Then he and Nick could hunker down and have a quiet Christmas at home. The very thought of going back to that dungeon for Christmas gave Gabe a case of the holiday blues. Robyn had been in his kitchen. Any meals prepared there now would be bland and sparkle-less. Laughter would echo hollowly off the empty white walls.
Maybe they should move.
Brian turned to Robyn, his too-bright smile already in place. “It looks like you two had a great time yesterday.”
“It was fun to catch up,” Robyn answered easily. She had a light about her today, an inner glow that made her all the more beautiful. So that was what love looked like on a woman. He’d thought they had something special, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe her heart was available to the most eligible bachelor and he’d happened to be in the slot for a few days. And maybe reindeer could fly. He could tell himself lies all day long, but they didn’t make him feel any better.
Brian winked at the camera. “So, what are your thoughts? You’ve made no secret about the fact that you’re dating for keeps. Is Elmer the guy?”
Robyn looked at her ex. She grinned at him as their eyes met—a familiarity passing between them.
Gabe wanted to throw up.
“I’m so thankful you brought Elmer back into my life.” She briefly touched his arm. “He helped me see things about myself more clearly.”
“Love can often do that.” Brian spoke right to the camera.
“It can. But it can also be scary,” she added.
“How so?” Brian leaned on his fist.
“Well. I think, when we’re dating, we put our best self out there. Everyone does it, and for good reason. But it’s not our honest self—that’s found deeper into the relationship, and it takes a lot of trust to share who we really are with another person.”
“I know everything about you,” Elmer said. “And I love all that I see.”
Robyn’s smile was a tad condescending. Which made Gabe feel better about the situation and the world in general. “I’m sure you think you do, Elmer. But what we have, what we had, isn’t love.”
A gasp went through the studio. Jerry smacked his palm to his forehead. He’d banked on an engagement today and a wedding special to air by Christmas Eve. He’d told the network it was a done deal. He’d staked his reputation on this episode. Poor guy.
“What Elmer did for me was show me what love isn’t. It’s not meeting someone who meets all your needs. It’s meeting someone you need to make happy.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Elmer asked.
Robyn shook her head. “When you figure that out, you’ll know you’re in love with the right woman.” She patted his knee and stood up. The camera operators worked frantically to follow her movement, which got Elmer out of the frame.
Brian looked into one camera still pointed at him. His perfect host demeanor slipped as his patience wore thin. “Is there a Mr. Right for you, Robyn?”
Gabe’s heart hammered so hard and so loud he could barely hear the whispers around him. Robyn wasn’t going to marry Elmer! His muscles went weak with relief, and he released the breath he’d been holding for far too long. The universe had righted a very big wrong.
“There is a man for me.” She giggled. “I think you guys have all but given up on me. I probably threw a wrench in every one of your carefully laid plans. But that crazy path has brought someone into my life who is the one.” She shielded her eyes against the light. “Gabe? Can you come up here?”
“No,” he croaked. His feet were attached to the floor, and his mouth was dry. She wasn’t going to call him up there—in front of the cast and crew—and America!
She crooked a finger. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”
He stared at her, seeing the most beautiful woman in the world calling out to him. She’d made herself vulnerable in front of the studio. He knew she must be holding her breath, waiting to see if he would embarrass her. His feet moved without telling him, and he lurched forward, meeting her on stage.
Her smiled blossomed until it was too stunning to behold. He glanced away and then locked eyes with hers. The lights faded away. Elmer, pouting in his chair, disappeared. Even Brian, who was all about being in the spotlight, became a blur. There was just him and Robyn and the place where their hands touched.
“Gabe, there’s so much I want to tell you,” she said quietly. “I know you’re scared to love me, but my heart—” She laid her hand over her heart. “—is the safest place in the world for you. I will never leave you.” She took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “I can be your home.”
Emotions clogged his throat. “I can’t even imagine that.”
“I know. I know it’s hard to believe. But I promise you, it’s true.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears. Her words touched a tender spot inside of him—the very spot he’d been trying to keep hidden from her and from the rest of the world his whole life.
A home.
A place where he could unpack his clothes and throw away his suitcase because he wouldn’t need it again in a year. A woman who wanted him, to be with him for their whole lives through.
He opened his mouth to respond.
Three gunshots rang out as they hit the ceiling right outside the doors. He whipped around as the doors swung open to reveal Kylo with a gun in his hands. His hair stood on end and his eyes were wild. Behind him was a body on the ground. He leveled the gun at Robyn and pulled the trigger.
Without thinking, Gabe threw himself in front of her. A hot, searing pain went through his chest. He cried out and the world went dark, sucking him into a place that was as far away from Robyn as he could get. Cold. Lonely. Final.
He reached for her, but she wasn’t there. He tried to yell, but all he could hear was the erratic beating of his heart. He swore he would make it through this for her—even if it was for one last kiss.
Chapter 24
Robyn
Robyn screamed as Gabe fell into a heap at her feet. She dropped beside him and gently rolled him onto his back.
