Chapter 13
thirteen
. . .
Rosalie
Showtime, Baby
Two days later, I’m thinking to myself as I stare out the window of Wells’ ridiculously large truck: there are definitely true crime podcasts that begin with what I’m doing right now.
Driving up into the mountains with a man I hardly know to spend a weekend cut off from civilization, alone in a cabin with him.
When Wells said that his family spends a weekend at the cabin together, I pictured a big cabin with a ton of bedrooms for everyone so that they were all literally and figuratively stuck under the same roof, just like his mother asked for.
But now that we’re here, I see that it isn’t even close to what I was thinking.
I mean, there is a cabin. But there are quite a few of them spread out along the property, with a big, central cabin in the middle of the ones surrounding it.
“Did you forget to mention that this is a… compound?” I exclaim, looking up at him as I shut the truck door behind me. I guess his family owns quite a bit of Cedar Ridge from the looks of it.
He chuckles as he comes to a stop beside me.
“Yeah, I guess you could call it that.” He points toward the middle cabin.
It’s a large A-frame with fresh snow blanketing the top of its steepled roof that seems to have a blazing fire crackling inside, given the smoke it’s sending through the chimney.
“That’s my parents’. They stay there for a few months out of the year, outside of Christmas.
” He turns and gestures to the smaller, more modest cabins along the edge of the property.
“These belong to my siblings and I. They’re all in relationships, and most have kids of their own, so my parents wanted everyone to have their own space.
They’re not anything fancy, but they’re warm and cozy, as my mom likes to say. ”
“They’re adorable,” I breathe, taking in the sight. It’s picturesque, the beautiful mountain landscape, Christmas wreaths made of fir garland and twinkling lights on the front door of every cabin, stacks of chopped firewood on the front porch near the door.
“I’ll show you it all after we meet everyone and get settled in. But for now, it’s showtime. Fair warning: they’re… a lot. You sure you’re ready for this?”
I’m not entirely sure, but I do feel much better about meeting the rest of his family now that I had a soft launch with his brother and Ally. “Yep. Let’s do this.”
As it turns out, I am not at all ready for the chaos that we walk into once inside his parents’ cabin. The dogs run ahead of us, and I swear my heart skips in my chest, seeing them in their little doggie snow boots. I saw them at the Mistletoe Mercantile, and I had to get them.
Literally could not walk away.
Wells takes my hand in his and laces our fingers tightly together as the front door shuts behind us.
Immediately, every eye in the room finds us, and my eyes widen.
This is… a lot of people. Way more than what I was expecting.
“Um, how many siblings did you say you had again?” I whisper hiss and squeeze his hand tighter when I hear him chuckle quietly.
“Five.”
“Five?” I blanch, craning my head to look at his tall, massive frame. “You have five siblings, and you didn’t think to tell me that? God, that’s…” I trail off, doing the mental math. “Ten people, not including your parents or all of the kids.”
“Yup. We’ve got a big family.”
Big? No, big is three siblings, and parents, and a few grandchildren.
But this? This is huge.
Wells McCoy has a massive family. And yet another thing to check off the dream man list. One more blaring coincidence that is starting to no longer feel like a coincidence at all.
My brain tries to wrap around the fact that he’s the literal wish list of that man that I wrote about to Santa… But how? Is something like this even possible? How in the hell could I wish for something, and then suddenly, that exact thing appears in my life?
“You good?” Wells’ voice breaks through my thoughts, and when I glance up, his eyes are on me, the space between his brow furrowed with worry.
Nodding, I give him a small smile. “Yes. Sorry, I was just, uh… thinking.”
“Wells!” a small woman calls from across the living room, and his eyes find her in the crowd of his family, a wide smile transforming his handsome face.
She appears before us with a tall, burly man right behind on her heels, and I realize that these must be his parents.
The resemblance is uncanny. His mom’s eyes are the same light, warm shade of brown as his, the corners aged with laugh lines.
Her hair is cut in a short bob around her shoulders, and she’s wearing a cream-colored sweater with a pair of casual jeans.
His father has the same strong, square jaw and wide shoulders.
He’s wearing a funny sweater with a reindeer on the front, and his smile is warm and kind.
It reminds me of Wells’.
“My sweet boy, you made it!” his mother exclaims, placing her palms along his cheeks and peering into his eyes like she’s afraid he’s going to disappear right in front of her. Then, she throws her arms around his neck and hugs him tightly to her.
