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A magical feeling comes over me, then. That sense I get from nothing else in this world other than Presley. It’s an overwhelming sense of contentment and warmth. My heart overflows. Every day, she assures me she feels the same way.
“You and the baby are the best things that have ever happened to me. You know that, right?”
Presley hums and snuggles closer. “Nobody loves me like you do.”
Through the window near the foot of the bed, I watch the snow come down in thick, fluffy chunks, as numerous as my happy moments with Presley.
PartThree
A COOKIE CATASTROPHE
ChapterFourteen
Harley
Two pairs of snow boots crunch through the freshly fallen white powder in the woods. My boots and Charlotte’s.
Finally, we’re alone. Everything is quiet.
The forest is silent other than our footsteps on the snow and leaves and the occasional flutter of wings.
“Look!” Charlotte whispers, pointing a mittened hand at a snow-caked branch.
A bright red cardinal watches us. It warms my heart to see her get so excited about something as small as a bird.
“It’s like a Christmas card,” I say.
Charlotte’s other wool-covered hand squeezes mine, and she smiles when she looks over at me.
I don’t have any other response when Charlotte looks at me like that: I take her in my arms and kiss her silly.
Our faces are freezing, but our lips are warm when they come together. I make a point of covering my wife’s face with more kisses, and hold her tight against me for added heat.
Sharing warmth is all the reason I need to go for a winter hike with my wife. But it’s also been a lot of fun trying out the footpath my brothers and I discovered when we built this place. We worked all summer and fall clearing brush and marking trees with blazes and talked about the potential for cross-country skiing when we eventually rent the cabin out for vacationers.
Our kissing deepens, and my body heats up by degrees when her tongue slicks against mine.
“I hope our tongues don’t freeze together,” I say when she pulls back to gaze up at me.
Charlotte tilts her head. “What?” she laughs.
“Like in that movie. Where the kid stuck his tongue to the pole.”
It takes her a moment, but then she laughs even harder.
“Babe, if it was so cold that our tongues froze together when we kissed, we wouldn’t be interested in humping each other in the woods. We’d be building a fire and waiting for a rescue party.”
We laugh about my confusion as she snuggles against me, nuzzling her face in the front of my down coat.
I’m not known for being the smartest of the Wood brothers, but ever since meeting Charlotte, I know my gut instincts are spot on.
First, I was right the first time I asked Charlotte out. Even though she turned me down initially, I knew we were meant to be.
Second, I asked her to marry me—also a brilliant move on my part.
The third best decision of my life was asking Buck and Wade to let Charlotte and I stay behind at the cabin through Christmas Day.
That wasn’t a problem for them. Buck and Grace had to pick up their daughter Lily from a sleepover at Mom and Dad’s. Wade and Presley have weekly medical appointments now that Presley is in her last month of pregnancy.
