On the far side of the fireplace, a slim Christmas tree with white lights, red-and-black buffalo check ribbon, and silver and red ornaments glowed in the corner. The mantle was also adorned with evergreen, lights and pinecones, while two stockings—one red-and-black buffalo check and the other white-and-gray buffalo check with Willow written on the white fur in silver lettering—dangled from its edge.

For a moment, Tyler’s heart stopped beating, only to pound a moment later. The absolute wonder of it all had him feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. Not that he knew how that felt. But he’d spent years imagining.

He shoved a hand through his hair. “What is all this?”

Now holding Willow, Audrey moved beside him. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you not having a Christmas tree, so this is an early Christmas present for you and Willow.” He started to interrupt her, but she held up a hand. “I know, Thanksgiving is still six days away, and you’ll probably be gone before Christmas, but selfishly, I wanted to see how it all looked.” Admiring her handiwork, she added, “I saved all the boxes so you can take everything back to Fort Worth and set it up there. Oh, and all the ornaments are plastic, so you won’t have to worry about Willow breaking any of them. Later, that is. When she’s mobile.”

He stared at her, wondering how he could have let her go.

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Happy reading!
~ Danielle.