Page 49 of Merrily Mine
He climbed off of me and then pulled me into his arms, slowly swaying us back and forth against the carpet. “Merry Christmas, darlin’. You’re the best gift I could have ever asked for.”
“And just think, I didn’t even have to wrap myself up in a bow.” I grinned.
He pretended to think about it. “No… but after your brothers leave, I think you should show me… just in case.” Mason smirked.
I laughed. “Merry Christmas, Mason. I love you.”
And then… there weren’t any more words.
Not as we walked downstairs together—hand in hand. Not as we stripped out of our clothes, losing ourselves in each other.
No words as we made love to each other in the quiet darkness of the early morning.
We didn’t need them.
Because I loved him, and he loved me. Everything else was inconsequential.
We still had a lot of things to figure out. A lot of growing that we’d do together, because this was still new. But I knew that nomatter what happened, no matter what life threw my way, I’d never stop wanting this cowboy to be mine.
And he was mine.
Perfectly, effortlessly,merrilymine.
16
emily
Christmas Day had always been one of my favorite days of the year. Waking up in the morning, spending the entire day with my parents—who actually kept their promise and didn’t work—and opening presents together was one tradition I loved the most from childhood. This year, it was even better.
Maybe because I’d never had a boyfriend to spend Christmas with before. The idea still made me giddy. I smiled, thinking about last night.He loved me.
Part of me still couldn’t believe it, even as I woke up curled around him. That of all the people in the universe, somehow they’d given me this man. My childhood crush. My brother’s best friend. And now he was simply justmine.My cowboy, my Mason. My future.
I left him sleeping in my bed—he needed it, especially after how late we’d stayed up last night—and crept upstairs to start some coffee. Wrapping myself up in a blanket, I went to sit outside on the hanging porch swing my parents had installed years ago. Part of me had always loved sitting on the deck just like this and looking out over the vast Montana wilderness. Theperk of our house sitting on a giant plot of land: there wasn’t another house for miles. The Elliotts were our closest neighbors, and unlike in the city, there was a stillness to the land here.It was beautiful and peaceful in a way I couldn’t get over.
Of course, Mason’s cabin was like this too. I felt a serene tranquility here that I wasn’t sure I’d found anywhere else in the world. A sense of calm I’d never felt anywhere else. Hundreds of brand trips later, and still, the place I loved the most was right here.
Home.
Though that word had a new meaning now. Home wasn’t just my parents or my brothers. It was Montana. It was on Smokey’s back, riding through the pine trees and breathing in the fresh air. It was in the little A-frame cabin I was slowly becoming obsessed with. It was in the smile of the cowboy I’d fallen for. In the arms of the man I loved.
I knew no matter where I went—no matter what house I lived in—Mason would be my home now.
The porch creaked behind me, and I turned, not surprised at all to find my brothers standing there, both wearing pajama bottoms and sweatshirts.
Ben’s were Batman themed, to no one’s surprise—the man loved his comic books—while Hunter’s were a green plaid pattern. My oldest brother had his sleeves pushed up, exposing his sleeves of tattoos, including the trees that adorned one of his arms, and the tributes to the patients he lost on the other.
Trees that reminded him of home. I’d never gotten a tattoo, wanting to make sure if I ever did, it was something meaningful, but I’d been thinking more about it lately. About what I’d get, how I could permanently mark my skin with the things I loved.
“Merry Christmas, Emily,” Benjamin said.
“Hey.” I smiled as they sat down on either side of me. “Good morning.”
“Didn’t know you’d be awake this early.” Hunter chuckled, reaching over and rubbing the top of my head, messing up my hair.
I swatted his hand away. “Hunter,” I groaned. “Guess I was too excited. You know me.”
Benjamin nodded. “You were always awake at six am, ready to open presents. I remember you literally dragging our parents out of bed one year.”
