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Bo shook his head. “I just don’t know…”
“Give me time,” I said. “Abbie and I will prove it to you. I’m in this for the long haul.”
A smile slowly spread across Abbie’s face. “Me too.”
“Well, great.” Bo looked from me to his sister. This time he had a smile on his face, though. “You two get your stuff together. I’ve got my neighbor’s four-wheel drive. I’m going to be shuttling people up and down this mountain until we get everyone there for the wedding. You in?”
I still hadn’t taken my eyes off Abbie, who had her eyes on me as well. “We’re in!” we both said at the same time.
And then we headed to the guest bedroom to grab her suitcase and my coat. It looked like I had a date for the wedding. And for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE
ABBIE
“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Come see.”
Jamie, my six-year-old, was standing next to my bed, her long, wavy hair looking more tangled than usual. I’d have a time getting that out later.
Next to Jamie was our four-year-old, Chloe, holding her favorite blanket and looking more than a little groggy. I blinked several times and glanced at the bedside clock. It was 7:15. That qualified as sleeping in these days.
I slapped the bed behind me, expecting to encounter Maverick’s pajama-covered backside. Instead, my hand sailed through air to hit a bare mattress. He wasn’t there.
I sat up, shoving the covers off. I still wore my Santa pajamas—the ones we bought for the whole family.
“Where’s Daddy?” I asked.
“Outside,” Chloe said. She had a big smile and suddenly looked wide awake. “Santa came. And he brought?—”
“Don’t tell her.” Jamie whipped her head around to stare at her little sister. Then she turned back to me. “You have to see it. It’s a surprise.”
Jamie still wore her Santa PJs too, but Chloe had changed into her favorite nightie. She was almost as attached to that as her blankie.
“Come see.” Jamie grabbed my hand and tugged.
I smiled to myself as I followed. Jamie had become more independent lately, and I missed the days when she snuggled up on my lap to watch TV. This tiny show of affection went straight to my heart.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Jamie grabbed my coat from the rack next to the front door.
We’d built a cabin near my brother’s, which made it convenient for days like this. It also meant we could ride together sometimes when we both worked at the bar, although I mostly did the bar’s accounting and bookkeeping, as well as accounting work for quite a few businesses in town.
“You’ll see,” Jamie said
She grabbed the door, but I reached out and touched her shoulder to stop her. “Where’s your coat?”
And where was their dad?
I got an answer to that question a minute or so later when the door opened as I was bundling up our two kids. Maverick stood there, wearing that leather coat I’d gotten him for Christmas last year. He’d worn out the one he had when we first met.
“What’s taking so long?” I asked.
“We can’t go outside without coats, Dad,” Jamie said, adding an eye roll. Eye rolls were part of this phase. “We’ll get frostbite.”
“Frostbite,” Chloe repeated, then giggled. “I want frostbite.”
Maverick scooped her up and put her on his hip. She was getting too big and heavy for that, but he was riding it out as long as he could.
“Let’s go show Mommy what Santa brought,” Maverick said, opening the door and waiting as Jamie led me through.
