“Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a deep voice.
“Santa!” the boys shouted at the same time.
“Cohen! Tyson! I knew I’d find you here,” Rhys replied, his voice still deep. He stepped inside.
“You did?” Cohen asked.
I closed the door and draped an arm around Reagan’s shoulders as we followed behind the three, watching the show and sipping our wine.
“I had to come find you because I have something special for both of you.”
“What is it?” Tyson asked.
“Come into the living room, and I’ll show you.”
The three of them did just that. Rhys sat on the couch, the boys on the floor in front of him. I looked at Reagan, and she was grinning ear to ear. I kissed the side of her head as so many emotions raced through me. In less than an hour, I was going to get down on one knee—something I’d wanted to do for as long as I could remember—and ask her to be my wife.
“Let me get a picture real quick,” Reagan said and grabbed her phone from the back pocket of her jeans.
Rhys patted his legs, and the boys climbed onto each leg. After Reagan got her picture, she returned to my side, and the boys resumed their position of sitting on the floor in front of Rhys.
“I brought a book to read to you,” Rhys opened his red bag.
“You did?” Cohen asked.
Rhys pulled the thin classic hardcover book from the bag. This version had Santa’s face on the cover.
“That’s you!” Tyson stated as he pointed at the book.
Rhys mock-gasped. “That is me!”
“There’s a book about you?” Cohen asked.
“Many, but this one is about the night before Christmas, which is tonight.”
“What does it say?” Cohen continued to question.
Rhys opened the book, and Reagan and I watched as he read the short poem, showing them each picture after he read the page.
“That was an old story,” Cohen stated.
Rhys gave a big belly laugh while Reagan and I stifled our own chuckles. “It’s because I’m old,” Rhys replied in his deep Santa voice.
“How old?” Tyson probed.
“Very,” Rhys replied.
“Older than my grandpa?” Cohen asked. We all laughed again.
“Yeah, Cohen. I’m older than all the grandpas.”
“That’s old,” Tyson said matter-of-factly. We all chuckled again.
“Can we have our presents now?” Cohen questioned.
“Yes. I need to get going so I can deliver all the presents.” Rhys dug into his red bag again. “I have a busy night, but I wanted to stop by while I was in the neighborhood because of how good you two were this year.” He handed the boys each a pair of slippers. Cohen got The Incredible Hulk ones, and Tyson got Batman ones. They, of course, weren’t wrapped because Santa and his elves didn’t wrap presents. “Now, make sure you wear those tomorrow morning when you wake up and see what I left for you while you’re sleeping.”
“You can’t give us our presents now?” Cohen wondered.
Rhys stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. “No. I don’t have them. My reindeer have them in the sleigh.”
Cohen’s eyes widened. “Where’s your sleigh? I wanna see it!”
“No can do.” Rhys started for the door. “Mrs. Claus is making sure everything is packed inside for the night, and they only have a moment to swing by to get me.”
“Mrs. Claus goes with you?” Tyson asked.
“Of course. She’s the boss and makes sure I stay on time.”
Reagan and I snorted. My sister was the boss, but Mrs. Claus stayed home in all the folklore I’d heard.
“Plus, she loves milk and cookies.”
“We’re going to leave you some before we go to bed,” Cohen stated.
“Chocolate chip?”
Cohen looked over at me, and I nodded. “Yep!”
“Good deal. Now, I better go.” Rhys opened the door and stood a few feet inside.
“Will we see you again?” Tyson asked.
Rhys patted the top of his brown head. “Maybe next year if you’re still a good boy.”
“We will be!” Cohen exclaimed.
“All right, good. Now go to sleep, and when you wake up, put your slippers on before going to see what I’ve left you.”
“Bye!” the boys said in unison, and Rhys closed the door. The boys rushed to it, and when they opened it, he was gone. Rhys, of course, was probably hiding on the side of the house, but the boys didn’t know that.
“That was so cool!” Cohen yelled.
“Yeah, it was,” I affirmed. “You better go brush your teeth and get into bed, so when Santa comes back, he can leave your presents.” The boys took off toward their bathroom without another word. “I’m going to tuck them in. Meet you in the shower?” I asked, looking at Reagan.
She smirked. “Yep.”
The steam billowed out around me when I opened the bathroom door and I entered the bedroom, a towel wrapped around my waist. Reagan and I showered until the water started to turn cold. I walked to the light switch and flicked it on, which turned on both lamps on either side of the bed.
Reagan stepped out behind me with a towel wrapped around herself. “Why are you turning all of the lights on?”
“No reason,” I lied. Reagan cocked a brow. “Get dressed, Buttercup. We have presents to put under the tree and cookies to eat.”
We slid our pajamas on and then quietly slipped out of the bedroom, leaving the lights on as we made our way to the living room. I grabbed a cookie and stuck it into my mouth. “Putting gifts from Santa under the tree never gets old,” I stated around the sweet chocolatey goodness.
Reagan grabbed a cookie. “I never thought I’d do this again since Maddie is almost nineteen. It’s fun.”
