My throat tightens. “I will. Kiss him for me. And I’ll be by to meet him soon.”
“Yes, absolutely,” she says, and hangs up.
The apartment goes quiet again.
I sink deeper into my couch, staring at the half-decorated tree in the corner—lights half-strung, ornament box still open on the floor.
I think about Melanie and Lucas and baby Everett, all tangled up in a tiny hospital room, figuring out their new normal.
I think about Rhett up on his mountain, maybe sitting by his stove, maybe listening to the wind.
I think about myself, right here, in this small apartment with big dreams and a cracked heart and a promotion that’s going to demand everything I’ve got.
I close my eyes and breathe.
I don’t know what my happy looks like yet.
But I know I want more than hollow.
More than almost.
More than being someone’s storm exception.
I want a family someday. A home that feels like laughter and coffee and shared blankets. Someone who doesn’t walk away because it’s hard, but stays because it’s worth it.
And I’m not going to pretend I didn’t feel something like the beginning of that in a cabin on a mountain with a man who’s too scared to reach for it.
For now, I pick up one of the ornaments—tiny, wooden, hand-painted:Chimney Gorge Christmas Jubilee—and hang it carefully on my little tree.
“Come back,” Keely had said.
“Anytime,” the mayor had promised.
I don’t know if I’ll be going back for work or for me.
But as the lights on my tree blink to life, I know one thing for sure:
I’m not done with Chimney Gorge.
And if Rhett Ryder ever decides he wants more than just surviving, he’s going to have to prove it.
Because I’m done letting someone else decide what I’m worth.
SIXTEEN
RHETT
The days between Christmas and New Year’s are supposed to feel lazy.
Soft.
Like the world took off its boots and decided to nap.
Up here, they just feel empty.
The Jubilee wrapped, the tourists went home, the banners came down. The square went back to normal. Kids on sleds, Lolly’s open sign swinging in the window, bells still ringing, just…quieter.
And me?
