“Maybe, but he’s trying. For you.” I went on my tiptoes and kissed him. “Maybe that’s enough for now, huh?”
“Yeah,” he said with a soft smile. “You ready for bed?”
“I sure am. I have one more Christmas gift for you.”
“You do, huh? What might that be?”
“You’ll have to unwrap all of this”—I waved to my body—“to find out.”
He bent to kiss me. “I don’t get this gift only on Christmas, do I?”
“It’s the kind of gift that keeps on giving.”
“Oh, good,” he said, beaming. “Then I can’t wait to enjoy it again and again.”
“Every year,” I murmured. “It’ll be a tradition.”
His eyes warmed with love as he gazed down at me. “You’re the real Christmas miracle, you know. I never saw you coming.”
“Ditto, Hopper,” I said with a smile as I pushed onto my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re the best worst thing to ever happen to me.”
We kissed, long and tender, and then I took his hand and led him up the stairs.
We’d been loving each other on borrowed time. Now we got to start the rest of our lives.
EPILOGUE
HOPPER
Eleven months later…
I’d never seen so many people at the Grisold Christmas Tree Farm. We’d had to hire in a couple of seasonal workers to pull off Noel’s holiday fest extravaganza the weekend after Thanksgiving.
One of the workers we brought in was my father. His sobriety hadn’t fully taken, and he was between jobs. He was on the wagon, then off again. Right now, though, he was giving it another shot, and Noel had suggested including him in the fest. He’d shown up in good shape and appeared to be having a ball helping little kids feed a real-live reindeer, so I was happy we’d offered. I wanted to enjoy his good days, even if they couldn’t all be that way.
I was running hayrack rides, Ed had reprised his role as Santa, and Maggie was presiding over workshops in our barn event space all day long to help visitors make ornaments, wreaths, and gingerbread houses.
Noel was running around, directing us all like we were in a massive theater production. But then, maybe we were. We all had our parts to play.
“Next hayrack ride will depart in fifteen minutes!” I called. “Get your tickets in the holiday market!”
A few folks cast me a look. I had a little line forming already, but most people would rush over right before I headed out.
A little girl who’d been taking a turn feeding the reindeer turned beseeching eyes up at her mom. “Can we go on the ride? Please. Pretty please! We can see all the trees before we pick one out!”
Her mom, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, laughed at her daughter’s excitement. Noel had been right. Combining all the events not only saved us from running ourselves ragged all month, but it also created a more magical atmosphere.
We weren’t just a tree farm today. In that little girl’s eyes, we wereChristmas—and it was the best moment of her little life.
“A ride sounds fun,” her mom said. “By the time we get out of here, you’ll be tired of Christmas, right?”
“Never!”
The woman looked at me. “Had to try, right?”
I chuckled. “Maybe it’ll tire her out for a week or two.”
“We can hope,” she said as they turned to head into the barn to get tickets.