“I made it. And…” he says quietly, pulling back and looking over at me. “I brought Rosalie.”
His mom looks at me, her eyes turning soft. “And you are the darling girl that my son is crazy about.”
Immediately, I feel my cheeks catch fire, my eyes widening slightly.
Damn, Wells, you’ve been laying it on thick, I guess.
Or is that something Zander told her?
I offer a small smile because honestly, I have no idea how to respond to that.
I’m the fake girlfriend. The temporary holi-date, but I spent most of last night kissing him when there wasn’t a single person around to see it. It’s a tad confusing.
“Mom, don’t do that,” he says with a low chuckle.
She arches a brow, shooting him a stern look. “What? Tell my son’s girlfriend that she’s all he’s been talking about?”
So it was him.
I wish that I had a semblance of control over the way my heart is currently starting to thrash so wildly in my chest that it feels like everyone else might be able to hear the loud thrumming too.
Her gaze finds mine, and her smile widens as she drops her hands from Wells and places her palm along my arm. “Hi, honey. I’m Katherine, and it is so nice to meet you. This is my husband, Aaron. We are so glad that you could join us.”
His dad gives me a wink. “Hi, Rosalie.”
“Thank you so much for having me. Your home is beautiful.” I sneak a quick look at Wells, who’s watching us with a small curve of his lips, and then I glance back at his mom.
“You are so sweet. Thank you. I have to warn you though, this is one crazy bunch.” Her head flicks toward the living room, which is packed full of people talking loudly while trying not to watch us, and the cacophony of kids who are running around, being wrangled by their parents.
I’m sure she’s right. It’s a lot of people in a small room, which is generally always chaotic. But this is also what I’ve always dreamed of. Having a big family where the walls overflow with laughter and love each time we are together. Being surrounded by so many loved ones.
Only child syndrome hit hard growing up, and I always longed for the companionship of a sibling or even a cousin who was close in age.
This is something that’s always weighed on my heart and the reason that I put it at the top of the Santa list.
Standing here, in a house that’s so clearly full of love, it feels exactly what I imagined having a large family would be like. Warmth, laughter, and camaraderie.
“Everyone will likely talk your head off and ask you a billion questions, but if you start to feel overwhelmed, you can just step away, and no one will mind one bit, okay?” She squeezes my arm affectionately and gives me another smile.
“Thank you.”
Wells tightens his arm around my waist as he guides me further into the living room to introduce me to everyone. To absolutely no surprise at all, Penny and Frankie are already wedged between his siblings, getting their bellies rubbed and living their best lives.
God, I wish that I had the ability to feel so at ease in a new place as they do.
“Alright, might want to get out a notebook to keep track,” he teases as he begins pointing out all of his siblings.
“That’s my oldest sister, Scarlett, and her wife, Amelia.
Then there’s Isla and her husband, Ryan.
My younger brother, Henry, and his wife, Madeline.
My youngest sister, Chloe, and her fiancé, Dalton, and of course, you met Zander and Ally the other day. ”
Zander shoots me a wink, and Ally waves excitedly like we’re already close friends.
Immediately, it quells the nerves rapidly increasing in tempo in my stomach.
“There’s a whole horde of kids too, but you’ll meet them in a bit,” he adds.
Scarlett stands and walks over to us, followed by his younger sister Chloe.
“Missed you, baby brother,” Scarlett says, giving him a hug, then pulling back to peer over at me, a kind smile curving her lips. “And I’m so glad you could come, Rosalie.”
“Me too.”
Chloe gives us both a hug as Scarlett asks, “How’s the bar? And the house? Everything going smoothly? You’ve been quiet in the fam chat. I’d think it was that, but I’m pretty sure I know why now.”
She shoots me a wink, and Wells chuckles, lifting his shoulder in a shrug. “It’s going. Bit slower than I’d like, but it’s looking more like a house and a little less like a construction zone. The bar should be ready in the new year.”
Chloe waggles her brows. “Can’t wait.”
“You can’t even drink yet, Chloe,” Wells mutters. “You can visit all you want, but not serving you till you’re legal.”
She pokes out a lip, and I turn to him, lifting a brow. “That’s a big age difference between you two.”
Wells nods.
“I was the accident,” Chloe says as she leans into her sister with a cheeky smile. “I thrive in being the baby of the family though.”
“Of course you do,” Wells tells her.