Andrew shivered in the saddle, the chill of the wind snaking down his collar as Wolfgang clip-clopped through the snow toward the copse of pine trees on the hill.

Becca rode a few steps behind him, and he called, “You okay?”

“It’s freezing out here,” she said, and he chuckled.

“Yes, it is.” He’d already been out to this stand of trees and selected a large tree for the foyer at the lodge. “But this should be quick.”

The swooshing of the sleigh runners behind him soothed him, but not as much as having Becca with him. “See the one with the orange flag?” He pointed just up ahead. “It’s that one.”

“And you’re going to cut that thing down?” Becca sounded like such a feat was impossible. “It’s huge.”

“The foyer is huge.” Andrew was undeterred. He brought Wolfgang to a halt and swung off the horse’s back to collect the chainsaw from the sleigh. “And I’m not going to hack it down with an axe.” He positioned his sound-canceling earphones over his ears. “Put in your earplugs.”

When she was ready, she gave him a thumbs-up, and he pulled the ripcord on the chainsaw, and an earsplitting roar filled the air. He’d read a half-dozen articles on how to make a tree fall the way he wanted it to, and watched two videos. He made the notch on the side of the tree where it should fall—away from himself, Becca, and the horses—and rounded the tree to start cutting.

Sixty seconds later, the tree trunk cracked and the tree fell exactly where he wanted it to. He waited for the chainsaw to stop vibrating in his hands. “Now’s the hard part.” Getting the tree onto the sleigh. That, and getting it into the house, but Graham said he’d come help with that.

Eli tied the chainsaw back into place on the sleigh, and started uncoiling the rope he’d brought. “I’m going to loop it around one of the branches,” he said as he tromped through the snow. “And then use the stump like a pulley.” They weren’t the only ones who’d been up to this section of the mountain. It had been reserved for those who liked to go choose and chop their own tree, and as Andrew heaved, the sound of a motor met his ears.

Wolfgang shifted his feet, and Andrew darted over to grab the reins and hand them to Becca. He scanned the horizon to find a couple of ATVs headed their way. He went back to pulling, getting the tree closer and closer to the sleigh.

“Need a hand?” Two men climbed off their four-wheelers and came over to help him heave the tree onto the sleigh. With three of them, they had the tree tied down and ready in only a few minutes.

“Thanks.” Andrew grinned at them and shook their hands. “Do you two need help?”

“Nah, we’re taking one about a third that size.” They smiled back and returned to their ATVs.

“A third,” Becca said, giving him a told-you look as he took Wolfgang’s reins.

“Have you seen the lodge?” Andrew said. “I’m not putting some piddly tree in there on my year.” He shook his head. “Nope. Not gonna happen. The tree lighting is a big thing for us Whittakers.”

Becca wasn’t technically a Whittaker, and Andrew almost blurted that he’d bought her a diamond for Christmas. He barely caught the words on his tongue before they were spoken, and he swallowed until he felt like he wouldn’t spill his secret.

There was a gift exchange on Christmas Eve—only another week away—and she’d get the ring then. His stomach writhed just thinking about it. They’d talked a bit about marriage, but not much, and she’d never really given him a straightforward answer anyway.

But he didn’t want to live in that giant lodge by himself anymore. She had a perfectly good house in town, and he liked her dog, and the commute to Springside would be much less.

Graham met him on the porch, and said, “All right. Let’s get this beast inside.” He took in the length of the downed tree. “Andrew, it’s going to be great.” He clapped his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “It’s a beautiful tree.”

Andrew’s chest filled with warmth though he was sure he was only moments away from frostbite. And when Becca slipped her hand into his, he just knew this was going to be the best Christmas ever.

A few days later, he woke when Otto started licking his fingers. He jerked away from the slobbery tongue and took a moment to realize he’d fallen asleep on Becca’s couch, Becca curled into him.

“Hey,” she said. “I knew you’d fall asleep.”

“You sound like you did too.”

“Maybe.” She grinned, and Andrew let the soft, lazy moment between them linger.

“I should go,” he said, wondering what time it was. It would be frigid outside, and the thought already had his muscles tight.

“I wish you never had to go.” She snuggled deeper into his chest so he couldn’t see her face.

“Yeah? Does that mean you want to talk about getting married?”

She tensed in his arms for a quick moment, a breath, and then she relaxed. “Yeah, I think we should probably get married.”

Andrew leaned back though he didn’t have much room. He gained enough to be able to look into her eyes. “Yeah?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah. I love you, and I don’t want you to go up to that lodge at night anymore.”

“I don’t either.” He kissed her, letting the love he felt for her stream through him. “I love you, Becca.”

Happiness romped through him, and he thought this might be the closest to joy he’d ever experienced. “Do you see yourself as a winter bride? Or are we waiting for spring? Summer?”

“I can get a shawl or a cape,” she said. “Because I want to marry you as soon as possible.”

“All right then.”

“We better go ring shopping,” she said. “I bet they’re having some good sales right now.”

Andrew blinked, and she said, “What?”

“Um, I may have already bought you a ring.”

That got her to pull away from him a bit more. “You did?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, though he wasn’t trying to be convincing at all.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“It’s in your stocking at the lodge.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes searched his, and he couldn’t tell if he’d made a mistake or not. “I was hoping you’d be ready by then. Turns out, I was right.”

Becca gave him a playful push against his chest and started laughing. “I’m so glad you told me,” she said. “I can’t imagine pulling that out in front of your family.”

