Snoot echoed her yawn, head propped on Kieran’s thigh.
“I’ll be home soon, Buddy.” Addy’s musical laugh had become Kieran’s favorite sound. “Just a few more days, and then you and Kieran and I are going to have the best beach walks. But now, it’s time for sleep.”
He reached for the End Call button. “Good night, Addy. I love you.”
“I love you too, my handsome keeper.”
Epilogue
Snootknewsomethingwasup, and it wasn’t just the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. Never having seen Addy decorate for the holidays, the poor pup was perplexed by all the sparkle and fuss.
Until this year, she’d been content with a tiny, pre-decorated tree from the base florist. But for the past two days, she and Kieran had filled every corner and surface with fresh Christmas greenery and kitschy ornaments they’d bought together in Trappers Cove. Her favorite was the green, glittery alien waving from his tinsel-trimmed UFO—from Souvenir Galaxy, of course.
Whining softly, Snoot snuffled his way from the kitchen, where Kieran was assembling a huge cheese platter, to the dining room, where Addy was arranging holly and red hypericum berries in her grandmother’s milk glass vase. Satisfied with her centerpiece for their holiday gathering, she stooped to reassure the anxious Lab.
“Easy, Bud. It’s just a party. You’ll get lots of belly rubs, and probably a belly ache from all the snacks.” She adjusted his red and green bow tie, cupped his furry face, and smooched the top of his head. “Because you’re irresistible! Yes, you are!”
Snoot licked her cheek. You’d think a dog smart enough to undertake the search and rescue training he was currently acing would learn that people don’t like slobbery kisses, but nope. Ah well, they’d have to warn their guests—most of whom had already met Snoot, anyway.
Once Addy’s U-Haul truck was spotted heading toward the lighthouse last month, word spread quickly—the new doctor was shacking up with the keeper. So even though she’d insisted this was just a casual gathering, bookshop owner Daphne warned her to expect a flood of housewarming gifts.
“You know how fast gossip spreads in a small town,” the bespectacled bookseller teased.
At first, Addy was anxious about similarities between her childhood hometown and Trappers Cove, but she needn’t have worried. TC people might be a bit too deep in each other’s pockets for her taste, but it came from a place of caring and acceptance. So far, she’d seen no trace of the narrow-minded spite she grew up with. And the flood of visitors whenever one of their own was hospitalized warmed her heart.
These folks knew the true meaning of family—it had little to do with blood and everything to do with love.
Kieran emerged from the kitchen wearing his new apron, a black canvas number printed with‘Tis Himself.
“Stew’s ready. Ten more minutes on your tarta long long.” After a few mangled attempts to pronounce tarte à l’oignon, he’d given up. “It’s delicious,” he declared over her practice Alsatian onion pie last week, “and that’s all I need to know.”
“You’re delicious,” she’d parried, and the pastry had gone cold as their tickle-fight quickly turned steamy and drifted into his bedroom.
Theirbedroom, now complete with some new touches—a framed photo of her grandmother’s garden, a new wardrobe cabinet for Addy, the dragon tree plant that stubbornly survived despite Addy’s neglect, and Snoot’s cushion, of course.
Kieran encouraged her to put her own touches on the cottage, but after years of traveling light, she’d held onto only a few sentimental items, including her cookbook collection, now housed on a shelf he installed beside the kitchen window.
He’d made space for her in every room, and though the little house was cramped by modern standards, she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Together, they were making a home.
And tonight, they were entertaining friends together for the first time: some former colleagues from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with almost everyone she’d met in Trappers Cove.
Addy slid her arm around Kieran’s waist and surveyed their party set-up. “Think we have enough dishes?”
“I do.” He smooched the top of her head. “And if we run out, there’s a stash of paper plates under the sink.”
“Do we have enough salad?” She scanned the kitchen counter.
He grasped her shoulders and spun her to face him. “Relax, love. We have enough food to feed an army.” He pecked her lips. “No pun intended.”
He stepped back, but Addy grabbed his apron and towed him in for a longer, more satisfying kiss.
“That’s better.” She grinned against his lips when she felt the hard ridge poking her belly. “Ready for another go already? Didn’t get enough this morning?”
His rumbly laughter lit Addy up like a Christmas tree.
“With you near, I’m always ready. Hence the apron. Don’t want to alarm the neighbors.”
With a sharp bark, Snoot barreled toward the front door.
