CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Garret

Two Months Later

My boots crunch in the few inches of snow as I walk around my deck with a giant string of lights rolled into a ball, hanging them along the railing. Christmas is in just a couple of weeks, and I decided to go all out with decorations while Sadie is inside going through all the stuff we bought for the house. We got our Christmas tree this morning, setting it up in my living room in front of the large picture window. Then we went downtown to the little shop where they sell Christmas decorations and picked out the topper.

We made another trip to Target to get lights and even more stuff for the tree. She’s been so excited and happy, but she has no idea what Christmas will bring her. I’ve had the small black box hidden in my nightstand for a little over a week, and I can’t wait for Christmas Eve so I can give it to her. I had a custom ring made for her, and I know she’s going to love it.

Using the staple gun, I attach the final section to the banister, stepping back to admire my work. The entire outline of our house is done up in lights, and I even made sure to do the entire outline of my garage too. I’m exhausted but it looks good. My dad will be proud.

Grabbing the staple gun, I carry it out to the garage and place it on my tool bench. Shutting the door, I stride back into the house, cold and needing coffee. Sadie's sitting cross-legged in the middle of the living room, looking through all the packages of bulbs, her short hair pulled into a ponytail. She reaches for the roll of ribbon she picked out and stands up.

“How's it looking out there?” she asks, coming to give me a kiss.

“Looks good. You’ll have to wait till tonight to see if I really screwed it up though.”

“Want some coffee? I was just gonna put on a pot.”

“Yes, please.” I kick my boots off at the door, hanging my coat on the hook.

As she fills the coffeepot with water, I notice she’s not looking so good—bags under her eyes and her skin sort of pale.

“You feeling okay, babe?”

“Not really. I’ve been feeling crappy since we got home, and I’m tired. I want to get the tree trimmed though, and then I think I’m gonna take a nap.”

“We can do that later if you want to go sleep now. We have all night to get it done.”

She nods, her eyelids drooping. “I think I’m gonna do that, just for an hour or so. Then we can do the tree, and I was thinking we could go out to dinner tonight.”

“Sure. Go rest for a bit.” Kissing her cheek, I take the canister of coffee from her. I hear her padding upstairs while I wait for the coffee to brew, so I pull the fridge open, taking out the glass dish with the apple pie in it. Sitting at the table, I grab a fork and just dig in, knowing she’ll kill me when she sees I ate right from it.

Screw it. I just hung up seven billion lights and I’m hungry.

§

“I’m telling you, man. This is gonna be epic.” Brody and I are hanging out in my parents’ kitchen sharing a beer. They’re holding their annual holiday party a week before Christmas, and we’ve ducked into the kitchen to grab drinks. He just told me they have a huge present for us tonight.

“Okay, bro. Whatever you say.”

Sticking my free hand into my front pocket, I stride out to the living room where everybody is. I find my girl on the other side of the room, talking to Lindsey. She’s in a dark green dress with black heels. She never dresses up, but we usually get fancy for this party. I’m in a red button-down and black slacks, and even my dad has on a tie.

Looking up from her glass of water, Sadie finds my eye and winks, her red lips turning up into a gigantic smile. I wink back at her and then go around the room to find my grandparents. Memaw and Papaw are two of my favorite people in the world, and the second they arrived, they grabbed Sadie and didn’t let her go. They were so happy to see I'd finally found someone to settle down with.

Sadie still isn’t feeling well. Lindsey told me she had the flu just a couple weeks ago, so we're sure she passed it on. As long as it doesn’t hit me, I’m happy. Work is always crazy around the holidays, and with my job interview tomorrow, I need to be at my best.

“So, Garret, tell me. When are you gonna ask that pretty thing to marry you?” Memaw asks.

I laugh, leaning over so I can speak in her ear. “Next week, Memaw. The ring is already wrapped and under our tree.”

“That’s my boy.” She smiles and squishes my face so she can kiss my cheek. Papaw just holds a hand out to me and I shake it.

I’m so happy to see how perfectly Sadie fits into our family, and how loved she is. I’ve been worried that this first Christmas without her mom would be really hard on her, but she’s been so strong.

She's cut back at work, focusing on finding her path in life. For so long, she had to be silent and hidden in the background, waiting on a man who didn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as her. Now she’s finding her place in the world, and she’s shining while doing it. I don’t care what she chooses to do, as long as I get to be by her side.

