“I see you’ve visited the gift shop,” he says after studying my outfit of leggings and a lodge sweat shirt.
“I really need to go get my clothes from my hotel.”
“You’re staying in a hotel? Oh no, babe. Where? I’ll have someone go get your stuff.”
“Okay. That would be great.”
“Speaking of hotels… are you okay with spending Christmas here with me?”
“Do you have to be here tomorrow?”
“No, not really. There’s plenty of staff to cover. And before you say anything, yes, those who work on Christmas get special pay and a couple extra days off.”
“That’s good.” I sit close to him and rest my head against his shoulder. He wraps both arms around me. This is where I belong. “What I’d really like to do is go back to the cabin today and spend tomorrow there. Just you and me.”
“I was hoping to convince you that was a good idea. Especially since the chef is already planning on packing up special meals for us to take back with us. And you do not want to make a chef angry.”
I rise to my knees to plant kisses all over his face. “Perfect.”
By mid afternoon we’re ready to return to his peaceful cabin. When the bellhop brings the ATV to the doors, there’s a tiny trailer attached that contains our holiday meals. And there’s two helmets.
Our trip is uneventful, although we stop a couple times so I can gather some fallen pine and fir branches to do a little decorating. If nothing else, I found popcorn in the kitchen when I was snooping. We can pop some and string it through the greenery.
That evening, we sprawl on the floor in front of the decorated fireplace, nibbling on unstrung popcorn and enjoying a couple beers. We’ve talked ourselves to a comfortable silence. This is how our lives, our future could be. I’m so happy.
“I’ll be right back.” Dane rises and disappears for a couple minutes then returns with a small package wrapped in Santa decorated paper. “My family always did gifts on Christmas eve. Merry Christmas, December.”
My gift for him is easier to get to—I’d hidden it in the side table drawer. “Mine, too,” I say as I retrieve the package and hand it to the love of my life.
“It’s not much. There wasn’t any shopping time. Not that I’m a good gift shopper anyway.” Dane holds out his present. “If you don’t like it?—”
“Stop worrying, dear heart. Who’s going to open first?”
“You.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I’m a careful unwrapper and know Dane’s impatient while I slowly pull the tape away from the paper. There’s an adhesive backed bow that I remove and stick onto my hair. “Tradition,” I explain at his questioning expression.
Soon a velvet jewelry box rests in my hand. Inside I find a pine tree brooch created by loops of wrapped green and brown wires. At the top and slightly to one side is a circle of silver wires. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’ve seen this in the gift shop many times and never thought much about it. Until you. Now this will always remind me of the night you danced under the moonlight and right into my heart.”
My heart feels like it’s going to burst. “I love it. Thank you. Now, open yours.”
He’s not so careful and soon exposes a plain white box. He glances from the box to me and back to the box as he removes the lid. Lifting the dark purple silk bag I’d sewn together thatafternoon, he grins. “My own crystal bag?” Pulling open the drawstring, he dumps the single stone into his palm then holds it up to the firelight. “What’s this?”
The fire casts sparkling light over the deep red stone. “A garnet. It’s used for protection, good luck, and… passion.”
He pulls me close for a kiss. “I don’t think the passion is going to be a problem, babe.”
“Probably not.”
“Will you help me choose—shit, I can’t believe I’m saying this—will you help me choose additional stones for my bag?”
“I will. And maybe…”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe next time you’ll join me in dancing naked under the full moon.”
