Page 48 of Being Julia

“Me too. I wouldn’t have made it through the holiday without you.”

“I think you would have survived.” He winked.

“Would you have?”

“Of course, I would have. I would have just found someone else to replace you for a few days.”

Jake knew he was in trouble when he said that because he let go of me and started running.

“Jake Michael Jensen! Get back here because I’m going to hurt you!” I yelled.

As he ran through the snow, I chased him. I stopped long enough to make a snowball and threw it at the back of his head. He stopped, turned around, and proceeded to chase me.

“That’s it, Miss Black. Now you’re going to get it.”

As I tried to run through the snow, I felt a snowball hit my back. I reached down, grabbed as much snow as possible, and threw it back at Jake. He caught up with me and tackled me to the ground, turning me on my back and hovering over me.

“You know I was only kidding about finding someone else, right?”

“Yes.”

He brushed his cold lips against mine, and instantly, not only my lips, but my entire body started to heat up.

When Jake broke our kiss, we gazed into each other’s eyes. “I’m going to make you my wife someday, Julia, and I’ll love you forever. I promise you.”

“I love you, and I promise you forever.” I smiled.

“Let’s get back to the chalet. It’s cold out here,” Jake said as he helped me up.

“Do you promise to warm me up?” I asked.

“I would if your dad wasn’t there.” He laughed.

“Well, we’re going to have to sneak then because I need you to warm me up!”

“I love the sound of that,” he growled as he kissed me.

It was Thanksgiving Day and everyone, except the men, got up early to prepare dinner. It was much fun with everyone there helping out. The men drank, laughed, and watched football as the day progressed. When dinner was ready, my mom called my dad into the kitchen to carve the turkey. The funny part was that she told him exactly how to carve it.

“Connor, start over here and go this way,” she said.

“Baby, I know how to carve a turkey.”

“But, if you go this way, it’s easier, and you get bigger slices.”

“Ellery, I love you, but I got this,” he said.

“Hey, Mom. I need you over here to help me with this, please. I can’t get this out of the oven.”

My mom walked over and took the sweet potato casserole out of the oven. I walked over to my dad and put my arm around him as I took a piece of turkey from the plate. He looked over at me and winked.

“Thanks for rescuing me.”

“Any time, Dad.” I smiled.

We all took our seats at the table and had the best Thanksgiving dinner. I was thankful for everybody who joined us and helped us celebrate. Every person here was a part of my family. It was an amazing weekend spent with close family and friends, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

CHAPTER 15

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