Page 161 of Now and Then

“You are my everything,” he breathes. “You are my always. I will love you every moment of every day until my last breath. And then I’ll love you for eternity.”

He lowers his mouth to mine with such tenderness it breaks my heart wide open.

I let myself fall, knowing he’ll catch me.

Just like he always promised.

Faint glimpses of light stretch through the curtains as I wake to the warmth of Hunter’s arm draped over me. “Merry Christmas,” I murmur, still half lost in sleep.

“Merry Christmas, babe,” he says, voice husky.

I smile, slipping out of bed, and grab his gift I got too side-tracked to give him last night. The chill in the air nips at my naked flesh. Hunter sits up, watching me, curiosity in his eyes as I hand the gift to him.

“I know this isn’t typically my vibe. I thought it could—”

“Woman, just let me open it.” He smiles, ripping the paper from the box. Inside are holiday pj’s. The soft, flannel kind, covered in tiny trees and snowflakes.

“These are festive,” he says, trying to suppress his laughter. “And definitely not your style.”

“I know!” I pull a similar box out. “We get to match.”

He stands from the bed, comforter falling and revealing his gloriously naked body, and immediately puts them on. “I love them.” He holds me at arm’s length, eyes scanning my naked body. “And as much as I’d love you to wear this all day, you better put yours on, so I can give you your gift.”

“Do I finally get to see the backyard?”

Hunter nods, and a smile takes over his entire face.

I dress quickly, grinning at the ridiculousness of our matching outfits. He takes my hand and leads me downstairs to the back porch. “Ready?” he asks me.

“Of course!” I say. “I’ve been on pins and needles the last few weeks waiting for this.”

Hunter opens the door.

My heart flops clear out of my chest.

The porch stretches before us, wet wood glistening in the pale morning light. A fine drizzle mists the yard the way it does just before it’s cold enough to snow. Everything glistens. The air is crisp and sweet.

I take it all in. A string of twinkly lights along the banister, a table tucked in the corner, a fire pit ready for our evenings, and two Adirondack chairs facing our back-forty view.

“You did all this?” I whisper, stepping onto the porch.

He shrugs, but the pride in his stance gives him away. “I might have had a little help. But mostly, yeah. And it’s not finished yet. Here.” Hunter hands me a rolled-up paper. My fingers tremble as I unfurl a detailed drawing of a swing, complete with H+S Forever etched inside a heart.

“This damn cast and the weather made it impossible for me to get your swing done, but I—”

“You drew this?”

He nods his head, a bit shy for him. “Come spring, you’ll have the swing you’ve always wanted.”

“Hunter,” I say, emotion clogging my throat as I sit on the first step. Wet pj’s be damned. “It’s everything I could have imagined it would be.”

He steps next to where I’m sitting, his heat seeping into me. I wrap my arm around his leg and lean my face against his thigh.

He runs his fingers through my hair and lets it rest along the back of my neck. “I got you something else too.”

“Hunter, all I got you was pj’s. This is too—”

“It’s not too much.” He bends down and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be right back.” He disappears inside for a moment. I shiver against the wintery cold, already missing his warmth. When he returns, he sits next to me and places a box in my lap.