“She never returned,” Georgie added a solemn nod. “Yet, the star lights up every Christmas Eve. Like it knows something. Like it’s waiting, too.”
“Well,” Daphne whispered, “I like to believe Caleb’s star would shine brightest when true love is near.”
She’d never believed in things like that before. She’d also never believed she’d fall in love again. Or dance again. Or feel alive again.
But she did now.
She was tired, but not the kind of tired that came from performance or pleasing others. She was tired in the way one was after doing something brave. Like staying in Kingsmill and choosing this new life with a handsome man who loved her.
The church bells began to chime twelve times, low and echoing through the orchard. Conversations quieted. Snowflakes floated down, as if summoned by the sound. When the final bell faded, the crowd held its breath.
Abe leaned in and his breath tickled her ear. “Watch the ridgeline.”
Then it happened. High on the peak, so far away it appeared like a dream, a star blinked into being. It shone bright and unwavering against the black sky, like angels were holding it steady.
“Caleb hoped his wife would see this?” she asked him.
“Yes. She didn’t, but he lit it anyway. Every year.”
Her throat tightened. “And now?”
“It’s for everyone. A reminder that even if you’re lost, even if you’re late… there’s always a light to guide you back home.”
She watched it glow, bold against the black sky. Something old and aching stirred inside her, but this time, it didn’t frighten her. It settled her. She thought of all the years she’d danced to earn peace. To earn joy. To control something… anything.
But this was different. Caleb’s star asked nothing of her. It just shone.
“I think I’m finally ready,” she murmured. “Not just for a new stage. For life. For mess. For whatever comes next.”
He took her cocoa, set it on the snow-dusted hay bale, and wrapped his arms around her from behind. The warmth of him, the weight, the realness grounded her in a way she hadn’t known she needed.
She turned in his arms and looked up at him, his brown eyes glittering with love and something steadier. “Are you sure?”
He kissed away a snowflake on her cheek. “I’ve been sure since I found you on that flooded road, in Sleepy Hollow, all those months ago.”
Then he kissed her. It was slow and deep and reverent, like the moment was made of something sacred. His warm hand framed her jaw, anchoring her in the wonder of the moment.
The world around them faded, quiet and serene, until all she could feel was the slide of his mouth, the brush of his tongue, the strength of his arms, and his absolute certainty in the way he held her close and didn’t let go.
Above them, Caleb’s star burned steady. A symbol of loss, but also of hope reborn, year after year.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. This wasn’t a performance, and there’d be no applause.
Just the hush of winter. A sense of peace. And the promise of Christmas…forever.
The End… for now.
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If you’d like to read about how Abe and Daphne met, you can learn more about their first story,One Night by Firelight, at https://sharonwray.com/one-night-by-firelight/.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon is theUSA TodayBestselling Author of theDeadly Force Romantic Suspense Series, Devil’s Renegades MC Romance Series,and theKingsmill Courtships Contemporary Romance Series.
She’s repped by Deidre Knight and Kristy Hunter of The Knight Agency.
