AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her insides melted as he said the words. They did have a lot of time to make up for, and now they would. He was staying.
And they were getting married! Happiness burst through her heart and she felt a ridiculous urge to rush back and tell Spooky.
“Too bad you don’t have a friend who has the perfect place to get married at,” Brianna said with a grin.
Roni laughed, overjoyed at the prospect, and was already starting to imagine what their wedding would look like. “I think we should have a Christmas wedding,” she joked, knowing how much her Scrooge hated Christmas.
“You know,” Jimmy said, grinning down at her. “I think that is a great idea. Let’s make it really loud and really bright. After all, it’s a celebration that has been a long time coming.”
“Who are you? And what have you done with Jimmy Duarte?”
Jimmy grinned down at her. “I learned something while I was in Denver. I learned that Christmas is not just about the lights and the noise, but about joy and hope. Christmas is about love and bringing people together. I love you more than I ever thought possible to love anything, and Christmas and Pineville have brought us together. And for that, I will always be grateful.”
Happy tears welled in her eyes again. “I love you, too,” she said and lost herself in his kiss once more.And I always will.
EPILOGUE
CHRISTMAS EVE
Roni looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes to closing, and then she and Jimmy were heading up to one of the cabins at Brianna’s place for a special Christmas Eve for just her and Jimmy.
“Hi, Pippi,” Roni said as the little red-haired girl came rushing through the door with a squirming Dalmatian puppy in her arms. “Who is that?”
“Hi, Roni. This is Spot. I got him for Christmas.” She smiled so big Roni could see all her mismatched teeth. “You were right, Spooky is magic.”
Roni quickly glanced at the confused look on Jimmy’s face as he finished hanging his last piece of art on the walls.
“Did your dad decide you were old enough for a puppy?”
“Not at first,” Pippi said. “But this really pretty lady named Hannah convinced him.”
“Oh, really?” Roni said, intrigued, wondering how Hannah managed that.
“Yeah, she’s going to be his new boss. We’re staying so he can create a light festival for next year. Isn’t that wonderful? That’s what he does. He’s an engineer.”
“Really?” Looks like Hannah was going to come through for them, and they’d get their light festival after all. “More wonderful than you know,” Roni said, laughing. “Peppermint smoothie?”
“Yes, please.”
Roni made the smoothie, then watched Pippi and her puppy run happily for the park.
“You made that girl very happy,” Jimmy said, hugging her from behind.
“Oh, not me, Spooky did that.” She turned to Spooky sitting in the cat tree and petted his head.
“What did she mean Spooky is a magic cat?” He peered at Spooky.
Roni grinned. “He is magic. He brought you here to me, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know if I’d give the cat credit for that.”
She opened up a basket for the cabin and placed a few of the pastries that weren’t sold inside. “Last year, I was cat-sitting at Jenni’s place, and I met Spooky. I told him how lonely I was and how I wished he’d bring me my true love for Christmas. The next thing I knew, you called me on the phone. That same night,” she emphasized.
He smothered a smile with his hand. “Really?”
“Yep. Why did you call me?” she asked. “You never said.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’d thought about you many times over the years, but I did have an urge to call you last year that was pretty strong. I just couldn’t stop thinking about you and wondering what you were up to. So, I finally gave in and called.”
