Chapter Nineteen
After having to work Thanksgiving, her boss had given her a four-day weekend for Christmas. They were driving down to San Antonio Christmas Eve, but Grey insisted they should do something fun before then. He didn’t tell her where they were going, simply instructed her to dress warm, bring a coat and mittens, and started to drive.
Now, she stood in line to snow tube down a hill. She was getting close enough to see the packed snow on the lanes in front of them.
Grey put an arm around her and pulled her close so he didn’t have to talk too loudly over the crowd. “There were a lot of fun things we should’ve been able to do in Colorado but missed out on. Sledding was one of them, and this is the next best thing.” He grinned at her.
Five minutes later, it was their turn. They sat on their inner tubes in adjoining lanes. Cora raised an eyebrow and gave him a playful smile. “Race you to the bottom!”
The moment the tube began to slide, cool air whooshed past, tossing her hair. The ride ended much too soon as the tube came to a gentle stop.
Laughing, Cora stood, dusted her pants off, and picked up the inner tube again. “Now that was fun.”
“Yes, it was.” Grey grinned at her. “You want to go down again?”
“Absolutely.”
An hour later, with a paper cup of hot chocolate in her hands, Cora settled onto a bench next to Grey. Despite the crowds, they’d managed to find a bench off the beaten path. The extensive ice sculpture display lit up the night while Christmas lights adorned the branches of trees all around them. This particular bench was situated beneath the high boughs of an evergreen. Even with people walking back and forth along the paths, Cora could imagine they were somewhere else entirely.
“Are you warm enough?” Grey looked at her with concern.
His attentiveness made her heart skip a beat. “I’m good, thank you. This was such a great idea, and a wonderful surprise.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He held his cup of hot chocolate, so far untouched, in one hand and sat silently for a moment. When he shifted, he reached for her cup and set both on the ground to one side of the bench.
Cora turned to face him, confused by his actions and missing the warmth of the cup. The cold air only held her attention for a breath or two until Grey withdrew a small box from the pocket of his coat.
He moved closer to Cora and reached for her hand. Her breath caught, and tears immediately sprang to her eyes as he began to speak.
“Cora, I’ve made a whole hill of mistakes over the years. If there’s one thing I did right, though, it was falling in love with you. I missed you every day we were apart.” He paused. “The day you said you’d marry me, I knew I was the luckiest man alive. If you’d only do the honor of marrying me again, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me.” He opened the box then and lifted an engagement ring between his thumb and finger. “I love you, Cora. Will you be my wife forever?”
Her heart took flight at his words, and Cora was completely oblivious to the noise of the crowd around them. All that existed was her and Grey and the promise of a second chance that she couldn’t deny.
“Yes.” A single happy tear escaped from the corner of her eye. “I love you, too.”
Grey slipped the ring on her finger. He cupped her cheek with his hand and used his thumb to wipe away the tear. Cora’s heart sang as he kissed her then, his arms around her, keeping her warmer than anything else in the world ever could.
~*~
It was late morning the day before Christmas, and Grey glanced over at Cora in concern. She’d spent the last half hour of their car ride in silence. From the way she kept spinning her engagement ring around her finger and twiddling with the zipper of her jacket, it was clear she was nervous. Unable to take it any longer, he reached over and took her hand in his.
“It’s going to be okay. You need to relax a little.”
Cora shot him a look that told him she was far from convinced. “Seeing Flynn and Abby again, especially now that we’re engaged, is reason enough to worry. Maybe we should’ve sent an e-mail to tell people instead of just showing up like this. And we’re going to their house. We very well could be walking right into the dragon’s den.”
He had to stifle a chuckle because he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. Not even if he told her how cute she was right now. “Well, if that’s the case, there’s a door we can use to make our escape. The most important thing is that we stick together.” He held their joined hands up for emphasis.
Cora nodded her agreement and kept mostly silent as he made his way through San Antonio to Flynn and Abby’s house. They parked along the curb in front of their two-story colonial-style home. He’d no sooner turned off the engine when Zac came running down the stairs and across the yard.
Cora smiled as she got out of the car and welcomed the boy with a big hug. “Hey, Zac. How are you doing?”
“Good.” He held up his thumb with a proud grin. “I has a scar.”
Cora held his thumb, her eyes widening appropriately. “Wow, that is one cool scar. Did you see this, Uncle Grey? Check it out.”
Grey gave his nephew a fist bump. “Super awesome, buddy.” He swung the boy up to sit on his shoulders. “Let’s go in and see everyone else. Are Grandma and Uncle Dare here already?”
“Uh-huh.” Zac pointed to the house. “In there.”
Grey put a hand on Cora’s neck and massaged it for a moment. “You ready for this?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He took her hand in his and they walked up the steps together. They were met at the door by Abby, who took Zac from Grey’s shoulders and set him on the ground. The boy was off and running. “Merry Christmas, you two. I hope your drive was okay.”
“Uneventful, which is the way I like it,” Grey said as he and then Cora each gave her a hug.
Flynn appeared behind his wife and smiled. Grey could detect a small amount of uncertainty there as he stood to the side so they could enter the house. “I’m glad you could both make it. Welcome.” He shook Grey’s hand and then, for the very first time, gave Cora a quick hug. “Come on in and make yourselves comfortable.”
Mom gave them both a one-armed hug since she was holding Emma in the other.
Grey shook Dare’s hand. “Hey, man. I’m glad to see you. Didn’t know if you’d get the day off or not.”
“You and me both, brother. But when the boss said I could have the day off, I took it and ran before he changed his mind.” He chuckled before pulling Cora into a big hug. “Good to see you. Sewn up any cut legs or set any broken bones lately?”
Cora laughed. “Oh, you know, at least once a day.” She winked.
Mom smiled as her gaze roamed around the room and touched on each person there. “Look at us. We’re all in the same room, no one’s fighting, and it didn’t even take a blizzard to get us here today.”
Dare walked purposefully to the front door, stuck his head out to look around, and closed it again. “Just checking to make sure you didn’t just jinx us.”
Grey put an arm around Cora’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I think we’ve all had enough snow for a while.” He took her left hand in his. “Although I, for one, am thankful we got stuck in that blizzard. It helped us realize that five years is more than long enough to be apart.” He held it up so everyone could see the engagement ring on her finger.
Mom squealed as she ran forward to hug them both, tears in her eyes. “Oh, I’m so happy.”
It was Dare who said, “Well, it’s about time the two of you came to your senses.” He and Abby took turns congratulating them.
Grey looked to Flynn, hoping and praying his big brother would be accepting of his decision to marry Cora again.
Flynn gave a nod of approval. “Welcome back, Cora.”