Page 36 of A Season of Second Chances
"So?" Carol asks, even though she clearly already knows. "Are you staying for a while, or...?"
"She's staying forever!" Alana announces before I can answer. "She's part of our family now!"
The smile that breaks across Carol's face is genuine and warm. "Well, it's about damn time. Welcome home, Joy."
Welcome home.
Two words that mean everything.
I look at Winter, at Alana, at the lodge that's going to become my home, at the life that's stretching out before me full of possibility and hope and love.
And as we walk hand in hand toward our future, Alana skipping ahead of us, I can't help but smile.
I came to Pine Ridge expecting nothing but a quick visit and an awkward reunion.
Instead, I found everything I never knew I needed.
I found love. I found family. I found home.
And this time, I'm never letting it go.
Epilogue
Joy
One Year Later
The cursor blinks on my laptop screen as I finish uploading the latest photos to Cedar Lodge's Instagram account. The engagement has been incredible since I took over the social media—bookings are up thirty percent, and we have a waitlist for Christmas week that extends into next year. Not bad for someone who was pitted against a coworker on her last project. While I wasn't in love with that project, I am this one.
Turns out, marketing a place you actually love is a whole different experience than selling products you don't care about.
I post a photo of the lodge decorated with fresh snow, add a caption about upcoming Valentine's packages, and close my laptop. My hand instinctively goes to my stomach, which is just starting to show the smallest hint of a bump. Sixteen weeks along, and I'm finally feeling more excited than terrified.
Movement at the front desk catches my eye, and I glance down at my left hand, where my wedding and engagement rings catch the light from the Christmas tree in the lobby. Still not used to seeing them there, even though Winter and I got married six months ago in a small ceremony right here at the lodge, with Alana as our flower girl and our friends in attendance. My parents even came.
That was complicated. They're still not thrilled about my life choices, as my mother puts it, but they're trying. And seeing them with Alana, watching my dad's face soften when she called him Grandpa for the first time, gave me hope that eventually they'll understand.
The front door bursts open, bringing in a gust of cold air and my husband. My heart still skips a beat when I see him, maybe even more now than it did a year ago. He's wearing his heavy work coat and boots, his face flushed from the cold, his beard more full than usual, his hair a little longer than he normally keeps it. He looks rugged and so incredibly handsome that I have to remind myself we're in the lobby where guests can see us.
"Hey, beautiful," he says, his voice warm as he crosses to the desk. He leans over and kisses me, his lips cold but his touch making me warm all over. "How are you feeling?"
"Good," I tell him honestly. The morning sickness has finally eased up, thank God. "The baby's good. But I'm ready to decorate the tree with you and Alana. We've been waiting all day."
"I know, I'm sorry. The heating system in cabin three was acting up again." He pulls off his gloves, rubbing his hands together. "But it's fixed now, and I'm all yours for the evening."
"Promise?" I ask, even though I know he always keeps his promises.
"Promise." He reaches over the desk to rest his hand on my small bump, his eyes soft. "How's my kid doing in there?"
"Your kid is doing great, apparently practicing to be a soccer player based on all the movement." It's still early for that, but I swear I felt something yesterday. "But your kid's mom is tired and wants to sit down while decorating instead of standing the whole time."
"Then that's exactly what we'll do." He comes around the desk and helps me to my feet, even though I'm perfectly capable of standing on my own. But I let him, because I love the way he takes care of me. The way he's taken care of me every single day since I chose to stay.
"Dad!" Alana's voice echoes through the lobby before I see her. She comes running out of the dining room, her arms full of a plate of cookies. At six years old now, she's grown so much in the past year, but she's still the same sweet girl who made me want to stay. "I got the cookies! Carol let me help make them, and I only ate two."
"Only two?" Winter raises an eyebrow. "That's showing a lot of restraint, princess."
"I know!" She beams at him, then turns to me. "Mom, can we start now? Please?"