A loud clanging draws my attention, and I see Brody standing on top of the coffee table, a glass and knife in his hand. Rising from the couch, I rush around the outside of the room to find Sadie. She’s standing alone near my mom, and I steal her for a quick kiss.

“Having fun?” I ask her, and she grins.

“So much.”

Slinging my arm over her shoulder, I turn us when Brody starts talking.

“So, I know Christmas is still a week away, but we have a very special present for my parents and older brother. Can y’all come over here for a sec?”

I look down at Sadie, but she just beams at me and I shrug. She takes my beer from me, and I walk over to where Brody and Linds stand in front of my parents. Lindsey looks emotional, and I turn to my parents.

“First you need to put these on,” Lindsey tells us, handing each of us a blindfold. Brody has a huge shit-eating grin on his face, so I decide to just go along with whatever this is.

Blindfolds in place, we stand there waiting.

“You know, man, if you wanted to kill me, the least you could do is not have an audience for it,” I joke, and the room erupts in laughter. Nobody answers me though, and I feel something being pulled over my head.

“Put your arms through and take off your blindfolds,” Brody announces, and I realize he put a T-shirt over my head.

Yanking my arms through the holes, I reach up and pull off the blindfold. Brody stands in front of us with his arm around Lindsey, who has tears in her eyes, and then I find Sadie, who's also teary. My parents and I look at each other and the reaction is instantaneous.

Grandma.

Grandpa.

Uncle.

“Shut the fuck up!” I yell. Grabbing my little brother, I pull him into the tightest bear hug I can, slapping him hard on the back. “Fuck yes, bro. Congratulations! I’m so damn happy for you.”

“Thanks, man. I told you. Epic.”

“Epic is an understatement.”

Mom is bawling, and Brody releases me to go hug her. Reaching for Lindsey, I pull her into a tight embrace and she laughs.

“Congrats, Mommy,” I tell her, and she cries harder. “When are you due?”

“June 20th. We find out the sex in a couple months.”

“I’m so happy for you two. You’ll make one hell of a mom, Linds.”

“Thank you, Garret. We’re telling my parents tonight.”

“They’re gonna flip.” Kissing her on the cheek, I move past them all to my girlfriend, who's wiping her eyes with a cocktail napkin.

“Hey, Uncle Garret,” she says, and I lift her into my arms.

“Did you know?”

“Linds told me when we got here. I’m so happy for them.”

“Me too. Brody is gonna be a dad. I still remember when he used to follow me everywhere, wanting to do everything I did, and now look at him. Fuck.”

“Proud of him, huh?”

“I’m so fucking proud of him.”

The rest of the evening is spent celebrating the new addition coming next year. I’m so stoked to be an uncle, and I’m even happier for my brother. Today is a real good fucking day for our family, and I get to do it all with my girl by my side.

§

Waking up, I find Sadie sound asleep curled up against my chest. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I brush her hair off her face and coax her awake.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” I whisper, and she moves so she can reach my lips for a kiss.

“Merry Christmas. Why are you up so early?” she mumbles, voice thick with sleep.

“I’m excited to see what Santa brought?” I joke.

She laughs, sitting up in bed. “Garret, it’s like seven in the morning. Can’t we sleep a little later?”

“No, now let’s go!” Jumping off the bed, I pull on my plaid sleep pants and a long-sleeved henley. I can hear her grumbling behind me, and I hurry down the stairs so I can start a pot of coffee; my stomach is all nerves, and I need to get some caffeine in me before this happens.

Five minutes later, the coffee is brewing and Sadie finally comes downstairs.

In matching pajama pants to mine and one of my department T-shirts, she looks beautiful. When I offer her coffee, she shakes her head, going for the teapot. Shrugging, I fill a mug with the delicious brew and turn to watch her.

“You feeling better, babe?”

“Yeah, for now anyway. I feel good.”

She sets the teakettle on the stove to boil, and while we wait, she fills a plate with fruit and some toast, setting it on the counter. I reach for a grape and pop it into my mouth as Sadie grabs a mug from the cabinet. The water boils a minute later and she pours it in. Turning around, she blows on the steaming mug and I gesture to the living room.

