Page 13 of Jingled

“I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. I sent them. The regular route got snowed in, and I couldn’t make it on time. It took me hours to dig out and come around the backside of the mountain. I’m sorry, Everly. I’ll make it up to him, I swear.”

“Hetrustedyou,” she says as calmly as she can, though I can tell she’s fuming. “He trusted you, and you let him down.”

“Please, give me a second chance. It was out of my hands, I swear.” I spread my arms and gesture to myself. “Besides, I’m herenow, aren’t I? When you didn’t respond, I knew I had to get here somehow. Doesn’t that count for something?”

She snorts and looks away, but based on the loosening tension in her shoulders, I can tell I’m getting through her resolve. I test this by placing my hand on the door handle, and she doesn’t say anything.

I open it. “Preston? Please talk to me, buddy. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it on time.”

“I heard,” he says, sniffling. “You got snowed in.”

“You could hear us?” Everly asks, shaking her head.

“No.” He comes around the corner, holding his mom’s phone. “I figured out why we didn’t get your texts. The other day I must have accidentally put it into airplane mode. I’m sorry, mom.” He looks over my shoulder when he says the last part, and I turn to see Everly enter the truck and close the door behind herself.

He rushes forward and envelops his mom in a hug. When he pulls away, he hands her the device. She taps on it for a few moments, and I watch my messages flood the screen as they come through.

Hey, apologize to Preston for me. I’ll be late to the bazaar… got snowed in and have to take the long way down the mountain.

The next message comes through.I’m sorry again. I swear I’ll make it up to you. On my way now.

Another.Look, I don’t know if you’re getting my messages, but know I’m not just sorry to Preston. I’m sorry to you. I swear you can depend on me. Got half a dozen cars stuck in the road ahead of me, but I’m pulling them out one by one, and then I’ll be back on my way.

More messages come through. Dozens float across the screen, and I rub the back of my neck. “Sorry for the spam. I didn’t know if you were getting any of them. I was sort of desperate.”

She waves me off, and I continue to read over her shoulder. I can’t see her face, but I can tell she’s smiling.

How can a few feet of frozen water cause so much havoc?Then,I love you, Everly Tiding. You and your family mean everything to me. Don’t think this changes that fact in the slightest. I’ll make it up to both of you. I’m not going anywhere.

Her eyes read the same message several times before finally looking at me. “You love me?”

I nod. “With everything I have. You don’t have to say it back, but I wanted you to know.”

She flings her arms around my neck and plants her mouth on mine. This startles me for a moment, but then I kiss her back and pull her, so our bodies are flush.

“Ew, don’t kiss!” Preston complains.

Everly flings out a hand to cover his eyes. I look down at her, and I’m sure bliss is written plainly over my face.

“I love you too,” she tells me.

Keeping her hand over Preston’s eyes, she kisses me again.

Epilogue, Hunter

One Year Later

“Careful, buddy,” I say, flinging my arm out in front of Preston. Moments later, a truck drives by, hauling a trailer. “You have to make ittothe bazaar in order to help me sell stuff.”

He smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, Dad. Got a little carried away.”

It’s been a year since I found my family and six months since Preston started calling me his father. My heart leaps every time. It started unprompted. One day, he came home from school and said they were doing a Father’s Day ceremony and wanted me to come. I obliged, and since then, he hasn’t referred to me as “Hunter” once.

“Do you know where your mom wanted to set up?” I ask, scanning the crowd. Everly came early to organize and pick out the best spots while I took Preston out for breakfast and picked up her present from my shop. She isn’t aware of the latter. “Can you see her?”

He shakes his head, holding the massive box awkwardly in his arms. He insisted on carrying it himself. “But if I had a phone, I could text her…”

That’s his thing right now, asking for a phone. “I think your mom was pretty clear you have to wait until you’re older.”

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