His words seep into my soul and heal something deep inside me.
“No one bullies my fiancée and gets away with it. She’s now a Bridger, and you’ll show her the respect she is due as my wife,” he says as he swings me up into his arms.
I cry into his neck until I feel him settle me into the passenger seat of a large vehicle. I look up and see it’s a Jeep.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he buckles me in.
“Home, pixie.”
I smile at him as I watch him walk around the Jeep and climb up into the driver’s side.
“What happened?”
“I was given the choice to not reenlist and still keep my rank. I took the offer and drove home. I have a woman to take care of. A baby hopefully on the way. A gallery to open, and a town to scare.” He smiles at me and that dimple pops out.
“I love you,” I say to him.
“Don’t say that until I have my cock in you, pixie,” he growls, and I laugh at him.
We pull up to the house and he opens the garage and pulls in next to the SUV his father bought me.
“Next time you leave the house, you’ll take that car.” He points at me and all I can do is nod at him. I wouldn’t have a driver’s license if Earl hadn’t taken me to get it.
“Is it true what you said about my mother?”
“Yeah, Lee requested the coroner’s report and then questioned Leon. You didn’t kill her. It was a tragic event. He didn’t take her to the hospital because he didn’t want others around her. He was jealous of everyone, even you.”
I open my door and go to step out. “Stay there, pixie, keep your ass in that seat.” I do as he says, and he comes around to lift me out of the Jeep. He steps into the house and sets me down. We take off our coats and shoes in the utility room before entering the main house. He pulls me along behind him to the dining room. Standing there is Lee and a man I don’t recognize, along with Sheriff Kullen.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, and when I turn around, he is down on his knee.
“Pixie, I’d go to jail for you. I’d give up everything for you. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine. I want to show you that Christmas is special, and that you are special. I want to see you in every room of this house. Your art, your presence, your smell. I want to heal all the pain your father caused you. I want to show you what love really is. And, even if you aren’t carrying my baby right now, you will be soon. I want babies with you, lots of them. Please make me the happiest man and marry me. I know it’s soon, but I know you are meant to be mine.”
My hand flies to my mouth. He knows everything about me and yet he still wants me. “I love you, Coal. Yes to all of it. I want you too.” I lean down and kiss him on the lips. He stands and pulls me into his arms.
“I love you, Kiera.” His mouth descends down to mine, kissing me, his tongue sliding between my lips as his arms wrap around me.
“Okay, can we get this show on the road? It’s a busy night for me.” Sheriff Kullen interrupts. We part and turn back to the group.
I walk through the house and stop at the window overlooking the lake. Small groups of fireworks go off as people get ready to celebrate to the new year. Coal is showing everyone out the door. I just married him in jeans and a hoodie, but I didn’t care about a dress. All I cared about was becoming his wife and having him forever. Sheriff Kullen signed as my witness and Lee signed for Coal. I am now Mrs. Coal Bridger.
I spin around with my arms flying out. The feeling of not only freedom but peace overwhelms me.
“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Coal’s voice comes from the entrance to the living room. I stop my spinning and face him.
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“It is, pixie. I wanted to start the new year as your husband. A new us. I’m going to show you every day for the rest of your life that you are special and loved.”
I walk toward him and reach up when I’m right up against him.
“Coal, you’re the special one for giving me this life.”
He leans down and kisses me but doesn’t stop there. He lifts me into his arms and carries me upstairs where he makes love to me over and over. At midnight, he kisses me. He’s made my holidays perfect, and I know he’ll keep doing that for years to come.
Epilogue
Kiera
Almost a year later
“Hello, my little Ava girl.” Coal’s voice comes from the baby monitor and I smile. “Is Momma in her studio?” I look over at the monitor screen and see my husband reach into the crib to lift up our daughter. He makes his way to the rocking chair where he sits with her. “Did Daddy ever tell you about his name? Your grandma named me Coal because I was so small and born on Christmas Day. She said that if you squeezed a lump of coal hard enough, it would become a diamond. Of course, that isn’t true, but she always joked about it.” I smile at his story.
Coal got me pregnant the first night we ever made love, and in September, our baby girl was born. He was worried the whole pregnancy, even when the doctor confirmed over and over that I was healthy and there was nothing to worry about. After Ava was born, he kept an even closer eye on me, worried that I would hemorrhage just like my mom had, but I didn’t.
I look out the windows across the lake and back to my painting. The gallery has been open for only a few months, but it’s been an even bigger hit than before. Not only do local artists show their work, but I’ve got a long list of well-known artists wanting to show there too. My work is always on display, even though Coal tries to buy it all and keep it for himself.
My father was sentenced and we haven’t heard anything from him since. After he went to jail, we bought the house when it was foreclosed on. Not for sentimental reasons, but to take possession of my mother’s things. Now all of her artwork is on display in the gallery and our home. Sheriff Kullen is a regular guest and friend of ours. He often differs to Coal on emergency management suggestions and has talked him into running for a community seat. Coal runs his father’s business, and now the town doesn’t call his dad Mr. Bah Humbug anymore. Some residents still can be mean to me, but they never do it in front of Coal.
“Hello, pixie.” Coal’s voice breaks me from my thoughts. I quickly wipe my hands off on my smock and then slip it off. “Wow, this is beautiful,” he says as he takes in the painting I’m working on.
“Thank you. How was your meeting?”
“It was interrupted, Hugh had to take off on a call.”
“Oh, I hope everyone is safe.” Sheriff Kullen is up for reelection next year and is trying to be on top of everything. I worry our friend is pushing himself too much.
“It wasn’t that kind of call.” He smirks at me.
“Really? Do you think he has a girlfriend?”
“Pixie, no gossip. He’ll tell us when he’s ready. Now, are you and Ava ready for her first time on Santa’s lap?”
“I have the perfect outfit picked out for her.”
This year Coal is trying to erase all my Christmases past. Every day is a new experience.