“You are an absolute idiot for coming out here alone,” he said.
She frowned. Though she’d just been thinking the same thing, it wasn’t very romantic of him to say so. Or very keeping with the Christmas spirit.
He kissed the tip of her nose and added, “An absolutely crazy, selfless, beautiful, charming, melt-me-in-my-tracks idiot.”
Oh…
In the distance, church bells began to play “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” It was the most beautiful sound Becca had ever heard.
Epilogue
Zane tossed a couple of logs into the stove. Outside, snow fell in soft, lazy curtains that hugged the cozy trailer. Becca tucked her feet beneath her and snuggled deeper into the corner of the couch. Across the room, Mike Springer mixed up berry martinis in sugar-coated glasses.
“Another, Bec?” he asked.
She nodded, her eyelids heavy from the effects of the first drink, not to mention the tryptophan hangover from the turkey breast the three of them had devoured for Christmas dinner.
“Where’s Sienna?” she asked. “I thought you two were hitting it off.”
He filled the glasses with precision. “Ah, she went back south for the holidays. Wanted to be with her family.” He shrugged. “We only had drinks a couple of times, anyway. She’s got some kind of complication, an ex or something, back home.”
“So she says,” Zane said as he dusted off his hands. “My money’s on the fact there’s no ex. That’s just an excuse to get away from you.”
Mike feigned hurt, holding both arms wide. “Who’d want to get away from all this?”
They all laughed, filling the space with sounds that warmed Becca clear through. At her side, the black cat leaned into her leg and purred. It kneaded the worn couch cushion in a steady rhythm, its eyes closed as if self-hypnotized. She ran a hand over its head and down its back. She could feel its spine and ribs, but after a few weeks of living here, she guessed it would plump out nicely.
“What about your sister?” Mike asked.
“Believe it or not, Ella’s spending the day at Derek’s house. With his parents.” Becca still couldn’t believe it herself. The whole thing seemed awfully…well, settled for her sister. But maybe this is a Christmas for taming wild animals, she thought with a glance at Zane.
“You’ll see your parents sometime next month?” Zane said as he joined her on the couch.
She nodded. “Ella and I usually go down in mid-January.” Normally, she couldn’t wait to escape to the Florida sunshine. This year though, snowy Pine Point had a tighter hold on her.
“Did you think of a name for the cat?” he asked.
“I was thinking you should name it, since you’re the one adopting it.” Ella had forbidden her from bringing home any more animals, but to her surprise, Zane had offered to take it instead.
He chuckled. The stray dog lying in the corner looked up at him and thumped its tail. “You want to tell me how I ended up with not one but two animals in this house?”
“You are responsible forever for the things you tame…”
“Well, you couldn’t very well leave Stray living out in the cold after he rescued me,” Becca said. “And I think you need to work on his name too. Stray isn’t the most appealing name in the world.”
“Maybe not,” Zane said as he dropped his arm onto her shoulder. “But it’s pretty accurate.” Those deep, serious eyes caught and held hers, the meaning inside them clear.
“He’s one. I was one too, until I found you.”
Becca blinked. I’m responsible for his heart, for his feelings too. She wasn’t just responsible for the animals who trusted her, but for this man as well. When you tamed a wild heart, this was the trade-off. Knowing that the best place for them was in your protection and in your heart. Why had it taken her so long to realize it?
Mike carried over two drinks and handed them off.
“Where you going?” Zane asked as his friend pulled on a heavy winter coat.
“Outside for some air.” He winked. “And to give you two lovebirds some Christmas time alone.” He whistled, and the dog hopped up and followed. Mike snapped on a red leash and led Stray outside.
“I was thinking Midnight,” Zane said after a minute. “For the cat.”
It had completed its ritual of kneading, but rather than settle in for a nap, it jumped off the couch and trotted toward its food dish.
“I think that’s perfect,” she said. She took a sip of her martini and then set it aside. If I drink it too fast, my head will spin. She wanted Zane to do that, and she wanted to be sober when he did, so she could remember every last place he touched her and how he turned her in circles. The way he’d been stealing glances at her all afternoon and evening, she hoped the touching would happen soon. She was about bursting inside.
“What about the other cats?” he asked.
“From Helen’s house? We’ll keep them at the shelter as long as we can. Janet has some foster families that will probably take them in. Would be nice for them to have some regular love and attention.”
“Mmmm.” Zane played with her hair. “I think that’s a great idea.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I know someone else who’d like some regular love and attention.” He moved his mouth to her ear and then down her neck, igniting a series of sparks that heated up everything he touched and most of what he didn’t.
