Page 44 of His Christmas Love Song

I saved your life

way back when.

But you’ve saved mine

over and over again.

Please say it’s not too late.

Please tell me I got one more chance.

To prove ours is a love

that’s gonna last and last.

There’s not much Christmas

in this corny Christmas song.

So let’s find some mistletoe

and kiss our whole lives long.

Ryan’s smiling through his tears when Jesse finally sets the guitar to the side. “I love it, Jess,” he says. “It’s my new favorite Christmas song.”

“Yeah?” Jesse’s smile is the best Christmas present Ryan could ask for. “Well, I mean every word.”

“Then there’s only one thing left to do,” Ryan says, pulling Jesse in close. “We better find some mistletoe.”

They kiss as if the entire ceiling is covered in the stuff.

EPILOGUE

FOUR MONTHS LATER

“Are you absolutely sure those are the ticket totals?” Hank asks for the third time since Emma made the calculations.

Emma rolls her eyes at her brother. “Yes, Hank. In person ticket sales alone are going to get us past our goal. With the online streaming revenue and the merchandise sales, the clinic is going to be in great shape for a long time to come.”

“I knew Jesse and Ryan were successful, but I had no idea they were this popular,” Hank says, a little dazed.

“That’s because your idea of contemporary music is Dave Matthews Band, babe,” Cameron says, softening the blow by slipping his hand into Hank’s back pocket and giving his ass a light squeeze.

“It is not. I like, um,” he wracks his brain for a more recent artist, “Garth Brooks.”

“Garth is a legend, but you’re kind proving my point.” Cameron laughs and removes his hand. “I gotta go to work. See you after?”

Hank grins at his boyfriend. “See you after.”

Except for a couple of gigs Cameron already had scheduled, he’s basically been living in Columbia since before Christmas. At first, he was recuperating from his big tour, and then just when Hank had assumed their holiday fling would be ending and Cameron would go back to his life, Emma had mentioned their idea for a fundraiser for the clinic and Cameron had jumped on it, declaring that he would produce it and take care of everything.

Somewhere in there, Hank realized he was dreading the moment when Cameron told him it would be time to say goodbye. When he got up the courage to tell him just that, Cameron had smiled and said, “I hope I never have to say goodbye to you.” Whether Cameron ends up on tour again or not, Hank knows that they’ll figure things out.

The last month has been a whirlwind of activity. First, the tickets went on sale for an intimate show featuring Jesse Arlyn, Ryan Winslow, and Cameron Keane, and it sold out in about five minutes, so they added two more shows and those sold out, too. They’ve converted the lodge’s great room into a concert space for the weekend. Emma used the event as an excuse to fast track some property upgrades, and Cameron took charge of sprucing up the baby grand piano that was a relic of Hank’s grandparents’ days. Workers have been in and out all week installing lights, a sound system, and a temporary stage. Jesse and Ryan arrived a couple of days ago for rehearsals. Hank had wanted to put them up in cabin 12, unofficially the honeymoon suite, but they’d requested cabin 14 again. Something about the bathtub. Hank hadn’t asked too many questions.

After all the planning, Hank’s excited for the show to begin. Emma sends him back to his place to get dressed. He trims his beard and combs his hair and puts on a new black button-down shirt, tucks it into his nicest jeans. Cameron and Jesse and Ryan are the ones with the spotlight on them tonight, but he wants to do them proud. After all, they’ve gone to all this trouble for the clinic when it’s not their responsibility. He gets a little emotional when he thinks about how much they’ve all grown up, how they’ve all met the challenges of the world in different ways. He’s proud of Jesse and Ryan, good men who haven’t forgotten that their fame and influence can do a lot of good in the world.

Emma collects him a little before the show’s supposed to start. She looks radiant in a snow-white sweater and black jeans. “Ready?”