Kylo’s scream came next as he fell to the floor, the electrodes from a Taser sticking out of his back. As he fell, a security guard she didn’t know came into view behind him. He held the trigger down, his face contorted in anger. A scream rang out, and pandemonium broke loose.
Elmer glanced at her and then ran to the exit.
Gabe was bleeding. A lot. She grabbed his face with both hands. “Gabe Fowler. Don’t you dare die on me.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead.
His eyes fluttered open. “I must love you,” he said before passing out again.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so it takes getting shot for you to figure that out. Come on. Wake up.” She pressed her hands to his chest in an effort to keep him warm. Somewhere in the back of her head were instructions on treating someone for shock. Being warm was in there. She couldn’t think of what else she needed to do! Gabe was bleeding!
She was shoved out of the way by emergency personnel and landed on her back. Her hands scraped the floor.
Brian dragged her to her feet and held her against his navy suit, preventing her from lunging at Gabe and interfering with his treatment. She was half out of her mind with worry. The paramedics kept saying things like “he’s losing too much blood” and “call ahead and tell them to prep for emergency surgery.”
Lux got to her. She had her phone out and was texting. “Mom and Dad are in the sleigh.”
Robyn nodded, but she couldn’t find words to tell Lux “thank you for calling them.”
The police hauled Kylo away.
She had to touch Gabe. Her Kringle-ness could help him. Her legs shook and gave out as needles punctured his skin, making him look fragile.
Brian held her up. He muttered nice things, calming words, but they didn’t break through her terror.
They wheeled Gabe out on a stretcher, and Brian nudged her. “Go with them.”
She’d never ridden in an ambulance before. She didn’t ask permission, just followed him out
the door and into the back of the unwelcoming vehicle. The paramedics were so focused on saving his life that no one argued with her. The sound of jingle bells rang above her head. Her parents were there. She glanced up to see the sled fly slowly through the sky. They were ready to follow them.
At the hospital, Gabe was taken into surgery and she was told to wait in a small, windowless room with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. She sat in a chair and rocked back and forth, praying for Gabe to live.
Minutes later, her mom rushed in, her hair a windblown mess. “Your dad’s parking the sleigh. We got here as fast as we could.” She fell into her Mom’s open arms, thankful for a steady presence when her world was falling apart. “Your sisters are frantic.”
Shame overflowed her. “Tell them not to come. Christmas Eve is tomorrow.” Stella would be in the thick of the last-minute toy making and wrapping. Oh, the wrapping! Always done at the last minute, wrapping stressed even Stella out. And Ginger had to finish checking the List, and Frost had letters to read, and Lux was working on the flooding problems … They didn’t need to coddle her any more than they already had. She’d done enough to ruin Christmas this year.
Her dad came through the door, wearing his full Santa getup. Robyn pressed her hands together in front of her, pleading. “Can you go get Nick? He should be here. He’s already seen half of us come down the chimney—use the sleigh it will be faster.”
Dad spun on his shiny black boot and was out the door again.
“It’s going to be okay,” Robyn said. “As long as he lives, it’s all going to be okay.” She slammed her eyes shut. “Mom, there was so much blood. I think …”
Mom hugged her and rubbed her back. “Shh. Don’t think the worst. Believe in the best.”
Robyn nodded. “He said … he said he must love me.” She sniffed. “If he loves me and then dies, I’m going to be so mad.”
Mom chuckled softly. “All the more reason for him to fight to stay alive.”
Nick came running through the door and landed in her arms. He quaked.
She moved from being the comforted to the comforter. Nick’s fears were so big. He was afraid of losing his brother. Afraid of being alone. “Shh. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“What if he—” The poor kid was a mess. Mom handed her a tissue box out of her Kringle purse, and Robyn set to work wiping his tears. He drank in the attention like a starved soul. Oh, how she wanted to be a woman he could count on.
“Nick.” She pulled his head to her shoulder and rubbed comforting circles on his back. It was a little awkward with him being taller than her, but he didn’t seem to mind. “No matter what happens, you have a family. Do you understand? I will never, ever leave you, and if you run away, I will always come find you.” Her voice was steady for the first time since getting to the hospital. Her vow was a solemn truth.
He nodded against her shoulder. “Do you love Gabe?” he asked, his voice full of trepidation and fear.
Robyn reached into her heart and found a love so big she could barely breathe because of it. “I love Gabe more than Christmas.” She kissed his hair and met her parents’ wondering gazes. “I’m going to marry him, and we’re going to be a family.”
Mom sat on her other side and patted her leg. “Will you be able to marry him in time?”
“I don’t know,” Robyn replied. She managed to get Nick to sit up and blow his nose. He looked so small, so breakable. She took his hand, and he held tight. Quik’s words about love and magic came back to her. “I think I get it now. I get how the Magic works in us.” She leaned her head on Nick’s shoulder.
Dad’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Maybe you can explain it to me.”
She huffed a soft laugh. Like her dad didn’t know Christmas Magic inside and out. He could make it fall from his fingers. “It’s this love, Dad. It’s bigger than me; it fills me up, and it overflows. I feel like I can love the whole world three times over.”
