Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Pine and cinnamon. Wrapping paper and sugar cookies. Laughter and something soft playing on the speaker—probably Nat King Cole, because Wendy Winslow doesn’t allow modern Christmas music under her roof.
The lake house is glowing and packed to the fucking brim. A fire crackles from under the mantel, and everyone is bunched into the living room with blankets and fuzzy socks and Christmas-themed pajamas.
All the Winslows. All the Hayeses. Blake and Lexi. Scottie and Finn. Lexi’s parents and my parents and Julia’s parents, and of course, Jules and me. I don’t know how this lake house manages to fit all these fucking people, but it’s like Mary Poppins’s bag.
We’re all passing out presents and drinking from mugs of hot chocolate and just enjoying the ambiance that is Christmas Eve.
Blake’s wearing antlers, while Gunnar keeps trying to hang an ornament from one.
My mom is snapping photos like she’s been hired by a magazine.
Julia’s curled up near the tree, her legs tucked under her, our dog asleep across her feet.
And Scottie is in her wheelchair, grinning at something Finn whispered to her, cheeks flushed with that kind of fierce, quiet joy that makes you pause mid-sip of cocoa and remember life is big and beautiful and fragile.
I move toward Julia—let’s be real, it’s my favorite hobby—and settle in next to her and Yoko as Scottie wheels herself into the middle of the room and says, “Okay. I have one more present.”
Everyone turns to look with astonishing quickness. She’s been working so hard since her surgery with Dr. Nick, both physically and mentally, and all of us have enjoyed watching her like the gift it is.
I’m a mentally tough fucker, but Scottie outpaces me any day. She’s as tough as they fucking come.
Finn rises like he’s about to help her, but Scottie lifts a hand.
“No,” she says. “Just…watch.”
And then…
She stands.
Scottie fucking stands up!
With one hand braced on the armrest of her chair, she pushes herself upright until she’s fully standing. Silence falls like snow across the room, shock and awe and outright surprise robbing the energy we’d otherwise use for noise.
I wait with bated breath, Julia’s fingernails clawing my arm like talons, as Scottie takes two steps on slightly wobbly feet before she grabs Finn’s outstretched arms for support.
Julia’s eyes are wide and brimming with tears, and I feel a scream building in a very violently loud place in my throat. I hold it—but I know it’s going to pop out soon.
Scottie smiles and giggles and says, “Merry Christmas, assholes.”
The room erupts in laughter and cheers, and we all surge toward Scottie like it’s old-school Black Friday at the local Circuit City.
Finn reaches her first, arms wrapping around her like he’ll never let go again, and Julia and I pile on top of him.
My mom takes pictures rapid-fire, my dad is blubbering like an emotional fool, and everyone else spins in place, beside themselves with excitement.
Scottie can fucking walk.
“It’s a motherfluffing Christmas miracle!” my dad sobs. “And I am all up in my motherfluffing feels! Hold me, Cassie!”
The whole thing feels like fucking magic. A fairy-tale Christmas if we’ve ever had one.
The house is still.
Everyone’s asleep. After presents, Wendy insisted on more hot chocolate and sentimental Christmas movies, which means most of the group passed out halfway through It’s a Wonderful Life.
But I’m wide awake.
I sneak up the creaky stairs as I’ve done a thousand times before, only this time, I’m not a dumb eleven-year-old on a dare.
I’m a man who needs to see the woman he loves more than anything.
The bedroom door to the girls’ room is cracked, and I peek in to find Julia curled up on the bed on her side, and Yoko lifts his head from his spot curled up against Julia’s back.
Julia is scrolling her phone in the dark, her face lit faintly blue.
Everyone else appears to be asleep.
“You’re supposed to be asleep,” I whisper toward her.
She jumps, and Yoko scurries away to take refuge at the foot of the bed. “Ace! Goodness! You scared me!”
I grin and close the door behind me. “That’s no way to greet your future husband.”
She sets her phone aside as I crawl into her bed, lifting the blanket and sliding in behind her like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Probably because there is nothing more natural than Julia and me together.
“I missed you,” I murmur against her neck.
“You just saw me,” she whispers, smiling.
“I know. But that was like an hour ago. I missed you.”
She turns in my arms, our noses brushing. Her fingers find the hem of my T-shirt and curl there.
We lie in silence for a beat, just breathing, just being.
And then she says, “Do you remember the year Santa Dick knocked over the tree?”
I laugh into her collarbone. “Yeah. Because Santa Dick’s big sack was too big, and he kept swinging that fucker around. We’re lucky he didn’t take out a kid.”