Winter Wedding Bells: The KissThe WishThe Promise

by Karen Rock

  They traced their steps back to the truck and grabbed another armload. Austin noted the man’s military haircut and straight-back bearing. “Did you get called up before you could make things legal?”

  Ted lifted his slipping box and peered at Austin, assessing him with his gaze. “No. We were high school sweethearts but I left her for the military. Lost the best thing in my life.”

  “But you’re proud of your service.”

  Inside the narrow supply room, Ted ran a hand over his short brush of hair. “I love my country, but God help me I love that woman more. Leaving her was the dumbest move I ever made.”

  Austin thought of his own situation. “At least you’re making up for it now.”

  Ted pulled open a minifridge and popped the tops of a couple of sodas before handing Austin one. “Yeah. But I can’t get back the years I lost.”

  He reached behind him and grabbed his wallet, flipping it open to a picture of a freckle-faced boy. “My son. Josh.”

  Understanding dawned as Austin stared between the youngster and the man. The resemblance was striking. “You didn’t know about him.”

  “Stubborn woman thought I didn’t want to be tied down. Thought she was doing me a favor by letting me go,” grumbled Ted after a swig of his drink. Ted studied his son’s picture before putting it away. “Two stubborn people equals years of loneliness.” He jabbed a thumb at Austin. “Don’t ever let it happen to you.”

  Austin finished his drink and placed it in the recycle bin. Was he being stubborn? Was Julie? If that was the case, someone had to give a little...

  He followed Ted out for a last load.

  Every way he twisted the situation in his mind made it tangle more. Julie didn’t like to be pushed and he couldn’t give her the time she needed...

  Unless...

  He halted in the parking lot and squinted at the sun waging war with the tall tree line. In a moment, it peeked over the treetops, radiating light and setting the morning aglow. A blizzard was rumored for later on, but a light blue sky arched over him, cloudless and trouble-free for now.

  Life was unpredictable.

  And so was love.

  His situation with Julie looked impossible. He studied the second-floor windows and envisioned her behind one of them. Was she dozing or feeling uneasy like him? Wishing for a future neither thought possible.

  Then a thought struck him and he grinned.

  Since when had not knowing the outcome ever stopped him?

  * * *

  JULIE BURIED HER face in her mattress and pulled her pillow over her head, her chest on fire. Austin. By now he must be airborne. Would he have reached New York yet? She lifted a corner of fabric and peered at the digital clock on the nightstand: 10:00 a.m.

  Gone.

  And she’d let him go.

  An ache took hold, locking her joints and freezing her heart. It shattered into a million ice shards, tunneling through her organs, ripping her apart. How could she have let him leave?

  With no time to think or make a pros-and-cons list, what choice did she have?

  You should have chosen love came the unbidden thought. Another stab to her gut.

  She imagined herself as a house in the woods with no doors or windows. No way for anyone to get in or out.

  But she was wrong: walls come down.

  She could have knocked them over and escaped her prison of doubt. Left with Austin. Only now it was too late.

  The mattress muffled her groan.

  “Darling, are you sick?”

  Julie swiped her eyes and turned over, pushing the pillow off her head. She met her mother’s concerned gaze across the space that separated their beds.

  “Fine. Sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

  The faint lines around her mother’s mouth deepened. “I’d say the same to you, but I don’t think you’ve slept all night.”

  “Must have been the rich food at dinner.”

  Julie tried not to squirm or give herself away as her mother studied her. With Christmas so close, she didn’t want to burden her parents. This was the season of joy and happiness, not misery.

  Dianne turned fully on her side and propped her head up with her hand. “Did you have a nice time with Austin?”

  “Um, The Cottage is really nice. We should go there for brunch today before we head back.”

  “Julie...” Her mother drew out her name in a way that made it sound like a warning.

  Air left Julie in a wild rush, her chest caving in on itself one rib at a time. “Fine. We argued and now he’s gone. End of story.” She tried to hide her disappointment.

  Her mother maneuvered herself upright and swung her legs slowly over the side of the bed. “It wasn’t the end eight years ago.”

  Julie sat up and hugged her knees. “No. But it’s really over now.”

  “Did you break up with Mason for Austin?”

  Julie stiffened at the question. Her mother had been so careful these past few days not to probe. She deserved the truth.

  “I know how it looks, but it wasn’t because of Austin,” Julie began. “Something about that picture. The one of the house. It made me think of the years you spent running our house alone, Dad always busy. How lonely you must have been. I could see my future and I knew I didn’t want it. I’m sorry. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with your life. It just isn’t for me.”

  Dianne leaned forward and grasped Julie’s hands. She guided her mom to sit beside her.

  “Nor should it be. Just because I chose that life doesn’t mean I’d want it for you. Why do you think I suggested Mirror Lake Lodge?”

  Surprise jolted through Julie. “What do you mean?”

  “Your cousin Liam phoned last year and mentioned running into Austin up here. Said he was working with the bobsled and luge team. I looked into Lake Placid on the computer, found the Mirror Lake Lodge and voila.” Her eyes sparkled the way they did on a good bridge night.

