Oh Snowy Night

by Goode, Ella

  She lays her head on my shoulder. “Yeah, just ready for the little one to make an appearance. I have to confess, I really thought I’d like pregnancy more. I love babies and all these pictures of pregnant ladies on Insta made me super excited. At first, it was awesome but now I’m ready for the little one to pop out.” She lightly taps her belly. “What’s taking so long, little one?”

  I capture her hand and press it to my mouth. “Sitting in there seems a helluvalot better than coming out here. Wind temps are going to feel like negative 14 tomorrow.”

  “That sounds terrible.”

  I give her hand another kiss and go back to the stove, where hot cider has been warming. I ladle some of the mixture into a mug and bring it to Faith along with a couple of cookies. “It’s the perfect weather to stay inside by the fireplace.”

  “I was going to go out with you to get the tree, remember?”

  “Bear and I know what we’re doing. Besides, I was worrying about you out there in the snow.”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t want to say anything. Like, I’d rather you just sit on this sofa and watch television with Smittens than have you doing anything. I nearly had a heart attack yesterday when I came home and saw all the boxes out.”

  “Ornaments are really light.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “All right. You go and get me a tree. I guess it’s sort of tradition for you to pick it out.”

  I get up and throw another log on the fire. The television volume has been muted. I turn it up and toss the remote next to her. “I’m going to go and get a small tree and some other shit. You stay under the blanket and keep warm.”

  I give her a quick kiss and bolt out of the house before she can change her mind. She’s right, though. It’s tradition. The first year, she couldn’t believe I didn’t celebrate Christmas and the second year, I found the perfect tree when I was out clearing some fallen branches that had broken off during a storm. I cut it down and dragged it back. It was only the end of October and snow had barely dusted the ground, but Faith was deliriously happy. We even ordered a stand so I didn’t have to use sandbags and rope. This year, we were going to go together, in part because I felt guilty that I was always picking out her tree. But I did worry about her tramping around the woods being eight months pregnant.

  Bear and I locate a perfect tree--not too big that it’s overwhelming for Faith and not so small she feels like she’s re-enacting the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. We watched all of the specials last year. That one’s my favorite along with the big guy in the elf suit because that shit’s relatable. I wouldn’t be a good elf either. Elves need to be small--like Faith. She’d be the perfect elf, not that I’m letting even Santa steal her away.

  I chop down the tree and we start off for home. The modest lodge I had built when I first moved in has a nice, glassed-in addition which was dark when I left but now it’s totally lit up and there are people moving around. “What’s going on, Bear?”

  He whuffs in response before racing for the back door. I keep my eyes on the interior waiting for Faith to cross in front of one of the many panes of glass. By the time I reach the porch, I’ve counted ten people including Old Karen and Henry, King, and a few others that I don’t recognize.

  When I open the door, Faith is there to greet me. “Surprise!” she shouts.

  “What in the he--”

  She claps a hand over my mouth. “He’s so happy you’re all here,” she calls out gaily. To me, she says, “I set up the tree stand over there. Well, I didn’t. King insisted but it’s ready for you.”

  I throw King a grateful look which he acknowledges with a slight nod of his chin. “What’s going on, babe?”

  “Hayley called and wanted to know the recipe for the cider you always make. We got to talking and decided that we would have a Christmas tree trimming party.”

  All objections to this fly out of my head when I look down at the face of my beaming wife.

  “You don’t mind, do you?” she whispers quietly.

  “Hell, no.” Fuck, I’d dance naked in Times Square to put a smile like that on her face. I set the tree down on the stand. King cranks the stabilizers in place and his new wife spreads a tartan colored cloth around the base. With all the helping hands, the decorations are put up in no time. Pretty soon the furniture has been pushed back, the lights have been lowered, and Faith is in my arms, pressing her round cheek to my chest. I sway to the music, holding her close.

  “This is the Christmas I’ve always dreamed about,” she says. “Friends, family, and most of all, you.”

  “Me?” I haven’t ever been anyone’s dream.

  “Yeah, when I was young, I always imagined myself spending this magical holiday with someone who loved me as much as I loved them so, yeah, this is truly my dream come true.”

  Epilogue

  Faith

  Years Later

  I moan around the yummy goodness as I steal another bite. “I knew I’d find you here.” I turn at the sound of my husband's voice as I shove the rest of the cookie into my mouth.

  “I can be Santa,” I say with my mouth full of the last cookie off the plate. I pick up the glass of milk, polishing that off too. Conn laughs as he comes over to kiss me. I sigh into his mouth as his hand rubs the small bump that is already forming. We’re expecting our third and last baby. Even though I’ve said with each pregnancy that it would be the last, as soon as the baby turns into a toddler I’d start wanting another one. Conn is always willing to give me whatever I want. If I only wanted one, he would have been happy with that. He said he’d be more than willing to give me as many as I wanted because he loves to see me round with his child.

