She choked back tears at the sight of the first birdhouse he’d made outside the cabin. He’d made the entire place so beautiful that she could never pull off the old-hag-with-a-wickedly-big-cat look no matter how old and lonely she got. She dried her cheek and opened the cabin door, hesitating only to stomp the snow off her boots.
“What took you so long?”
The sound of Quinn’s voice had the bag of ice cream thumping against the floor.
“Quinn?” He stood by the fireplace with Jax and Storm playing on the floor near him.
“Miss Lia!” Jax jumped up. He barreled into her and gave her the sweetest hug.
“What are you doing here? I thought the job at Wood Wonders was—”
“Not enough to keep us away from you,” Quinn finished, meeting her half-way. “Lia, I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t deserve it and I probably don’t deserve you. But I can only hope you’ll believe me when I tell you that I made a mistake. I was wrong to get upset with you, when all you’d ever done was help us. I was wrong not to trust you, when things didn’t go right. And more than anything, I was wrong to hold back and not tell you how much you mean to me and Jax. I love you Lia Logan. I loved you before leaving, but I thought I had no choice but to take the job offer in order to protect Jax. I was confused and scared.” He took her hands. “There’s this deputy, you see, who stopped me for speeding into Christmas Town earlier. He told me that love could do that to a guy…jumble his brain up and make him say and do stupid things. He said that a man’s love for his family, for his kids…for a woman…is a powerful thing.”
“He said that, huh?” Lia asked, hoping she wasn’t dreaming and wanting to hear Quinn say that he loved her again. Just to be sure. “Did this deputy let you off the hook for speeding then?”
“Nope. Gave me a ticket and said I deserved it for breaking your heart. I deserved it and more. I’ll do anything to prove to you that I’m sorry and that I’ll never hurt you like that again.”
Lia took a step closer to him and looked up into his face.
“I’ll need to remember to send Deputy Vale a batch of my mom’s gingerbread ornaments.” She smiled and put a hand to his chest. “I’m sorry too, Quinn. I overstepped. There’s no way I could ever have truly understood what you’d been through and why you were holding back or being so cautious. It wasn’t my place to push you. I should have simply been there for you. I should have let you know how much I loved you and that I’d be there for you no matter what.”
“You love me too?”
“Yes, I do,” she said. “You and Jax.”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.
“Do we get to stay, Dad?” Jax asked, tugging at the both.
“That’s up to Lia.”
“I want you both to stay more than anything, but Quinn,” she said, not letting go of his arms. “I thought that job offer was one you couldn’t refuse. Are you sure you want to turn it down?”
“Their offer was more than I could have imagined and the money was outrageous, but I wouldn’t have been happy. Jax wouldn’t have been happy either. I sat in the meeting at Wood Wonders and couldn’t imagine life without you. So I made a deal with them. I won’t be working for them and I didn’t sell my birdhouse designs to them, but I did agree to create a few new ones specifically for sale at Wood Wonders and they’ve committed to enough orders to make re-opening my own business here a reality.”
“You’re really going to stay in Christmas Town?”
“As long as you’re here, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
He pulled his grandmother’s antique ring from his pocket and held it up. Jax grinned with his hands against his little cheeks in anticipation. “I know we haven’t been together for that long, but I don’t need more time to know that you’re the one, Lia Logan. I love you. But if you need more time before accepting this and agreeing to spend the rest of your life with us, for better or for worse, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, Quinn. I love you.” Lia wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Everything did indeed happen for a reason. She had a feeling they’d be laughing, every anniversary for the rest of their lives, about how they met on a cold night in the woods. Right now, in his arms, she was feeling anything but cold.
“What about me?” Jax asked. “Have you been waiting for me too?”
“You too,” Lia said.
Quinn scooped him up and Lia planted a kiss on Jax’s cheek as well. Quinn and Jax. Her very own gingerbread men.
“Merry Christmas, guys. Welcome home.”
The End
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading The Gingerbird House, the third novella in The Gingerbread Men trio of stories that are part of the A Heartwarming Christmas Anthology. I’m thrilled that Christmas Town, from Harlequin Heartwarming’s Christmas, Actually (Nov 2014) by Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart and Anna Adams, turned out to be a place readers longed to return to. It has been a joy spending time with you in Christmas Town.
If you’d like to find out more about me or my other books, you can visit my website at www.RulaSinara.com where you can browse around or sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Twitter @RulaSinara, like me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RulaSinaraAuthor or stop by my blog at www.awritersrush.blogspot.com.
I also write sweet romance for Harlequin Heartwarming and, more often than not, you’ll find that wildlife, nature and pets find their way into my stories because they’re an important part of my life. My Harlequin Heartwarming “From Kenya, with Love” series launched with my award winning, debut book, The Promise of Rain (January 2014). Its exotic setting and love story takes readers to a rustic elephant rescue and research camp in Kenya’s Serengeti. It’s followed by book 2 in the series After the Silence (March 2015)—which also happens to be a holiday story for those interested—and the third book, Beyond the Storm (working title with a tentative release date of May 2016), will again whisk readers back to the wilds of Africa.
Your opinion matters. I’m grateful for all reviews, good and bad, and appreciate the time it takes to read a book and write a review. Thank you for enriching your life with books.
Best Always,
Rula Sinara
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Foreword
The Comeback Christmas
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
A Note from the Author
Bells Are Ringing
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
A Note from the Author
Home by Christmas
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
A Note from the Author
The Christmas Bell
Acknowledgements
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
A Note from the Author
Making up Under the Mistletoe
&nb
sp; Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
A Note from the Author
My Christmas Hero
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
A Note from the Author
An Unexpected Gift
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
A Note From the Author
A Gift of Home
Acknowledgment
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
A Note From The Author
His Christmas Gift
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
A Note from the Author
The Gingerbread Heart
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
A year later
A Note from the Author
The Gingerbread Pony
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
A Note from the Author
The Gingerbird House
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Praise and Awards
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
A Note from the Author
A Heartwarming Christmas: A Boxed Set of Twelve Sweet Holiday Romances Page 80
