
Yvette flipped open the first page of the photo album, her mouth opening in awe. “Oh, Alex. I love it.”
“Your friends helped. Hanna and the rest. They were sneaky for me, taking pictures and looking back in time for extra shots.”
Twenty-four days of pictures. Not just from this December, but some from the time before. When the two of them had still been at odds but drawn together repeatedly by common friends and their work.
He’d taken a picture of every single key chain and put that image in the top corner. The rest of the page was them. Places they’d been, situations they’d dealt with that fit the theme of the day.
Day two, and the star key chain was accompanied by a shot from Silver Stone two years earlier. A tiny foal with a starlike marking on its forehead that Yvette had helped deliver.
Day fourteen was a candle. The picture next to it was one Brooke had snapped the night they’d had the bonfire, with firelight glow dancing on their faces as Alex leaned across to kiss her.
The image of them in their award-winning ugly sweaters surrounded by mutated snowmen. A picture of them on horses. Of them at the fire hall with their friends, her giving him side-eye as he made a funny face.
All of it was there. A record of connection and growing unity.
She looked up, and her eyes sparkled. “You left a lot of empty pages.”
“New memories. They’ll be coming,” he assured her.
She squeezed him tight, damn near mashing them together. Alex somehow dragged himself out the door on time and headed off down the snowy drive feeling as if he were twenty feet tall.
His entire—thankfully short—work shift was a blur, and he raced his way across to the seniors’ lodge to meet up with Yvette as promised. They walked together from the parking lot hand in hand.
The first surprise was discovering Creighton sitting outside the front door on one of the wide benches that faced toward the mountain view. Tex sat at his feet, tail thumping as they approached.
“Merry Christmas,” Alex offered.
“Bah, humbug.” But Creighton grinned. “You too.”
Yvette stopped a foot in front of Creighton. She leaned down and spoke softly. “Merry Christmas.”
The next moment, she’d wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. The old man’s eyes widened in shock, but he lifted his arms and squeezed her tight. His eyes closed as happiness rolled over his weathered face.
“Stuff and nonsense, you know.” The words came out gruff and grumpy.
He forced a frown as she stood and folded her arms, mischief in her eyes. “Happy holidays? We’re too late for joyous Solstice.�
��
Creighton waved a hand. “Fine. Merry Christmas. How are my dogs?”
“Happy. Warm. Missing you, though. They told me themselves before we left that they hope you come to visit sometime.” She shook her head, smile softening. “We’ll talk more about your generous offer, but thank you. I have a lot to think about.”
“It’s the holidays.” He frowned at Alex. “Why is she talking business when it’s the holidays? You aren’t making the day very festive for her.”
“You’re right,” Alex said, passing Yvette the bag with Creighton’s present before holding out the one he’d gotten the man. “Time to celebrate. Hurry up, old man. I hear there’s cake happening soon, and I don’t want to miss it.”
A snort of amusement escaped Creighton. He unwrapped the pair of slippers Alex had gotten him, and the gloves from Yvette, his stern face suddenly a lot older and more fragile.
He met Yvette’s gaze and sighed. “Thanks for being kind to an old man. Now get. You can come see me next week and tell me how much you’re going to pay me and how you’re going to fix up my place.”
“It was not a problem to be kind to you,” Yvette insisted. Her nose wrinkled before she added, “Well, mostly it wasn’t a problem.”
Creighton full-on laughed. Then he turned to Alex. “Just so you know, you were right. That road to my place is a pain in the ass. I put it that way to annoy the hell out of a good friend of mine. He lost a bet, and so I got to build my access road straight through the middle of one of his grazing sections, just to make him cuss me out every damn time he moved cattle.”
Good grief. “Seriously?”
“He’s dead now, so there’s no fun in it anymore.” The older man nodded, an evil glint in his eye. “There’s another right of way onto the property, just off Highway 34. Figured you could make a road through the trees on the east section and cut the drive time from town to under 10 minutes.”
“You’re a bad one,” Yvette offered.
He shrugged. “A man’s got to enjoy life however he can.”
Yvette was still shaking her head and laughing as they left Creighton and Tex to join the rest of the party.
The inside of the lodge was full of holiday scents and sounds. Alex kept his fingers curled around Yvette’s as they made their way into the secure wing.
Before they joined her grandparents, Alex pulled Yvette aside and brought out his phone. He held it forward, the song he’d lined up visible on the screen. “You okay singing this as a present for your grandparents?”
Her smile was blinding. “I love you.”
He winked. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Sweet happiness followed as hugs were exchanged. Yvette’s grandfather continued to smile and nod as presents were unwrapped, although he didn’t want to unwrap any himself. Grandma Geraldine hummed happily as she watched her friends interact with their great-grandchildren. “It’s a good day.”
Yvette waited until the excitement and wrapping paper had finished flying. “Grandma. We have something else for you.”
She nodded at Alex, and he pulled her to her feet. Music playing, he took her by the hand and together, they sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
He wasn’t a performer, and this wasn’t a performance where making eye contact with the audience was important. Maybe he should have done a little more, but the only person he had eyes for was Yvette. She was the only person who could truly make this holiday feeling inside him last throughout the entire year.
They finished singing, and he pulled her into his arms, the seniors in the room clapping and nodding. Grandma Geraldine wiped at her eyes.
But it was Yvette’s grandfather who gave Alex the biggest kick. His expression was pure joy as he looked Alex in the eye and winked.
Hugs and kisses finished, Alex and Yvette made it back to her place shortly before four o’clock. The timing was pretty perfect, considering they wouldn’t need to start cooking anything for a while.
