Happy Ever After in Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  She couldn’t get close enough to him and moved against him. He groaned into her mouth. She moaned into his.

  A horn blasted. “Deputy Flaherty, that’s hardly the behavior I expect from one of my officers,” Gage shouted out his window. He laughed when Sawyer flipped him off and didn’t stop kissing her.

  “Hey, dickhead. That’s my baby sister you’re making out with. Get a room,” Jack yelled out his truck window.

  Sawyer gave her one last toe-curling kiss while flipping her brother off, then pulled back, staring down at her.

  “Do you believe that I love you now?” she asked.

  He took her chin between his fingers. “I know that you want me,” he said and gave her a quick hard kiss before stepping away and taking her hand. He walked her to her cruiser, opening the door for her. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “So does that mean we’re okay? We’re together again?” She was having a hard time getting a read on him.

  “I told you, Jill. I love you. I didn’t stop.”

  What was she supposed to make of that? As he walked back down the road, she reached over the seat and grabbed the bullhorn. She yelled into it, “I love you, Sawyer Anderson.” She was pretty sure all of Christmas heard her.

  He laughed and smiled back at her. But she still wasn’t sure if he truly believed her or not.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The same gut instinct Jill had gone with earlier today was telling her that a romantic dinner of pizza and cupcakes wasn’t going to cut it. She had to do something more than shout out her love through a bullhorn and feed the man. The longer she thought about Sawyer’s reaction, the more she began to think that it wasn’t so much that he doubted she loved him. It was that he doubted she had it in her to stick around. So somehow she had to prove to him that she was as invested in their relationship as he was. She was in it for the long haul, through the good times and the bad. No more running for her. Now if she could just figure out how to do that.

  When she’d arrived back at the station, Ray, Brad, and Suze slapped a list of suggestions on her desk. Along with a Jill Flaherty for Sheriff sign. The sign had been appreciated. Their suggestions…not so much. She’d thought they, out of anyone, would believe—like she had at first—that saving the man would be enough to win him back. Instead they’d presented her with a list that ran from hysterical, to absurd, to possibly illegal in some states. She was going to keep a close eye on Brad from now on.

  No further ahead than she was several hours ago, Jill was feeling a little desperate as she headed for home after work. The clock was ticking down. Sawyer had texted that he’d see her in a couple hours. He was going to stop by and visit with Bill after he left Brandi’s. And Jill still had no clue how to convince the man she loved to trust her not to hurt him again. She supposed she could put it off for another day, but her trusty gut instinct was screaming that would be a bad move.

  She called Grace. “So I need to come up with an idea to…um, convince Sawyer he’s my forever love.” The phrase sounded so weird coming out of her mouth that she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Her brother was right, she didn’t have a romantic bone in her body, but Grace did.

  “Aw, that’s so sweet. Jack—”

  “What are you doing? If you share that with my brother, I’m taking away your best friend card.”

  “Sorry,” Grace apologized, not doing a very good job hiding the amusement in her voice. “Okay, how about this? You know how much he loves my pumpkin spice cupcakes, so why don’t you come over and I’ll help you make him a batch?”

  Jill sighed. “I thought you’d be better at this.”

  “I’m very good at this; just ask your brother. Oh, wait, there was this one time—”

  “Okay, your voice just got all breathy and excited so I know where this is going. I’m hanging up now.”

  Grace laughed. “Call us if you need help.”

  “I did, and you weren’t any. Good-bye.” Jill heard Grace calling to Jack as she disconnected.

  She called Chloe. The woman was an actress, and she’d won over Easton McBride; surely she’d have some great advice. “I already saved him, and it didn’t work,” she said when Chloe finished outlining what Jill was pretty sure was a scene from the movie she was filming in Aspen. One in which Jill would be the hero of the day instead of Chloe.

  “Really? I guess I can understand why it didn’t. That’s kind of what you do for a living. Oh, wait, I’ve got it. Easton told me he fell in love with me when I renovated his house. Ta-da, problem solved.”

  “You’re rich, and I’m not. Besides, I have to do it tonight. Like in two hours.”

