by Brent, Cora
I switched positions, rolling her on top of me. We stayed that way until she began to shiver from the cold and then I moved her underneath the quilt, switching the lamp off.
I wasn’t nearly done for the night. I suspected she wasn’t either, but for the moment we enjoyed just lying in peaceful silence and stroking each other.
The echo of the grandfather clock’s midnight chime prompted Katrina to rise up on her elbow and touch my face. It was too dark in the room now to make out her expression.
“Kat-reeena.” I teased out her name in the same way I used to when we were kids. “What are you thinking?”
She kissed me. All the passion and promises in the world lived in her kiss. She nuzzled my neck and sang softly in my ear.
“Syler McKnight, incredible night.”
Epilogue
A Very Stone House Christmas
KATRINA
I shut the lid of my laptop seconds before the front door opened.
The love of my life finished stomping the snow off his boots and walked in.
“You should have worn the gloves I gave you,” I scolded when I saw his red hands.
A dusting of snow fell off his jacket when he removed it. “Don’t like shoveling snow with gloves. I can’t feel anything with those damn things on.”
“And can you feel anything now?”
Syler looked down at his hands. “They might be a little numb.”
I laughed and patted the empty space on the couch beside me. “Come over here and I’ll take care of you.”
He didn’t argue. He kicked his boots off and joined me. I leaned into his chest when he opened his arms. My cheek pressed against soft flannel and felt the comforting thud of his heart.
“I finished,” I said.
“Did you really?”
“Yeah. I told you I’d finish today.”
He kissed my head and rubbed my back. “Proud of you, baby. How long until it hits the bestseller lists?”
“One thing at a time. It’s my first book. It might suck.”
“It doesn’t suck. I’ve read most of it.”
“You might suffer from a preexisting prejudice.”
“Katrina, I wouldn’t tell you it was good if it wasn’t.”
“Really?” I craned my neck to smile up at him.
He kissed the tip of my nose in response.
We returned to snuggling. Six feet away the fire crackled. This was the first time I’d ever decorated my own home for the holidays and I looked around in appreciation of my efforts. I couldn’t imagine a more comfortable place to live. If any Quaker ghosts hovered over us then they had to be friendly ones. This was a forever kind of home in a forever kind of town.
And I was enjoying it in the arms of my forever man.
Syler’s hand wandered to gently rest on my belly. “How are my girls?”
“I’m only three months along. You don’t know if it’s a girl.”
“Yes I do.”
“In that case, what should we name her?”
“How about Danielle?”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not naming my child after my mother’s pet chicken.”
He shrugged. “The chicken’s finally dead. The name is free.”
“Yeah, I’m still going to have to issue a hard pass on that one.”
“Fine. I’ll have to give the problem more thought.”
I pressed my hand over his. I was barely showing at this point and the baby was too tiny for me to feel its kicks but I could swear a tiny flutter rose from within.
“We’re supposed to be at Gemma’s house in an hour,” I said. “She and the kids baked me a birthday cake. My dad got in this morning so both my folks are going to be there too. I guess he and Annika are going to make their holiday trysts an annual tradition.”
“Has he forgiven me?”
“Dad can be a little traditional about some things.” I wagged my hand in Syler’s face. “But ever since you put a ring on it last month he’s coming around.”
He grabbed my hand and kissed the palm.
“Oh, I have to warn you about something,” I said, reluctant to mess with his good mood.
“What’s that?”
“Russell is also going to be there tonight.”
Syler growled.
I pinched him. “You’ll have to behave. I know you hate his guts but at least he’s sort of trying to be a dad by hanging out with his kids on Christmas Eve.”
Syler considered. “I won’t punch him. Or call him a fucking shit stain in front of his kids.”
I patted Syler’s knee. “That’s my boy.”
“I’ll just stand next to Ryland while we cross our arms and stab him with our searing glares.”
I laughed. This was such a gift, having the people we loved together for the holidays. We told Ryland that he was welcome to stay here with us in the stone house but he opted to stay at Gemma’s place so he could hang out with the kids more. Ryland was was really getting the hang of this uncle stuff. Just in time for another addition. He and Syler hadn’t become instant best friends, but over the last year they’d both put in an effort and now they were more like real brothers than they’d ever been before. There would be a surprise tonight. Syler had arranged for a video conference call with his parents in their remote Arctic home so that they could have a glimpse of their family all in one place, happily celebrating. Maybe they’d even decide to join all of us in Maple Springs next year.
And I’d experienced a little birthday/Christmas miracle of my own.
I burrowed into Syler’s warm chest again. “While you were out clearing the front walk Pasquale texted me.”
“Did he?”
“Yeah. He said, ‘Happy Birthday, big sister’ and then added a heart. I used the opportunity to tell him he’s going to be an uncle in case my mom hadn’t mentioned it. And then he called! He called me, Syler.”
Pasquale and I only talked for a few minutes but it was enough to make me happy for now.
“That’s great,” said Syler, who tried to sound enthusiastic for my sake even though he didn’t think much of my brother.
The cold wind picked up outside, thrashing the walls of the stone house. Syler retrieved a nearby throw blanket and draped it over me, just in case I was cold.
I loved the fact that he did things like that without saying a word.
I loved him. So much that sometimes the air left my lungs when he smiled at me.
We watched the fire together and I was so unusually quiet that Syler eventually grew curious.
“What are you thinking about, Katrina McKnight?” he asked.
I ran my hand over his knee. “I was thinking that next year it won’t be nearly so quiet in here. We’ll have company. Small company, but company.”
He tipped my face up and kissed me.
“I can’t wait,” he whispered.
Author Note
THANK YOU…
for spending time in Syler McKnight’s world!
This story came along when I needed to invest in a sweet, quirky heart healing tale.
Writing it made me smile.
My hope is that it made you smile too.
Happiest of Holidays to you, however you celebrate.
And the most wonderful New Year.
Love,
Cora
Also By Cora Brent:
Gentry Boys Box Set Books 1-4
GENTRY BOYS (Books 1-4)
Gentry Boys Series
DRAW (Saylor and Cord)
RISK (Creed and Truly)
GAME (Chase and Stephanie)
FALL (Deck and Jenny)
HOLD
CROSS (A Novella)
WALK (Stone and Evie)
EDGE (Conway and Roslyn)
SNOW (A Christmas Story)
Gentry Generations
(A Gentry family spinoff series)
STRIKE (Cami and Dalton)
TURN (Cassie and Curtis)
KEEP (A Novella)
TEST
(Derek and Paige)
CLASH (Kellan and Taylor)
The Ruins of Emblem
TRISTAN (Cadence and Tristan)
JEDSON (Ryan and Leah)
LANDON (TBR 2020)
Worked Up
FIRED
NAILED
Stand Alones
UNRULY
IN THIS LIFE
HICKEY
THE HERMIT
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