“What?”
“She skipped town already and is back in Chicago.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Wow, though it is refreshing to hear about someone who makes worse choices than I do.”
Wes sighs. “I don’t know if this is good or bad. But I think I should call Mr. Williams and let him know what happened.”
“Good idea. Get everything on record.”
“Yeah, it’ll come up again, I’m sure.” He comes back to the table. “In the meantime, I got us tickets to go to the planetarium today.”
“No way.”
“Yes. And I thought maybe when we’re done, we could visit your dad.”
“You want to take Jackson there? My dad can be a little unfiltered.”
Wes cocks an eyebrow. “You’ve met my nana, right?”
I laugh and reach for Wes. He takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. “I love you, Weston.”
“And I love you.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Weston
I put my arm around Scarlet, smiling as we watch Jackson tear into his Christmas presents. The three of us are wearing matching pajamas, which was Scarlet’s idea. Not mine. She said she bought them as a joke, but was rather insistent on all of us wearing them and taking a picture together last night on Christmas Eve.
No sooner than Scarlet gets comfortable against me, she jumps up.
“Salsa, get out of the tree.” She grabs the black kitten and brings him to the couch with her. He stays for half a second and jumps down, pouncing on the pile of discarded wrapping paper.
Midnight, the mother cat to all the kittens, curiously walks over, batting a plastic bow across the living room. We were only going to take the kitten, but the mama cat really likes me for some reason. She’s a bit annoying, really, and rubs her head all over me purring almost every night when I go to sleep.
Scarlet laughs, watching the cats have almost as much fun as Jackson with the presents. I take her in my arms again, stealing a kiss before Jackson moves onto the next present.
“I love you,” she whispers, running her hands through my hair.
“I love you too,” I tell her, and we settle back against the couch as Jackson finishes opening his presents. It doesn’t take long. That kid could win an award for fastest present opening.
Once he’s done, I deal with the aftermath of the wrapping paper, torn boxes, and toys scattered throughout the living room. Jackson plays with a new remote control dump truck, “helping” me clean up the mess.
The smell of cinnamon rolls fill the air, and Scarlet turns on Christmas music. She comes back into the living room with a cup of tea in her hand, stopping in the threshold of the room with a smile on her face.
“Breakfast will be ready soon,” she says, taking a drink of tea. She sets her cup down and pulls Salsa from the tree again. I stashed all our breakable ornaments when Jackson was a baby, replacing the pretty glass balls with shatterproof plastic ones that actually look just as good as the others. I almost dug them out of the basement this Christmas, and I’m glad we didn’t.
“Then I need to shower so we can get ready to leave.”
I scoop up another armload of wrapping paper and add it to the big gift bag a toy came in. We have a lot of stops to make on the way to my parents’ for their big Christmas party.
The first stop is to Eastwood’s Senior Care Center, where Mr. Cooper now lives. We were able to get him a room there around the first of the month, and it’s been a big weight off Scarlet’s shoulders. The old nursing home was a dump. I didn’t want to say anything and make Scarlet feel worse, but I was shocked when I walked in, and not in a good way.
The second stop we have to make won’t be fun. It’ll be awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s something I couldn’t rightfully refuse to do.
Daisy’s parents want to see Jackson on Christmas. They got him presents and asked if he could come over for lunch. Scarlet and I are going with, and I’m not sure if Daisy will be there or not. The judge let her off easy, and she’s going to court-ordered therapy. I haven’t seen her since she left the last time, and now all the paperwork is official and filed.
I’m not married to her anymore. I’m free to remarry anyone I want, and that person is standing in the living room with a squirming kitten in her hands. Quinn suggested I propose while we’re all at Disney World together after her wedding. Scarlet’s never been and is just as excited as Jackson to go.
It’s a damn good idea and would be magical and fitting for Scarlet, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. I love her, and I know there will never be another who fits with us as well as she does.
Things were awkward for a while after we told the rest of my family the truth. I was good with not ever bringing it up, but Scarlet insisted she come clean and start with no secrets. Dean and Archer had the hardest time with it, convinced she wasn’t trustworthy. Owen already knew, of course, and told Logan later that day after I left the bar. And Mom and Dad didn’t know what to say, though I think they were both so relieved to hear that I was finally free of Daisy they didn’t care who I was dating now. Dad didn’t understand how I could be so understanding and forgiving, and when I tell the whole story, it surprises me too.
But Scarlet isn’t that person anymore. I don’t think that’s ever who she really was in the first place. She’s a good person, and I know one day soon she’ll make a good wife.
“Merry Christmas!” Jackson shouts, running through the kitchen. He’s on the lookout for more presents.
“Hey, Sheriff,” Owen says, piling more cookies on his plate. Ever since I won the election, that’s all he’ll call me. He knows it annoys me.
“Hey,” I say back, letting it go this time. “Save some for the rest of us.”
“You should have gotten here sooner.”
Mom comes in, shooing Owen away with her hand. “Those are for dessert. We haven’t even had dinner yet.” She gives me a hug and moves on to Scarlet.
“You look lovely, dear. And I love your necklace.”
“Thanks,” Scarlet says, hand going to her neck. “Wes got it for me for Christmas.”
“He has good taste.” Mom smiles and goes to the stove to check on dinner.
“Yeah,” Scarlet says with a smile. “He does.” The necklace is a little star, encrusted with diamonds. I know how much she loves to look at the stars. I fill a plate with appetizers and take Scarlet’s hand, going into the living room to find my other siblings. We’re early, but soon my extended family will shuffle into the house and things will get loud.
“Logan brought Danielle?” Scarlet whispers, slowing before we get into the living room. “I thought they were just friends?”
“That’s what he tells us.”
No one believes them, and if they really are just friends, then they’re both missing out. I don’t know Danielle well, but she seems nice enough and gets along with Logan better than anyone I’ve seen him with.
He brought her to Thanksgiving too, which threw us all for a loop. He’s never brought anyone home for a holiday. He claims it was because Danielle’s at odds with her family right now. They’re rather conservative and had a whole plan laid out for the rest of her life that she had no say in. She basically ran away from it all last year, coming to live at her grandfather’s farm here in Eastwood.