“It’s a Christmas romance classic! Everyone has to read it before New Year’s,” she declares, tucking herself into her reading chair. Arabella laughs, already making a list for the next Broken Chapter book club night. I wish I could get into the spirit—God knows I want to curl up with a book and lose myself in happily ever afters.
But tonight, my heart won’t settle. I keep thinking of Micah, working to clean up the disaster my father left behind. There’s too much left unfinished, too many names still hiding in that cursed black book, too many deals still happening in dark corners. I wish he were here, just for one night, but I know what kind of work he’s doing now. We all paid the price for my father’s ambition, and some debts don’t vanish just because it’s Christmas.
I glance out the window. Flakes drift through the bayou darkness, turning the world soft and slow, blanketing the porch and the land that’s seen its fair share of violence. For the first time in years, I let myself believe we’re safe for now.
I lift the ring again, thumb running over the smooth gold. The chain is thin but strong. I wore this ring every day, even when I ran, even when I told myself I had to forget the man who gave it to me. I never could. I never wanted to, to be honest.
I hear footsteps behind me—heavy, familiar, my favorite sound in the world now. Phantom’s presence always hits before he even touches me. I can feel his aura reach for me and mine reaches for him.
He slips his arms around my waist, hands warm and sure, pulling me back into his chest. His chin drops to my shoulder, lips grazing my hair. “You’re quiet,” he murmurs, voice low, thick with everything we haven’t said since that night on the railway platform.
I lean into him, letting his heat seep into me, letting myself be held. “Just thinking,” I say, my voice soft as the snow outside.
He doesn’t ask what about. He just presses a kiss behind my ear, his fingers finding the chain at my throat. He lets it slide through his grip until the ring is resting in his palm.
“Been wearing this a long time,” he says, his voice rough, reverent.
“Every day,” I whisper, breath catching.
His fingers are careful as he unclasps the chain, lifting it from my neck, the warmed metal slipping free. He cups the ring in his hand, turning me to face him, his eyes shining with all the same emotions swirling inside me—hope, love, fear.
He goes to one knee, never taking his eyes off mine.
Every sound in the room seems to hush—the fire crackling, the laughter, even the music playing low from someone’s phone. The Savages gather around, one by one, drawn by the gravity of the moment. Kaylee’s small voice pipes up, “Daddy, what are you doing?” and the words send a bolt of joy and nerves through me.
Phantom’s eyes are steady, but I can see the tremor in his hand as he holds up the ring. “Everly,” he says, voice deeper than I’ve ever heard it, “I don’t have speeches or poetry. I just know my life didn’t start until I met you. You gave me hope for love when I never thought I’d have any. You gave me a daughter who is thelight of my world. You gave me your love when I didn’t deserve it. And even when you left, you never really left. You were always here.” He presses a hand to his chest, his heart. “Will you marry me? Will you let me guard your heart and your life with my own?”
My eyes fill instantly, the tears slipping hot down my cheeks. Every wall I ever built crumbles and falls away. My knees nearly give out, but Phantom catches me with one hand, steady as always.
“Yes,” I breathe, the word breaking on a laugh. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Cheers go up around the room, a wild, ragged, perfect sound. The women are crying and the men are grinning, clapping, whistling. Reaper steps forward, tucking Arabelle under his arm.
He grins at Phantom, then at me, and his voice rings out, sure and strong. “If you want, I can officiate right now. Got the paperwork somewhere around here. We can handle signatures tomorrow.”
“You expected this, didn’t you?” I ask.
Reaper’s smile says it all.
Phantom stands, pulling me flush against him, wiping the tears from my face. “That work for you, baby?”
I nod, laughter bubbling up inside me, a kind of joy that feels brand new. “Yes. I don’t want to wait another minute.”
Reaper clears his throat. “Then let’s do this the Savage way.”
Everyone gathers around the tree, the lights flickering over all our faces, casting everything in gold and red and green. Someone hands me a gingerbread cookie, and the smell of clovesand sugar fills the air. Kaylee squeezes between us, her small hand slipping into mine and Phantom’s. She takes the cookie as Phantom takes my hand.
Reaper’s voice is solemn but soft, full of the kind of gravity only a man like him can carry. “We’re gathered here, in the home we built together, to witness the marriage of two souls who never stopped fighting for each other. Phantom, do you promise to protect, cherish, and love Everly until the end of days?”
Phantom’s eyes never leave mine. “With everything I am. For as long as I breathe.”
Reaper nods. “Everly, do you promise to stand by Phantom, to share your heart and your home, to love without fear, to trust without hesitation?”
My voice wobbles, but I speak with all the truth I have. “I do. I love you. I trust you. You’re my home.”
Phantom slips the ring onto my finger, his hand shaking just a little. My ring. Our promise. The weight of it is right. It always was. “We’ll get the official wedding band after the weather clears,” he murmurs close to my ear.
“This one is perfect for me.”