Dad’s reply was interrupted by a doctor wearing horrid green scrubs standing in the doorway. “Excuse me, Robyn Kringle?” He had a weary expression that had her reaching for her mom’s hand.
“That’s me.”
He glanced at Nick.
“This is Gabe’s brother.”
“Nice to meet you.” They exchanged nods. “I’m Dr. Allen, the ER surgeon. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the bullet missed Gabe’s heart by a fraction of an inch.”
Robyn let out a breath. “That’s good.”
“As close to a Christmas miracle as we get around here.” Dr. Allen smiled for a brief second. “The bad news is that it hit the inside of his rib and lodged there. We had to take it out and put rods in the bone to hold it together. He’s going to be sore for quite some time.”
“When can he come home?” asked Nick.
“Probably tomorrow. Since it’s later in the day, I’d like to keep him overnight for observation.”
“That’s Christmas Eve,” blurted Robyn.
“I’d cancel the parties if I were you. He needs rest. Merry Christmas folks.” He waved and headed off to do whatever doctors did after delivering news.
Robyn glanced at Dad. “What does this mean for Christmas?” Gabe might have said he loved her when he thought he was going to die, but would he feel the same when he knew he would live? He’d already decided once that he couldn’t be with her; did getting shot change things? Would he revert back to his original Scrooge self once he woke up?
And what about his injuries? She didn’t want to rush him into anything, but they had Christmas to think about. There were things to work out—lots of them—and not much time to do it in.
“I don’t know.” He patted her hand. “I’m going to run home and check on things.”
Mom smiled fondly at him. “Can you come back in a couple hours? We need to get Nick some food and give him a chance to shower and change clothes. Did you want to stay here tonight?” she asked him.
Robyn could feel the ribbons of their family wrapping around Nick. He looked grateful that someone cared about him even in all of this. Of course they did. Robyn patted his arm.
She was grateful her mom thought about things like food and clothing. She was too wrapped up in praying for Gabe to care about either.
Nick ducked his head. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to be any trouble.”
Mom leaned over Robyn to whisper. “You’ve been in the sleigh, Nick.” She winked. “There’s no getting rid of us now.”
He grinned. “That was pretty tight.”
Dad Ho Ho Ho’d. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, son. Wait until I get you behind Prancer. He’ll blow your stockings off.”
Nick blanched. “For reals?”
“For real.” Dad touched the side of his nose.
Robyn had no idea if Christmas Magic would accept Nick without her marrying Gabe, but if it didn’t, she’d move down here to be with him. Her heart was already sealed to these two tough guys, and she wouldn’t be able to live without them.
Chapter 25
Gabe
“You look so dope.”
Gabe lifted an eyebrow at Nick. “Probably.” He plucked at his Santa-themed hospital gown, which was embarrassing when it was folded in a square but downright humiliating to actually wear.
He’d come out of surgery a little less than ten hours ago. The first person he saw when he woke up was Robyn. Her hair was a mess and she had a pillow crease on her cheek. And she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. She’d kissed his cheek and his forehead and finally his lips, sending his heart rate monitor to beeping sporadically. Which, in turn, burned off the haze from the anesthesia so he could think clearly.
Once the nurses settled him back down, he’d had a few minutes to reassure Nick he wasn’t going to die on him this year. His rib was broken, but thankfully, his heart was intact. He’d been one lucky man, and he wasn’t going to forget it any time soon.
A second chance at life—love!—was huge.
&n
bsp; The Kringle family had given him the royal treatment, decorating his room while he slept after surgery. It looked like a movie set for a Christmas special, and he didn’t even mind. Bring on the holidays. He had a lot to be thankful for this year and so much to celebrate.
“I’m going to get some food.” Nick bumped knuckles with him before heading to the cafeteria.
Robyn smiled after Nick as she sat on the edge of Gabe’s bed. Something had changed between the two of them. They had a bond, an understanding and an acceptance between them. “I would have adopted him, you know? If you had died. He wouldn’t have ever been without family.”
Gabe took her hand in his. He felt so good holding her, but more importantly, she melted at his touch. “I know. You have enough love to give the whole world over.”
She smiled. “I am a Kringle.”
“That means something to you, doesn’t it?”
She laughed. “Gabe, I have so much to tell you.”
“Let me tell you something first.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Go for it.”
He gently tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry I said all those things at the park, Sketch. You are perfect, and I was worried that I would bring you down, that you’d tire of me and move on to some guy who was more.”
“More what?”
“Just more.”
“Oh, Gabe.” She leaned into his touch. “You’re my match.”
There was a part of Gabe, a small part, that was locked away deep inside of him. It was the part that longed to be loved with wild abandon and all the security of vows and rings. That part of him rose to the surface, called by her words and her love. He sensed that he and his heart would be safe with this woman for time and eternity. He marveled at her goodness.
She tucked her chin as if gathering her courage. “There’s so much I need to tell you.”
“There you are.” Jerry and Chelsea strolled in together, twin smiles on their faces. “The most famous Christmas couple short of Santa and Mrs. Claus.”
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