At least his final thoughts would be the happiest he’d ever had.
Cold.
Just so cold.
The ice had long ago stopped melting from her eyelashes and now a series of clumps stuck between them, weighing her lids down. Even pressed tightly against Sebastian as she was, it was just so cold all around.
He wasn’t enough.
They weren’t enough.
Not for this.
She closed her eyes, falling in and out of sleep, unsure of how much time had passed, whether Christmas had already come and gone.
Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she’d begun to hallucinate. Whatever the case, she now saw a crackling fire materialize before her, a Christmas tree strung with lights and all her favorite ornaments, a mountain of presents. She looked down and saw a mug of cocoa in her outstretched hands. She could almost feel the warmth, smell the sweetness. All around her, her extended family laughed and sang and exchanged their favorite stories from Christmases past. Sebastian was there, too, glued to her side in his ugly Christmas sweater, a goofy grin plastered on his handsome face.
Is this a wish? A vision of the future? A dream?
She thought of Ebenezer Scrooge and his visits from each of three Christmas spirits. Had they come to her as well, or was she soon to be a spirit herself? She liked that thought. Having Christmas forever, saving people from their miserly ways.
If only she could have saved Sebastian before having to leave.
He wasn’t talking to her anymore, wasn’t singing.
Had he already…
No, she refused to believe it. Slowly, fearfully, Riley forced her eyelids open and looked around the semi-dark cavern. The light from the flashlight was flickering in the little snow Christmas tree. Somehow, she felt like she might never get another Christmas. But she wasn’t afraid. She was just wistful for her home and family, for what could have been.
Her eyelids fell back down, and she had trouble mustering the strength to open them again. Somewhere far away, she could hear Sebastian mumbling to her. Maybe he was telling her why there was such a racket going on. Something cold and hard hit her in the face.
What was happening? Was he throwing snowballs? Had this whole thing been a dream?
“Riley! Wake up! Stay with me! They found us!” Sebastian’s voice cracked from the strain, but came out loud and clear and glorious.
She fought her way through the haze to open her eyes. Snow was collapsing in on them, but the sun had found them, beautiful, bright, and blinding.
Warm.
All at once, they were joined by a crowd. Strong hands yanked at her naked body, but she was too relieved to feel any embarrassment. A confusing flurry of activity continued around her, but she knew one thing for sure: they were going to make it. She sobbed with joy as she saw Sebastian pulled up from their own little snow globe and into the light. She wanted to run to him, to fling her arms around him, to kiss him, to cry his name, but it all took more strength than she had.
She closed her eyes again, and the world went white.
Chapter 12
Sebastian opened his eyes and then immediately closed them again. He was obviously frozen and hallucinating.
“I saw that, Mister! You don’t get to escape Christmas—or your mother—so easily.”
“Mom?” He squinted from beneath veiled eyelids. What had presumably been a hospital room had now transformed into the holiday section of Target. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here or why. It was all a dizzying blur.
He struggled to sit up, and his mother’s arms were around him in an instant.
It was a good minute before she let him go again. “Don’t you ever do this to me again! Do you hear? I was so worried when I heard the news. Now I’m just plum angry that you would endanger yourself and that young lady the way you did. But that can wait.”
“Riley!” He remembered with a start, and the monitors hooked up to him began to beep crazily. “What happened to her?” he demanded.
A nurse came in and made some adjustments to his equipment. When the monitors quieted back to a steady blip, she left again. Still, nobody had told him where Riley was or what had happened to her. Did that mean the news was bad? The last thing he could remember was her sleeping in his arms, and… It was hazy.
Why couldn’t he remember? He needed to remember!
His mother continued to prattle on as if Sebastian’s very future weren’t at stake here. “It’s Christmas day. I was beginning to worry you’d sleep straight through it,” she confided with a pout.
“Yeah, big brother,” Oscar said, pushing his way into Sebastian’s line of sight. “She absolutely refused to celebrate Christmas without all her family.”
Sebastian pulled himself higher in the bed and looked around. His dad, his cousins, aunts, uncles, even his brother, Noah, and his new girlfriend, Taylor, all the way from South Carolina. Sure enough, even his little fluff ball of a cat, Sting, was sitting in a chair in the corner, brand new Christmas sweater and all.
Riley had to be here somewhere. She wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.
“Don’t ask what she went through to get the cats in here,” Noah whispered in a mock conspiratorial tone.
Sebastian tried to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but his whole body rebelled at the notion.
“I wouldn’t try too much of that, Mr. Rockwell,” the doctor said, sweeping into the room. “While you were unconscious, we did an MRI to check you for injuries. You had quite the tumble.” He chuckled as if reprimanding a naughty child who had run out into traffic but was safe now.
“I don’t remember being in this much pain. Actually, I can’t remember much at all,” he admitted.
“I guess it’s lucky you were packed in ice. You broke four ribs, dislocated your knees, and you’ve got a couple of stress fractures in your right arm.”
This was all nice to know, but honestly he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was finding Riley, making sure she was okay, telling her what she meant to him. “Please, can you tell me how Riley is?” he asked the doctor as politely as he could manage, given his panic.