We went into the garage and grabbed all of the presents we’d bought for the boys. Cohen got a big boy bike and Tyson a Batmobile go-kart that he would have to peddle himself. We placed all the gifts under the tree and stuffed the stockings with candy and such before turning off the lights and heading back into our bedroom. My heart started to race as I felt the ring burning in the pocket of my flannel pajama pants.
“Can we turn off the lights, or are you now afraid of monsters?”
I grinned. “Get in bed. I’ll get the lights.”
Reagan climbed onto her side of the bed, and shut off her light. I glanced up as I flicked the overhead light switch off, revealing the glow of plastic stars. The first time we’d had sex was under their neon glow, and when I planned everything with Rhys, I knew the plastic stars would be romantic, given our past. I turned my light off, but didn’t get in bed. It felt like hours as I waited for Reagan to slip onto her back and look up. When she did, she gasped.
“Ethan …”
I walked to her side of the bed, the glow of the stars just bright enough for me to see where I was going. When I got to her side, I turned her light on and got down on one knee as I pulled the emerald-cut diamond solitaire on a platinum band out of my pocket. She gasped again as she sat up, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Reagan Hunter”—I swallowed down my emotions—“I can make this whole long speech like they do in movies, but I think you already know that I fucking love you. I’ve loved you my entire life, and I officially want to call you Mrs. Valor. So, Buttercup”—I turned off her light again and looked up at the stars to read the words shaped with stars out loud that Ashtyn and Rhys had stuck on our ceiling—“will you marry me?”
The neon glow was still bright enough for me to make out her features. She nodded and hurried out of bed to wrap her arms around my neck. The force of her embrace caused me to tumble back onto the carpeted floor. “Yes! A million times, yes!”
When I’d imagined the day Ethan and I got married, I never thought I would have to wait until I was in my forties. I also didn’t think that our engagement would last less than a week, or that we would get married at the Marriage and Civil Union Co
urt.
But that’s what happened.
And I didn’t care. Because if Ethan had asked me to marry him the night he walked into Judy’s for the first time, I would have said yes. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years. I had never stopped loving him. There was always that piece of my heart that was broken just waiting to be glued back to the other chambers so it could be whole again.
And finally, it was.
The day after Christmas, Maddie flew in from Denver. From the airport, we went to buy me a dress. It wasn’t like the first wedding dress I’d worn. This one was just above the knee, white, sleeveless, with a lace overlay and scalloped hem. Honestly, it was perfect. I didn’t need the big poofy gown that you needed help going to the bathroom in. I didn’t need to have a wedding that lasted all day. I didn’t even need the first dance as husband and wife because what I did need, I already had. I had the man I’d always wanted to marry, and the family that I loved with all of my heart.
“Ready?” Maddison asked as we freshened up my makeup in the courthouse bathroom.
Everyone had arrived at the same time to witness our nuptials, and while Ethan made sure all of our paperwork was in order, I took Maddie into the bathroom because I needed a minute. I needed time to absorb the fact that, in just a few short minutes, I was finally marrying my guy.
The one who gave me my first kiss.
The one who carried my books for me.
The one who made love to me under neon stars for the first time.
The one whose heart I broke because of a stupid drunk kiss.
The one who didn’t bat an eye when fate gave us a chance to get back together after twenty-three years.
The one who hired security to keep me safe.
The one who always loved me.
We took the long, broken road to get here, but I wouldn’t change how it all turned out because if I hadn’t broken his heart, I wouldn’t have Maddison, and he wouldn’t have Cohen and Tyson.
I looked at my daughter and took a deep breath. “Ready.” I smiled.
“Yay!” She handed me the bouquet of dark purple Persian buttercups. Since it was winter, they were in season, though any flower would have sufficed because I was marrying Ethan Valor.
Before we walked out the door, my phone rang in my clutch. Pulling out my phone, I saw that it was a local number. I answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi, yes. Is Regan McCormick available?”
“This is her. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Yes, this is Heather Wentworth. I’m the lead investigator for the 15th District for CPD. I received your application, and I was calling to schedule an interview.”
I sucked in a quiet breath. “Yes, of course. I’m available anytime.”
“Since today is New Year’s Eve, how about we schedule it for the third, ten o’clock?”
“That sounds perfect, thank you.”
“Great. I’ll email you the address just in case, and I look forward to meeting with you.”
“Same here. Thank you again.”
We hung up, and I turned to Maddie. “I have a job interview with the 15th District!”
“Yay!” She rushed into my arms and hugged me tightly. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, honey.”
With one final squeeze, she pulled back. “Let’s go get you hitched, and then tonight we have more things to celebrate.”
“Let’s.” We exited the restroom and walked to the waiting room just outside where the ceremony would be held.
“Ready?” Ethan asked, grabbing my hand.
My answer would never change, no matter who was asking me. “Yes.”
