Page 100 of Santa's Girl
Because he did. I see it now. In every sacrifice. Every protective gesture. Every way he held me like I was breakable but never broken.
He never needed to say "I love you."
He showed it.
In a hundred little ways.
And maybe, just maybe… I still love him too.
Even if I don’t know how to forgive him yet.
Even if I don’t know where we go from here.
24
BEAR
Ididn’t go back to the cabin.
Couldn’t.
Not with the ghost of her still in every corner. Her laughter echoing off the walls, her scent woven into my sheets, that damn coffee mug still sitting in the sink where she left it. The one she used every morning like it was her own. It was her own. Hell, the whole cabin felt like it belonged to her now.
So I holed up at the clubhouse.
Didn’t ride. Didn’t drink. Didn’t talk.
Jinx kept trying. Pico offered a bottle. Axel told me to man up. Even the boys were walking on eggshells, not because I was mad, but because I was hollow. Like a house someone moved out of in the dead of night.
I kept looking at my damn phone. Rereading every text she ever sent. The one where she told me she liked how I smelled. The one where she said she missed me. The photo of her in my flannel, frying bacon barefoot. Smiling like she belonged.
Shedidbelong.
And I let her go.
I didn’t tell her the truth because I didn’t want to lose her. And now I’ve lost her anyway.
Jinx finally snapped. Threw a deck of cards at my head.
"You got the girl. You lost the girl. Now get off your ass and go win her back, Prez. I checked the Community Center’s Instagram. She’s at the town square. “
“Let’s go get my girl, then. You all in?”
One by one, my men suited up and we rolled out.
The snow started fallingin thick, lazy flakes.
Downtown Pigeon Forge was glowing. Strings of lights stretched across the square. Carolers in Santa hats sang out of tune. Kids darted around holding hot cocoa. It was like stepping into a snow globe.
Snow blanketed the town like powdered sugar. Lights glowed in storefronts. Carolers sang off-key, bundled up and rosy-cheeked. Kids ran around with hot cocoa in mittened hands.
And there we were.
Rolling into town like a damn holiday parade.
Every bike was decked out—garlands wrapped around handlebars, LED lights blinking in sync to holiday music blasting from the wireless speakers Jinx strapped to the back of his ride. Bells jingled with every bump in the road. Tinsel fluttered in the wind.
My Escalade had a wreath on the grill and antlers coming from the windows.
