“But I can’t—”
He kissed her quick and light, then gave her a smile that lit up all the old shadows in his eyes, shattering them forever. “I want you to have it. So does Pop. This ring has a history of a lot of love,” he told her. “I want to build on that love with you.”
Outside was snow and cold. Inside was firelight, Christmas lights and more warmth than Cassie had ever felt before.
Jake cupped her cheek in his palm. “Tell me you still love me and that the answer is yes. Marry me, Cassie. Don’t leave me alone on the mountain.”
Her heart was so full it was hard to breathe, and Cassie simply didn’t care. If she could freeze this one moment in time she would, because it was perfect and she wanted it to last forever. Yet even as she thought it, she knew their future was going to be just as wonderful and she couldn’t wait to get started on it.
“Yes, Jake, always yes. I love you so much.”
“Thank God,” he whispered, kissing her again before pulling her against him.
And in the soft glow of Christmas, fresh promises were born.
Epilogue
One year later
“Me do it, Daddy!” Luke jumped up and down until his father picked him up and held him high enough that he could put the little fire engine ornament as close to the star at the top of the tree as possible. When he was finished, the little boy turned a wide grin on his father. “Fire truck onna tree!”
“You bet.” Jake laughed, gave his son a hug, then set him down to race through the house with Boston—probably headed for the kitchen.
“Oh, Jake, that baby is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” his mother said, coming down the stairs from the nursery.
“You mean since me, of course,” Jake teased.
“She means, since me,” his sister interrupted from her spot curled up on the couch. Beth, her husband and kids were here for Christmas along with Cassie’s sister Claudia and her brother Dave and his family.
It was a full house and Jake was enjoying every minute of it. What a difference a year made, he told himself as he smiled at his grandfather, sitting in a chair by the fire, reading to Beth’s youngest.
Not only did Jake have Cassie and two amazing kids, but he had his own family back in his life as well. The mountain wasn’t as lonely as it used to be, and he thanked heaven for it every night.
“Cassie asked me to send you upstairs,” his mother said as she went up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
“Everything all right?” Instant worry shot through him and he knew that it would always be like that. When a man had a lot in his life—he had a lot to lose.
“Fine, worrier. She’s out of baby wipes and she wants you to bring her some from the storage room in the basement.”
“Okay. That I can do.” He turned toward his mission, but his mother stopped him with one hand on his arm.
“I can’t tell you what it means to me to see you so happy.”
He kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to. Now that I have kids, I finally get it.”
“Good.” She pushed him away, called out to Beth’s husband to pour her some wine and then told Jake, “Go. Don’t make your wife wait.”
Smiling to himself, Jake went to the basement, got a couple boxes of wipes, then headed back upstairs. As he went, he looked into the great room at his extended family. There were lights and candles and cookies and wreaths and a gigantic tree and damned if it all didn’t look perfect.
From the kitchen came the amazing scents of a roasting turkey and the sounds of Anna sneaking Luke an extra cookie that Jake was sure would be shared with Boston. Claudia was in the study on the phone with one of her friends and Dave and his wife were out in the stables while their kids napped upstairs. Anna was in her glory with so many kids to look after, and she kept sending parents out of the room so she could have as much fun as she wanted to.
With the noise of a stereo playing Christmas carols and conversations rising and falling, Jake shook his head and took the stairs two at a time. He went directly to the nursery beside the master bedroom.
Pausing on the threshold just to watch his wife and child, Jake knew he would never get enough of this view. Cassie sat in a flowered rocker, nursing their daughter as snow fell softly outside the window. A small lamp beside the chair threw pale, golden light across his girls. When Cassie heard him, she looked up and smiled and everything inside Jake went completely still.