Page 79 of Second Chance Christmas

“Everything is perfect. Or at least I hope it will be. Didn’t you get my messages?”

He walked over, no words, and took her in his arms. He needed more, wanted to pin her against the barn and just inhale her scent and then kiss the ever-loving hell out of her until he had his fill. Which would never happen.

“Sorry, baby. I didn’t. There was an accident up on the highway. A couple of trucks hit a bad patch of ice. It took up all evening and night to clear the wreckage. A miracle everyone survived.”

“Oh, God!” The raw emotion in her eyes warmed his heart. Part of his job dealt with people’s safety, injuries and worse. It came with the territory. But his Ivy Sunday had a tender soul and he saw it through how much she cared for those around her.

“Where is Joe? Lewis?”

“Joe is headed off to Hawaii and who cares where Lewis is.” She had a suspicious grin that alluded to something bigger, but he didn’t push.

As tired as he was, to hear those words come from her mouth perked him wide awake.

“Hawaii, huh?”

She waved a hand. “Come here. I have something to show you.”

He’d seen every inch of this place millions of times and knew it better than he did his own backyard. But he went along with her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, loving the way her dips melded to him.

“I have a lot to be thankful for. You, Gran, my meddlesome siblings, even Lewis.”

His eyebrows shot up at that last part as they came to a stop beside the barn.

“Yeah, I never thought I would be saying that either, but a lot of truth comes out when you stop to listen to your gut and reflect back on past actions.”

He focused on her words, the way her voice waddled ever so slightly. The way she tied her hands together in front of her and nibbled at her lip occasionally.

“You're nervous.”

“A little.”

He wound their fingers together and looked deeply into her eyes. “Don’t be. I’m here. Take your time and say whatever it is you need to say.”

“Okay.”

So much hope shone in her eyes it nearly fucking killed him to let her talk instead of kissing her worries away.

“Last night,” she began slowly, “after I told Lewis I didn’t want anything else to do with him and we came home. I had a long sleepless night and a very long talk with Gran and I realized something. Plans are worthless if they don’t make you happy and full. I want to feel full, Aspen.”

He opened his mouth to agree but she held up a finger.

“I had everything worked out, so I thought, and coming here showed me how wrong I was. You showed me how wrong I was.”

“And now? Are you wrong to be here? What about your job in New York?”

She pressed her lips together but she couldn’t hold back a broad smile that lit her entire face up like an angel’s.

“With the revelations of the sleepless night and morning coffee, a better idea occurred to me. The job in New York was a means to an end but didn’t make me happy. The security made me happy but not full. Does that make sense?”

He approached the sign. “Trust me, baby, it does.”

His gaze locked on her as she came to stand in front of him. “Aspen Kennedy, I love you. I’ve loved you since kindergarten. Since you pulled my pigtails in fifth grade and that first kiss on the football field and since the day you took me to bed and claimed my virginity. And even the day I walked out of your life. I’m sorry I hurt you, I know I’ve said that before but I need for you to hear it again. I walked out of your life and the day you walked back into mine with firewood and coffee, of all things, I realized you and I were meant to be each other’s soul mate.”

He gathered her face in his hands. The love she talked about radiated from her like a beacon to guide him home. “I’ve never stopped loving you, my angel. You’ve been my world and I could never get over you. You stole my heart on that field and I didn’t even know it. Hell, you took it that first day of school.”

“I have something for you. Us. Close your eyes.”

She pulled him to the side, not far from where he was standing to begin with. “You’re sounding nervous again.”

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