Page 31 of Christmas in Kiwi Country

RHEA: And Isla moved into the cottage and she didn’t know us either

ISLA: Good point. Also my dad will never let anything happen to Gwen

FLORA: Go have fun, honey, I’ll wrangle this herd of cats

RHEA: (gif of cat)

MARLEE: (gif of cat playing with ball of string)

ISLA: (gif of cartoon cat with heart eyes)

FLORA: Oh for heaven’s sake!

GWEN: Love you girls

CHEYENNE: Love you Mama be safe!

“How are the girls?”Cullen asks when we’re buckled and following Eve and Riley out of the parking lot.

“Cheyenne thinks we’re gonna be abducted, and your daughter is fixated on the sizzling sausage and wants zero details.”

“So…nothing new then,” he says and I nod, my lips tipping up.

“Nothing new.”

18

GWEN

We follow Riley and Eve back to their house, a beautiful log home on an expanse of land so green it doesn’t look real. Farmland here is so much different than back home, but I imagine they’d feel the same way about our cotton or soybeans.

Fields and trees and mountains in the distance make it look like something out of a picture. It’s stunning out here and quiet in a way that is so unlike bein’ back in Tennessee. It’s peaceful, serene, and I breathe in a lungful of air as I take it all in.

“Beautiful,” Cullen says as he steps out of the car and comes up beside me. He drops a kiss on my shoulder. “Not as beautiful as you but…” His words trail off and I swat his chest with the back of my hand.

“Trouble.”

“Only for you.” I roll my eyes but I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Eve calls from the walkway. “I’m hoping my daughter put the wash away from the couch but if not, just ignore it.”

Eve waves her hand and laughs as we follow them inside. Cullen follows Riley through the house to the backyard as I trail Eve into the kitchen.

“How old is your daughter?” I ask and then spin in a circle as I take in the high ceilings, large windows, and the breathtaking view. “Your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she says as she drops her bags on the counter and opens the cabinet to pull out two wine glasses, and I place one of the bottles of wine from Cable Bay next to her.

“We went to the vineyard at the end of our stay in Auckland. It was incredible, and that’s saying something considering I only ever drank whiskey before meeting Cullen.”

“We haven’t been there in ages, but hopefully we’ll get back there once the kids are off.”

I nod in understanding even though my situation is different. There wasn’t a lot of wining and dining when Cheyenne was younger, but it didn’t bother me. Bein’ her mama was the greatest gift I’d ever received.

Still, I can’t deny the appeal of staring down fifty and feeling giddy as a school girl over a man. Sure, the hot flashes I could live without, but having Cullen in my life now still feels like fate. We’ve both had so many obstacles to overcome, but now we are building a life together, and that feels better than a hundred wrong relationships in my thirties.

Bein’ here with him feels like comin’ home in a way—this housefeelslike a home. Christmas decorations are hung with care, and a fake tree, much like the one in my living room, is decorated with a mix of children’s creations and more traditional ornaments. A smile tugs at my lips at the assortment of pasta and other items glued to paper trees. Cheyenne brought home her fair share of the like in addition to some pretty fabric stars she’d made in high school.

“How many kids do you have?” I ask as I turn my attention back to Eve.

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