Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 48518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
A slow smile pulls at his mouth like he’s fully aware I saw it and fully aware what it’s doing to me.
By the time I reach him, I’m trembling.
He reaches for my hands, warm and steady and grounding.
“You okay?” he whispers, voice rough.
“Completely,” I breathe.
His thumb strokes the inside of my wrist—the most intimate touch—before he turns me gently toward the minister.
The ceremony is small, simple, sweet. Holly stands right by us, hugging her baskets like a secret security assignment. Snow drifts in lazy spirals around us, catching in Ash’s hair, melting on my eyelashes. A hush settles over the entire mountainside as we speak our vows.
Ash’s voice is calm but breaks once.
“Lucy… you brought color into my life. Light. Heat. Things I stopped believing I’d ever have again.” His hand tightens around mine. “You’re my spark. My calm. My storm. My home.”
My breath shakes, tears stinging my eyes.
When it's my turn, my voice wavers. “Ash… you protect without controlling. You love without fear. And you’ve given me a family I didn’t know I was allowed to want. You’re my safe place. My fire. My heart.”
His thumb brushes over my knuckles, slow and faintly possessive in a way that melts my knees.
When the rings come, Holly digs through the wrong basket first. “Oops,” she says loudly, then tries the second. “Aha!" She hands them to the minister with exaggerated care.
People laugh softly.
Ash slides my ring slowly onto my finger, eyes locked to mine the entire time as if committing every millimeter of the moment to memory. I slide his on next—big, warm hand trembling just slightly.
When the minister says, “You may kiss the—”
Ash doesn't wait.
He pulls me in with a hand to my waist and kisses me right there in front of the entire town.
Soft at first. Gentle. Snow clinging to our lips. His hand slides up my back, drawing me closer until my body molds to his. The kiss deepens, heat curling inside me despite the cold mountain air. Someone whistles. Someone cheers. Holly squeals, “FINALLY!”
Ash pulls back just enough to breathe against my mouth. “Mrs. Calder.”
A shiver tears down my spine. “Say it again.”
His eyes darken. “Mrs. Calder.”
I kiss him again because how could I not?
Afterward, while everyone gathers for hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls, Ash slips his hand into mine and leads me toward the horse-drawn carriage waiting at the trailhead. White horses with red blankets. Sleigh bells. Snow dusting the seats like glitter.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.
His arm curls around my waist from behind, chin brushing my shoulder. “You deserve beautiful.”
My breath trembles.
“You ready?” he murmurs.
“For what?”
“For forever.”
I turn to him, heart full.
“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes.”
He helps me into the carriage, tucks a thick blanket over our legs, then climbs in beside me. I lean into him, my new husband warm and solid against my side. Holly waves wildly from the crowd before sprinting toward the cocoa station, slipping on snow and popping back up like a rubber ball.
Ash wraps his arm around me fully, pulling me against his chest as the horses start forward.
The sleigh glides through fresh snow, bells jingling softly, the mountains stretching endless and quiet around us. Twilight settles in, painting the sky in shades of lavender and gold.
I look up at him.
At the man who once called me a walking hazard. The man who tried not to want me. The man who now holds me like he’ll never let go.
He notices me watching and smirks. “What?”
“Still thinking about that kiss,” I say softly.
His fingers slide under my chin, turning my face to his. “Good,” he murmurs. “Because I’m nowhere near done.”
The carriage rounds a bend, drifting into deeper snow, the world silent except for the horses and our breaths mixing in the cold air.
Ash kisses me again—slow, possessive, claiming.
My husband. My fire. My forever.
And with snow falling all around us and mountains stretching wide and wild ahead, I know with absolute certainty: this is where I belong.
This is home.
This is love.
This is our forever.
Second Epilogue
Ash
ten years later
The snow falls lazy and soft, drifting down in quiet spirals that catch in the pines and melt on my bare forearms. The Phantom River moves slowly behind our cabin, dark and smooth as polished glass, carrying flecks of white along its surface like it’s collecting the sky.
It’s Christmas morning. Ten years since the day I kissed Lucy Snow in front of the firehouse and knew—bone-deep—that my entire life had just shifted.
Now I’m standing in my backyard wearing a worn flannel and thermal pants while five small Calder bodies run wild through the snow, shrieking like feral elves.
“Pine!” I bark when I catch my youngest trying to lick icicles off the deck railing. “Hey! We talked about this—no mystery ice. It’s not a snack.”
Pine grins, pale blue eyes sparkling, blond hair sticking straight up under his fuzzy hat. “But it looks like candy!”