Page 33 of Holiday Grief

“You … you still want me around Claire?” Jasmine was almost afraid to ask the question in case the answer was no.

Before Adam could answer, the front door to his house was thrown open and Claire came running out, Fauna at her heels.

“We waited, Daddy, but you taked too long,” Claire said as she yanked open Jasmine’s door and barreled into her arms.

“Careful, pumpkin, Jasmine is sore,” Adam reprimanded his daughter.

“I don’t mind, hugs are the best medicine,” she said as she returned the little girl’s hug as Fauna nosed her knee, giving it a lick.

The smile on Adam’s face was everything she needed right now, and when he leaned in and touched a featherlight kiss to her cheek, she already knew what his answer was.

“The sight of you, holding my daughter, your dog watching over both of my girls, that’s everything. That’s our future.”

A future she still wasn’t sure she deserved, but one she was going to grab onto with both hands and never let go.

* * * * *

December 24th

8:03 P.M.

“That one’s like a reindeer farm!” Claire squealed in delight.

“It’s super cool,” Jasmine agreed.

Adam glanced in the rear vision mirror and smiled when he saw how relaxed his girls looked. Even though Jasmine’s Christmas Farm had a special Christmas Eve light show and party, they’d decided to follow his and Claire’s tradition and drive around the neighborhood looking at the lights while eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate.

“Not as cool as the reindeer on your farm,” Claire qualified. “Cos theys real reindeer.”

“They are and that is cool, but I think these ones are cool too. My reindeer don’t change color like that,” Jasmine teased as the brightly lit reindeer changed from green to yellow.

Claire giggled. “I wish real reindeer did that too.”

“That would be awesome,” Jasmine agreed.

Seeing her so relaxed after everything she’d been through was better than any Christmas miracle. It had been a rough week, Jasmine had had nightmares, and she’d struggled with sleeping in a bed again after sleeping in her pantry for the last year. His presence seemed to help so he’d taken to sleeping with her. Her injuries were healing, and she’d already attended an appointment with a trauma counselor that had helped her a lot too.

Most importantly, she wanted him to walk this road with her.

“You two ready to head home?” he asked. As much fun as it was, Claire was going to be difficult to settle tonight because she was a little kid and it was Christmas Eve, and Jasmine still needed a lot of rest so her body could heal.

“Well, we did finish all our hot chocolate,” Jasmine said slowly, “and we’re nearly out of popcorn. What do you think, munchkin? Ready to head home and get things ready for Santa’s visit tonight?”

Already Jasmine was slipping so easily into co-parenting with him, and Claire had no problem respecting her as another authority figure in their home. While he was in no rush, he couldn’t wait to make Jasmine his wife, and when she was ready add more children to their family.

“Do you know what Daddy and I do before I go to bed?” Claire asked, bouncing in her seat.

“Your daddy told me that you guys go outside and see if you can spot Rudolph’s red nose,” Jasmine replied. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“I saw it last year, remember, Daddy?” Claire asked as she picked up a couple of pieces of popcorn from the bowl Jasmine held on her lap.

“I remember, pumpkin, it was so exciting.” His eyes met Jasmine’s in the rearview mirror, and they shared a smile. The innocence of youth was an amazing thing. A simple thing like the lights of a passing plane could so easily be played off as the glowing nose of a magical, flying reindeer. As much as he loved watching his daughter meet new milestones and learn new things, he was definitely going to miss her being young, sweet, and unmarred by the cold realities of the real world.

“Did the Santa’s helper who works at your farm tell you what time Santa is coming?” Claire asked Jasmine.

“No, munchkin, he can't tell me things like that. That’s Santa’s personal business and remember he doesn’t do the same country first every year, he has to make it fair to all the children in the world, and there are millions of them.”

“Wow … millions?” Claire echoed, looking intrigued.

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