  “Hhmm, that’s fast. Don’t worry though, I have a very creative mind. I should be able to come up with something cheap and quick. They’re calling me for my scene. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m finished.”

  “Thanks,” Jill said, but she didn’t hold out much hope Chloe would come up with something in time. Not when she was filming a scene.

  Jill thought about calling Ty, but his solution would no doubt be elaborate and time-consuming and involve a makeover of some kind. But just as she was about to give up, she thought of the one person who wouldn’t let her down. Nell McBride. She was perfect for the job. She wrote about romance and romantic gestures all the time.

  Her call to Nell went straight to voice mail. Undeterred, Jill headed for the hospital. She’d seen Nell climb into the ambulance with Calder, despite the paramedics telling her not to. The woman at the information desk told Jill that Calder was out of surgery and gave her his room number. When she reached the third floor, Jill spotted Nell’s friends in the waiting room. Ted and Fred looked upset. So did Evelyn and Stella.

  Surely the woman at the desk would have told her if Calder hadn’t made it. Jill’s chest constricted at the thought that something had happened to the older man after surgery. “Is Calder okay?” she asked.

  “He didn’t die if that’s what you’re asking,” Fred grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “If he’s okay, why do you guys look like you’ve lost your best friend?”

  “Because Nell’s going to get her heart broken again,” Stella said.

  “Now, Stella, Calder’s a nice man. He loved Nell once; maybe it will work out this time,” Evelyn said without much conviction, wringing her hands.

  Jill hid her smile at the thought the shooting had brought Nell and Calder back together. Obviously Nell’s friends wouldn’t be happy to hear that Jill was thrilled for the older couple. Then again, they didn’t know the whole story. She did.

  “I’m just going to check on Calder and Nell. I’ll talk to you guys later,” Jill said. If Nell didn’t have any suggestions, maybe one of her friends would.

  “Tell Nellie not to be a damn fool,” Ted called after her.

  She found Calder’s room easily enough and was just about to step inside when Nell came out with an aggrieved expression on her face. “Is everything okay?” Jill asked.

  “I called a nurse two minutes ago to bring him more blankets and pillows, and they haven’t shown up.”

  “They’re pretty busy this time of day. I’m sure they’ll get to you as soon as they can. How’s Calder doing?”

  “Paul says the surgery went well. He expects him to make a full recovery,” she said, referring to her nephew who was chief of staff at Christmas General. Nell slapped her forehead. “What the Sam Hill am I thinking? I haven’t thanked you for saving him.” She gave Jill a fierce hug, then leaned back. “Grateful, girlie. And proud of you, too. Maddie’s already put out the word for volunteers for your campaign. We couldn’t ask for a better sheriff.”

  “Thanks, Nell. I appreciate all the support. But I want to talk to Sawyer before I commit myself to running.” Now that was something else she never expected to hear herself say.

  “No doubt you’ll be running then. Sawyer’s not the type of man who’d hold his woman back from pursuing her dreams.”

  No he wasn’t. H
e was the type to make their dreams come true. And that’s when Jill realized the house, all the gifts he’d left outside her door, weren’t romantic gestures. It was Sawyer being Sawyer. His way of taking care of and loving her. Her anxiety and panic left her. She knew exactly what she had to do to prove to Sawyer that she would love him forever.

  “I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you want to get back to Calder. But if you have a second, I’d like to run something by you,” Jill said.

  “Always have time for you. Give it to me.”

  Once Jill was finished, Nell grinned. “I have to say, I didn’t think you had it in you, girlie. But that just might be the best romantic ending the Christmas series has ever had.”

  Jill scratched her neck. “You’re putting it in our book?”

  “Of course I am. I mean, if it works.”

  Jill groaned.

  “Now stop that. I’m sure it will. And stop scratching your neck. You have a huge red mark.” She frowned and pointed to Jill’s collarbone. “You have one there, too.”

  Jill pressed her back against the wall and rubbed. “Hives. I get them when I’m nervous.”

