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“Stop those dogs!” Del cried, sprinting after them.
Isaac was half a step behind her. “Rex! Louie! Get back here!”
Alex looked from Mia to the dogs, darting around the yard in an attempt to stay just out of reach from Del and Isaac. “Should we help them?”
“Nah,” Mia said. “Rex won’t let Louie go far. Besides, this is good penance for her most recent mischievous ways.”
“Remind me never to cross you again.”
Mia laughed and led Alex inside, where sure enough, his parents were seated in the living room with her father and Aunt Faye.
“I thought that was your car. What a wonderful surprise,” Alex said, stepping forward to hug his parents.
“Yes, another red SUV,” her father said, placing his hands over his heart. “Salt to the wound.”
Mia just shook her head and laughed.
Alex made introductions, and warm embraces were shared. Once everyone took a seat, Alex looked between their fathers. “So, who was the mastermind behind the surprise?”
“Actually, it was my sister,” her father said.
Beside him, Aunt Faye shrugged. “I just thought that it might be nice, getting to know Alex’s folks since he’s been spending so much time here with us.”
“Well, hopefully you’re not sick of me yet,” Alex said, squeezing Mia’s hand. “Because I plan to keep coming back to Bourbon Falls whenever time allows.”
“And that’s why we were elated to receive the invite,” his father said. “Not only would it allow us to spend Christmas together with you all, but it gave us a chance to come up and peruse the area. We’re thinking of downsizing. Maybe relocating to a smaller locale, somewhere with a great memory care facility nearby.”
Alex went stock-still. “You are?”
“Warsaw has a wonderful memory care facility,” Aunt Faye offered. “And it’s just a few miles down the road.”
“Perfect. And who knows, if we fall in love with a home up here, maybe we’ll also scope out a bigger piece of land in the spring and finally move Wellington Trucking out of Indy like we’ve been talking about.”
Alex’s hand tightened on Mia’s. “You’re serious?”
“We’ve both spent far too many years on the road, son. I think we each deserve to work a little closer to home.” He turned a loving smile to his wife. “And to the ones we love.”
“Wow.” Alex’s voice wavered. “Best Christmas present ever.”
“Wait,” Mia said, afraid to get her hopes up. “Are you saying you might all be relocating to Bourbon Falls?”
“I think it’s a definite possibility.” His father winked.
Best Christmas present ever was right!
The men chatted about possible properties for the new Wellington facility while the women discussed housing prospects. Soon, the kitchen timer went off, and Mia’s father rose from his seat.
“Go and round up your sister and her beau, MiMi. It’s time to eat.”
“Okay, Dad. We aren’t waiting on Chase?”
He shook his head. “He’s working at the station today so Smith can be home with his family.”
“Aw, okay.” It was sweet of Chase to make the offer, but they’d sure miss him here.
“I’ll help you get the others,” Alex said, following her outside.
As Mia looked around for the crazy foursome who’d vanished from the front yard, Alex caught her arm and pulled her in for a long, lingering kiss. He drew back slowly and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.
