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“You are a beautiful woman, Charlee.” Ben agrees with Rowan.
“Don’t rile him up.” I say to Ben as I wrap myself around my husband's arm. “He’s poking you. He wants to get you all worked up. You are his type.” Ben winks at Rowan.
“I’m married.” Rowan keeps on growling.
“I know. I’m your real estate agent.”
“Wait. What?” I ask. My heart starts to race.
“I told you, when it was time to start school we should move back to Winter Falls.”
“I thought you meant the cabin. You’ve done all that construction.” He’d recently did a bunch of updates.
“I love our cabin but that’s not practical for every day. We need more room. We’ll still go there for Christmas but this will be our family home.” He’s right. It’s a bit off the beaten path out in the mountains. As much as I love it I’m not sure I could live there year round. “This is your dream home.”
I told Rowan about this place. Even had him drive by it a few times. As a little girl I dreamed it would one day be mine. That I’d find my king and we’d live out our fairy tale happy ever after there.
“Rowan.” Tears start to spill down my cheeks.
“But your work and-”
“Trust me. It’s all handled.” He wipes the tears from my cheeks. “Work isn’t my life. My family is. We’ll keep the penthouse in the city but your heart is here.”
“I’ll leave you guys to it.” Ben hands me over the keys. “Welcome back, Charlee.”
I hand the keys over to my husband. “Show me.” He tangles his fingers with mine, leading me towards the front doors.
“This place is incredible.”
“I have good taste as you can see.”
“I was the lucky one, Charlee.” He opens the door for me.
When I’d left Winter Falls all those years ago I knew I was searching for something out in the world. I’d started to doubt that after I’d graduated college having felt more lost than ever. That was until Rowan found me.
“No, it was you that gave me everything I ever dreamed of, Rowan.”
“And you made me dream.” My heart melts. Even after all these years he can still leave me speechless. I yank him down for a kiss.
“Why don’t we act out some of those dirty dreams I know you always come up with in our new home?”
“Careful what you ask for wife.” He warns.
I don’t need a warning. Not from my husband. I know every second of whatever he plans to do to me will be pure heaven.
epilogue
ROMAN
MANY YEARS LATER
“The snow is coming down fast.” Liam, my oldest, presses his 10 year old nose to the glass.
“Is Santa going to see our cabin?” asks Olivia, our littlest one.
“He sees better in the snow,” says Ava. The eight year old always has the right answers.
“Come over here and put your coats and boots on,” calls my wife. She shakes Olivia’s purple puffer coat to get the kids’ attentions.
The little girl toddles over and shoves her arms into the coat. “Can I make angels.”
“Yes.”
“Can I throw a snowball in Liam’s face?” Asks Ava.
“No.”
“Can I?” Olivia says.
“No. Not you either.” Charlee glances over the kids’ heads, pressing her lips together to suppress a laugh.
I cross my ankles and lean back against the counter and watch as the family gets bundled up. Charlee is taking the crew out to play while I finish filling the stockings with candy, small toys, and video games.
Liam rolls his eyes and gives a long suffering sigh. He knows, as we all do, the minute the three are outside the two girls will gang up on him and even though he could run away or overpower them physically, he will allow himself to be taken to the ground and smeared with snow. He’s a good brother.
I set down my coffee mug and walk over to ruffle his hair. “Don’t let them be too hard on you, son.”
“Nah. It’s fine. How are they going to have fun otherwise?” He dons his snow pants and shoves his feet into his boots. I bend down to tie them. Once I’m finished, I tuck a heat warmer into his pocket, give the girls kisses and then wave as they troop outside.
As I hang and fill the stockings, the sound of screaming laughter echoes outside the large picture window. Little bodies zoom by. A snowball strikes the front door. My mouth curves into a smile. When I first saw Charlee at the newsstand outside my office, I knew instantly I wanted her in my life. I didn’t have a full idea of what the future with her would look like but it didn’t include a small cabin in the woods of Winter Falls. In the years since I first trapped Charlee here, we’ve done some improvements. The exposed rafters have all been clean of the smoke damage. Two new bedrooms and bathrooms were added. The kitchen has been upgraded but it’s still a small space compared to what everyone is used to. Even so, I feel like the family is closer when we’re here. Maybe it’s partly due to the holidays, maybe it’s the coziness of Winter Falls where the town is full of kind and friendly people, or maybe it’s the memories of how we almost fell apart and if it wasn’t for this town, this cabin, this space, we wouldn’t have made it this far.