However could they spend their time?
“So, what’s my second present?” Alex teased, sliding an arm around her waist and nuzzling his lips below her ear. “Does it involve card games? Nudity? Both?”
“All wonderful ideas, and I’ll keep track of those for next time, but none of the above. I still think you’ll like it.” She took a deep breath then wiggled her phone in the air. “We’re talking with your parents. They should be calling in a few minutes.”
His face—
Yvette could stare at it forever. Or snap a picture and put it in the dictionary under the word astonished.
“My parents?” Alex swallowed. “You talked to them?” He didn’t sound upset but downright gleeful.
“I know how important they are to you, and I wanted a chance to meet them, so to speak. You and I had arranged to spend the rest of the day together, and I was worried you wouldn’t get a chance to connect with them.”
He tugged her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “I want to—jeez, I have no words. Again. Ms. Wright, you’re batting a thousand when it comes to saying things that tip me right off my feet.”
“You’re okay that I called them without you knowing?”
“Hell yes.” He leaned in, eyes dancing with mischief. “Tell me my dad said something to embarrass himself.”
She laughed. “They were very nice. We didn’t talk for long. Just made plans for them to FaceTime with us.”
There wasn’t time for nervousness to rise, because her phone was ringing. The next thing she knew, Alex had tucked his arm around her and taken control of the screen. He dropped it into an empty glass on the table, propping it up so the screen showed the two of them all curled up and cozy.
On the other side of the screen, a far larger group than two appeared.
“Merry Christmas.” The chorus rang out from the crowd, and Yvette smiled, gaze dancing over the gathering. She waved back at a little girl sitting in the lap of a silver-haired man on the couch.
Alex answered for them both. “Merry Christmas. This is a surprise. Cait, Aaron. You found some Christmas elves?”
Everyone in the Thorne household was wearing a bright-green sweater. Neon bright, with big red bows across the chest.
“Hey, Alex. Hi, Yvette. Nice to meet you. That’s Davis. I’m Caitlin, this is my husband, Aaron. We’ve got Thomas, Tisha, and Nyx celebrating with us this year.”
“I’m Nyx,” the youngest announced, squirming in place. “Why aren’t you wearing funny sweaters?”
“I don’t know. We should do something about that, shouldn’t we, Alex?” Yvette pointed at the little girl. “You wait right there. I’ll be back.”
Without thinking, she pressed a quick kiss to Alex’s cheek then rose to grab their sweaters. A chorus of catcalls and whistles carried over the phone.
Alex took the teasing with humour, jibbing back at his older brother. Yvette slipped on her sweater then modeled it, pushing Alex’s hands off when he tried to demonstrate how the Velcro animals worked.
Laughter rang out again and again. Nyx and her siblings showed off the presents they’d gotten, and the visit was sweet and special, and Yvette couldn’t have imagined anything better.
When Cait and Aaron slipped their family away, though, leaving just Hans and Glenda, Yvette’s cheeks heated all over again.
“We won’t keep you much longer, but has it been a good holiday season?” Glenda asked.
“It’s been—” How to describe what had happened? How to share the changes Yvette felt inside after all she’d learned and experienced this month?
She glanced at Alex. He was no help. He was staring at her with love in his eyes.
She turned back to his parents. Their expressions were full of kindness, but they were clearly amused as well. Good people, who had raised a wonderful son.
Whom she loved.
“Your son is very special. Thank you for sharing him with me.”
Hans grinned. “You want to keep him?”
“Dad,” Alex
complained. “I just spent a month getting her to stop running away. Don’t scare her—”
“Yes,” Yvette interrupted. She curled her arm around his. “I’m keeping him. I hope you don’t mind.”
Glenda clapped her hands together, face full of delight. “Really?”
“Does this mean wedding plans?” Hans asked.
Yvette shivered. Wordless for a moment.
“Not yet,” Alex said, beaming at her. “When she’s ready.”
“You should have put it on the list, son.” Hans teased. “But that’s just fine. It’s clear you two are meant for each other. We don’t need any special ceremony to make that true.”
“We look forward to more visits,” Glenda said, her smile bright, the words gentle. “And you go right ahead and call me anytime you want, Yvette. I love visits and phone calls and hearing how wonderful my son is. Or how he’s messed up—that’s also fun to hear, if you need to grumble for a bit.”
Yvette laughed. A memory cut in. “Oh. To change the topic for a moment. You know the present Alex gave me this year? The desk with daily presents?””
“I helped with the locks,” Hans said proudly. “But it was all his idea.”
“It was a wonderful idea, and I really enjoyed it. But there’s also a mystery to solve.” The sensation inside was now sheer curiosity. No worry, no concern. She once again pulled the ring from her pocket and lifted it up to view. “I found this, and Alex said he has no idea—”
“Oh my goodness.” Glenda was halfway to her feet in shock.
She dropped back into her chair, turning to Hans with her mouth hanging open. “You really did—I mean, is that the ring?”
Hans laughed. A huge sound that rolled up from his belly as he pulled his wife into his arms and squeezed her tight. “I told you I’d gotten you a ring. I told you.”
Yvette glanced at Alex.
He lifted his shoulders in an easy shrug. “No idea what’s going on. Mom, Dad. Stop smooching and spill the beans. Whose ring is this?” he demanded.
Because his parents were kissing. Rather vigorously, in fact, and Yvette found herself grinning hard as Glenda finally pushed Hans back far enough so they could both once again look into the camera.