Sully unwrapped his gift and opened a black box. Inside was a smartwatch. It had cost Charley a thousand dollars, and Sully was worth every single penny. He looked at her with a smile and carefully took it out of the box.
“Did you know my previous watch was broken in the car crash?” he asked.
“Yes, your dad mentioned it in passing at the hospital.”
“This is the perfect gift, Charley. But it’s too much.”
“It’s not nearly enough,” she echoed with love. “It is the outdoorsman sports model,” she said as he put it on. “It’s a minicomputer. It’s durable enough to wear scuba diving, skydiving, and running marathons. You can use apps, you can track your health and fitness, it can find your phone, and the battery life is better than that of a cell phone.”
Sully chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I love it, but not as much as I love you.”
Charley snuggled into his arms again and rested her head against his. “I love you too.”
The remainder of their morning was quiet and just the two of them, along with Wyatt and his new toys. Henri had invited them, as well as Owen, to her house for Christmas dinner at six. They met up with Owen there and enjoyed a veritable banquet, as Henri loved to cook and bake. Charley nudged Sully after dinner and grinned when they caught Owen and Henri kissing under mistletoe from Pretty Petals. Sully winked at her, leaned her back over his arm, and kissed her. Owen and Henri saw them and clapped.
In Henri’s comfortable living room, the four of them shared delicious cocoa hot toddies and homemade cheesecake drizzled with chocolate sauce. Sully and Charley gave Owen two thick flannel shirts for Christmas from Cash’s store. They all laughed when he gave each of them a flannel shirt from Cash’s store as well. Sully and Charley gave Henri a basket brimming with chocolates, fruits, and nuts. In turn, she gave them a cutting board stacked with cheeses, meats, and crackers. Charley sighed with happiness as she sat on a comfortable couch with Sully’s arm around her. What a stark difference a few months had made in her life.
“Ready to go home?” Sully whispered a half hour later.
“Yes, I want you all to myself.”
“Yeehaw,” Sully said in a husky voice with a cocky grin and quick squeeze that sent tingles to every part of Charley’s body.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Ithink it’s a good offer,” Sully said a few days later, looking at the page the realtor had faxed to Charley regarding her Old Colorado City property.
“I do too.” Charley nodded, standing next to him. With a cold rain threatening to ice the roads and plans to go to dinner at the Lodge, Sully had driven her to Pretty Petals. He was back now as she closed for the day. “I consider myself lucky to have any offer considering the body of the woman who initially escaped the Cave Killer was found in a cave near my property.”
“I say accept this offer and be done, Charley.”
“Yes, I agree. It’s not the full asking price but close enough.”
“Right, and the buyers are paying cash. That’s a plus.”
“I told my realtor I’d meet her tomorrow afternoon if the offer was acceptable. So, I’ll do that and sign whatever paperwork is needed to make this a quick, done deal.”
“Sounds good.” Sully smiled in relief. He’d be glad to have Charley’s ties cut to the property where she’d been attacked, and her mother murdered. “Both of our stores will be closed tomorrow, so I’ll go with you.”
He grabbed her hand, and they were off in his four-wheel drive Jeep to have dinner at Coopers’ Lodge. To their delight,they ran into Cash, Tracy, Carly, and Dalton there. The Coopers had just arrived and waved them to a big, round, cushioned booth. As the baby slept, Carly, sitting in a booster seat between Tracy and Charley, told them exactly how much he weighed and how many inches he’d grown since birth.
“Dalton will talk soon,” Carly assured them.
“Since Dalton can’t hold up his own head yet, it may be a while before he’s talking, Sis,” Cash said to his daughter as he and Sully sat at outside ends of the booth facing each other.
Carly wasn’t too sure about that. Charley hugged her, and everyone laughed. Charley told them about the potential sale of her shop and duplex. Cash and Tracy agreed it was a good offer. Sully added that they planned to meet with the realtor the next day to make it official.
After a delicious dinner, they bid the Coopers good night. From the Lodge, Sully drove straight home to his ranch. As usual, the remainder of the evening flew by. Sully could hardly recall, nor did he want to remember how the days and nights had often dragged before Charley burst onto the scene and changed his whole world. He was one lucky man.
They went to bed, made love, and when he’d awakened, she was in his arms just where he wanted her. From bed, on that lazy Sunday morning of December thirtieth, Sully saw snow lightly falling as Charley soundly slept. It was his opportunity to surprise her with breakfast. He slipped out of bed without waking her. Wyatt followed him through the house, and Sully let him out the side door. The snow covering the mountain tops in the distance was beautiful. Winter had arrived, and with the temperature dropping, Wyatt soon scampered back into the warm house. He ate breakfast and with a dog biscuit, took off to his bed in the master bedroom.
“Well, lookie there, Wyatt,” Charley said twenty minutes later, as she and the puppy walked into the kitchen. “Your dad is making us breakfast.”
“His dad?” Sully laughed, turning to face them. “You know that makes you his mom.”
“I know,” Charley giggled and scooped up the puppy.
“Don’t let Wyatt fool you about breakfast. He’s already been fed, gone outside, and had a dog biscuit. This breakfast is just for you and me.”
