“Good luck, kid,” her dad said, bending to pat Maya’s back. “You can take her.”
This tickled Maya, and she threw her head back and laughedin delight.
“Do you want in on this race?” Allie asked, turning to Ash.
And though he’d planned to watch them, he realized that hedidsort of want to make a fool of himself running around the park.
“Yes,” he said, “I think I do.”
“Last one to the Christmas tree and back is a sour creemee,” Allie yelled before taking off like a shot.
“Hey,” Maya said, gamely sprinting after her.
Ash brought up the rear, watching the young woman with the golden hair and his sweet daughter with her dark ponytails flying, both of them laughing as they ran.
He was impressed at how stealthily Allie waited until she was behind the big Christmas tree before slowing down enough for Maya to catch up.
As he drank in the cold, fresh air, and they all flew back down the sidewalk toward the pretty pavilion where so many things had been happening lately, Ash realized that he wasn’t chasing the ability to be happy with what he had anymore.
He was already there.
26
ALLIE
Allie stood in the kitchen at Lawrence Farm on Christmas morning, waiting for the timer to go off for the gingerbread cookies in the oven that were already filling the whole house with their spicy-sweet aroma.
Somehow, she felt completely relaxed, in spite of the busy morning.
She’d been up before dawn with her mom, Allie starting the preparations for a big family breakfast while her mother saw to the cows. Family started trickling in slowly as they finished up their own chores. By the time the sun was up, Allie had put on a second pot of coffee.
Ash and Maya arrived soon after. Ash explained that Maya had also been up before the sun in her excitement to come to the farm.
And naturally, Allie’s mom had told her that being an early riser was a really good thing if you wanted to help out on a farm.
Maya’s eyes had gotten really big, and she’d said shedidwant to help out on the farm, which earned her approving chuckles from everyone in earshot.
Then Tripp had carried her off to see the cows and check on the barn cat and her kittens while Ash sat with Allie’s dad to drink coffee and talk about what kinds of things might go in a greenhouse in Vermont.
Though they had only begun dating, and their engagement had happened awfully quickly by most people’s standards, Allie found that it seemed like Ash and Maya had been around forever.
They had spent lots of time talking about plans for the greenhouse over the past few days, which was getting them both excited.
Ash was also getting excited about Charlotte’s idea for a root beer float partnership. They were already brainstorming names and a logo.
Allie loved that her best friend and her fiancé had such a perfect way to get to know each other better. Even grumpy Tag seemed to have taken a shine to Ash, as if his wife’s approval had opened his heart.
Allie had even gone out with Maya and Ash to have lunch with Maya’s mom, who seemed much more low-key than the first time they met. Allie didn’t think they would ever be best friends, but she was glad that Maya had so many people in her life that loved her.
Everything was going well, and Allie didn’t think she’d ever been so happy as she was these last few days.
When Tripp brought a worn-out Maya back to the house a few minutes ago, she had run right over to the sofa in the corner of the kitchen, where Charlotte was looking atTwas the Night Before Christmaswith Alonso.
“We read that one,” Maya said excitedly. “I read that with your grandma, Alonso.”
“Do you want me to read it to you now?” Charlotte asked her.
“I can read it to him,” Maya said.