“My family loves you. Why would that be a problem?”

“It’s just…feels like this is an intimate moment. Something private between me and you.”

“So you’d like me to get that out of your stocking before tomorrow night.”

“Yes, please.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do. Celia watches those stockings like a hawk.”

“Sure, okay,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

The following day, Becca arrived at the lodge by mid-afternoon, having finished her lunchtime shift at the steakhouse. They put the finishing touches on the tree and moved into the kitchen to help Celia with any dinner preparations.

But she shooed them away, and they ended up at the bar with hot chocolate and a plate of crispy rice treats that had caramel and peanut butter in them.

Andrew ate too much sugar and felt a bit jittery as a result. Or maybe that was because he’d gotten the ring out of Becca’s stocking an hour before she’d arrived and now carried it in his pocket.

“You want to go riding?” he asked. “I think we have an hour or so before people will start arriving.”

Becca did not want to go riding—Andrew could tell just by looking at her. So much was said as they looked at one another, and she ended up saying, “Sure. Let me get my coat.”

Andrew shrugged into his coat too, and Becca joined him in the mudroom so they could go out the back door and down the sidewalk toward the stables. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and felt the cold metal of the ring in his right one.

“So do you want to see the ring?” he asked.

She stalled and looked at him. “You have it with you?”

He withdrew it and kept it hidden in his palm. “It’s nothing special. Just sort of a placeholder ring, and then we can go pick one you like.” He wasn’t sure why he felt like someone had poured wasps into his bloodstream.

He hadn’t planned a big proposal; hadn’t even thought about it. But faced with her, and holding the ring, he couldn’t just shove it on her finger and say, “Done.”

So he dropped to both knees and held the ring up toward her. “I love you, Becca. I’d love to see you in a snow-white cape when you become my wife. Will you marry me?”

Becca held very still, her eyes locked on his. Then she switched her gaze to the ring and took it from him. “This is beautiful.” She started to slide it on her own finger, and Andrew jumped to his feet.

“Wait, wait.” He gently took the ring from her, kept his eyes on it, and said, “You haven’t even said yes yet.”

“Do I really need to say yes?”

He lifted his eyes to hers. “Yes.”

She grinned, clearly teasing him, and threw her arms around him. “Yes, Andrew. A million times yes.” She kissed him, and giggled like a schoolgirl as he slid the tiny diamond band on her left ring finger.

“I love you,” he murmured before kissing her again.

By the time they made it back to the house, everyone had arrived. The foyer was full of chatter and laughter, with people going around and putting small, wrapped gifts in each stocking. Andrew stood with his hand in Becca’s, basking in the glow of the holiday spirit.

“There he is.” His mom spotted him and came over. “Celia said you went riding.”

“Yeah,” Andrew said, though they hadn’t even gone into the stables. His nose and ears tingled as they warmed, and he edged a bit closer to the roaring fire in the hearth.

Beau went around to the stockings and said, “Okay, I think we’re ready.”

Graham was already sitting on the couch, his son on his lap. Bailey and Laney sat next to them, and Laney stopped talking to Meg. Stockton sat on the floor, and Eli loitered near the front door, never one to just sit down and relax.

Beau took a spot on the loveseat next to Deirdre, who looked as nervous now as she had at Thanksgiving. She seemed like she’d gained a bit of weight though, and Andrew realized in that moment that everyone was looking at him.

“Welcome to the lodge,” he said, his voice maybe a bit too loud. “It’s good to have everyone here.” Of course, everyone was not there, and he took an extra long couple of moments to remember his father and the last Christmas they’d had with him.

“First, we’ll light the tree, like we always do. Becca and I selected it, chopped it down, and decorated it.” His voice tightened, as it seemed like they’d already started traditions of their own.

He cleared his throat. “Then we’ll do the stockings. You just take yours and open the little gifts inside. Then Celia has dinner in the dining room. I think Bree made the name plates this year, and they’re actually Christmas ornaments.” He met her eye. “Right?”

She nodded, smiling around at the family.

“All right then. I’ll light the tree.” Andrew took a breath, but before he could move to go light the tree, his mother said, “Really? You’re not going to make any other announcements?”

Andrew looked at her, aware of Becca’s movement to his left. A squeal rose up from the women in the room, and Andrew swung his attention to Becca.

She was holding her left hand up, palm back so everyone could see the diamond ring. Andrew got jostled as his mother, Laney, and Meg all swarmed. His mother grabbed onto Andrew and said, “Congratulations, Andy.”

She was the only person on earth who ever called him that, and it made his emotion surge and stick in the back of his throat.

After he’d hugged his brothers and the excitement over the ring—which totally wasn’t warranted, in Andrew’s opinion—he said, “So can I light the tree now?”

“Hey, you upstaged yourself,” Graham said, chuckling.

“At least I don’t drive a minivan,” Andrew shot back.

Graham rolled his eyes while Laney laughed, and Andrew stepped over to the light switch that would illuminate the tree. “All right,” he said. “Three, two, one….”

He pressed the switch, and the tree burst to life, with bright, all-white lights that reflected off the silver and gold ornaments.

“Look at the little reindeer nose,” Stockton said, and Meg led him over to the tree to see the other decorations close up.

Andrew took Becca’s hand in his and gazed at the tree.

“It’s spectacular,” she whispered. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Becca, I dreamed of having you here.” The glow from the Christmas lights made her seem even more angelic, and Andrew gazed at his fiancée with so much love coursing through him.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispered just before kissing her.