“Not gonna last,” I mutter. “Not with you just makin’ my Christmas the best one I’ve ever had.”
“I love you, Zane.”
I kiss her neck, biting gently around her soft skin. “I love you, Sadie. I need you so fucking much.”
She throws her head back and cries out my name as I still, spilling inside her as she grips my ass with both hands. I love it when she does that.
We’re both a panting mess when we’re done. “Jesus,” she mutters when I pull out and spill everywhere. “I didn’t bring tissues.”
I pull her panties up, patting between her legs. “You get to walk around like that for the rest of the day.”
“Z!”
“Don’t Z me, pretty girl, those are the rules.”
She playfully rolls her eyes, then pulls me closer. “I think maybe we have time for another round? If you don’t yabber the entire time.”
“Funny.” We kiss and my dick stirs once more. I haven’t even tucked myself back in and she’s already grabbing at me. “So needy, aren’t we, city girl?”
“I’m not a city girl any longer,” she sings. “I’m a country girl now.Yourgirl.”
I cup her face. “Nothin’ has made me happier.”
“You’re not really a grump, you know that?”
I grin against her mouth. “My Christmas present came early.”
She laughs. “I guess it did for both of us.”
SADIE’S EPILOGUE
Sadie
One year later
“Oh, will you look at that?” Mrs. Thorne says to Larry over the microphone. “I think we have a winner. My, my, congratulations, Jo-Beth Kingsley!”
This year for Christmas, the town decided to do a bake-off with Mrs. Thorne being the judge. Each contestant had to come up with something unique and new, and Mrs. Thorne didn’t know which person baked what.
Bailey hollers louder than anyone as we both clap with grins on our faces. We’ve been the unsuspecting guinea pigs of her wild creations, not that I’m complaining.
Jo-Beth flushes, never one to be the center of attention, and blows kisses to me and Bails. It’s been a wild ride of tears and tantrums in the kitchen until she perfected her coconut and jam fairy sponge with triple vanilla chantilly cream, layered with chocolate. It’s a masterpiece.
“I don’t know what to say!” she giggles into the mic. “I just hope you all enjoy this Christmas Eve feast. And to Mrs. T; you’ve been an inspiration to all of us. We're happy and also sad to hear of your retirement, but the show must go on, one chocolate layer at a time!”
Everyone claps and cheers as Jo-Beth takes her trophy, along with a gift voucher from Lonely Star Outfitters. The majority of the money raised is for the kids’ school camp for the underprivileged, as well as serving a hot meal to the needy this Christmas time.
The one thing I love about this small town is how everyone looks out for each other.
They celebrate all of life’s milestones. The merriment on the kids’ faces when Santa comes around on the tractor is so sweet. Zane lucked out this year because he and the boys in town take it in turns; George stepped in when Mr. Mackie got the flu at the last minute.
Jo-Beth doesn’t know it yet, but Mrs. T is going to offer her the bakery before anyone else hears about it. Her Christmas wish was to hand over the reins to her beloved namesake. I’m happy for JB, she’s become one of my closest friends.
This year has flown by. After the whole Duncan Stanley thing last year, I think we’re due a reprieve. The entire town was talking about it. I don’t know how he had the nerve to think that he could come crawling into town to try to woo me back, not knowing that I was now the girlfriend of his ex-best friend, who he cheated on with Zane’s bitch ex! The man certainly has some balls, I’ll give him that. And I clearly didn’t know much about him during the time we were together. I never knew anything about his being an Alpine Falls native. The twist of fate is unbelievable.
The even crazier thing was later in the new year, Bailey tracked down Kelto. She somehow found out where she movedto, had one of her friends send a lawyer’s letter demanding damages and breach of contract. They retrieved the rest of the missing rent money that she owed, plus fees on top. I don’t know how the woman did it, but I swear she could rule the world. Remembering the conversation makes me smile:
“It just wasn’t right,” Bailey said. “She never should have done that to you. You upturned your whole life because of her. I know you came through the other end, but she got off scot-free.”
