Page 38 of Wanted You More

My brows furrow. “Duh. You don’t have a job, so you can’t afford one. It’s fine. Now let me go. Whoever is outside is probably freezing. It’s cold out today.”

We got our first big snowfall last night, making it a pretty white Christmas. I used to hate the holiday when there was grass on the ground and not a single flake of snow in the sky. The only downfall is that the wind is extra nippy, and I loathe being cold.

“That’s my Christmas present,” my little brother explains, looking at the door. “I asked Dad if it was okay, and he said it was. Since I couldn’t pay for anything, I figured this was the next best thing.”

I’m confused when he walks past me to let whoever is waiting outside in. He greets each person that walks in until three bodies are standing there, red-faced from the air, but smiling when they see my gaping face.

“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” Elizabeth says first, walking over and hugging me.

Ben gives his typical head dip in acknowledgment as he peels his jacket off and hangs it on the hook behind him.

And Noah…

His smile grows as he takes in my stunned speechlessness. “It’s not often we don’t hear you talking,” he muses, walking over once his jacket and boots are off to pull me in for a hug.

A little sharp breath escapes me as he squishes us against each other. After a few seconds, I find myself melting into his embrace. “I can’t believe you guys are here,” I say against his chest, returning the hug by squeezing him as tightly around the waist as I can.

His hand rubs my back before pulling away. “When your dad reached out, we all agreed we were happy to spend the day here.”

I tuck myself under Noah’s arm as I turn to face Dad, who’s watching us closely. “Thank you,” I say to him, then move my eyes to where my brother stands beside him. “This is the best Christmas gift.”

They both have voiced their concerns about my relationship with the Kingsley family, but it didn’t stop them from inviting them here.

The arm Noah has draped over my shoulder tugs me into his side briefly before he ruffles my hair. “All right, Boots,” he teases, laughing when I elbow him for messing with my hair, “We’ve got gifts for you that you can open.”

My eyes brighten. “I got you all something too! I’ll be right back. I stuffed all your presents in my closet.”

I can feel multiple sets of eyes on me as I run up to my room and fetch the gifts wrapped a little more gracefully than the ones for my family. Mostly because I used up all the regular tape on their stuff.

When I rush back downstairs, Elizabeth and Ben are on the couch talking to Dad, Wolfe is cleaning up the rest of the floor, and Noah is by the end of the stairs.

I pass him his gift first. “Open it!”

A small grin tugs at the corner of his lips as he carefully unwraps the small box. When he opens the top, his lips part.

“You said that the old holder needed to be replaced along with the chain because you were afraid the tags would get lost,” I say when he makes no effort to speak up. Picking up the silver chain and matching holder, I lift it to show him the back. “I got it engraved with your grandpa’s initials and the years he served. I know how much he meant to you.”

When Ben’s father passed away, it’d done something to Noah. They were close. I’d never seen him so distraught and never wanted to again. He’s worn his grandfather’s military tags since the day they were given to him and almost lost them when the original chain snapped and the holder busted. He’d glued it back together, hoping it’d last a little longer.

“Austen, this is…” His voice is low, but I can hear the slight shake to it. He looks up at me through his lashes. “Thank you.”

I place it back into the box. “You’re welcome.” I yelp when he tugs me back in for a one-armed hug, and that’s when I note the color he’s wearing. Tugging on his sweater, I say, “I thought you didn’t like orange.”

“Why would you think that?”

I examine his top again. “Because you literally have never worn the color before. And you’re forgetting that I’ve also rummaged through your closet before. You’ve never owned anything this color. Hence, you hate it.”

He flattens a palm over his shirt. “Bailey bought it for me for Christmas.” Clearing his throat, he lowers his hand back down to his side and says, “Don’t tell her that, okay? It was a nice gesture. She thought I’d look good in the color.”

I’ll admit, there’s not a color he looks bad in. That doesn’t mean I understand why he’s subjecting himself to it. “I won’t say anything. But you do realize if you don’t eventually, you’ll have an entire closet full of clothes you don’t like. Right?”

All he replies with is, “Wait a minute. When and why were you rummaging through my closet?”

***

Christmas turns intoNew Year quickly, with another snowstorm that delays the celebratory fireworks. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop them from happening altogether. Cherry Cove loves them too much to give them up.

I knock my knee against Marybelle’s. “I know you want to go,” I tell her, eyes darting to the window. We’re far enough away from where they set them off, where it won’t be too loud, but I’ll still hear the echoes in the distance. “It’s okay if you want to ditch on movie night.”

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