by Liz Isaacson
Outside, the truck with everything she was keeping from the house was almost loaded. Three men worked to get it all packed inside, and two of them would drive it to Wyoming. Vi followed Rose to her car and got in the passenger seat, only her purse and a small backpack going with her on the plane.
But she was so ready to see Todd again. And Jetstream, whom she hadn’t seen in over two months. He must be huge now.
She was ready to go home.
Chapter Twenty-One
Todd bent to tie a bandana around Jetstream’s neck. “I don’t know,” he said to Vi, who sat on the couch in his living room. Having her back in his life was the single best thing in the world, and he couldn’t believe she’d been back in town, in his life, for almost two months. “I think it’s too…girly.”
“They’re candy canes,” Vi said. “That’s not girly.”
“It’s too red.” He reached into the package and pulled out the rest of the festive, holiday-themed bandanas he’d bought. “There’s this one with the gingerbread men.” It was at least printed on blue fabric. He took off the candy cane disaster and tried the cookie one. “Nope.”
Jetstream had such long hair that he just needed a plain bandana. Maybe green or something. Even red, if it was a deep red and not too pink.
He tried a couple more bandanas from the package, and then he and Vi and Jetstream ended up leaving for the lodge without one at all. He felt bad that his dog wasn’t going to be as dressed up as he and Vi were, and that was when he realized his whole life had changed in the past year.
“At this time twelve months ago,” he said as he went up the canyon toward the lodge. “I wasn’t sure where I’d spend Christmas, and I’d just won my last championship and announced my retirement.”
Vi reached across the console between them and laced her fingers through his. “It’s been quite the year, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” His headlights cut bright paths through the darkness.
“Where did you spend Christmas?”
“In a hotel in Vegas,” he said.
“This is going to be so much better than that,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I love the Christmas traditions at the lodge.”
Todd knew she did. She loved her sisters and her parents too. She loved Jetstream. And every time she kissed him, Todd felt her love for him too. He knew he was the luckiest man in the world, and he sent a prayer of gratitude heavenward as he pulled into the parking lot.
“Oh, there’s a lot of people here.”
“Just the family,” she said. “Celia, and Bree, and Annie.”
He parked in the closest open space, and they walked toward the front door hand-in-hand. “I got you something,” he said.
“Yeah, you’re going to put it in my stocking.” She kept walking, but Todd wanted her to stop. Just for a second. He tugged on her hand and she paused. “Vi, I want us to get married.”
“I want that too,” she whispered. “But I want a spring wedding, and there’s no way I can pull that off in four months.” She glanced toward the front door. “Plus, I don’t want to get engaged on Christmas Eve. It’s so…cliché.”
“Didn’t Lily get engaged at Christmas?”
“Yes. And Andrew and his wife too. And I just want….” She looked up into his eyes, and he saw all the anxiety and love there. “I want to marry you, I do. I just want the engagement to be special.”
“So I’ll wait.”
“Do you have a ring?”
“Not yet.”
“And you were going to ask me without a ring?”
“No.”
“Then what did you get me?”
“These.” He pulled out the jewelry box, but she didn’t suck in a breath or look at him with panic in her eyes.
“Oh, you’re a tease,” she said, taking it. She cracked the lid and there came the gasp. “Todd, these are beautiful.” She gently extracted the diamond snowflake earrings he’d bought. “Help me with them.” She worked with cold fingers as she traded the earrings she’d been wearing for the ones he’d just presented her with.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” she said, tipping up on her toes to kiss him. As far as he was concerned, this was already the best Christmas he’d ever had, but he faced the door.
“Let’s go on in, then.”
Vi led the way, and Todd was glad for that. He knew all the Whittaker brothers, of course. Eli wasn’t there, having chosen to go to Colorado to spend the holidays with his wife’s mother. But Mrs. Whittaker was there with her boyfriend, and Todd found he fit right in.
He went around with Vi and dropped little treasures and gifts into each stocking. He chatted with Graham and Laney, then Vi’s younger sister, Rose, and her parents. They seemed to fit too, and he realized it was part of the magic and majesty of this lodge. This family.
They accepted everyone, and everyone who came through those doors felt loved. Peace and love filled Todd from head to toe, and when Mrs. Whittaker stepped to the fireplace and said, “Welcome to the Whiskey Mountain Lodge everyone,” a hush fell over the group.
“I guess it’s my turn to do the Christmas tradition Graham established a few years ago.” She beamed around the room. “Each of my sons has had their turn, and Graham asked me to be in charge today. We’re thrilled you’re all here with us. We’ll do the tree lighting, and then the stockings, and finally, we’ll move into the dining room for dinner. I believe Celia did the nameplates this year.”
Celia nodded and smiled around at the group from her perch on the arm of the couch. Mrs. Whittaker looked around the group again. “I was supposed to get someone to do the lighting, and I haven’t been able to decide who to ask.” She gazed at Vi’s parents. “I’m so glad to have more people to love in my life. I’m so glad the Everetts are all here with us this year.” She smiled, and Todd was reminded of why he’d loved her so much growing up. She was the classic mother figure, and he watched her gaze move to her boyfriend.
