Epilogue
RILEY SAT ON the floor surrounded in red and green and gold wrapping paper. Casey and Jack snuggled on the couch, arm in arm, watching Riley’s eyes widen as he tore into the present Jack had brought. Snow had fallen most of the night, and the entire world outside the window was coated in a fresh white blanket. White fluff outlined the bare branches on the trees in the front yard and clung to everything, creating a winter wonderland that cocooned the three of them in their own little world.
“Look, Mom. It’s that Lego set I wanted.” The huge box rattled as Riley shook it. He laid it on the floor and studied the rocket ship project in front of him.
Casey leaned close. “That was too much, Jack, but thank you. Riley will be at it for hours.”
Jack waggled his eyebrows at her. Was he thinking what she was thinking? Memories of last night filled her mind. How they’d crept into bed after Riley was asleep and Jack had taken her like a man desperate for his first drink of water after crawling through the desert. How he’d told her he loved her just as he joined himself with her. And then later, how he’d loved her slowly and deeply, bringing her close to the edge before pulling back, making her frantic for him until finally driving her to orgasm and tumbling over with her.
Jack lowered his voice and spoke in her ear, the heat of his breath sending shivers through her body. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking about that’s causing the cute blush on your cheeks. I bet I can guess.”
She smacked him. “Behave.”
He chuckled and turned his attention back to her son and pointed to the tree. “Riley, is that one other gift under the tree?”
“Oh, yeah, remember, Mom? The box from yesterday? It’s Christmas. You have to open it now.”
She turned to Jack. “This package showed up for me yesterday. No return address or anything. Just a note that said ‘Do Not Open until Christmas.’”
“Well, it’s Christmas, so I think you’d better open it.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you have something to do with this?”
He shrugged. “How could I? I’d just gotten back to town when I saw you on the green. Before that, I was on a plane or in Boston.”
She didn’t believe him for one minute, but she played along.
Riley grabbed the box from under the tree and slid it onto the table in front of her. “Open it, Mom.”
He bounced on his toes while she unwrapped the bow.
She still didn’t know what to make of the mysterious gift. She hadn’t had a surprise like this in a long time. She wanted to jump up and down like Riley, but instead she tugged at the paper, easing the tape open.
“Come on, Mom. Hurry.”
She pulled the paper off but the box inside was unmarked. She lifted the lid to find a pile of packing peanuts. What in the heck was in here? She dug down and her fingers brushed against something. She fumbled with the object and then pulled out a much smaller box.
It was a miniature of the Oak Grove Fire Station.
“Oh my gosh, look. It’s one of the buildings in that model town I saw in the shop window.” She dug again and pulled out boxes with pictures of Mug ’n Muffin, Patsy’s Petals, the gift shop, even Clyde’s Hardware Store. Another box had a model of the Town Green, including the annual Christmas tree. With each box she unpacked, the smile on her face grew. The figures were a perfect representation of the town that she loved.
Jack didn’t say anything. He just shrugged when she looked to him.
Finally, the box was empty and the buildings were all lined up on the table, packing peanuts scattered around them like snow. She sighed. “I love it. I wish I knew who sent it so I could thank them.”
“Isn’t there a card in the box?” Jack asked.
“Here it is!” Riley held out an envelope that he’d found at the bottom of the box.
Jack slid closer as she lifted the flap. “Is it a secret admirer that I need to be worried about?”
“I doubt it. Between work and Riley, when would I have time?” She opened the card and read the words scrawled inside.
Dear Casey,
I wanted you to have this model of the town that you love. The town in which we fell in love. I wish I could be there beside you but until I find my way back to you, I hope you remember our stroll through Oak Grove. It was in that moment that I fell in love with you all over again.
Jack
She studied him. “Jack? How did you do all this?”
He snaked his arm around her waist. “I have my ways. I saw how you admired this in the window, and I knew you had to have it. I’m just glad that I got to be here. When I ordered it, I never imagined that I’d be sitting beside you when you opened it.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling her to him. She kissed him with the hope that this would not be the last gift they ever shared. “Thank you. It’s perfect. I love it and I love you. But I hate that I don’t have anything for you.”
“But you do. You’re my gift…and you’re perfect. Merry Christmas, Casey.”
I HOPE YOU enjoyed Jack and Casey’s Christmas story. One Last Gift is Book 5 in the Oak Grove series featuring the Bennett family and their friends living in Oak Grove, PA. All of the stories are stand-alone complete stories with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. But come back over and over to see old friends and meet new ones.
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Turn the page for the first chapter of One Last Risk, book 1 in Nancy’s Oak Grove Series.