“Mom,” she said. “I know just the person to adopt Romeo and Juliet.”
Caleb didn’t see Ava in the week leading up to Christmas. He’d made big plans for their future and he could only pray it was the right move. Until then, he’d have to wait to find out if she broke his heart again or if finally, they would get their happily ever after.
Question was, when to tell her what he’d done?
In his pocket was part of her gift. He’d picked it up in Dallas that morning.
It was late on Christmas Eve and he’d just gotten home from a holiday celebration with his mother and Chet and their friends. It did his heart good to see how happy his mother was with her new love. He’d told his mother about his plans for his future and with a fierce hug, she told him to go for what he wanted. That love was worth the risk.
Hope was in the crisp night air as he parked his truck in the garage and headed toward the house. He paused outside to admire the Christmas decorations that Ava and her crew had put up. He smiled. She brought such joy into his life. Nothing else mattered but his love for her. He had her Christmas present in his pocket and tomorrow, he would go over to the Millers and put everything on the line.
“Lost in thought, cowboy?”
Caleb whirled around and in the glow of the twinkle lights on his house, he could see Ava sitting on the front porch rocker in the dark, bundled up in a down coat, toboggan, scarf, and gloves. Stunned, he said, “What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for you.”
Heart pounding, he walked up the sidewalk toward her. “How long have you been here?”
She held up her phone and took out her earbuds. “Just finished The Greatest Gift. It’s the novel It’s A Wonderful Life is based on.”
“How long is it?”
“About sixty pages.”
“Why?”
“It’s a great story.”
“I mean why are you sitting here in the dark, in the cold, waiting on me when I might not have come home?”
“Please,” she said. “You’re a rancher. You never leave town for long.”
“Why aren’t you at home with your parents?”
“They’re at a party.”
“Why didn’t you go?” He stepped up onto the porch.
“I wanted to see you.” She stood up and stowed her cell phone and earbuds into her pocket.
“How did you get here? I don’t see your car.”
“I walked.”
“The shortest distance through my pasture is over a mile.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m certainly surprised.”
“And I hoped to give you your Christmas present early. Just between you and me.”
“Wait.” He raised a hand. “I want to give you my present first, but let’s get in out of the cold.”
“Okay.” She shivered.
He wanted to put his arm around her and draw her close, but he wasn’t sure how she would react, so he didn’t. Instead, he unlocked the front door and let her in. “Come sit. I’ll start a fire in the fireplace. Make us some hot chocolate.”
“Later,” she said. “I can’t wait anymore.”
“All right.”
They stood in the foyer looking at each other and for the first time since Ava decorated his house, Caleb realized someone had hung mistletoe from the ceiling above them. That was handy.
Her beautiful brown eyes were zeroed in on him. Breathless, she whispered, “Well?”
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a palm-sized white box and passed it to her.
With trembling hands, she took the box and slowly opened it. Lifting the lid, she peeked inside. “It’s a passport. Yours?”
He nodded.
“You haven’t had a passport since you and your mom moved to the Leaping Longhorn when you were fourteen.”
“Back then,” he said. “I thought I was done with traveling. Traveling reminded of my dad and remembering him was so painful that I shut down.”
“And now?”
“Now,” he said. “I want to go where you go. I want to be with you. I’ve got something else to show you.”
“Oh, Caleb.”
From his other pocket he took out a piece of paper and passed it to her. She read what was on it, her eyes growing even larger in her face. “You’ve put the ranch on the market!”
“I have. The day of your pet adoption event, I realized you were more important to me than anything else. And if Singapore was where you wanted to be, then that’s where I would go. That’s why I didn’t stick around to talk to you that evening. I wanted to get to bed so I could call my real estate the next morning and get to work on an expedited passport.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.
He searched her features, sudden terror gripping him. What if he’d made a huge miscalculation? What if distance and travel weren’t the problem? What if she really didn’t want to be with him whether in Kringle or Singapore?
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Ava.” Fear constricted his throat and he struggled to push more words from his mouth. “What’s wrong?”
“I turned down the Singapore job.”
“For me?” His heart slammed hard against his chest and his hopes that had dipped rose again on fragile wings. Then another thought occurred to him. “Your parents told you about your dad’s cancer diagnosis.”
“They did, but I’d already turned down the job.”
“For me?” he repeated. “You’re willing to quit traveling for me?”
She handed him his passport and the real estate listing for his ranch. “You were willing to give up everything for me.”
“I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I want to be with you. That’s why I was willing to walk away from life as I’ve known it for the past fourteen years. You are the most important thing to me in the entire world. That’s why my only concern is your happiness. Can you be happy in Kringle, Ava? Because I’m willing to go to the ends of the earth to be with you.”
“I’ve got something to give you.” She took two pieces of paper from her jacket and passed them to him.
He unfolded the papers, and when he recognized what they were, a smile overtook his face. “You adopted Romeo and Juliet.”
“I couldn’t let them be separated.” Her eyes and voice were so soft.
“Oh, Ava.”
“There’s something else.” She reached in the back pocket of her jeans for more papers.
He opened that up too. It was a bill of sale. All the breath left his body, every dream he’d dared dream was coming true. “You bought the shelter?”
“And my parents’ house,” she said. “I’m going to be your new neighbor.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”
“But what about your wanderlust?”
“I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I accomplished that goal. Now I have other goals. I want to be here for my parents. I want to run the shelter. I’d forgotten how much I love animals and…”