“Traditionally, a loved one lights the tree. But I’m sorry Jason, I’m going to ask Todd to light the tree this year.” Her eyes moved to his, and surprise shot his eyebrows up.
“Me?” he asked.
“You’ve been like a son in our family,” she said. “Since childhood.” She gestured for him to come forward, and even Vi nudged him with her elbow. “It’s not hard, Todd. You just flip a switch.”
But Todd knew it was more than that. This was their family tradition, and it obviously meant something to every single person in this room. He got his feet to move him toward where Amanda stood. The heat from the fireplace licked up his back as he faced the group.
The love streaming from them felt more powerful than anything Todd had experienced before, and he’d stood in front of thousands of screaming fans with six championship belts to his name.
This was better.
“It’s right there,” she said, indicating the switch on the other wall. She faced everyone again. “I don’t have much more to say. Just that I love each of you, and I’m proud of the men my sons have become. I’m relieved they’ve found such good women to love, and that each of you new daughters have been so kind to me as well. Merry Christmas, everyone.”
“Merry Christmas,” several people said back, and Amanda nodded at him.
“Oh, wait,” she said. “It was a collaboration this year decorating the tree. Vi, Laney, and Beau did it, with Lily’s supervision. Did I get that right?”
“That’s right, Mother,” Beau said. “They just used me for my height and muscles.”
Everyone laughed, and then Todd stepped over to the switch and flipped it. The tree, which stretched toward the rafters, burst into brightly colored lights amidst a chorus of “ooh” and “ahh.”
Todd stepped back to Vi’s side and tucked her against him, right where he wanted her. For always. Forever.
“I love you,” he whispered as he gazed at the star at the top of the tree. “You’re right. This is amazing.”
“Right?” She cuddled into him, and
still she wasn’t close enough. “I love you too. I want traditions like this in our family.”
“Me too, Vi,” he said. “Me too.”
“Presents,” Graham said. “Come get your stockings.”
Todd basked in the glow of Christmas in Coral Canyon, never wanting to spend the holidays anywhere else, with anyone else. He loved the gifts he got, and the jovial atmosphere during dinner was heart-warming.
Afterward, he stepped outside for a moment, just to breathe. To find his center. He gazed up at the stars and said, “Thank you for bringing me home. Thank you for giving me Vi.”
She joined him in the next moment, as if he’d summoned her by speaking her name. “It’s cold out here,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“Jetstream needed to go out,” he said, indicating the dog sniffing the snow for the right place to do his business. Maybe it was a little lie.
“I’m so glad I’m here,” she said. “With you.”
“So am I,” he said. “Feels like home.”
“It really does.” She stood there with him for another few moments. Then she shivered and said, “Come on, sweetheart. They’re about to slice the cake, and that peanut butter concoction won’t last long.”
He loved the way she called him sweetheart. Loved that she wanted him in her life. Loved her. He chuckled as he followed her inside and then whistled for Jetstream to hurry up and come on.
The dog did, and Todd joined everyone in the kitchen for dessert, happier than he’d ever been. He’d figured things out. He’d fixed broken things. And now he was ready to live his life to make Vi happy.
He pressed a kiss to her temple and whispered, “I spotted some mistletoe in the hallway. We need to stop there later.”
She giggled and said, “Okay,” and Todd thanked the Lord one more time for all the goodness in his life.
I’m so glad Todd figured things out and fixed his relationship with Vi! Leave a review now!
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Read on for a sneak peek at HER COWBOY BILLIONAIRE BACHELOR, featuring Vi’s sister, Rose, and the new doctor in town…
Sneak Peek! Her Cowboy Billionaire Bachelor Chapter One
Rose Everett waited in the airport, almost desperate for her flight number to be called. Her stomach felt like it was going to claw itself out, but there was nothing she could do. She told herself that over and over again.
There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing you can do.
Rose had quite a large skill-set, but flying a plane wasn’t included.
Her oldest sister, Lily, had called that morning. Her blood pressure was off the charts, and she’d been hospitalized. She’d asked Rose to come help her get the nursery ready, as she wasn’t due for another eight weeks. The medication she’d been given seemed to be working fine, but she’d be staying in the hospital overnight.
Always the worrier of the sisters, Rose glanced toward the gate again. The attendant worked there, but Rose wondered what he was really doing. Probably checking email or social media.
Rose couldn’t wait to meet her new nephew. It would be the first baby in the Everett family, and she’d been trying to get Lily to name the boy Wally for four months. Lily didn’t like the sound of Wally Whittaker, but it made Rose smile every time she thought of it.
And Lily and Beau didn’t have a name picked out yet anyway. Everything Rose suggested was tossed away as if Jeremy and Evan were the worst names in the world.
She should be secretly glad that Lily disliked everything she suggested. Then she could use Wally for her son—if she ever got married. Or met a man with a last name that started with a W.
All the Whittaker men were spoken for now, so she’d have to hunt for someone else.
