Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Tanner dropped the horse’s reins and crashed his mouth to mine, crushing my hat. I didn’t care. I took him in my arms and held tightly.
He came up for air, his eyes bright and sunny. “I love you too, Axe. Stay with me. You and Phoebe. Make this home.”
“You’re home, Tanner. You. I want to wake up next to you every morning, and spend every day loving you. Starting now.”
“On Christmas Day,” he said in a dreamy voice.
“Merry Christmas, cowboy.”
I held his face in my hands and kissed him again, pouring everything I had into the connection.
And just like that, the stars aligned, the world came into focus, and hope and joy filled the cracks and crevices in my battered soul. This was the peace, this was a beginning, this was everything I’d thought I’d find after I slayed my old demons.
In a twist, it wasn’t karma that brought joy. It wasn’t timely retribution or justice finally getting her due.
No, it was love. Always love.
And a little holiday magic never hurt.
EPILOGUE
“Christmas Day will always be, just as long as we have we.” —Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Three Years Later
Tanner
Our Santa was going to be a big hit this year. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he looked good in a hat. Better in a Stetson, but still…
“I’m not wearing that beard,” Axel groused, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
“You have to, Daddy. Santa has a white beard,” Phoebe chided, holding the missing piece that would literally transform my husband into old St. Nick.
“That’s true. Go on, give it a try,” I urged, stifling a grin at the ensuing grumbles.
He furrowed his brow menacingly. “It’s gonna itch.”
“But it’s only for an hour, and it’s a good cause,” Phoebe reminded him, sounding more mature than most eight-year-olds her age. “You can do this.”
“Sure, but there are a lot of other guys who could do it better.”
I widened my eyes. “Better than you? I think not. Put the beard on, and let us be the judges.”
Axel darted a put-upon glare with zero heat between Phoebe and me, then secured the beard and put the hat on. “I look like a North Pole reject. Are you two happy now?”
Phee and I slapped high fives and snickered.
“Yes, yes, yes!” She danced around her father, extending her left leg in a graceful arabesque and twisting in a pirouette. “Papa, will you fix my tiara, please? One of the bobby pins in my hair feels loose.”
I stood behind her, facing the mirror, and rechecked the integrity of the pin holding Phee’s bun in place. “How’s that?”
She tilted her neck from side to side and fluffed the tulle lining of her tutu. “Good. How do I look?”
I swallowed hard and caught Axel’s eye in the reflection before kissing Phee’s temple. “Gorgeous. Like a beautiful ballerina.”
Axel opened his arms, smiling as she hugged him, mindful of her elaborate costume.
“Break a leg, princess. I love you.” He met my gaze across the annex room of the theater. “So much.”
“Love you too.”
“Go on. Ms. Laramie will be wondering where you are,” I said. “We’ll be in the front row, cheering loudly. Well, I’ll be clapping and your dad will be saying, ‘Ho ho ho.’ ”
Phoebe grinned and danced away, calling out, “Bye, Daddy! Bye, Papa!”
Yeah, I was Papa now.
Even before the wedding, Phoebe had insisted that we couldn’t both be Daddy, and I certainly hadn’t argued.
We were a family…the three of us. And in six short months, there’d be a new addition to the Vogel-Spade clan.
Yep, the past few years had been eventful.
Axel had taken over as the primary vet for Oak Ridge Ranch upon Lou’s retirement two and a half years ago—which, if I remembered correctly, was the weekend after he and Phoebe had moved into my house. It had seemed silly to live separately, not to mention impractical. I’d had Lila and Gordy to consider, and the hassle of remembering to bring a change of clothes or realizing half of my wardrobe was in Axe’s closet had gotten old fast.
It wasn’t exactly a romantic decision. In fact, it went something like, “My house is bigger, my shower is roomy enough for two, and Phee can have her own bathroom. Let’s move your stuff tomorrow.”
The marriage proposal a month later, on the other hand, was positively swoon-worthy. Axel had secretly organized a weekend away in Napa under the guise of visiting a rancher in the area who was interested in selling a few cattle. There was no rancher. Just a beautiful winery with lush vineyards. We’d gone horseback riding and at some point, Axe had hopped off his horse, gotten down on one knee, and asked me to marry him.
We’d tied the knot at the ranch three days after Christmas that same year. The man who’d claimed he’d never wanted to be a husband or a father was now both…happily.