“I really can’t discuss another patient,” the doctor started, but then his mother was at his side again.
“You better give him something, doc, unless you want all your whirly gadgets to start going crazy again.” She grabbed Sebastian’s hand and gave it a loving squeeze. Mama will handle this, he could practically hear her coo.
The doctor sighed, but then broke out into a huge smile. “She’s stable and awake. It seems you took the brunt of the accident for the both of you. With the extent of your injuries, I think you’ll need to stay for a couple of days.”
“Okay, fine. That’s fine. When can I see her?” he asked, hope filling his heart at last.
“Seeing as she was asking after you as well, I think it’s safe to assume she’ll welcome your visit.”
“I’d like to see her now. Right now, please.”
“Sweetie,” his mother said. “Since Riley’s in a bit of better shape, maybe we should bring her here?”
“No, I can’t wait for that. I need to know she’s okay. Please, can someone help me get to her?” he asked, hating how useless his legs were proving to be.
His brothers, Oscar and Noah, exchanged pointed glances.
Sebastian was just about to ask for an explanation when his father came to his side and clapped him on the shoulder. It hurt, but Sebastian tried his best not to show how much the slightest touch sent shockwaves of pain right through him.
“You’ve found her,” his dad said with pride lighting his normally stoic face.
Sebastian pumped his head vigorously. The statement didn’t need further clarifying. Riley was her, his dream girl, his forever, if only she would have him.
“I’m so happy for you, baby,” his mother said with big, fat tears in her eyes.
“You know Oscar is the baby, not me,” he answered. “Now, will someone help me into this whe
elchair so I can get to her?”
Both his brothers helped him get situated, and as they did, he overheard his parents talking.
“It’s fine, Kel. Stop worrying so much,” his father said.
“All I’m saying is that I wish I could have helped at least one of my sons find their girls.”
“Who cares so long as they’re happy?”
When his mother looked over at him, now sitting up straight and somewhat steady in the chair, he gave her the biggest smile that would fit on his swollen face.
“I love you, Mom, but this match isn’t made yet. Would you please help me with my plan?”
Riley stared at the doctor in disbelief. She’d fallen down a mountain, been trapped under more than a literal ton of snow, and seriously all she had was a sprained ankle?
“Well, aside from the random cuts and bruises, yes. I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but you’ll need to ice it—“
Riley groaned, but the doctor laughed good-naturedly.
“No more ice!” she cried emphatically.
The sound of two sets of wheels squeaked into the room. First came her brave hero being pushed in a chair by a young man who strongly resembled him, then came another Sebastian clone pushing an IV stand.
Oh my, the world had been crazy enough with only one Sebastian Rockwell. Now she was expected to contend with three?
“No more ice?” Sebastian said in his familiar joking tone. “Does this mean you don’t want the piña coladas I ordered for us?”
He was at her side now, and if it weren’t for the others in the room, she would have hopped right into his lap and clung to him again, just as they had been situated in their frozen little dome. Somehow it felt like a part of her had been removed when the rescuers had pried her from Sebastian’s arms. Now that he was here again, she so desperately needed him back in hers.
“I believe I ordered the peppermint mocha,” she said as tears welled at the corners of her eyes. They’d made it, just as he’d promised. He hadn’t let her down, and somehow, she doubted he ever could.
“I don’t have anything to drink,” he said with a sigh and a quick eye roll. “At least not anything good. But I did bring you a present.”
“A Christmas present? I thought you hated Christmas!”
“Not since I got my miracle,” he said, lacing the fingers of each of his hands through each of hers.
“You mean escaping the avalanche and getting out alive?”
“Sure, there’s that, but what I meant was—you.” He smiled at her, and she could see how badly he wanted to kiss her in that moment. “You’re my miracle, Riley.”
“Oh, can we come in now?” a woman squealed from the hallway, then appeared at the foot of Riley’s bed without waiting for an answer. She had a cat tucked under each arm, and all three of them were wearing homemade holiday sweaters.
“Riley, this is my mom, Kelly Rockwell,” Sebastian said, letting go of her hands.
Even in the warm hospital room, letting him go made her shiver.
“These are my brothers, Noah and Oscar. And, well, there are a lot more Rockwells here to meet you. Are you ready?”
“I think so,” she said with a smile. “Have you heard from my family or from Mr. Evers?” she asked the nurse who had come to take her temperature.
“Your family is on the way, sweetie. I don’t know about that other person,” the nurse answered, looking at her screen and seeming satisfied with the reading.
“Did you check your phone?” one of Sebastian’s brothers asked.
“No, where is it? Did it actually survive all that?” If her phone had made it through the disaster, she’d be a loyal Apple customer for life, no question about that.
“I’ll get it,” the nurse offered. “You hang tight.”
Another person entered the room, one who looked very familiar even though Riley couldn’t quite place her. She smiled and handed Riley a book. When she flipped it over to study the back cover, she saw the same woman smiling at her from the bio line.
“This is my aunt Vanessa,” Sebastian said with a poorly concealed smirk.
