Reese and Mikey held my hands, leading me through the snow, blindfolded. The frigid air seeped through my scarf and slipped down my coat with a shiver. The rush of wind in the trees echoed somewhere nearby, and the hum of town seemed distant, muted.
“Just a few more steps,” Reese said.
“No peeking, Mom,” Mikey repeated for the fifth time.
“I’m not peeking, I swear,” I said. “I can’t see a thing. You boys better make sure I don’t trip over anything…”
Then we came to a stop. Reese’s mouth was at my ear, his hands firm and steadying on my waist. An instant sense of calm settled over me. His presence had a tendency to do that these days.
For the first three or four months of dating, I wrestled with anxiety. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. This couldn’tpossibly be happening. Was I truly falling in love so soon? And this fast? Was Reese really going to remain true to his word and stay with us? Or would he change his mind and decide that a single mom and her son was too much trouble that he didn’t want to bother with after all?
Then we celebrated our sixth month anniversary.
Reese proposed. And I said yes.
It had been a whirlwind of rapid-fire changes ever since. The wedding, with Mikey as the ring bearer, using one of his toy cars to hold the rings. House hunting for a bigger place. My rental could barely house three people. We certainly couldn’t raise a family there.
I smoothed my hand over the swell of my stomach. On our wedding night, I got pregnant with our baby. I was so scared to tell Reese that I was shaking like a leaf, terrified that this would finally be the moment when he left us.
But he simply laughed with delight and wrapped me in a crushing hug, kissing me until I was breathless. His baby fever had been worse than mine ever since. Making plans for a nursery. Reading one baby book after another. Talking to Mikey about the serious responsibility that accompanied his role as a future big brother.
“You can look now,” Reese said, removing my blindfold.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust in the searing sunlight. Snow sparkled all around us. The sky was a crisp, brilliant blue, free of clouds. Mountains towered in the distance, capped with white.
“What do you think, Mom?” Mikey declared, spreading his arms wide.
Before us was a huge house. Two stories, with a garage attached, and a few acres of land. It was beautiful, with dark green shutters, a fresh coat of white paint, and giant windowsto let in plenty of sunlight. On the front door was a massive red ribbon tied in a bow like a Christmas present.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Reese said, smiling, his eyes so warm and full of love.
“You…you bought us a house,” I sputtered in shock and disbelief. “But how did you…? There’s no way we could afford this.”
“You can thank the Reckless Order for that. They pooled their resources and pitched in to help build this place. Ruby’s husband is handy with a set of tools when it comes to carpentry. And Ironside has a knack for telling everyone what to do, so it worked out pretty smoothly. We built it in about a week or two. The tricky part was keeping this yapper’s mouth shut,” Reese added, grabbing Mikey by his coat. “He almost spilled the beans a few times.”
Mikey grinned, laughing at Reese’s rough housing.
“Can we go inside?” I asked.
“Of course.” Reese retrieved a key from the pocket of his coat and pressed it into my palm. “Scope out your new home, Mama.”
Giddy with excitement, I hurried inside. A Christmas tree covered in lights and ornaments was tucked in a corner of the living room. Hot cocoa and cookies waited on the counter in the kitchen, with all the trappings for extra sweets—peppermint sticks, marshmallows, caramel syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles.
Mikey and I always made cocoa and cookies together for Christmas. This year, Reese would be included in our tradition.
The rest of the house was empty, a blank slate waiting for us to fill it with our lives.
Mikey’s boots thundered throughout the house, investigating his new home.
Reese leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching me as I ran my hands over the brand new counters. Marveling that he’d managed to do so much work and I never suspected a thing.
“Do you think it’s big enough for our future family?” he asked.
I turned to face him with a soft smile on my lips.
“It might be. That will depend if my biker husband can keep his hands off me.”
“Oh, well, in that case…” Reese circled the kitchen island, guiding my arms around his neck as he placed his hands on my swollen belly. “I’m afraid you should prepare yourself for about a dozen kids running around here, Mrs. Wingman.”