  Nell patted Jill’s cheek. “You’ll be fine. I don’t want to leave Calder, so make sure you film it.” Jill stared at her. Nell chuckled. “The before and during, not the after. I can use my imagination.”

  “I guess I better get going.” With one last rub, Jill pushed off the wall and gave Nell a hug. “I’m happy for you. For you and Calder. I hope it works out this time.”

  Nell glanced at the door to his room. “I was stubborn for too long. Holding on to my foolish pride. Protecting myself, I guess. But when I thought I was going to lose him…Well, it makes you think. I wasted a lot of time. Calder’s determined we don’t waste any more.”

  “Sounds like you’re going to get your happy ever after, Nell.” It couldn’t happen to a more deserving woman. Nell had spent so much time making sure they all got theirs that she’d nearly missed out on her own.

  Nell lifted a shoulder in a we’ll-see gesture, then smiled. “That’s the title for your book. Happy Ever After in Christmas. So you better get going and make it come true.”

  Jill scratched her neck again. “I’ll do that. Give Calder my best,” she said as she started to walk away. She pivoted. “Nell, do you have a couple in mind for book number eight?” Jill wasn’t asking because she was curious. Okay, she was a little curious. But the real reason she wanted to know was because she wanted to be prepared. There seemed to be a correlation between Nell’s books and an uptick in Jill’s workload at the station.

  “I might take a break. Work on my own love life for a change,” Nell said with a wink.

  * * *

  If Bill kept dawdling, Sawyer would be lucky to get to Jill’s place before midnight. He didn’t know what was up with the old man. Every time Sawyer went to leave, he came up with another excuse to make him stay. Maybe Bill had been more shaken about what happened at the warehouse than he let on. Sawyer had been pretty shaken himself. Especially when he heard Jill’s voice and saw her through the office window coming after Dawson with her gun drawn. He’d wanted to be the one to protect her. A natural response, he supposed. But one he’d have to learn to curb since it looked like she was going to be sheriff in the near future.

  Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He wasn’t exactly sure he had a place in Jill’s future. He wanted to. But the memory of the last few weeks made him cautious. He didn’t doubt that she loved him. He smiled, thinking of her yelling it through the bullhorn. She’d surprised him. And after that and her kiss, the last thing he’d wanted to do was give her more time to think. But she needed time. He had to be sure she wasn’t acting out of fear and the adrenalin from the shooting. That’s why he’d gone to spend some time with Brandi and Trent. Why he’d come to Mountainview to hang out with Bill. He wanted to give her space before he saw her tonight.

  He rubbed his jaw. “Old man, what are you doing in there?”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming. You never used to be so impatient.” The bathroom door opened.

  He blinked. Bill had on a suit. When he’d sent Sawyer to hunt down a bag of peanuts for him thirty minutes ago, he’d been in sweatpants and a shirt. “You wanna tell me what’s going on? Are you making a break for it or we going out trick-or-treating?”

  “We’re going to the Halloween party downstairs. Hurry up or we’ll be late.”

  Sawyer wasn’t going to argue. He’d been trying to get Bill out of his room for months. “You got a hot date?” he asked.

  “Might be someone special I’d like to see,” Bill said, making his way slowly down the hall.

  “Let me guess. Mrs. Sharp?”

  Bill snorted a laugh. “She’s ninety-three if she’s a day. Nope, Jean, my physiotherapist, said she might pop by.”

  “She’s thirty-three if she’s a day.”

  “Forty-seven, smartass. And before you say it, I’m young at heart. These days a thirty-year age difference isn’t that big a deal.”

  Guess he’d been angsting about his and Jill’s age difference for nothing. Though admittedly he’d stopped thinking about it the first night they’d been together. Now he kind of wished that was all he had to worry about.

  He slanted Bill a look as he hit the down button. The old man was looking good. Now might be the time to share his idea with him. It’d give Bill something to shoot for. If he agreed to it, that is. “So I’ve been thinking about what you’re going to do once you get out of here. I’m planning to move into the house on the lake, and I want someone to live in my place above the bar. Would you be interested?” he asked as he held open the door. It’d be a good setup for both of them. He could keep an eye on Bill, and the old man would have a nice place to live rent-free.