Nope, she thought, shooting the gate attendant another look. Didn’t he know they were supposed to start boarding fifteen minutes ago? Rose wanted to march over there and demand he do something. But she kept her diva card safely in her pocket. A few people had cast her glances, but for the most part, she’d hidden successfully behind her phone.
Rose secretly hoped she could stay in Coral Canyon for a while. Lily had lived there for a couple of years now. And Vi had just gone back a few months ago. They’d both found the perfect cowboys for them, and Rose couldn’t help thinking that maybe she could too. Maybe she and her sisters could keep recording albums from Wyoming instead of Nashville.
It was probably a fool’s hope. But Rose clung to it, because she didn’t have anything else. She’d given away her chinchilla to take this trip. And she’d been through a string of men in the past eight or nine months that had left her wondering what the point was.
Yes, she had her parents in Nashville, but her mother had even started talking about moving to Coral Canyon to be closer to Lily and Vi—and her new grandson. Rose wasn’t so blind that she didn’t know the real reason her parents would uproot themselves from the city they’d lived in for almost twenty years. Well, at least when her father wasn’t traveling overseas.
And it was the same reason she currently sat in the airport. That baby. Oh, how she loved that baby, and he hadn’t even been born yet.
Rose didn’t want to be left behind. Again. So if she got to Coral Canyon first….
That was the story of her life. Always last. Last to know important things. Last to come into the Everett family. Last to get her opinion asked. And of course, it had happened again in her love life.
Finally, her flight number was called, and those needing special assistance were invited to come forward. Rose didn’t need special assistance, but she did have a first-class ticket and she needed to stretch her back. As she did, she scoped out the other people in the waiting area. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she liked people-watching. She wondered what each person’s story was. Where they came from. Where they were going. Maybe they were traveling to see loved ones. Or maybe they were headed home after a visit.
She caught a young mother’s eye, and smiled before she looked away to collect her purse and carryon bag.
She wasn’t sure why people fascinated her so much, but she knew she liked imagining them whenever she sat down to write songs. After all, country music was about people. People, and the people they loved.
“We now welcome our first-class passengers to flight 6234.”
Relief spread through Rose and she wheeled her bag toward the gate. A scan, a smile, and a few steps and she was on the plane. Finally. She deliberately booked the second row in first class, so she’d have somewhere to put her things under the seat in front of her. It was the best of both worlds, and anyone who traveled as much as she did knew it.
She had a window seat, and she was glad to let the man behind her heave her suitcase into the overhead bin before getting out of the way. She picked up the pillow and blanket left on her seat and sat down. She buckled her seatbelt, even though the flight wouldn’t take off for a good twenty minutes.
The bottle of water next to her separated her and the passenger who’d have the aisle seat. But no one came. The flight attendant kept saying their flight was full and that larger carry-on items would need to be tagged and picked up at the gate in Jackson Hole. And still, no one took the seat beside her.
Just when she thought she’d have a stress-free, no-small-talk flight, a man appeared in the aisle. He had no baggage. Not even a backpack. Just his phone and his wallet, which he shoved in his back pocket. He was clean-shaven, with a nice jawline and the most dazzling pair of aqua eyes Rose had ever seen. Surely he was wearing fake contacts to make his eyes that color. It was like looking into the ocean while the sun lit it up.
“I’m right here,” he said, sliding into his seat.
Rose couldn’t say anything. He smelled like pine trees and fresh rain, and she wondered where he’d been. Certainly not in that waiting area. Rose would’ve definitely seen him.
He buckled up as the flight attendants started going over the safety procedu
res. He’d been one of the very last people on the plane, and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. Rose watched him out of the corner of her eye, hoping she wasn’t being too obvious.
She already had her headphones plugged into her phone, and the music playing. She had one earbud in and the other draped over her earlobe as she pretended to listen to the flight attendants talk about a water landing.
The gorgeous stranger next to her didn’t seem to care about the demonstration. He turned his head toward her and said, “Are you staying in Wyoming when we get there?”
Oh, so he was one of those kind of people. One who’d want to talk for the whole three-hour flight. Despite his stunning looks, Rose wasn’t interested in that. No, thank you.
“For a bit,” she said evasively. She did not ask him the same question, though curiosity touched her mind. Maybe if he was in town, they could—
She cut the thought off. Coral Canyon was an hour’s drive from Jackson Hole, where they were flying into. He wouldn’t be staying anywhere near her.
And she wasn’t interested anyway.
“What are you doing there?” he asked.
She glared at him, but he’d clearly endured such things before, because it didn’t ruffle him in the slightest. Oh, boy. One of those people.
“My sister is going to have her baby soon.”
“Oh, fantastic.” His beautiful teeth made an appearance as he smiled. Rose got stuck on the movement of his lips, forgetting to be annoyed with him for a moment. “Boy or girl?”
“Boy,” she said. “She’s having trouble with her blood pressure.” Why she’d said that, she wasn’t sure. She’d had plenty of experience making small talk with strangers, and she’d learned from the time she was twelve not to engage them if she didn’t want to keep talking.
“Is she on Labetalol?” He looked at her with genuine interest in those eyes.
Rose blinked. “Was that English?”