Page 34 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

“Well, that would just be weird.” She rolled her eyes, but he could see the sheen. And then, she lunged across the console and hugged him. “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, angel.” More than she could ever know.

When she pulled away, she ran a thumb under her eyes to wipe away the moisture. “And I’m so glad you didn’t listen to Mom and give up the mine.”

“Yeah, well. It did pan out. Get it?”

“Ugh. What’s worse than Dad jokes? Dad gold mining jokes that only thirty people in the universe would ever get.” She smiled. “But it was never about money to you. It was about the ties to your family, the history. Well, and also, you’re a total geek who loves rocks.”

He flashed her a smile. “I can’t argue with that.”

She shifted to face him, lifting a knee onto the seat. “For me, though, watching you hold your ground taught me to believe in myself, to stay true to myself. You taught me passion. And I’m so sad Lorelei only had Mom. I know she wanted her career, but I can’t help but wonder who she would’ve been without Mom pushing her into business decisions that weren’t right for her.”

“I wonder that, too. But because of what she’s going through, maybe she’ll make different choices.” Now that she didn’t have her band and the guidance of her mom.

“In any event…” She tapped the photo album. “I spent so much time thinking about what you wanted for Christmas, and then I realized what I wanted to get you, and that’s to make sure you know how much I admire you. I’m so lucky to have you as my dad. There hasn’t been a day in my life I haven’t known you love me. You gave me the best childhood, and I don’t ever want you to worry about the fact that you pretty much raised me by yourself.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. This means the world to me.” He reached out to hug his daughter, holding her close and breathing in the familiar scent of her lemon perfume. “I love you, Jessa girl. With all my heart.”

When she pulled away, she flashed a grin. “Okay, my turn.” She held her hand out, and he passed over the gift. She ran a hand over the smooth paper and fancy ribbon. “You did not wrap this present yourself.”

“Of course not. Walker did it for me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” But she looked delighted as she ripped off the paper. When she opened the box, her eyes went wide. She held up the gold necklace with an oval bevel-set peridot. “Are you kidding me? This is stunning. I love it so much.” Setting the box aside, she handed the jewelry to him and turned. Lifting her hair, she asked, “Can you put it on?”

“Of course.”

“I can’t believe you made this.”

In hard-rock shaft mining, they often ran into seams containing secondary commercial minerals. When Beau was considering how to develop his land, he thought about finding a jeweler who could work on-site and sell only the minerals discovered on his mountain. Peridot was one of them. Out of curiosity, he’d worked with it himself and found he enjoyed making it. “There’s another one in there.”

In the second box, she found another handcrafted gift, but this bracelet was more rugged than the elegant necklace. The leather band had triangles of deep blue agate with a crystallized geode center framed in distressed gold. His daughter held it in her hand, jaw hanging open. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Dad, I swear, you get better and better at this. You’re so talented.” She kissed his cheek. “I love that you did this for me. It makes me feel so special.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He watched her fasten it to her wrist. “Ready to eat?”

“Starving.”

As they got out of the car, his daughter dashed into the restaurant to get out of the snow. But something caught his eye. About halfway down the street, he noticed a craft store.

An idea formed. There was someone else who needed to feel special.

He shouldn’t do it. He really shouldn’t do it.

But yeah, he was probably going to do it.

With the roads no longer safe, Beau had to drop his daughter off earlier than either of them would’ve liked. His tires had lost traction, causing him to slide a few times, but he’d made it back to the lodge safely.

After handing off his car to a valet, he remembered he needed a tree for his gift, so he’d left his bags of supplies with the concierge and traipsed out into the blizzard looking for just the right size—it had to fit on top of a nightstand. His hands were frozen, and more than once, he’d asked himself what the hell he was doing, but once he got to his room and began working on the project, he’d stopped overthinking it.

Because really, what could it hurt to give her a gift?

At least the storm had come early. It would pass through tonight, enabling him to make his midmorning flight. By the time she woke up and found her gift, he’d be gone, and this whole strange chapter would be behind him.

But if he could leave her with a smile…well, he’d like that.

It had taken him a couple of hours to get everything done, but now, with the tree and his bags, he stood outside Margot’s door. He’d planned on leaving it all for her to find in the morning, but now that he stood in the hallway, it occurred to him someone could easily make off with it.

Some sleepy-eyed employee heading to work could come across the bags and easily think they were trash. No, he should knock.

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