Epilogue
It was New Year’s Eve and Kristie was in her mother’s kitchen getting glasses out of the cupboard. For as long as she could remember, Blaine Samuels had made a toast on New Year’s Eve, and at the stroke of midnight when the new year was just beginning, they drank to good health and a good year. The fact that they were drinking Uncle John’s homemade wine out of her mother’s jelly glasses was immaterial to the situation. It was the gathering of family and the love that kept them bonded that mattered most.
Just as she started to pick up the tray, her mother came into the kitchen and stopped her with a look.
“I’ll carry that, honey. You go on in with Scotty. He’s looking for you.”
Kristie sighed. She’d waited until she was home and face-to-face with her family before she’d told them what she’d endured. They’d cried with her and then thanked God on their knees that she was still alive to tell the tale. The fact that Scott had saved her life had only endeared him to them even more. They’d always liked him, but right now, in their eyes, he was as close to perfect as he would ever be.
“Mama, I’m okay.”
“You might be,” her mother said, “but I’m not. At least not yet. So you’re going to have to bear with me while I baby you some more.”
Kristie grinned. “You just let me know when I’m no longer delicate, okay?”
Her mother swatted her bottom with the flat of her hand.
“You go find that man of yours and get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Her mother’s eyebrow arched. “Now I know I raised you smarter than that. For the kiss, Kristie Ann. I’ve kissed your daddy at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve ever since we’ve been married and the magic hasn’t worn off yet.”
Kristie grinned. “Oh…so it was magic was it? And all this time I thought it was about sex.”
Her mother grinned. “I’m not talking to you about my sex life, now get out of my kitchen.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m on my way.”
She was still grinning as she walked into the living room, and almost instantly her gaze centered on Scott. He was leaning against the mantel and laughing at something her father was saying. Breath caught in the back of her throat and then tears momentarily blurred her vision. She knew that there would be tough times ahead for them, just as there would be times of near perfection, but at this very moment, she knew the meaning of bliss.
Scott looked up, caught her staring at him, and lost all train of thought.
“Uh, excuse me,” he muttered, and left Blaine in the middle of the punch line of a joke.
Kristie smiled as he put his arms around her. “I think you just abandoned my father.”
“He’s not as pretty as you,” Scott said softly, and kissed the side of her cheek.
“Here, everyone, get a glass,” her mother called. “It’s almost midnight.”
The room was full of family. Loretta and Billy. Kristie’s mother and father. Her uncle John and aunt Patty. Her brother Justin and his wife, Marcie. Babies were sleeping in the bedrooms, while older children had bedded down on pallets down the hall. There was a strength within this house that had nothing to do with the sturdiness of the structure and everything to do with the family who’d gathered beneath its roof.
The television was on and a local television station began counting down the seconds as everyone turned toward Blaine Samuels and lifted their glasses.
“Here’s to good health for us all and another good year.” And then he looked at Kristie and she saw his eyes fill with tears before his gaze slid to Scott. “And here’s to the man who saved my daughter’s life.”
Scott flushed, but lifted his glass and drank along with everyone else. At that moment the old clock on the mantel began to chime the hour and everyone knew that a new year had just begun.
Scott turned to Kristie and lowered his head for the traditional kiss.
Kristie sighed in satisfaction as Scott took her into his arms, and when she felt the warmth of his mouth on her lips, she knew her mother had been right all along.
It wasn’t just about sex.
Love was magic after all.