Page 12 of Turtle Dove

“Santa is close! Daddy, did you hear the bells? He’s close! He is real! I knew Robby Rhine was a little sh—”

“Whoa! None of that,” Gray chimes in, and I can’t stop my giggle.

“Sorry, Daddy.” She claps her hand over her mouth, but I can see her laughing behind it.

I stand and kneel beside her. “Now that you’ve heard the bells, we need to put a couple of our homemade cookies out for Santa, pour him a glass of milk, and then we need to get into bed so that Santa can come put your gifts under the tree.”

“Do you think he’ll bring a puppy like I asked for in my letter?”

“He just might, but you have to make sure you brush your teeth and get into bed without issue. Think you can do that?”

She nods in agreement and we take the mugs into the kitchen and prepare the milk and cookies.

When we place the plate and glass on the coffee table by the tree, she turns to me and speaks.

“I’ll go brush my teeth now.” She bolts across the room but not before pausing to pop a kiss onto Gray’s cheek. “Don’t forget to come tuck me in, Daddy.”

“I would never forget that. I’ll be up there soon.”

“Night, Melia. I’ll see you in the morning,” she says, coming over to give me a hug.

“Goodnight, sweetie. Sleep tight.”

“I love you,” she says with a smile and my heart nearly explodes, just like it does every time she says it. She doesn’t have to love me. She chooses to. And I’ll cherish that forever.

“I love you too.”

***

I am finishing up the last of the surprise for the morning while Gray is tucking Cadence in. I’m using one of his boots as a stencil and sprinkling baby powder around it to make it look like snowy “Santa tracks” leading to the tree. I sent off a quick text to Case and Nora, thanking them for sticking around to jingle the bells outside of the window. They are truly the MVPs of Operation Santa Claus.

When I’m all done, I sink to the couch with a glass of wine and only the light from the Christmas tree keeping me company. My feet are tucked underneath me and I’m at peace.

Last year, our first Christmas together, I was hesitant, waiting for the other shoe to drop after everything I, we, had gone through.

But not this year.

It feels like only yesterday I was at some fancy benefit for Jaxon, while he was off fucking anything that walked. I wasn’t blind then. I knew what he was doing; I was just in denial...and scared.

I’m not the same woman now that I was then. Grayson helped me. He saved me.

“She’s down for the count,” I hear him say as he enters the living room.

“I knew she wouldn’t last long. She has been up since early this morning,” I say, scooting over to give him room next to me.

“What you did with her tonight...Mills, it was amazing.” He slips an arm around me and tucks me into his side.

“I love her. I want this time of year to be special for her. It’s important.” I sip my wine.

“You came into our lives and loved her like your own when you didn’t have to.”

“She’s hard not to love. She’s part of you.” I tilt my head to the side to look at him and he softly cups my cheek, gliding his thumb across my lips.

“You look so beautiful right now,” he speaks softly. His voice has a hint of a tired husk to it. “The lights are glittering off of your skin.”

“Mr. Aldrich...are you flirting with me?” I smile then gently bite my bottom lip.

“As a matter-of-fact, I am, and I am going to make good on that promise from earlier.”

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