by Liz Isaacson
“I really didn’t, Mother,” he said. “I didn’t even know that’s what had happened. I’m sorry.” It wasn’t the first time he’d apologized since Thanksgiving, and Amanda hated that she’d caused him turmoil.
She lifted her head. “Who needs the house?”
“Eli,” he said. “He wants to come home.”
Her eyebrows went up. “He does? Why hasn’t he said anything?”
“Oh, he’s still making up his mind. But the resort bores him, and Meg wants to be closer to family.” Graham chuckled, but Amanda’s hopes soared.
“I want the house to stay in the family,” she said.
“Give it to Eli, then,” Graham said. “Or Andrew. Heaven knows he and Becca are going to have the most children.”
“You think so?”
“Mom, the rest of us are done.”
“What?” She spun from the winter landscape beyond the window. “You are?”
“Laney says she’s too old to have more babies, and her last pregnancy was very difficult. We have Bailey and Ronnie. That’s who we’re getting.”
“Beau?”
“Lily’s older than Laney, Mom.”
“And Meg can’t have kids.” Amanda nodded, unsure of how she hadn’t thought about this before. “They could adopt more children.”
“I think they will,” Graham said. “But it’s Andrew who’ll give you all the grandbabies. And they live in that tiny house in town. Give your place to him. Or have him buy it. You know we’re all billionaires, right?”
Amanda smiled, but he was right. She didn’t need to sell her house. She just wanted to keep it. Wanted to be able to feel the love she’d felt there so often.
“And Mom? Call Finn. Call him and invite him to the tree lighting and Christmas celebrations at the lodge.” Something crashed on his end, and he said, “I have to go. Love you, Mom.”
The line went dead, and Amanda let her hand fall to her side. Call Finn.
She had no idea how to do that. Would he even answer?
She busied her hands with wiping down an already clean countertop, her mind spinning, spinning, and spinning around Finn.
Before she knew it, she was behind the wheel of her SUV, pointing it toward Dog Valley. Her fingers gripped the wheel too tightly as she drove, and she had no idea what to say to Finn once she arrived.
But she knew the way, and she pulled into his driveway to see a thin trail of smoke coming from the chimney. So he was home, or he had been.
“Not going to see him sitting out here,” she muttered to herself, but she couldn’t seem to get out of the vehicle.
She had no words to say to him, and she couldn’t imagine he would welcome her here. After all, hadn’t she turned Jason away in a situation similar to this one?
Before she could get out or back away from the house, his truck pulled in beside her. As if in slow motion, she turned to look at him, and their eyes met across the space and through the windows separating them.
All she could do was look at him, and then she jumped out of her SUV and started around the front of his truck, winter’s cold bite not nearly as savage as she remembered it being.
“Finn,” she said as he got out of the truck. “I’m so sorry, Finn.” She didn’t have anything for him. She should’ve brought cookies or soup or something.
All she had was herself, and she was suddenly not good enough.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as if she hadn’t spoken. He moved to the back of the truck and let the tailgate down so his dogs could get out. They jumped down, except for the black Lab, and Finn helped Licorice to the ground.
“What happened to him?” she asked, noticing the wrapped paw and the way the dog limped.
“He got stuck in a fence,” Finn said, barely looking at her again. He started for the house and opened the door for the canines, who ran inside. He turned back, but Amanda had paused at the bottom of the steps, so unsure.
“Do you want to come in?” he asked.
She reached for the railing and used it to pull herself up. “Yes.” She stepped past him, and he entered last, closing the door behind them.
“You’re not dating anyone new, are you?” she asked, his home as warm and welcoming as she remembered it.
He gave a scoff and a mirthless laugh. “I think that’s a question for you, Amanda.” He moved past her, once again barely looking at her. She detected only coldness from him, but she reminded herself that he’d invited her in. He hadn’t demanded she leave, the way she had when Jason had come back, begging for a second chance.
Her mind seized on those words. “I want a second chance,” she said. “Finn.” She followed him into the kitchen, where he stood at the back door, letting the dogs outside again.
“Finn,” she said again, almost desperate for him to understand. She’d had plenty of time to find the right words to say to him, and yet they still weren’t there.
“I want you more than the house,” she blurted. “Will you please look at me?”
He turned from the door as it drifted closed, his bright, ocean-colored eyes sparking.
She swallowed. “I love you. And I love my house. And I want both things. I don’t need to sell my house. One of my sons is going to live in it. I want to be here, at the farm with you.” Amanda took a step forward and paused. “Graham seems to think you won’t have horses soon.”
“I’ve sold almost all of them,” Finn confirmed, straightening his cowboy hat. “Truth is, Amanda, I didn’t want the farm if you weren’t going to come to it. So I’ve been making plans to return to Kentucky.”
She blinked, sure she’d heard him wrong. “Kentucky? You said you’d never go back.”
“Yeah, well, that was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before I couldn’t stand to be in the same state as you.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. Finn, I really am.” She crossed the room to him and cradled his face in both of her hands. “Please forgive me. I’m sorry.”
Finn searched her face, so much stubbornness in his. “I don’t want to go back to Kentucky,” he whispered.