“You ready for presents?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

She pads into the living room ahead of me, and damn right, I watch her ass go. No shame here—my woman is fucking beautiful, and I love everything about her. Setting her mug on the coffee table, she sits under the tree. There's a fairly decent stack under the tree, and she moves to the side so I can sit next to her.

“Garret, you didn’t need to get me all of this,” she chides, and I reach out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“I didn’t. A good portion of these are the gifts we’ll be bringing to my parents' tonight for dinner.”

“Oh, well that makes sense. Here, you open the first one.”

Sadie hands me a large box and I take it, ripping the paper off. I open the gift box and find the leather jacket I mentioned wanting at the department store in Nashville. “Babe, you didn’t.”

She’s sporting the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. “You’re gonna look so handsome in it.”

This girl.

Leaning over the box, I give her a passionate kiss. “Thank you. I love it.”

“I only have one more gift for you, but that’s the last one for you to open.”

“Here, Sades. You open one.” I hand her the box with the new Keurig machine I got her, and when she opens it, she whoops in delight. Twenty minutes later, there are only two presents under the tree, including the one I’m dying for her to open. I feel like I’m gonna puke all over the tree.

Handing her the box, I pat myself on the back for the clever wrapping. I asked the woman at the jewelry store to put the ring in the largest box she could find, so it wouldn’t give it away. Sadie rips the paper off and tosses it to the side, the gray box large in her hands. She snaps the top up and her eyes widen in shock.

Moving to kneel in front of her, I take her left hand in mine and look into her eyes, tears already spilling down her cheeks.

“Sadie Nacole, from the second you came into my life, you’ve changed me in every way possible. My life wouldn’t mean anything to me without you by my side. I love you so much. Will you marry me, baby?”

Through her tears, she nods, her brilliant smile spanning her face.

“Yes. Yes, Garret Walker, I will marry you.”

Launching herself into my lap, she devours my mouth, arms wrapped around my shoulders as I hold her to me. When she breaks the kiss and pulls away, I take the box out of her hand and pluck the ring from it. Holding her shaking hand in mine, I slip the one-carat princess-cut diamond onto her finger, the ring sparkling against the Christmas tree lights.

She cups my face and kisses me again, her happiness radiating and my smile just as big.

“I love you so much,” she whispers, and I press a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you too. Merry Christmas.”

“There’s still one more gift.”

She sniffles and reaches under the tree, staying on my lap. The small package she hands me is light, and I shake it next to my ear, making her laugh.

Tearing the paper away, I find another gift box, which I pop open, sifting through the tissue paper until I reach a small piece of white cloth. Unfolding it, I realize it’s a tiny little unitard-looking thing.

“Babe, that’s not exactly my size,” I tell her, and she turns it over in my hands.

Daddy’s Little Officer.

I’m pretty sure my heart has stopped beating.

I look up at Sadie, my jaw dropped, and she starts crying. “Are you…? Are we…?”

She reaches into the tree for an envelope, pulling it open to slide out a small photo that she hands to me.

It’s an ultrasound picture.

“I’m pregnant,” she tells me, and I shove everything away from me to lay her down on the floor, hovering over her while I kiss her until we’re both breathless and I’m not sure whose tears are on our faces.

“I’m gonna be a dad?” I ask.

“Yeah. I’m due July 9th. I was eight weeks on Monday.”

“But we’ve always used condoms,” I say, trying to figure out how this happened.

“Yeah, I have no idea. I told my doctor that, and she said sometimes it can fail. I don’t know how, but I’m pregnant.”

“You just made me the happiest man in the entire world, babe. Now, can I ask you something else?”

“What?” She looks up at me through her long lashes.

“Is it safe to have sex during pregnancy?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I really need you upstairs in our bed. Like now.”

“Can I ask you something, Garret?” She bites down on her bottom lip.

“What?”

“We don’t need to use those condoms anymore, so why do we need to go upstairs?”

“You’re gonna kill me, baby.”

This Christmas is one I'll never forget. Not only did the woman of my dreams agree to marry me, but she’s also carrying our first child. I couldn’t love her any more than I do at this exact moment.

Sadie always says she thinks her mom brought us together somehow, and I know she’s right.

Sadie Ward was meant to be mine.