  “You make the perfect Santa, babe.” He lifts me, sitting me down onto the counter. I stare at him for a moment, thinking about how we came to be all those years ago. I always get a little nostalgic this time of year, plus the pregnancy hormones add to that a little.

  “I miss it here.” I look around at our small cabin that we used to call home. Now we only use it for Christmas. It’s a tradition to stay here on Christmas Eve. We call it our Christmas house because that’s exactly what it is. It had taken Conn months to talk me into moving out of here but I knew he was right. We’d outgrown this place when we had our first child and then when the second came, I knew that it was time. I had to let it go but only after Conn promised that we would continue to celebrate Christmas here. Okay, I don’t know if you call building a house a mile down the road “letting it go” but still. We don’t technically stay here anymore, except on Christmas Eve. From time to time Conn and I sneak away down here for a date night without the little ones underfoot but that never lasts more than a few hours.

  “Our house looks just like this.” I snort a laugh. I did stick to the rustic look when we built our new place but it isn’t that rustic. It has all of the modern amenities but isn’t overly fancy.

  “We can come here anytime. Pretty sure I fucked you on that sofa two weeks ago.”

  I place my hands on his chest. That he did and it was mind blowing. That’s nothing new for us though. From the moment we came into each other’s lives we’ve had an undeniable attraction to one another.

  “You did.” I smile, tilting my head back to offer him a kiss. He takes it. Even though we’ve kissed thousands of times, I can never get enough of him.

  “You want me to make you more cookies?” he offers. I do but I want him more than any other treat right now.

  “I’m good.” I slide my hands up his chest, wrapping them around his neck. “They asleep?”

  “They passed right out.”

  “Liar.” He’s been putting our two little ones to bed for over an hour now. I bet they talked him into four extra books. He may look intimidating, but our children have him wrapped around their little fingers. He’s such a good dad. I knew he would be. I wanted my kids to have the childhood that I always dreamed of. With two parents who loved and adored them. I wanted them to know
that they would always come first and that they would be loved. Conn and I may not have had that but our kids will.

  “I call it stretching the truth. They passed right out.” He smirks. “After the fifth book or so.” I laugh against him, pulling him down for another kiss. I knew that’s what happened because Conn is such a sucker when it comes to our kids. It's adorable.

  “This place holds so many memories. We had all of our firsts here. Our first kiss, our first tree, our first child.” I look around at all the homemade decorations that are strewn everywhere. We’ve made it a tradition to make decorations out of whatever we could find, just like Conn did for me when we first met. That memory brings a smile to my face. Bear lies near the fireplace with Smittens on top of him as usual. They’ve been inseparable from the moment they met and that hasn’t changed any.

  “I love you,” Conn says, staring down at me.

  “I love you too.” He lifts me, carrying me over toward the sofa. He sits down with me in his lap and I wiggle on his hardness.

  “You want your Christmas gift early?” I wiggle again, making him groan.

  “You are my gift. The day you walked into my life was the best present that I could have ever asked for. Then you loved me and I didn’t think it could get better than that until you gave me a family.” Tears spring to my eyes at his words. “I Have Faith. What more could I ask for?”

  “I knew the moment I lit my sweater up that you were a goner.” He smiles before he places a kiss on my lips.

  “Enough of this sweet talk. Since you’re sitting on my lap, sweet girl, why don’t you tell me if you’ve been naughty or nice.”

  I giggle against his lips. “Definitely naughty.”

  * * *

  Happy Holidays, all my lovelies! It’s that time of year when you break out the candy canes and the hot chocolate and the peppermint schnapps and go crazy! Or, is that just me? Whatever holiday tradition you have, I hope it is one that brings you peace and joy.

  I loved writing this holiday short and I hope you enjoy it as well. I’ll have a new story for you in two weeks so stay tuned and stay safe. In the meantime, you might love Pretty Prize with the pretty new cover and Spark. Check them out!

  Love you!!

  Ella

  Also by Ella Goode

  * * *

  FU High: Ace of Hearts, Deuces Wild, and Two of a Kind

  Loyalty Card

  She’s the One & My Only One

  Spark

  Priceless

  Smooth Kisses, Sweet Kisses, Saved Kisses

  Finding Home & Bring Him Home

  Captured, Kept, Stolen

  Make Me Yours

  She’s All Mine

  Pretty Prize

  Three of Us (Twins #1) and Belong Together (Twins #2)

  Their Private Need (Michigan, Easy and Annie)

  His Bold Heart (Chelsea & Wrecker)

  Her Secret Pleasure

  Captive Ride

  The Last Christmas Present: Billionaire Holiday Romance (a Daddy story)

  The Wolf’s Mail Order Bride

  Beauty in Summer

  Connect with me!

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  Copyright © 2019 by Ella Goode

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