If I Return (12 page)

Reaching out tentatively, I lay my hand on his chest. His heart seems to be galloping at an even faster pace than mine. “I wasn’t sure you’d come tonight.”

He takes my hand, which is lying on his chest, and brings it to his lips. He feathers a soft kiss on the ends of my fingertips and then pulls me from my seat. Dragging me into his arms, he wraps himself around me, placing his nose in the crook of my neck.

I hear him inhale my scent and slowly let it out. He then pulls his head back, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around me. “How could I not come back to you? How could I give up the girl that likes old re-runs of Battlestar Galactica or who loves sitting on the front porch during a thunderstorm? How could I be without the woman who hates chocolate ice cream but loves vanilla with chocolate sauce? What would I do without the silly girl that threw up in the movie theater while watching The Blair Witch Project? Or the insanely kind girl that grocery shops for her elderly neighbor every week? Tell me, Hope... how can I live without the woman that helped to keep me sane over the last year?”

My eyes are glazed with tears, and I smile up at him. “You don’t... you don’t live without her. I’m here.”

His hands move up to my face and he just holds me there a moment as we get lost in each other’s eyes. Then he kisses me and it’s better than it ever was. His mouth is reassuring to my senses. My hands wind up around his neck, rubbing the short hair at the base of his head. We kiss for what seems like forever with no care for the fact that we are in a public place. Time stands still and the happiness that flows through me is bright and electric.

When we finally pull away, it’s to engage in another deep stare with one another. Trying to look deeper into each other’s eyes to see if there is anything that remains to be said.

“I’m here, too,” Jack says. “I returned... just for you.”

One Year Later

Jack

I’m sitting here on the floor, surrounded by mounds of torn wrapping paper and bows. The lights from the Christmas tree twinkle merrily and Hope is resting her head on my shoulder.

“I’m worn out,” she says. “I can’t believe how many presents we just opened.”

Glancing around, I groan inwardly at the mess we’ll have to clean up. But it was so worth it to see the look on Hope’s face as she opened gift after gift that I had gotten her for Christmas. I can’t help but to spoil her. She’s my everything.

Hope reciprocated as well. She went a little nuts actually and bought me more clothes than I can possibly wear in a lifetime. But I’ll admit it’s a bit of a turn on that my girlfriend likes to buy my clothes for me, so I just go with the flow.

This past year has been amazing. I moved in with Hope and I’m attending Florida State. I still have no clue what I want to do, but I have another full year before I need to declare a major. Hope is working with the Florida Social Services Department and loves her job so far. This is our first true Christmas together as last year didn’t count. I had to head back to Kentucky the day after I saw her at The Montgrove, but I knew that as soon as I was discharged from the Army, I would be making my way to Florida and Hope.

Glancing at my watch, I see it’s time for one last present. Audrey should have completed her secret mission and left the last of Hope’s presents in the garage within the last few minutes.

Giving her a little push off my shoulder, I stand up. “I’ll go get us some egg nog and we’ll just veg out here among all the presents for a while.”

She lies down amidst all the trash and sighs happily. “Sounds great.”

Once inside the kitchen, I open the door that leads out to the garage, wincing over the way it squeaks. But, just as planned, there is the big box, wrapped in shiny, silver-foiled paper, and sporting a huge, red bow.

I pick it up and chuckle when I hear the rustling around inside. I turn it so the five large holes cut into the back don’t show, but not before a little pink tongue pokes out.

It is going to be fucking great when she sees this.

When I walk back into the living room, Hope sits up. Her eyebrows rise. “What’s that?”

“What does it look like, goofy? It’s another present. I found it at the back door.”

“Oh, really?” she says with mock suspicion.

“Hey... if you don’t want it, I’ll just go set it out by the curb for the trash man to pick up.”

Hope jumps up to her knees and holds her hands out. “Don’t you dare! Gimme, gimme, gimme.” Her eyes are sparkling with excitement.

Rather than handing her the box, I kick some of the trash out of the way to make a clearing and set the box on the floor. “Now be careful... it’s fragile.”

Wasting no time, she leans over the box, quickly untying the bow. She peels back the paper to reveal the top flaps, still not seeing the holes cut into the box that are facing me.

I watch her closely as she unfolds the top flaps and watch her face go from one of utter excitement to pure, full-blown, ecstatic joy. She even squeals and I resist the urge to put my fingers in my ears over the high-pitched shriek.

“Oh, Jack,” she says reverently, as she reaches inside the box and pulls out the Golden Retriever puppy. He’s a little, fat ball of fur and the velvet, red bow that Audrey tied around his neck looks perfect. He eagerly plasters her face with puppy kisses. She holds him to her chest and buries her face in his fur. When she finally looks over at me, her eyes are filled with tears.

