Wrapped Up In Christmas

ere, why he’d given her mistletoe.

“Lukas had planned to start me on easy assignments and let me work my way back up to high stakes again, but Kelly went into labor a month early, less than a day before Lukas was supposed to be on a plane for a major operation overseas. He was left with the choices of going himself, canceling the mission, letting the rest of the team handle it alone, or sending me in his place on the team.”

“He sent you.”

Bodie nodded. “When I got his call saying he needed me, I checked out of the hotel and drove straight to the hospital to meet him. I got my assignment, left Harry with him, and flew out that day. I got back to the States last night.”

Sarah was glad she hadn’t known where he was, what he was doing. Just thinking that he’d left had worried her enough. Had she known he was on some high-stakes mission out of the country, she’d have been a nervous wreck.

“I’ve always done my job well, Sarah. This time was no exception.” He paused, walked over to the Christmas tree, touched the snowflake he’d put there the day after the On-the-Square Festival. “The problem is, I thought I had to go back to that life to be myself again. That if I didn’t, I’d be letting that IED steal my life the way it had stolen my friends.”

She watched him tighten his fingers, then flex them.

“Maybe I needed to prove to myself, to everyone, that I could still do my job.”

“That’s what you did?”

He nodded. “Lukas has offered me my pick of assignments.”

Sarah bit the inside of her lip. She was happy for him, but…

“Congratulations, I think.”

“I told him I had reconsidered my position at iSecure.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to be sitting in some desert on a stakeout, Sarah. I want to be here, at Hamilton House.”

What was he saying? Why were her insides trembling?

“You do?”

He nodded. “Think you have a room for me?”

Her head spun. “You want to stay at Hamilton House?”

“If you’ll have me here.”

“Of course. That’s fine. I…how long do you plan to stay?”

Rather than answer, he walked to where she’d put the quilt back on the rocker. He picked it up as if it were something precious, then moved to where she stood. He smiled down at her with something in his eyes she’d never seen before, something that stole her breath and made her knees shake.

“How long do I plan to stay?” he repeated. Taking the quilt, he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “Forever.”

Forever? That’s what shined in his eyes. Forever.

“You going to use that mistletoe?”

Sarah held up the green twig over their heads as he pulled her into his arms.

Epilogue

“Something borrowed,” Ruby said, fastening an emerald bracelet around Sarah’s wrist. “My Charlie gave me this for our forty-fifth anniversary.”

“Something old,” Claudia said, adjusting Aunt Jean’s wedding veil on Sarah’s head.

“There she goes talking about you again,” Rosie said half under her breath while eyeballing Maybelle.