  A million thoughts whirled through Julie’s mind until she landed on her mother’s offhand mention of the team. Julie was now certain that it’d guided her own decision to come here...but knowing her mom had a hand in it, too? Crazy. “So you wanted me to run into Austin?”

  “I hoped it’d wake you up. And close your mouth, dear.”

  Julie’s teeth snapped together. “I thought you liked Mason.”

  Her mother smiled faintly. “A nice fellow. Steady. But I remembered how much more...” She waved her hands in the air. “I don’t know...alive you looked when you brought Austin home. You glowed. Mason made you content, but Austin brought you joy.”

  Julie dropped her head to her mother’s shoulder. “But he scared me, too. I never knew what to expect with him.”

  “You could expect love. Still can.” Dianne stroked Julie’s hair with trembling fingers. “I saw the way you two looked at each other when he came to the room yesterday. The most predictable-seeming life can fall apart without a moment’s notice, but true love...that never changes. You can count on it. Always.”

  Julie dashed away her tears. “Not always. He’s on a flight to Japan right now. A last-minute business thing. He wanted me to go with him, but, oh, Mom, I couldn’t make up my mind fast enough and now I’ve lost him.” Her words ended in a tangled, watery clump.

  “There aren’t other flights to Japan?” It was a cool, logical question.

  Julie jerked back and stared at her mother’s composed face. “I won’t leave you here alone.”

  Dianne shrugged. “Your father will come back and get me. He can bring Janelle—she’ll drive the other car home. Problem solved.”

  “But don’t you need me?”

  “Sweetheart.” Dianne’s eyes grew moist. “I need you to be happy. Playing it safe will never bring you the joy you
deserve. Austin’s lifestyle is outside your comfort zone, but his love is your North Star. It will always guide you.”

  “What should I do?”

  Dianne held Julie at arm’s length and smiled. “I believe you have a plane to catch. Get packing. Chop, chop.”

  Julie grinned, her body catching the morning light filtering around the edges of the curtains. She’d made a huge mistake in listening to her fears instead of going with Austin. Her mother was right. No time to waste. She kissed her mom, leaped off the bed and pulled her suitcase from the closet.

  As she jammed the last piece of clothing in her luggage, sat on it and by some miracle latched it, Dianne called to her from the bathroom.

  “Toothbrush, Julie.”

  “Right.”

  She joined her mother by the sink and their eyes met in the mirror. “I’m really doing this.”

  Her mother’s gentle smile bolstered Julie. “About time.”

  Julie laughed. “Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

  “Safe travels. And Julie?”

  Julie stopped her headlong rush out the door. Swung round. “Yes, Mom?”

  “Merry Christmas, darling.”

  “Merry Christmas, Mom.” After a long hug, Julie wheeled her bag out of the room and bumped it down the stairs to the lobby rather than wait for the elevator.

  At the bottom, she yanked on her gloves and coat and strode to the front desk before pulling up short.

  A tall man with sandy-brown hair and broad shoulders stood by the large Christmas tree in the great room.

  She stared. It couldn’t be... But when he turned, the leap of her heart told a different story.

  Austin.

  In a flash he was in front of her, his startled gaze drifting from her suitcase to her face. “Are you checking out already?”

  “What are you still doing here?”

  “I couldn’t leave without you,” he replied hoarsely, emotion thickening his voice. “Come outside with me.”

  Ecstasy, delight and joy tumbled through her veins. She followed him onto a white, lattice-work gazebo festooned with conifer boughs and oversize jingle bells. The eaves threw shadows, shielding them from view...not many guests stirred at this hour.

  “I couldn’t let you go without me.”

  His eyes widened, wonder-filled. He gripped her hands. Squeezed. “You were flying to Japan? To me?”

  She nodded and her eyes filled. “I was an idiot not to say yes when you asked me to go, Austin. Stupid to let my uncertainty speak instead of my heart. I’ve been afraid of the unknown. The dark. But I want to be in charge of my own light switch now. I love you. That’s all the future I need to see.”

  Sunshine tossed its greedy fingers through her hair. The temperate breeze skidded over the surface of her skin, raising goose bumps, tingling, awakening every exposed inch of her. At last, she’d thrown caution to the wind and she hoped it’d never find her again. Not when it came to Austin.

  “So no more second thoughts?”

  “Never. I’m sick of being a coward. Sick of being on Pause. Of being buried and hidden, of being petrified, in both senses of the word. I’m going with you to Japan.”

  She no longer wanted to imagine meadows, she wanted to run through them. With Austin.

  “I believe you,” said Austin as she looked into his open face. So much love filled her chest, she thought it might explode.

  “And I love you.” He traced the curve of her cheek, his fingers trembling at the tips. “I’ve never doubted it, but I shouldn’t have pushed you. You need time to make up your mind and from now on, I’m giving it to you.”

  “What would you have done if I came down those stairs without the luggage? What if I didn’t want to go?”