“Then don’t,” she said just as quietly.
“Was it really just the house?” he asked. “Because it seemed to me that you were clinging to a little more than that.”
“I think I was,” she said, grateful he brought his arms around her. She felt safe in the circle of his arms. Loved. “But I’m learning how to let go. I just need a strong cowboy to catch me.” She tried a smile, rejoicing when Finn returned it.
“You don’t like the farm,” he said next.
“I like it fine,” she said. “Because you like it.”
“We can go to your church.”
“It’s a long drive every Sunday.”
“It’s not that bad,” he said. “I’ve been doing it, and honestly, it’s not that bad.”
“Will you come to the lodge for Christmas?” she asked.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he said, swiping his cowboy hat off his head and leaning down to kiss her.
Pure happiness flowed through Amanda, and she tried to pour everything she felt into this kiss with Finn. “I really am sorry,” she said. “I just…I don’t know. I think in the back of my mind, I never thought I’d find someone else to love. And then I did, and I didn’t know what to do with that.”
“Mm.” Finn held onto her and swayed. “I want you to come to Kentucky with me,” he said. “I’m going on the twenty-seventh. My sister and her husband will be there. My mom and dad.”
Surprise flowed through her. “Really?”
“I didn’t want to spend the holidays alone,” he said. “I was organizing a meal here, but I’ll call the pastor and cancel it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I really want to be at the lodge with your family.” He touched his lips to her jaw. “Okay?”
She held onto his shoulders and allowed the sweet feelings of love and peac
e move through her. “Okay. And yes, I’d love to go to Kentucky to meet your family.”
“Perfect,” he said before kissing her again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finn pulled up to Amanda’s house to pick her up for the tree lighting ceremony taking place up at Whiskey Mountain Lodge. He was early, but that didn’t stop him from going up the steps and knocking on the front door. They’d agreed to have a small gift exchange at her place, and Finn’s nerves fired at sixty miles per hour while he waited on the porch.
“Hey,” she said, opening the door. They’d been back together for a couple of weeks, and he’d spent a lot of time here with her, talking. Apparently, her third son was returning to Coral Canyon and would be living in her home.
If he’d have known she just wanted to keep the house, he’d have bought it from her. It seemed so simple now, and yet he’d thought there had been more at play. He’d asked her a few times, and she’d insisted she didn’t have any other qualms about being with him.
He hoped she’d been telling the truth, because he had a diamond in his pocket and didn’t want to be down on one knee when another issue came to his attention.
Maybe you should wait to ask her, he thought as he stepped inside. Amanda closed the door behind him, linked her arm through his, and said, “Are you ready for the craziness at the lodge?”
“You know me,” he said. “I love craziness.”
She laughed, the sound like music to his ears. “Okay, so I got you something, and I hope you like it.” She moved over to the Christmas tree they’d decorated together. He’d pulled it out of her garage for her, and he’d replaced the burnt-out bulbs, stood on the ladder to get the top right, and enjoyed spending the afternoon with her, making new memories in this house.
Of course, he wanted her in his house too, and she’d brought her stocking to his place, as she’d wanted to spend Christmas Eve with him there.
She bent to pick up a big box. “Did you want to go first?” she asked.
“No.” Finn shook his head, wishing he had a back-up plan. Another gift. But he didn’t.
“Did you bring something?” She looked at him, concern running through her eyes. “I thought we were exchanging gifts.”
“I have something,” he said, crossing over to her. “It’s just not as big as yours.”
She smiled and handed him the package. “Don’t be impressed. Do you know how hard it is to buy something for someone who has everything?”
“Yeah, I have no idea what that’s like,” he said dryly. He sat down on the couch, thinking this package sure was big for how little it weighed. She joined him on the couch, and Finn took a moment to look at her.
“I sure do love you,” he said, his heartbeat already starting to hammer. He hoped he’d be able to give her the reaction she wanted when he opened this present.
Amanda kissed him, grounding him in his decision to propose to her that evening. He kissed her back, stealing some of her strength, before focusing on the present. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.”
He ripped off the brightly colored paper and found a box for a slow cooker beneath it. “I know that’s not it,” he said, chuckling. He peeled off the tape on the top flaps and looked inside. A single piece of paper sat at the bottom, and he glanced at her and then reached for it.
“What’s this?” His fingers touched more than one paper, and he scrabbled around to pick them all up.
“Okay, so it’s a bacon-of-the-month club,” she started.
“I haven’t even looked at them yet,” he said.
“Sorry.” She grinned at him, and Finn smiled back at her.
“Bacon-of-the-month club,” he said, reading the top one. “Sounds delicious.” He flipped to the next one. “Harvest Bounty, a cooking box delivered weekly.”
“I’m going to come make you dinner every week with that one. They send out seasonal vegetables and all kinds of proteins. It looked really good.”
Warmth spread through Finn. “You’re going to come cook for me?”
“Yes.”
He cradled her face and kissed her again. “Thank you.”
“You didn’t even look at all of them.”
“Right.” He moved Harvest Bounty to the back. “Jerky-of-the-month.”
“I know you love that stuff, and you can take it with you out on the farm.”
