by Cindy Kirk
“She’ll wait.”
Confused, Faith pulled her brows together. “Wait for what?”
“For me to get out of my own way.” Graham took her hand, tugged her to the couch. Even when they both sat, he didn’t let go of her hand.
Faith was glad. She liked having her fingers joined with his.
“When I came to Holly Pointe, I wasn’t looking for love. In fact, love was the last thing on my mind. I had this big project. I had the girls. In my mind, I had enough on my plate.”
She shot him a teasing smile. “Then I swept you off your feet.”
“You did.”
“I know the exact moment you fell for me.”
His lips twitched. “Do you?”
“It was the first time you saw the possum sweatshirt. You knew any woman who’d wear that shirt was someone you wanted on your team.”
He chuckled, then sobered. “I have a team. Two little girls. Not all women want a man with kids.”
“If we’re talking about your girls, I’d say anyone who doesn’t want them is crazy.” Faith smiled. “Do you know what they told me during this scavenger hunt? They said they love me.”
“What did you say to them?”
“That I love them, too, of course.”
A softness filled his eyes.
“You know, Faith, during this trip I’ve learned many lessons, hard ones but ones that I believe will make me a better man, a better father…and a better husband.” Graham brought her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “I believe to my very core that you and I are a perfect match. I believe we belong together, that we can build a happy life together.”
A lump formed in Faith’s throat, and she blinked rapidly. “I believe that, too.”
“This is for you.” He held out a gift beautifully wrapped in shiny turquoise paper with a big white bow.
“The treasure.” Faith smiled and lifted a brow. “Is it okay if I unwrap it now?”
His eyes were as dark as jade. “Please.”
Faith took her time, carefully sliding off the bow. She removed the paper cautiously, not wanting to rip it.
Though she sensed Graham’s watchful gaze, he didn’t rush her. With her heart thudding, Faith removed the top of the box, and there, nestled inside, was the angel she’d made as a child.
She glanced up at Graham, and he smiled at the question in her eyes.
“Look at her crown.”
Focusing again on the angel, she saw—
“It’s a ring.” Faith’s voice shook as badly as her fingers as she lifted the gorgeous ring with the platinum band and yellow diamond from where it rested against the angel’s crown. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “My treasure is a ring.”
In one fluid motion, Graham was on his knee before her, taking her hand in his. “You are the treasure, my sweet Faith. Your love is the most amazing gift I could ever receive. This angel is part of your Christmas tradition. She’s here, with the ring, because I want her to be at the start of a whole lifetime of family Christmas traditions we’ll build going forward.”
Faith’s heart overflowed with love as he leaned forward, gently touched her face, then kissed her softly.
“I could give all kinds of speeches about you being the half that makes me whole,” he went on, “or our love being written in the stars, but it wouldn’t seem personal enough. What you and I share is unique and wonderful, and there simply are no words to describe it.”
“I love you so much,” Faith murmured, so focused on him that she barely noticed when he lifted the ring from her fingers.
“I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want you to be my wife and Charlotte and Hannah’s mother. I want to build a life with you, have children with you. I promise, if you give me that opportunity, I’ll always put you and our family first.”
Tears slipped down Faith’s cheeks. She didn’t try to stop them. They were happy tears, ones filled with joy and the knowledge that every day with this man, every day with Charlotte and Hannah, would be a blessing.
“Will you marry me, Faith?”
It took her only a second to find her voice. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
Overcome with emotion, Faith launched herself into his arms. The sudden motion knocked the ring from his fingers, sending it skittering across the floor.
They found it under the sofa, and by the time Graham finally slipped it on her finger, they were both laughing.
“I can already tell our life together is going to be one great adventure.” Graham pulled her close. “I can’t wait.”
His mouth closed over hers before Faith had a chance to tell him that she’d decided a yearly scavenger hunt would make a pretty awesome Christmas tradition.
* * *
Continue the Holly Pointe Christmas spirit with Holly Pointe & Mistletoe
Check out the first book in my popular heartwarming Good Hope series Christmas in Good Hope
More Heartwarming stories to keep you in the Holiday Spirit
If you want to keep the holiday spirit going, may I recommend the following:
Christmas in Good Hope
Ami and Beck would rather forget the past, but this Christmas of love is one to remember.
It Started With Joy
When love blooms, with a little help from two pint-size matchmakers, Derek and Rachel find unexpected love at Christmas.
Holly Pointe and Mistletoe
All journalist Stella Carpenter wants for Christmas is her life back.
Return to Holly Pointe
Holly Pointe & Mistletoe
All journalist Stella Carpenter wants for Christmas is her life back.
After losing her family, her boyfriend, and her job, Stella is on the verge of being ho-ho-homeless. Out of desperation, she accepts an assignment to write a story on Holly Pointe, Vermont, the tiny town recently crowned the ‘Capital of Christmas Kindness’. If she can prove the town’s holiday spirit is a sham, her Editor promises Stella will start the New Year with a new career.
Rancher Sam Johnson is Holly Pointe’s resident Grinch--at least in the eyes of the tinsel-loving townspeople. It’s not that he doesn’t like the lights and the carols. It’s that they remind him of the brother he lost. Christmas is a time for family, and if Sam can’t have that, then he prefers to spend the holiday alone. But when Stella blows into town on a wild winter wind, the frosty walls around Sam’s heart thaw.
Charmed by Holly Pointe, Stella is torn. She doesn’t want to betray the friends she’s made, but she’s scared to give up the life she knows. And then there’s Sam. She never expected to fall in love with someone so different from her, yet that’s exactly what has happened. While Stella searches for a solution, the real reason for her arrival in Holly Pointe is discovered. Now, it’ll take a true Christmas miracle for Sam and Stella to make this holiday a happy one.
Also by Cindy Kirk
Good Hope Series
This popular heartwarming series continues to touch reader's hearts. The Good Hope series is a must-read for those who love stories that uplift and bring a smile to your face.
Check out the entire Good Hope series here.
Hazel Green Series
Readers say "Much like the author's series of Good Hope books, the reader learns about a town, its people, places and stories that enrich the overall experience. It's a journey worth taking."
Check out the entire Hazel Green series here
Holly Pointe Series
Holly Pointe & Mistletoe
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About the Author
Cindy Kirk started writing after taking a class at a local community college. But her interest in words began years earlier, when she was in her teens. At sixteen she wrote in her diary: “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t be a writer.” After her daughter went to college, she returned to her passion and jumped straight into composing book-length fiction
. She loves reading and writing romance novels because she believes in the undeniable power of love and in the promise of the happily ever after. An incurable romantic and an eternal optimist, Kirk creates characters who grow and learn from their mistakes while achieving happy endings in the process. She lives in Nebraska with her high-school-sweetheart husband.
Note from the Author
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