Page 55 of Tommy

He smiled. “I think I might too.”

“I thought you were sleeping.”

With his eyes still closed, he instinctively cuddled his head up against my chest. “I am trying.” He let out a yawn, his body shuddered as it sought the warmth of my body.

I hadn’t told someone Ilovedthem in—my brain didn’t know. It wasn’t a full confession. It was the thought of one. And Tommy reciprocated it. No pause, no hesitation, he said it back immediately.My heart was his for the taking. I just hoped he’d take care of it.

Christmas Epilogue

TOMMY

We threw the wordlovearound a lot after that night, it still packed an initial embrace, and I didn’t want it to ever let go of me. And then the big morning came, the one I’d been so desperate to spend with Daddy Hardin. He’d prepared a feast for the two of us overnight, putting his all into it. Nobody in my family had ever gone through so much effort, so it surprised me to see what all those Christmas movies made seem magical. It was magical.

I wore my Christmasy onesie, it was blue with a white snowflake pattern on it. It was funny because when I wore this before coming all the way out here, I had no idea I’d be surrounded by so much snow.

“Has Santa been?” Daddy asked as I roused him from sleep.

“We need to go and see!” I said. “Also, is something cooking?”

“The beef,” he said, inhaling deep. “Oh I bet it’s coming along nicely.”

“Get up then. I wanna go and see if Santa’s been.”

The smell of meat in the oven so early had my stomach grumbling, and then to be told there was bacon on the meat cooking for breakfast, I could’ve collapsed and gone to heaven. I knew Hardin prepared for everything, but this surprised me, truly.

I knew Santa had been because Daddy hadgone as far as to leave bite marks in the cookies. They were a little stale now though after being left throughout the night, I wondered if Santa thought they same thing about them.

“What do you want to do first?” he asked. “Breakfast, coffee, and going to check in on the animals, or—”

“Present!” I said. I knew it was only one because I’d already found the teddy surprise.

“Ok, well, I suppose that is a good idea,” he said.

“Why?”

“You’ll see,” he said with a big smile.

From under the tree, we grabbed the boxes. His much bigger than me.

“You first,” he said.

Inside it, there was another box. I looked at him, trying to figure out what he was going to have put inside it. It wasn’t heavy, and shaking it created small thuds.

“Open it,” he said.

I didn’t know what to expect, but to see a Stetson hat just like his in there wasn’t even on the list of things I’d expected. “Mine?”

“You’re my cowboy now,” he said. “You’ve put in a little grind on the ranch, I wanted to reward you with something. And I’m glad I get to see you put it on.”

I pulled the hat out of the box. I hadn’t even touched his hat that much, he was very careful with it. “How do I—”

He took it and helped it on my head. “I told you it was a good idea to open before we went to see the animals,” he said. “It should mold to your head the more you wear it. It’s a new hat as well. A cowboy bonds with his Stetson. And now you’re one. Well, don’t tell anyone else that, some folks get a little particular about the title.”

Now, I’d gone from thinking they were fictional to becoming one, unofficially that was. It hurt a little on my head where he’d pressed it in place. “I understand why yours never falls off now,” I said. “This thing feels like it’s got claws.”

“Maybe the animals will show you a little more respect with it on as well,” he said.

“Your turn!”

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