Page 98 of In Name Only (Pine Falls 2)

I unbuttoned Brock’s shirt while our lips tangled. This was turning out to be the best Christmas I’d ever had. When he walked me through the french doors, I remembered how I had longed for him to invite me in, to make me his wife in more than name only. Finally, he had done that and more. He had reminded me I had wings to fly and the power to soar.

“I love you,” I whispered between kisses.

“I love you more.” He laid me gently on our bed and showed me how true he was to his word.

~*~

When the morning light came, I found myself being kissed awake. I burrowed my head into Brock’s chest hair. “What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“It’s too early. Let’s go back to sleep.” I snuggled my body closer, reveling in the feel of his bare skin against mine.

“But Santa came.”

“He did?” I giggled.

“Yes, he heard you’ve been a very good girl.” His sultry undertones were easily detected.

I kissed his chest. “Give me thirty more minutes,” I begged. I’d been running nonstop for a month, and I was exhausted. Especially since I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep lately. Not that I was complaining.

“Come on, honey. I promise it will be worth it.”

Brock had never used that term of endearment before; it must have really meant a lot to him.

“Okay,” I groaned.

He popped up so fast I was thrown to the side. “Wow, so is the honeymoon period over?” I teased.

“Not at all. I plan on unwrapping you after you see your gift.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled.

I slipped on Brock’s discarded dress shirt from the night before, and he threw on a pair of jeans. Shirtless with jeans was my favorite look. I wrapped my arms around him from behind and kissed all his raised scars. There were too many.

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered, so thankful we got another Christmas together. His scars reminded me how easily we could have been mourning his life today.

“Merry Christmas, Dani.” He pulled me around him. “Today, I don’t want to think about what might have been,” he said, as if he had read my mind. “I only want to focus on the here and now.”

“Good idea.”

“Now close your eyes.”

I did as he asked, and he scooped me up into his arms. I wrapped my own around his neck.

“Don’t peek,” he instructed me as he walked us carefully down the stairs.

“I’m not peeking.” Though I really wanted to.

I could tell when we landed downstairs, and Brock padded over to the tree near the unlit fireplace. My excitement was building.

“I’m going to set you down, but keep your eyes closed.” He gently placed me on my feet and turned me in the right direction. “Okay, open your eyes.”

My eyes popped open, and my vision was immediately consumed with the most beautiful Amish-style swinging cradle in dark mahogany I had ever seen. I dropped to my knees in front of it and touched all the handcrafted features, from the slats to the base. I lightly pushed it and let it swing back and forth. “You made this?” I was so overcome with emotion.

Brock sat next to me and pulled me onto his lap. “I began making it after I found out you were pregnant. I thought it could help me feel like the baby was mine.”

I was so overwhelmed by what a good man he was. “Did it?”

“Not at first,” he seemed ashamed to admit. “I resented the baby and hated myself for it. Little by little, though, as I fashioned the pieces, sanded the wood, and began to put it together, I started to see myself watching over the baby as she slept. I wanted to protect her. I know I did a terrible job of showing you how I really felt, as I was constantly warring between feelings of resentment and acceptance. There was no telling each day which side would win.”

I peered into his watery eyes, my own filling up with tears. “Oh, Brock. I’m so sorry—”

“Shh.” He placed his finger on my lips. “You don’t owe me an apology. I’m the sorry one. When you lost the baby, I thought I would feel relieved, but I felt as if I had lost something beautiful. Something I didn’t deserve to mourn, but I did. Then I almost lost you.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No, I didn’t.” He ran the back of his hand down my wet cheek. “You don’t know how grateful I am for that gift. It gave me a new purpose for finishing the cradle. I began to see it as a second chance. A new beginning.” His hand found its way under my shirt to my bare abdomen. “When you’re ready, I want to add to our family.”

I slid my hands up his chest and neck until they reached his cheeks. I pulled him down for a stirring kiss, feeling more in love than I ever imagined I could. When my lips glided off his, I whispered, “I’m ready.”

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