“You remembered,” she says softly.

“Of course, I remembered. I remember everything that you ever wrote to me while I was gone.”

One of Hope’s letters had talked about growing up with a Golden Retriever and that she couldn’t wait to have one of her very own someday after she finished school. I knew it was the perfect gift to get her for Christmas, and I’m sure I’m going to be a very lucky man when we hit the bed tonight. Just the thought of sinking myself deep into Hope has my dick twitching but I try to dash those feelings. She still has one more present to come.

“What’s his name?” she asks.

“Now how would I know that? He’s your puppy. You get to name him.”

She shoots me a warm smile. “He’s our puppy, you mean. Since we
are
living together.”

“Yes, he’s our puppy, but you get to name him.”

She holds him up so his chocolate-drop eyes are looking at her. His little, fuzzy tail swings back and forth with giddiness. She studies him for a moment. “I think I want to name him Stumble.”

“Stumble? Where did you come up with that?

Putting the puppy in her lap, she strokes his fur while looking at me. “It’s how I met you. I stumbled on those slate stones outside of The Montgrove and you caught me. It’s how all of this started. It was the beginning of the rest of my life.”

Oh, God, the things this girl does to my heart. I clear my throat before saying, “That sounds like a great name. How about passing me Stumble so I can get some puppy loving? But before you do, why don’t you take that bow off him. It’s got to be uncomfortable for the little man.”

“You’re probably right.”

I watch as she tries to hold the squirming pup and undo the ribbon that’s tied in a huge bow around his neck. She struggles for a moment and then peers closer at the knot. I give a silent chuckle as her eyes go wide with astonishment. Her gaze flicks briefly to mine and I just stare back at her.

She returns to the knot, her hands now working furiously, all the while Stumble thinks she’s playing a game and is trying to nip at her fingers. But she is patient with him, and the knot, and once she has it undone, she pulls the ribbon free from his neck.

After releasing her hold on Stumble, he hops off her lap and makes himself busy jumping and diving among the piles of Christmas paper.

She holds the ribbon up in front of her face, so she can finally get a good look at the diamond ring that it holds. Her hand shakes as she takes the ring and slides it free, staring at it in wonder.

Finally looking to me, she says, “Oh, Jack. It’s beautiful.”

I crawl over to her and take the ring from her. I grasp her left hand and kiss it first.

“Hope...” I begin, but then I falter. I had this great speech planned out but now my mind is blank. I had beautifully poetic words all lined up... words that would sweep her off her feet.

But now... all I can do is look at her in panic.

She smiles at me because she knows me well. “Yes.”

“Yes? I haven’t asked a question,” I tell her with a smirk, a little relieved since I was blanking.

“I can see it in your face, Jack Freeman. I know all the things you want to say to me because I see them written all over you. I know them because I know you. And there isn’t anything that would make me happier than being your wife.”

My heart expands to nearly double the size and I’m surprised it doesn’t burst out of my chest. I slip the ring on and then pull her into my arms so she’s straddling my lap. She holds her left hand out so she can admire my handiwork and then turns to me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she lowers herself onto my lap and her warmth immediately causes lust to jolt through me.

“So, it’s a yes, then?” I ask as I flex my hips upward into her.

She lets out a purr and rubs back against me. “It’s a yes.”

Holding her head in place, I kiss her deeply. I pour all of my emotion and all the things I wanted to say in my proposal-gone-haywire into that kiss. When I pull away, I rest my forehead against hers. “I love you, Hope. Knowing that you will always be by my side is like a miracle come true for me. I promise to make you the happiest woman alive.”

Hope wraps her arms around me and moves her head to the side so she can hug me. She holds me tight, digging her fingertips into my shoulders. “I love you, Jack. You started out as a Christmas miracle for me, and you continue to be one.”

I return her squeeze while gazing at the glittering tree.

Christmas has played a part in three pivotal events for us. Fate threw us together that first Christmas, only to cruelly separate us. Destiny brought us back together that second Christmas, so that we could continue to forge a relationship. This Christmas... love takes the spotlight and binds us together for eternity.

I lay us down carefully on the floor, surrounded by mountains of wrapping paper. I note that Stumble has curled up into a little ball and is fast asleep, a piece of ribbon sticking out of his mouth.

Turning toward Hope, I hover over her, ready to make love for the very first time to my new fiancée.

It’s a Christmas I will never forget.

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USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett is a native North Carolinian and practicing lawyer. When not trying to save the world from injustice, she spends her time trying to get the stories she accumulates in her head down on paper. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, Shawn, and their two big dogs, Piper and Atticus.