Candlelight Christmas

Epilogue

One year later

Saddle Mountain was overrun with children, and Darcy loved it. She reveled in it—the noise, the chaos, the bickering, the laughter, the fun. It was easy to find delight in every moment. Even André and Angelica were present. Following her release, Maya had relocated to Avalon. She had a little rental apartment in town, and she worked at the bridal shop, doing alterations. She was in a safe place with her kids, far from her ex.

Another family had come for the holidays this year—the Fitzgeralds. The parents and sisters, Lydia and Badgley with their new baby. Huntley was nowhere to be found, and no one seemed to miss him.

The past year had been a time of growth and change for Darcy. It had not always been easy. She still caught herself looking over her shoulder, back at the past—but mostly she faced forward.

Falling in love with Logan was very physical. Not only in the standard sense of the word, with the pounding heart and giddy light-headedness. She felt all that, and it was incredibly beautiful, more wild and exhilarating than any ride on a snowboard or surfboard. But there was more to it than that.

When she was with him, she slept. This was a big change. She had not slept soundly until she found herself in Logan’s arms. After her marriage had died, she had tossed and turned, night after night, mulling the situation over and over in her mind, pacing the floor, trying every technique she could think of to sleep, but to no avail.

Now she knew why she hadn’t been sleeping. It was because she’d been filled with restlessness, knowing she needed more in her life but not knowing how to get there. Now, finally, with Logan, her heart was at home.

These days, she faced the future with a sense of wonder. This in itself was a miracle, because she had never before realized the possibilities life offered now that she’d found the person she was meant to spend her life with.

It was a love she had never before dared to imagine. A happiness she had never known could exist. It was not perfect. She was not perfect, nor was Logan. Their love was filled with imperfections. Yet it was beyond doubt the best thing that had ever happened to her.

On Christmas morning, Taffy the dog woke everyone up, and the children made a mad scramble for their presents. Darcy sat next to Logan and laughed as she watched them playing with boxing gloves, makeup sets, a xylophone, a karaoke machine.

“Hey, what about the pickle?” Charlie asked suddenly. “Darcy, come help me find it.”

The look Charlie shared with his dad made her suspicious, but she went over to the tree and peered through the branches. Charlie moved a swag of tinsel, and she heard the familiar, utterly silly yodeling sound. There it was, dangling in the middle, near the trunk.

“You found the Christmas pickle,” Charlie said.

She dangled the ornament for all to see. “The yodeling pickle. That’s awesome.”

“It means you get a prize,” Charlie reminded her.

“Sounds like my lucky day.”

“You’re going to have to excuse us,” Logan told everyone, standing up. “We’ll be back.”

Darcy’s breath caught. She thought about the past year. She and Logan had grown closer and closer, and she hoped with all her heart that they were about to take the next step together. At the moment, his face was unreadable.

They put on parkas and snowshoes and walked out into the woods together. It was a quiet, snowy morning, the air still, the birch trees and evergreens motionless. To Darcy it felt as if the world was holding its breath. They went to the clearing where they’d decorated the tall evergreen tree, both last year and this.

Logan took a flat, oblong package from his pocket. “I actually bought this last year, on Christmas Eve. I knew then, Darcy. I knew I wanted to be with you forever, but we were so new. I wanted you to feel ready. You were still hurting. I didn’t want to scare you.”

“I don’t hurt anymore and I’m not scared,” she said. “How’s that for a big change?”

He placed the box in her hands. It wasn’t a ring box.

She hated the fact that it wasn’t a ring box. It was covered in thick, glossy gold paper and tied with a bright golden bow.

“Go ahead,” he said. “Open it.”

She took off her mittens and removed the paper, then peeked into the slender black box. “A charm bracelet.” She smiled, but it felt bittersweet, because her expectations had painted a different scenario. “You got me a charm bracelet.” She lifted the silver chain from the box. It was pretty, catching glints of light.

“Check it out,” he said. “The first charm is the Camp Kioga flag, because that’s where I met you for the first time. Got it from the gift shop there.”

“I yelled at India for trying to fix us up.”

“I think I did, too,” he admitted. “Now I can’t thank her enough. Okay, the next two. A surfboard and a dolphin.”

“Our Florida Thanksgiving.”

“Our first kiss. I was so hot for you I couldn’t see straight.”

“Yeah?” she teased, liking the bracelet more and more, even though it wasn’t what she expected. “I guess you couldn’t see the screen on your phone, because you never called. You never wrote...”

“Hey. I made up for it. Here’s the snowshoe charm for last Christmas. The heart—that’s Valentine’s Day, of course.”

“We were in New York, taking Maya to lunch to celebrate her release. I loved that day, Logan.”

There were charms to mark the milestones through the year—a seashell for the first time she’d taken him to Cupsogue and introduced him to her family, and a tiny lighthouse for the weekend they’d spent in Montauk, where the O’Donnells lived. A maple leaf for their fall weekend in Canada, and a pinecone from Mohonk Mountain House, where he’d taken her for her birthday.

“It’s very romantic,” she said. “You’re very romantic.”

“Because you’re very inspiring.”

The last charm was a pickle. “It’s a tiny silver pickle,” she said stupidly. “Who knew there was such a thing?”

“I had no idea, until you explained it to me last year.”

“So the pickle is to commemorate this Christmas?”

“Yep. It means you win the pickle prize.”

“Isn’t this bracelet the pickle prize?”

“Nope. This is.” He opened his hand and, in one smooth motion, slipped a diamond ring on her finger.

Her jaw dropped, even as her heart soared. “Logan...”

“I want forever with you. I’m going to love you until the end of time. Darcy, will you marry me?”

She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his parka. The inevitable tears came, but she was laughing, too. “Oh my gosh. Yes, of course yes. A thousand yeses wouldn’t be enough.”

There was a sweetness to their kiss that felt brand-new, like something she’d never tasted before. “You had me going,” she murmured against his soft mouth. “You made me think I was getting a silver bracelet for Christmas.”

“Instead, you get me. And Charlie. And Taffy.”

“And forever,” she said. “You’re my forever person. Ah, Logan. I’m so happy. I was just thinking this morning, I’ve never felt this kind of happiness. It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

He kissed her lips, and then her hand with the ring on it. “Hold still,” he said. “I’ll put the bracelet on you.”

She admired the collection of charms, a chronicle of their year together. “Let’s go back and tell everyone. And I still haven’t given you your gift.”

He leaned over and gave her a kiss, and whispered in her ear, “I haven’t opened a single present, but I already have everything I want.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE by Susan Wiggs.