“Both true.” Another flip. “Chocolate-of-the-month. A dessert package filled with delicious sweets.”
“That’s another cooking box,” she said. “But with desserts. I’m going to come make those too.”
He made it back to the bacon certificate, his heart full. “It’s a long drive to make brownies,” he said.
“I know,” she said. “But I’m going to be doing it anyway.”
“I can come to you,” he said, ducking his head. If he got his way with the diamond, though, they’d be married before next Christmas. In fact, he couldn’t imagine not being married before next Christmas.
“Finn, it won’t be a long drive for very long. Eli and Meg are moving into the house at the end of January.”
His heart leapt. “Maybe you can move to Dog Valley then.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Surely there are places to rent there.”
“Actually,” he said, pulling his Christmas gift for her from his pocket. “Maybe you won’t need to rent.” He revealed the silver-wrapped box, the navy blue bow a little crushed, and handed it to her.
“Finn Barber,” she said, her voice mostly air.
“Open it.” He needed a few seconds to gather his thoughts anyway.
She delicately pulled on the bow, releasing it. The lid came off easily then, and she cracked open the black velvet box where the diamond lay next. She stared at the ring, her chin wobbling the slightest bit.
When she lifted her eyes to his, they were filled with tears.
“Don’t cry, beautiful,” he said. “I’m in love with you, and I figured we’re both getting older and there’s no need to wait to get married. I mean, I will wait if that’s what you want, but I want you beside me, in our house, in Dog Valley, as soon as possible.”
He gently pushed her hair off her face and kissed her carefully. “What do you think? Will you marry me?”
She nodded, her forehead bumping his. “Yes, Finn. I’ll marry you.”
He kissed her again, this time with more passion and abandon. “Merry Christmas, Amanda.”
“Merry Christmas, Finn.”
An hour later, she led him into the lodge, a wall of noise hitting him squarely in the chest. He’d been there before, of course, but now the living room boasted a gigantic tree that stretched all the way toward the vaulted, two-story ceiling.
Someone had done a masterful job decorating it, and he could only gaze at the tree in wonder. Though it wasn’t lit yet, it was still majestic and beautiful.
Laughter rang out from the kitchen, and Amanda went that way. Finn stuck close to her, wondering if she’d make a big announcement for their engagement or not. They hadn’t talked about it, instead taking the time to choose a date.
February twentieth. Only two months from now. She said she could live here at the lodge or stay in her house even after Eli and Meg moved in until then. Finn hadn’t argued with her. He just wanted her with him on the farm.
“Hey, Mom,” Graham said, and Finn let go of Amanda’s hand so she could embrace her son. She went around and said hello to everyone, and Finn followed her lead once again. Shaking hands and smiling, he truly felt welcome and loved in this lodge.
“What in the world is this?” Laney asked, her voice much too loud. “Amanda.”
Finn turned to find Laney had gripped Amanda’s left hand. With wide eyes, she kept looking back and forth from her hand to her face. “Graham, look at what your mother is wearing.” She lifted Amanda’s arm as if Graham couldn’t see the diamond from where he stood a few feet away.
It wasn’t that small. In fact, in Finn’s opinion, the diamond was huge.<
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Graham turned to Finn, who could only smile at his fiancée.
“Finn and I are engaged,” Amanda said, her whole face lighting up.
A beat of silence followed, only to be drowned out by a roar of laughter and congratulations after that.
Finn hugged anyone who came near, and he accepted the cup of coffee Celia passed to him.
“All right, all right,” Amanda finally said, holding up her hands. “Let’s go light this tree so we can eat.” She stepped into Finn’s side, and he curled his arm around her waist and pressed his lips to her temple.
They followed the others into the living room, where Graham had saved them a couple of seats on the couch as Beau stood near the fireplace. “Welcome to the lodge, everyone.” He smiled around at everyone. “We’re glad to be expanding our ranks again this year. Welcome to the family officially, Finn.”
“Thank you,” he said, his heart expanding a few sizes.
Beau looked around the room. “Any other announcements? We know Andrew and Becca have a new baby coming. Fran and Jack are going to Egypt in March.”
“Eli and Meg are moving into my house at the end of January,” Amanda said.
Beau nodded and said, “That’s right.”
“We have news,” Vi Christopherson said, looking at her husband. “And so does Rose.”
Finn had heard all the stories of how the two Everett sisters were married on the same day, and how even though they weren’t Amanda’s blood daughters-in-law, she loved them like they were.
“I’m having two girls,” Vi said.
Lily gasped, her eyes round. “You found out? You said nothing.”
“Mom knew.”
“Mom?” Lily asked.
Fran Everett nodded and wiped her tears. “And Rose—”
“Mom,” Rose practically yelled, looking at her and then her husband, Liam. “Do you want to tell them?”
Liam looked supremely uncomfortable, but he cleared his throat. “Rose is having triplets.”
“Triplets, oh my goodness,” Amanda said, getting up and going over to Rose to give her a hug.
Finn just basked in the family atmosphere in the lodge. He’d never felt anything like it, and he suddenly understood what Amanda had meant about the magic here.