“I’ll be right back,” Freya yelled as she took off for their cottage and the keys to their van.
“Um—I’m Brianna, Freya’s sister, by the way. And I guess you know you’re carrying our grandmother, Esther.”
“Pleased to meet you both. I’m Eric Devonshire, but everyone calls me Devon.”
“I guess in all the excitement, my dear sister forgot to introduce us. How do you know Freya?”
“Oh, I’m her patient. Or, rather, I was. I think she has completely cured my leg.”
“You ran, carrying me, with an injured leg?” Esther exclaimed.
“You’re very light.” Devon lifted her a couple of times to demonstrate.
“Starvation will do that to you,” Esther started to laugh, then gave in to another coughing jag.
“The fact that you’re cracking jokes is a good sign, Grandma,” Brianna said.
The van roared up to the nearest paved spot, and before Freya could get out, Devon and Brianna climbed the slight hill. She slid open the back door, and Devon carefully arranged Esther on the wide bench seat, then fastened her seatbelt.
Brianna climbed in to sit next to her grandmother, and Devon jogged around to sit next to Freya in front. As soon as he’d shut his door, she pulled out onto the main road and floored it.
Later that evening,Freya sat at her kitchen table with Devon. Both her sister and grandmother were badly dehydrated and had to stay overnight to receive IV fluids. Esther would spend a few more days there to get her COPD under control and make sure she put on some weight. She might have to spend Yule in the hospital, but as long as she was able to have visitors, she and Brianna would be there for her.
“I can’t believe we found them,” Devon said.
“I can’t believe you risked your life to save them,” Freya added. “Why did you?”
“Because family is precious. All I have is a ghost. The woman I love has two resilient relatives whose bond is impossible to miss.”
“The woman you love? Who might that be?” She raised one eyebrow and gave him a coquettish smirk.
He grinned. “I’m looking at her.”
She walked around the table and settled onto his lap. “I know it’s fast, but I love you too.”
They shared a long, tender kiss.
When Freya leaned back, she said, “I wish you could stay. When do you have to go back to England?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Perhaps I’ll go back after Yule, pack up my stuff, and return as soon as I’ve tied up loose ends.”
Freya’s jaw dropped. “Do you mean, you’d move here? Permanently?”
He shrugged. “If you’ll have me. I can work from anywhere. I can even study the U.S. laws and work as a financial consultant here.”
“You’ll need a green card.”
“Ah, yes. I understand it’s easier to get one if a foreigner marries a citizen.”
“I’ve heard that too.”
“All right, I’ll look into that.” Devon kissed her on the nose.
“Is there something you might be forgetting to ask?”
“I know it’s awfully soon for marriage, but would you consider working toward that goal?”
Freya rose. “I’ll get my computer. We should get all the facts.”
