Home For Christmas

He stops and he shakes his head like he doesn’t want to remember it.

“It all happened so fast. One second I was getting your ring and the next the shots began.”

I gasp and put my hands to my mouth. I know he’s here in front of me, but imagining someone shooting at Vance chills me to the bone.

“The guys that were in the car across the street came in and opened fire on the store. The two young guys behind the counter started shooting back while I fell on top of Mom and tried to cover her.” He rubs a hand over his eyes like he doesn’t want to remember the images he’s seeing. “I whispered to Mom to play dead. I stayed as still as I could when they walked over to us. They shot me three times in the back then walked out without a word.”

My blood turns cold as he turns around and I see the scars on his back.

“I was in and out of consciousness after that, but I remember the old man coming out to help us and calling the cops. The next thing I knew we were being questioned by the FBI, and Mom and I were taken into custody. We were held while the doctors patched me up, forbidden from contacting our family. We were informed that we were witnesses to one of the biggest crime lords in the country killing in cold blood and they needed our testimony to put him away. But they needed the gang to believe we were dead.”

“They faked your deaths?” I ask, letting all of this sink in.

He nods as he comes back to kneel in front of me. “We had to leave everything behind. They made it all look like we were in an accident and our bodies were so badly burned we couldn’t be buried. Mom even had to leave her wedding ring behind.”

“Oh my god, Vance. What happened?”

“We were held in isolation while the case went to trial. It took years, obviously and they kept having to move us around. I wanted to get in touch with you, to talk to my family, but we couldn’t. They basically held us as prisoners because getting this guy was more important than our freedom.”

“How could they do that? That’s not right. Your family thought you were dead. I thought I’d lost you.” My heart breaks, but he only smiles softly at me.

“After they told us what this guy did and how many families lost their loved ones, Mom and I agreed to do it. We knew that it would hurt Dad and Hunter, and you. But we could make that right eventually. We knew that if this guy was back on the street, thousands of families would never be able to have what we could.”

Thinking about what he gave up in order to save others helps me understand why he did it. I hate that it happened like this, but in a way, he’s a hero.

“With our testimony we were able to put five of the biggest heads of crime behind bars for life. I wouldn’t have done it if Mom didn’t agree, but we both knew what we were giving up. I just prayed that one day, when we were free again, somehow you could find it in your heart to forgive me.”

“Vance, are you serious? Of course I forgive you. You practically gave your life to save your mother and countless others. It was the worst hell in my life losing you, but here you are.”

“I’m home now, and I’m never leaving your side again.” He reaches over, grabs his pants and pulls a box out of the pocket. “The old man who helped us had nothing to do with what went down. His grandson had gotten caught up in some bad shit and brought it to his doorstep. The day that I got this, everything changed for me. But one good thing came out of it—every day I knew I made the right decision. It was a hard one, but I knew that you would have done the same thing. That we may have had to wait five years to be together, but it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the years ahead of us.”

He opens the box and I gasp as I stare down at the gold band with a huge oval diamond set within it. It’s surrounded by rubies, and sparkles so brightly it might blind me. He takes it out and places it on my finger as he looks up into my eyes.

“Will you marry me, Holly?”

“Yes!” I squeal before throwing myself into his arms.

He kisses me so deeply that I feel it in my toes. Then he rolls us onto the floor and pulls the blankets that separate us out of the way. Once again we’re skin on skin in front of the fire. His hands are everywhere as he slides inside me, thrusting all the way in.