Daniel took comfort in that, then he asked, “Where were you headed?”
“I don’t actually know,” Holly admitted, looking down at her hands. “I just... needed to go. So I drove. Letting the road guide me.”
And it guided her to us, his bear said happily.
“And then the snow started, and I thought I could make it to the next town, but...” She trailed off, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air between them.
His bear paced restlessly, urging him to protect, to shelter.
“Then we found you,” Teddy said.
“You did,” she said, and her voice cracked. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along. I don’t have my purse. My phone’s in there too. I—I can’t even call anyone.”
“But we did,” Daniel told her. “Do you have somewhere to go tonight? Or is there someone you can call?”
She shook her head, a flash of something like panic crossing her features. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to be a burden. Maybe if you could just take me to a hotel…”
She doesn’t have an ID or a credit card, his bear said. So there’s only one solution…
“Look, our house is about ten minutes from here. You can stay with us until the storm passes and we figure out your next steps.” Daniel held his breath waiting for an answer. An answer that would change the course of their lives. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
It sounds as if her life has already changed course once today,his bear said.
Which meant that maybe now they were both on the right course. Heading toward a life together. And a happy ever after. Wasn’t that what every princess wanted?
“Yes, come home with us!” Maisie chimed in. “We’re having hot chocolate!”
“With marshmallows,” Teddy added solemnly, as though this detail might sway her decision.
A small smile tugged at Holly’s lips, and it transformed her face, and Daniel swore he would make her smile every day of her life from now on.
She belongs with us, his bear rumbled with approval.And she knows it.
“I...” she looked between the three expectant faces, then out at the worsening storm. “If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”
“We wouldn’t leave anyone out in this,” Daniel assured her, though he knew his offer went beyond simple kindness.Before she could change her mind, he carefully pulled back onto theroad, intensely aware of his new passenger. And that the wish he’d made on a shooting star the night he and his friends had chosen the town Christmas tree, had finally come true.
Better late than never,his bear grumbled, but his heart was fit to burst with joy.
Chapter Two – Holly
This was crazy.Shemust be crazy!
But then this day had been all kinds of crazy, so why should she expect anything less? Outside, everything was blurring into a snowstorm, and her reality seemed to be doing the exact same thing. Her thoughts skidded and spun just like the snow, refusing to settle on any one thing for more than a heartbeat.
Here she was, not at her wedding reception, but driving home with a stranger. In his truck. The absurdity of it wasn’t lost on her. Instead, it pressed against her ribs, sharp and surreal, making it hard to breathe. Each inhale felt thin, like she was trying to pull air in through layers of tulle and satin and bad decisions.
As a child, her mom had always drilled into her not to get into cars with strangers, but here she was as a grown woman doing exactly that! If her mother could see her now, she’d probably combust on the spot, but maybenotbecause of concern for Holly’s safety.
As panic threatened, Holly laced her fingers together to stop them trembling, staring out at the snow as the headlights carved faint paths through the whiteout. The flakes swirled hypnotically in the beam of light, making her dizzy if she focused too long. She forced herself to blink, to breathe.
In. Out. In. Out. She counted the breaths, clinging to the rhythm as if it were the only solid thing in a world that had just tilted on its axis.
“We’re gonna make snow angels tomorrow if it stops,” Teddy announced from behind her. “You can make one too, Holly, if you want.”
“If the storm even stops,” Maisie cut in, all practical authority. “Dad says we might be snowed in.”
Holly listened to their gentle back-and-forth, the casual way they included her in their plans as if she’d always been there. Their voices created a cocoon of normalcy around her that felt dangerously comforting.