Becca turned and slipped her arms around his waist, wriggling closer until she sealed the gap between them. She hoped regular meant on a daily basis, maybe an hourly one, because the bits of time she’d spent with this man so far weren’t nearly enough. She lifted her mouth to meet his and willed Mike to take a good long time walking the dog. She’d always believed in Christmas magic, but even she couldn’t have predicted this happy ending. Snow and saved animals and the man of her dreams, all muscle and all heart, wrapped tightly in her arms. She couldn’t imagine a more blissful ending to the holiday season.
“Merry Christmas, my love,” he whispered.
Merry Christmas, indeed. Becca swooned as Zane picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Looked as though Santa had been good to them both after all.
About the Author
Allie Boniface is a romance novelist and high school English teacher living with her husband in the northern New York City suburbs. She’s had a soft spot for love stories and happy endings since the time she could read, and she’s been caught scribbling story ideas on scrap paper (when she should have been paying attention to something else) too many times to count. When she’s not writing, shoveling snow, or grading papers, she’s traveling the United States and Europe in search of sunshine, back roads, and the perfect little pub.
Visit Allie’s website at www.allieboniface.com to sign up for her newsletter, where you’ll be the first to know about upcoming releases, giveaway and contests, review opportunities, in-person appearances, and more!
Look for these titles by Allie Boniface
Now Available:
One Night
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One Night in Memphis
One Night in Napa
Pine Point
Summer’s Song
Don’t miss the other titles in Allie Boniface Pine Point series!
What if everything you knew about your past turns out to be…wrong?
Ten years after leaving home, the last thing Summer Thompson expects is to inherit her estranged father’s half-renovated mansion. And the last thing she wants is to face the memories of the night her brother died—sketchy as they may be. Now a San Francisco museum curator, she plans to stay east just long enough to settle the estate and get rid of the house. Until she finds it occupied by a hunky handyman who’s strangely reluctant to talk about his past.
Damian Knight has something to hide: his mother and sister from a brutal stalker. They’ve found a m
easure of peace and carefully guarded safety in Pine Point. Yet when the lonely, haunted Summer steals his heart, he finds himself opening up to her in ways he should never risk. Especially to a woman who’s planning to return to the west coast—after selling their refuge out from under them.
Summer’s mounting flashbacks leave her confused—and more determined than ever to find out the truth behind her brother’s death. But in a small town full of powerful secrets, confronting the past could cost her the man she loves. Even her life.
Warning: This title contains a hunky hero who can do anything with his hands, a heroine desperate to discover the truth, tons of summer heat, and a small town with so much charm you’ll want to move there.
Don’t miss these other titles by Allie Boniface
Can anything really change in 24 hours? Can everything?
A One Night Story
Journalist Grant Walker has one chance to salvage his job and his relationship with his domineering father. Terrorists have kidnapped a fading film star’s son, and Grant has scored the first interview with the grieving mother. Even better, a new twist has just arrived on the scene—an illegitimate granddaughter who hasn’t been heard from in seven long years.
It’s the story of a lifetime, and all Grant has to do is deliver.
After discovering a terrible secret about her birth, Kira March left home vowing never to return. With her father kidnapped and her grandmother cracking under media pressure, it’s up to her to find and destroy all evidence of that secret. Trouble is, a reporter has weaseled his way into the house looking for answers—and he isn’t leaving until he gets them.
Yet as the hours pass, Kira finds herself falling for the very man who could destroy her. And when Grant comforts her in the wake of a midnight tragedy, he remembers why it’s a bad idea to get emotionally involved with an interview subject. Especially when the family name is on the line.
Warning: This title contains a hunky hero who thinks he knows it all, an unconventional heroine who’s out to prove him wrong, a ticking clock, family secrets, and enough sexual tension to heat every corner of an enormous mansion…especially when the power goes out.
Can anything really change in twenty-four hours? Can everything?
A One Night Story
What if a woman, tired of bad choices and broken hearts, traveled a thousand miles to the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, and spent a night forgetting her past in the blues clubs of Beale Street? What if a man who lost his wife to cancer ventured to Beale Street’s social scene for the first time in over a year? And what if they met and realized love was still possible for them both?
Both Dakota James and Ethan Meriweather have given up on finding happiness in a relationship. When they meet in downtown Memphis, neither has romance on the brain. But as the evening unfolds, and small talk turns to the stuff of hopes, dreams, and shared loss, a kinship grows that neither expects.
Before the night is over, though, Dakota’s past will catch up with her in the form of a violent ex-boyfriend. As dawn approaches and tragedy threatens to tear Dakota and Ethan apart, both will have to make a snap decision that could change their lives—forever.
Warning: This title contains mild profanity.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Winter’s Wonder
Copyright © 2015 by Allie Boniface
ISBN: 978-1-61923-256-3
Edited by Heidi Moore
Cover by Syd Gill Designs
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: December 2015
www.samhainpublishing.com
Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 Page 12