Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
He flung his arms out and tilted his face to the sky, spinning around as he shouted, “This is amazing!” Kit stopped spinning and stuck his tongue out, and after a moment he announced, “I got one!”
He ran to me, and I grabbed him in a hug as he asked, “Will we get to build a snowman? I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Maybe. It’s too soon to know if it’ll accumulate or melt immediately.”
“I really hope it builds up, but this is awesome either way.”
His smile was radiant. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned back, tilting his face toward the sky again and closing his eyes.
He filled me with wonder. Kit was so beautiful, and so full of joy. He was everything good in the world, everything that mattered. I was overcome with emotion as I watched him.
I whispered, “I love you, Kit,” because it was impossible to hold back the words for even one more moment.
His dark eyes flew open, full of surprise as his gaze locked with mine. “Say that again.”
“I love you with all my heart. It was too much to keep inside, so I had to let you know, even if it’s too soon, or—”
He pulled me down to his height and kissed me passionately. It felt like a dream when he caressed my cheek and told me, “I love you too, Devon.”
I wanted to remember everything about this moment, from his flushed cheeks and pink nose to the happiness that sparkled in his eyes. His lips curved into a sweet smile as he traced my jawline with his fingertips.
All around us, the snow kept falling. It was incredibly peaceful. As I pulled Kit close and kissed him again, my heart was so full.
15
Devon
The next day was Christmas. It felt wonderful to wake up with Kit, but there was no chance of lingering in bed this morning. He was bursting with anticipation, not for the presents that were waiting for him, but for the one he was dying to give me.
He tumbled out of bed and retrieved a gift bag from its hiding place in his suitcase. “I can’t wait another minute,” he said. “Open it.”
The bag contained an antique doll-sized suitcase, maybe four inches by six, made to look like it was covered in travel stickers. It was a treasure in its own right, but Kit told me the actual gifts were inside.
“It’s stuff I’ve been collecting for you during our road trip,” he explained. It was full of tiny wonders, including a half-inch long pinecone, a small feather, a pretty stone, a shell, and a pair of vintage earrings, among other things. I exchanged my usual silver hoops for the oval studs and asked, “How do they look?”
“Perfect. They made me think of you because the stone matches your eyes.” They were mossy green with tiny flecks of brown and gold. “It’s called aventurine, but I misread it as ‘adventurine’ at first, which seemed to fit you. The woman at the antique shop in New Orleans told me the stone is known for bringing luck, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“I love them. And these are adorable.” I pulled two tiny stick figures from the box. Each was about an inch high. Their heads were miniscule paper cylinders with tiny eyes and smiles drawn on them, their hair dots of wool, and their clothes were made by wrapping their wire limbs and bodies with different colors of thread.
“I made those for you when we were staying with Hal and Ryder. They’re called worry dolls. I had some when I was a kid. The idea is that you tell them whatever you’re worried about, and then they carry it so you don’t have to.” He grinned and added, “They’re supposed to look like you and me, but they both ended up looking like those inflatable dancing tube guys outside of auto dealerships.” Kit waved his arms and bobbed up and down to show me what he meant.
“I think they’re wonderful.”
“I know it’s not much,” he said, as he lowered his gaze. “But you’re not really into ‘stuff,’ and I wanted to give you a gift you could carry in your backpack. There’s something from all the places we’ve stayed so far. The fortune cookie fortune is from when we had takeout with my dad.”
I read it and grinned. The slip of paper said: You will find love when you least expect it. “When you’re right, you’re right.”
“I asked Belinda for something I could include from here, and she gave me that single cufflink. It belonged to your dad. She said the other one was lost a long time ago, but she could never make herself get rid of it, even though it didn’t have much use without its mate.”
I ran a fingertip over the silver cufflink, which was inlaid with a smooth, deep black square of onyx. “All of this is amazing, and incredibly thoughtful. Thank you, Kit.”