  “Could work. But you’re charging me rent. I don’t take handouts.”

  He leaned against the elevator wall. “How about we compromise? You help me out at the bar in exchange for rent. I’m going to be busy in the next couple months with Gold Rush.”

  “Gonna be lonely out at the lake rambling around in that big house all by yourself, isn’t it?” Bill didn’t look at him, but he saw his lips twitch.

  “I wasn’t planning on being alone. I was hoping…” He shrugged as the doors opened. “I’ll have a better idea what’s happening with me and Jill after I see her tonight.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Bill said with a full-on grin.

  “You know something I don’t, old man?”

  Bill didn’t respond as he made his way toward the party room. “Well, would you look at that? We missed it,” he said.

  It looked like they had. All the lights were off. But Sawyer could have sworn he saw movement a second ago. “Maybe it’s in another room,” he suggested, feeling bad for Bill after he’d gone to all that trouble to get ready.

  “Well, would you look at that? We missed the party,” Bill yelled, moving toward the room.

  “I heard you the first…” Sawyer trailed off as the soft, flickering glow from dozens of lighters lit the room.

  “Ow, I burned my thumb.”

  “Careful, Edith, you’ll catch my hair on fire.”

  Several voices shushed them, but at that point, Sawyer was oblivious to anyone but Jill sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. She had on the red dress she’d worn to the bar, and she was strumming her guitar.

  She looked up at him as she sang “Marry Me” by Train.

  The woman who vowed never to play in public again was playing for him. She was putting her heart on the line. Asking him to marry her in front of their family and friends. He saw Jack and Grace with little Jack in the audience, Skye and Ethan, Chance and Vivi, Gage and Madison, Annie and Trent, Brandi, Suze, and Ty. They were all there waiting for him to give her an answer. He didn’t think he could. His throat was tight with emotion, with love for Jill.

  As he started to move toward her, a voice in the crowd yelled, “Yes, yes, I will marry you. You are beauti
ful. I will make you happy.”

  Sawyer held her gaze and smiled. “She is beautiful. But, Mr. Gorski, I think she’s proposing to me.”

  “Sing ‘Sunshine,’ Auntie J,” little Jack called from the audience as she strummed the last note.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Sawyer said, taking the guitar from her hands and placing it on the floor. “She’s coming home with me.” He scooped her into his arms, looking into her true-blue eyes. “The answer is yes, in case you were wondering.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank God, because I had nothing for the second act.”

  “Uncle Sawyer kissed Auntie J on the yips.”

  * * *

  Jill Flaherty and Sawyer Anderson finally get their happy ever after. Jill smiled at the Facebook link Suze had just sent to her phone.

  Sawyer had a hand on the wheel while his other one stroked her hair. She was snuggled against him on the drive to the house on the lake. He was bringing her home. “What are you smiling at?”

  She turned the screen.

  He grinned. “You outdid me, babe. Best proposal ever. Ty and Chloe help you come up with it?”

  “No, I came up with it all by myself.” She told him what everyone else had suggested.

  “Okay, I take back my yes. You have to propose to me again. Any one of Brad’s ideas would work for me.”

  “I’m sure they—” She broke off as he turned onto the road to the lake. The high beams shone through the trees, illuminating the clapboard house. Someone had obviously spent time working on it. Now more than ever the house resembled the one that had been on her vision board. It had been painted white, its shutters blue.

  “What do you think? I didn’t change anything inside. I was hoping we’d do that together.”

  She moved out from under his arm. “You did this?”

  “Yeah. I needed to keep busy.”

  And she knew why. “I wish I could turn back time. Be there for you like you tried to be there for me. I don’t know how to make it up to you, Sawyer. I—”

  He placed two fingers on her lips. “Stop. I don’t want you to apologize anymore. You needed time. Besides, you more than made it up to me tonight.” He kissed her. “Stay here for a minute. I have something else I want to show you.”