Everyone went into the room, and Ethan and I walked in together, still holding hands. My parents had come up from Florida, and even though we had exceeded the fifteen person limit allowed in to witness our vows, the judge allowed it, since Sergeant Valor was a colleague of sorts, and he had put the Lakeshore Killer behind bars.
The seats filled up fast, and others lined the back wall as Ethan and I waited in front of the dark wood desk. The judge walked in and stood behind the desk. He read a script about promises and joining together as one family, but I wasn’t listening. I was staring into Ethan’s blue eyes and trying not to cry. I had never been so happy in my entire life. Maddie’s birth and the day I married my soulmate were tied as the best days.
“Ethan, do you take Reagan to be your lawfully wedded wife, forsaking all others, to love, honor, and cherish her in sickness and in health and in good times and bad, whatever your future may bring?”
“I do,” he responded with a huge smile directed at me.
“And Reagan, do you take Ethan to be your lawfully wedded husband, forsaking all others, to love, honor, and cherish him in sickness and in health and in good times and bad, whatever your future may bring?”
I grinned at Ethan. “I do.”
In a blur, we exchanged rings that were a sign of faith and love, repeating after the judge and slipping the rings on each other’s fingers. The judge declared us husband and wife and told Ethan he could kiss me. I’d expected a sweet kiss—especially since we were in front of our family—but Ethan surprised me by pulling my face to his and kissing me long and deep until we were breathless. Rhys was in the background whooping and hollering, then Carter yelled for us to get a room, and I wanted nothing more than to do that with my husband, but we had singing to do. At least Rhys did.
“Ready to go ring in the new year as husband and wife, Mrs. Valor?” Ethan asked.
I grinned wide. “Yes, I am, husband.”
He kissed me again and then we shared hugs with our family before walking out of the courthouse to start our forever. Maddie rode with us to our after party.
“I have news,” I announced as Ethan drove toward the bar.
He looked over at me briefly. “What’s that?”
“While I was in the bathroom, I got a call for a job interview.”
His blue eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yep!”
“Congrats. I know you’ll get it.”
“Well, we don’t know that.”
“No reason for you not to,” he countered. This was true. The position was entry level, and I had to start somewhere. Granted it all depended on how many people wanted the same job too.
We were silent as we continued toward the bar until Maddie leaned between the two front seats of the truck and asked, “Are you going to sing?”
“Maybe,” I replied.
“Are you, Ethan?” she questioned.
Ethan smiled at me. “I have a song in mind.”
“You do?” I inquired. I thought he could only sing if he were drunk. Granted, he might end the night that way.
“It’s a surprise, Buttercup.” He squeezed my bare knee just below the hem of my coat.
“Is it a country song again?”
“You sang a country song?” Maddie cut in.
“Yes, he sang a country song when we sang karaoke before,” I confirmed.
“Wow, I didn’t peg you as a country singing type.”
“There’s nothing wrong with country music,” Ethan stated.
“Of course not. I love country music,” Maddie said.
“So, is it?” I prodded.
He chuckled. “I’m not telling you.”
I grinned. “Well, I can’t wait.”
And I didn’t have to wait long.
Getting married on New Year’s Eve was perfect. Rhys had hooked us up with a few VIP tables at Otis’s karaoke bar, and everyone came to celebrate our marriage and sing karaoke. We arrived at the bar and went to our sectioned off corner where everyone met us. We accepted more hugs and congratulations from our friends and family.
Rhys started our group off by singing first, then Maddie and I shared a knowing grin as I watched Ethan in his black tux get on stage. Ashtyn and Rachel sat at my table, watching Ethan. I had a momentary déjà vu feeling, remembering the night we went out to
sing karaoke and Ethan was on stage. And what made this night even better was watching my husband get on stage and knowing that whatever song he chose to sing would be sung to me.
He nodded to the MC, and when the guitar strings started to strum in short beats, I knew exactly what song it was.
“It’s a country song,” I said to Maddie.
She smiled, and we returned our attention back to the stage. Ethan started to sing on time, staring at me as he did. He changed the first line of the lyrics to be about me taking care of Maddie. Then he sang about taking care of him, the way I light up any room, and how he wanted to be the man that I wanted him to be. I didn’t need a song to tell me that because Ethan Valor was the man I’d always wanted. Everything about him, from the teenage boy I fell in love with, to the man with specks of gray in his hair I’d just married, was just right. I started to sway in my seat as I listened to the lyrics about waking up next to each other every day and never leaving I love yous left unsaid.
Ashtyn leaned over to me and said the same words she’d said when Ethan had sung to me before. “My brother’s in love with you.”
I grinned and replied with the three words I had told her before because they were still the truth. “Yeah, he is.”
Ethan hopped off the stage, and I grinned at him as I stood. He continued to sing as he brought me into his arms and we danced as man and wife.
After twenty-three years, we were finally Mr. and Mrs. Valor.
The End.
Dear Reader,
I hope you’ve enjoyed Watch Me. Please take a moment to spread the word so everyone can discover Ethan and Reagan. I’d also love to hear from you. You can email me directly at [email protected].
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Watch Me Page 22
