He didn’t argue.
“Yep, I’m done.Done.I don’t need to be here for Christmas morning. Olivia doesn’t care. It’s all Benny and Gracie and all these dumb mountain people who live in the snow! I’ll Uber to the airport in the morning. Enjoy the bears! Hope one doesn’t get me on the way back!”
With that, she spun and marched down the lodge road toward her cabin, grumbling under her breath.
Marshall watched her go, shoulders sagging a little. Then he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, sighing into the cold. Finally, he retreated into the cabin and closed the door, the light going out instantly.
Gracie stood perfectly still until Bianca disappeared around the bend, then another full minute just to let all his beautiful words replay in her mind.
Classy…sensitive…successful…incredible.And her personal favorite:I plan to spend the rest of my life with her…she just doesn’t know it yet.
Well, she knew it now. And what would a shy, introverted, slightly-overwhelmed-by-life girldowith that information? Sleep on it? Share it with her mother and cousin? Or…
She stepped out from behind the tree, her heart thundering as she carefully walked directly to the cabin. She climbed the two steps and stood in front of the door, hand raised, ready to knock.
She knew one thing—if she did this, she’d never go back. This was do or die. Life with Marshall Hampton would begin right now at dawn on Christmas morning and they?—
The door whipped open. “I told you to?—”
Gracie launched herself forward and kissed him. She grabbed his head, held him steady, and gave every ounce of pent-up love and longing and hope into one toe-curling, soul-stealing, life-changing kiss.
When she broke away, breathless and snow-dusted, she whispered, “This time next year?”
“You were listening,” he said, chuckling into another kiss.
“Yes, sir, I was. I’m the bear who heard every word.”
He drew back, his brows lifting. “And?”
“And I like the way you think, Marshall Hampton.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again as the snow whispered softly around them and Christmas morning crept quietly into the mountains.
The handicapped van always smelled faintly like vinyl and peppermint gum, thanks to her father’s lifelong Altoids habit. Elise sat belted into the passenger-side wheelchair station, her gloved hands resting on the padded armrests, breathing in the familiar scent and wishing that she didn’t feel likecargo.
She didn’t usually feel that way, but last night’s conversation with Wade hung over her mood, darkening it.
Dad drove carefully through the fresh Christmas morning snow, windshield wipers brushing away flurries that looked like rising sparks. Mom sat in the front holding a casserole dish, and all around, the van was piled with gifts. Everything felt warm and bright and festive except for Elise, who could not seem to unclench her jaw.
Her mother turned. “Sweetheart, you’re awfully quiet.”
“I’m fine,” Elise said instantly, plastering on a smile.
“You didn’t sleep well?” she pressed.
“Who sleeps well on Christmas Eve?” Elise quipped. “Santa anxiety is real.”
“Elise.” The tone was both gentle and knowing.
Elise exhaled slowly, her mind going back to last night.
He hadn’t meant to hurt her. Wade Reynolds was kind down to the marrow. But when he’d gone on amobility sciencerant, her heart had stumbled over every word.
Her mother let the silence stretch a little, then asked softly, “Did something happen with Wade?”
“No,” Elise said quickly. “Of course not. We’re just…friends. He helped with Shambles and the Nativity thing last night. That’s all.”
He also stole my heart, gave me my first kiss, and made me think about a future I never dreamed I could have.