  “Then I would have stayed with you.”

  “You would have quit?”

  “You’re all I need, Julie. The rest would have worked itself out.” He broke into the most confident smile she’d ever seen, one that started in his eyes and didn’t seem to end.

  She threw her arms around his neck. “You’re fearless.” She laughed then hiccuped. “But I love that the most about you.”

  In a sudden swift move, he pulled her close and kissed her hungrily. His fingers knotted in her hair, and before she knew it, she tipped backward onto one of the gazebo’s cutout seats, bringing him down with her as she fell.

  “Man overboard,” he murmured, laughing as he wrapped her up in his arms. The laughter died when his mouth captured hers again, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. Kissing Austin altered the landscape within her, tipping over oceans, sending rivers up mountains, unpouring the rain.

  “I’m crazy about you,” he said breathlessly, his face flushed, eyes sparkling.

  He pressed her body to his, his hands running along her back. Suddenly a sliver of darkness began elbowing its way between them. Her muscles tensed. She opened her eyes, afraid of seeing fear in his expression...but she didn’t find it. Austin was present, so present, with love in his face. This was why she trusted him. She could see love. It looked like this face. To her, it would always look like this rugged, handsome man who stole her heart years ago.

  He leaned back, smiled, touched her nose and said, “Still sure?”

  She nodded. Around them the trees rustled softly. “One hundred percent sure.” Her fingers stroked his jaw. “Promise.”

  The morning air felt warm but tentative, barely touching her skin.

  “I’m going to be crazy about you for a very long time.” His eyes had gone wavy with desire.

  “I’m so happy,” she blurted out, overwhelmed.

  He ran a finger down the side of her neck and over her collarbone. With his lips to her ear, he sang, “‘...There’s one thing you should know on this Christmas, baby, you don’t have to be alone.’”

  She nearly died in delight. “You said you didn’t listen to my albums.”

  “After you played them a million times, they kind of stuck with me. Like you.”

  He kissed her again, slowly, tenderly, so that her heart cracked open, so that all those moments spent worrying about the future disappeared, so that, just like that, she stepped through the front door of her own love story.

  Not the end.

  The beginning.

  * * * * *

  The Wish

  Kristine Rolofson

  With thanks and love to my husband, who makes every Christmas fun.

  Dear Reader,

  I attended my one and only Christmas wedding when I was ten. Held at night in a white-steepled church, it was a glorious event complete with flickering candles, lush pine boughs and red roses. I’ve never been to another one...until now. As a writer with zero decorating skills who was about to write a story about a Christmas wedding and an event planner, I was so grateful for Pinterest. Pinecone place-card holders! Lights in canning jars! Silvery ribbons and ruby-red roses! Grace, my heroine, put it all together beautifully—and so much better than I would have. While writing this I was inspired to buy a basket of pinecones and do something wonderfully creative with them, but instead I wrote this story. I hope you enjoy it!

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ONE

  “IS IT TRUE? The Barrett wedding is canceled?”

  Grace Clarke looked up from her phone. “Yes.”

  “Wow.” Patsy McLean, Mirror Lake Lodge’s longtime business manager, entered Grace’s office and plopped down in one of the overstuffed burg
undy chairs that fronted her glass desk. “This is not good.”

  “No. It’s not.” She tossed her phone aside and eyed her friend. “I’m trying not to hyperventilate.”

  “You never hyperventilate. Not even during the clown reunion. Remember that?”

  Grace shuddered. “I still have nightmares.”

  “The big curly-haired clown had a crush on you,” Patsy reminded her. “He wanted you to wear polka dots and learn to play the harmonica.”

  “And the one with all the tattoos thought you should join the circus and live happily ever after with a man who turns balloons into animals.”

  Patsy sighed. “There are times when I think I should have gone with him.” Her daughter was in the middle of a nasty divorce and had returned home six months ago, her twin toddlers in tow, while she and her cheating ex worked out the details. Patsy and her recently retired husband were still reeling from the chaos.

  “It’s too late,” Grace declared. “No circus clowns for us.”

  “Speak for yourself, sweetie. You’re still ridiculously young and so pretty. You could have all the clowns you want.”

  “I guess that’s a compliment?”

  “It is. I wish I had your figure, your skin, your age.” Patsy sighed. “Please tell me you’re going out with that real-estate agent who found the condo for you. What is his name?”

  “Brad.”

  “Did he ask you out?”

  “Not exactly. I believe his exact words were, ‘If you ever get, like, really lonely, give me a call and maybe we can hook up.’”

  “I’m sorry I asked.” Patsy eyed the various cardboard boxes lining the walls of Grace’s small office. “So, what happened with the wedding? Did the groom get cold feet? Did the bride run away with the best man?”

  “I’m not sure. Right now it’s a mystery.” She leaned forward and took a sip of very cold coffee from a mug that said Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail.

  “Who told you?”

  “Both of them, actually. It was pretty grim. Julie did the talking. And the poor groom just looked stunned. Like he didn’t know what hit him.”