“Anytime, buddy. Have fun.”
“Take that into the den if you’re going to play with it,” Juniper says.
They run off, and Kyle starts to follow.
“You’re not going anywhere, honey,” Ellie warns.
Kyle curses under his breath, and we all chuckle.
Letty slides her arm around my waist. “You’re a great uncle, you know that?”
I press a kiss to her temple. “Good practice for when we have our own.”
Her expression softens. We’ve been talking about adoption lately. Letty really wants to go that way, and worried at first that I’d be sad not having biological children. But I told her I firmly believe family’s what you build, not what biology dictates.
“Let me add a little something to your cider,” Kyle says, passing Serena to Remi. She’s fascinated by all the neon green hair in Remi’s ponytail. “A man needs hard alcohol after that kind of drive over.”
I choke back a laugh as Letty pinches my side.
“I’ll have some too,” Letty says, following Kyle into the kitchen.
I make my rounds, checking in with Troy about our newest outreach program, then catching up with Mason about the custom bike we’re building for a disabled vet in Bozeman.
Throughout it all, my hand keeps drifting to my jeans pocket, checking and triple checking that the small velvet box is still there.
After dinner, we gather in the living room for Ellie’s traditional Christmas Eve gift exchange. My nerves ratchet higher as Kyle starts to hand out the packages, the kids tearing into theirs with unbridled enthusiasm. Even Micah!
“Here you go, Letty,” I say, pulling the small box from my pocket. “Little something special for you.”
The room quiets, everyone suddenly extremely interested in their drinks. Letty takes the box, her fingers trembling slightly.
“Felix, what is this?” she whispers.
“Just open it.”
She lifts the lid. The ring sparkles in the firelight—a solitaire diamond flanked by citrines, sunny and warm just like her. A gasp ripples around the room.
I drop to one knee, ignoring the twinge in my prosthetic leg. Her eyes fill with tears.
“Leticia Gordon,” I continue. “Please let me spend every day honoring the life you had and building one we’ll share. Let me be yours, Letty. Always. Marry me?”
“Yes,” she whispers without hesitation, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
The room erupts in cheers as I slide the ring onto her finger and stand to kiss her. Evan makes barfing noises, which sets off a round of laughter.
We break apart, Letty’s trembling hands framing my face. “You’re amazing,” she whispers.
“No, you are. You’re it for me, Letty. Forever.”
She kisses me again, deep and full of promise.
“Get a room!” Evan shouts, making everyone laugh again.
“Where did you learn that?” Isaac asks Evan, squinting at him.
Evan’s eyes slide to Kyle, who looks up and whistles innocently.
Isaac rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Shoulda known.”
As the celebration continues around us, I hold her close. Outside, the snow continues to fall, blanketing Deepwood Mountain in pristine white—a clean slate for fresh starts.
I’ve never been more ready to begin.