“You may know her better as Nasty Nessa,” Sebastian’s mother teased. “She writes those drugstore novels that tend to get people all hot under the collar.”
“Better than boring research papers nobody reads,” Vanessa shot back, then turned to Riley with a sweet smile. “I signed it for you,” her favorite author said, opening the cover of this advance copy of her next book. It wasn’t even due out until next year! “Merry Christmas, Riley.”
“Th-thank you,” she managed as Sebastian grabbed her hand again and brought it in for a lingering kiss on the knuckles.
The nurse returned and gave Riley her phone. It didn’t have much charge and the screen was cracked, but it turned on okay. She immediately checked her texts just long enough to find out what had happened.
“The deal went through,” she said, breathing a deep sigh of relief. So this hadn’t been for nothing. Actually, it seemed to have been for everything—at least everything that mattered.
A cheer went up around the room, and she marveled at how much these people already felt like family even though she still didn’t know half of their names.
“She’s ready!” Sebastian whooped. “Bring on the festivities!”
Rockwell after Rockwell flooded into the room, each carrying a cat, a poinsettia, or another decoration of some type. “Merry Christmas, Riley,” they each said in turn.
Sebastian’s mother plopped a Santa hat onto her head. “Don’t you look lovely?”
“She really does,” Sebastian answered without taking his eyes off of her and without letting go of her hand. “Are you ready to go caroling?”
She giggled. “In the hospital?”
“Of course in the hospital. These people need Christmas cheer more than anybody. Let’s bring it to them. My voice isn’t too steady with these broken ribs, so I brought a helper.”
Another beautiful woman entered the room and walked into one of the brothers’ arms, giving him a quick kiss when she did.
Riley’s jaw dropped clear to her chest. “Lolly Winston!” she squealed. The fangirl in her was working overtime today.
“Hi, Riley. Can I join you for caroling?” her favorite country music star asked, as if the answer could be anything but an enthusiastic yes.
“Before we go, I have one last thing to give you,” Sebastian told her softly, then craned his head to look behind him and shouted, “Everybody out!”
When the room had cleared, he showed her a small plant he’d concealed in his lap.
“Is that mis—?”
But before she could finish her question, he’d pulled her face down to his and gave her the best kiss of her life. At least up until now.
“Merry Christmas,” he said when at last they pulled apart.
“Bah-humbug,” she answered with another giggle. Her chest felt light, her heart free. Pulling him in for another life-altering kiss, she first asked, “So, what are you doing next Christmas?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.”
Must Love Mutts
Charlie & Will
A Word on Rescue Dogs
Dogs are the most wonderful, loyal creatures you will ever meet in your entire life. Sure, sometimes they destroy your favorite pillow, steal food from the counter, or even relieve themselves on your antique rug, but still I wouldn't trade my three dogs for the world.
Nope. Never.
The fact that so many of these lovely and loving animals are abandoned, abused, and put to sleep each and every day just saddens my heart. Thinking of inviting a canine companion into your home? I know it might be tempting to get that adorable purebred puppy, but please consider giving a rescue dog a second chance at life.
In Must Love Mutts, Charlie impulsively adopts her Rottweiler, Rugby, because she couldn't stand the thought of him being put down. Although they had a difficult start, Rugby was eager to please her, on
ce he understood how. He knew she was his savior—just as any rescue dog understands who's responsible for his new lease on life. If you're patient, a rescue dog will love you far past what you'd expect to be its capacity to love.
While it's known far and wide that I am a bird lover, I'm also a huge dog person. It's true, I grew up with cats, but I always longed for a dog. Several years ago, that particular dream came true when I brought a golden retriever puppy named Polo into my home.
Polo is not a rescue; he's from a breeder. But as a puppy, his condition known as luxating patella manifested. I couldn't let my poor puppy play for close to a year in order to protect his sensitive knees from popping out of their joints and permanently crippling him. I tried everything to help my Polo get well again, including alternative doggie medicine. And you know what? He's doing great now. My golden baby was truly worth the high veterinary bills. He's enriched my life so much!
Fast forward a few years, and enter my first rescue puppy, Rugby, a small, fluffy dog that was assumed to be Shih Tzu (later on, we found out, he's actually a Lhasa Apso). Rugby's mother was rescued from a puppy mill along with hundreds of other dogs. Please don't get me started on the horror of puppy mills—if you're interested do a quick web search; just make sure you have tissues close by. Rugby's mother was taken in to be spayed. At that time, the doctor saw the puppies in her belly, stitched her back up, and sent her to the most wonderful doggie foster mom in existence. I'm talking about you, Donna Wojick! Thank you for taking such good care of my Ruggle Bug!
This year, we adopted a small Pomeranian puppy for our little girl and named the pup Cricket to keep with our theme. A couple weeks after she came home, Cricket was brutally attacked by a wild fox in our backyard. And our brave Rugby chased the predator off to save her life. Even though she sustained multiple fractures in her skull and accrued over $4,000 in vet bills, I'm proud to report that Cricket made a full recovery and now leads a very happy life with our darling daughter as her very own BFF.
The Alaska Sunrise Romances: A 9-Book Sweet Romance Collection Page 20
