Rhett squeezes me once more, then heads back to the horses. He moves easily, calling out to Everett, teasing Lucas, trading a wave with Mayor Turner. He belongs here.
So do I.
My life is bigger now.
It’s meetings and campaigns and Saint Pierce coffee. It’s snowy cabins and security case files and watching Rhett stare down a threat assessment the way he used to stare down a storm. It’s baby giggles and best-friend sleepovers and a tiny wooden ornament on my city tree that saysChimney Gorge Christmas Jubileein fading gold paint.
It’s messy and loud and full.
And at night, when it all goes quiet, it’s his hand over mine and the steady beat of his heart under my palm.
I hit record, catching him as he swings up into the sleigh, bells chiming, snow swirling, a smile on his face he doesn’t bother to hide anymore.
My future doesn’t look like I thought it would.
It’s better.
“Ready to ride?” he calls.
“Oh, what fun,” I call back, grinning.
And then I tuck my camera away, climb into the sleigh beside the man I love, and let the bells carry us forward into everything still to come.
