Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
DANA
Everything looked so familiar but also slightly different. Trees had grown. The Bayron’s had painted their house blue. The Clydes had built a new barn.
Only another mile and I’d be home. My pulse quickened. Could I really do this?
But I’d called Mom earlier to let her know I was coming, so there was no backing out now.
“What the…?”
Somebody stood beside the turnoff to my parents’ farm, under the large northern red oak with its dried brown leaves.
Was that…? Surely not.
I blinked and slowed the truck.
It was.
Emily. Dressed in jeans, black boots and her familiar green coat, a red beanie warming the top of her head, holding something in her hands.
I pulled the truck over and jumped out, my heart pounding.
“What are you doing here?” I took a step toward her. “It’s Christmas.”
“I know.” Emily shot me a nervous smile.
My gaze dropped to her hands.
An axe, with a giant red bow wrapped around it.
“Merry Christmas,” Emily said, tentatively handing me the axe. “I figured with the mysterious axe-eating animal still on the loose, you could do with another one. The shop assured me the wood is extremely hard, so hopefully whatever the creature is, it won’t be able to eat through it.”
“Thank you,” I managed to say, still reeling from the shock.
I took the axe, running my hand over the smooth American hickory handle and up to the hand-forged steel head. The edge was razor-sharp. It was, without a doubt, the nicest axe I’d ever held.
I looked back up to Emily. The axe was lovely, but she hadn’t answered my question—what was she doing here? I didn’t want to even consider the possibilities without hearing directly from her. I couldn’t deal with any more dashed hopes.
“I’m sorry to just show up like this. I did try calling, but I couldn’t get through.” Emily cleared her throat. “And I’m so sorry I told you to go back to Sapphire Springs, Dana. I panicked about the story coming out and the impact on my career, and I lost sight of what was most important.”
“What was most important?” I echoed, my voice croaky, cradling the axe in my arms.
“I don’t want success if it means I can’t be myself, if it means I have to hide part of myself in order to fit stupid, heteronormative Hollywood ideals.
I don’t want to work with homophobes or people so fixated on the bottom line that they won’t consider hiring queer actors for straight roles.
I don’t want to work with men like Austin or Phillip.
” Emily paused. “But I do very much want you in my life.”
My heart thumped in my ears. “When you say you’d like me to be part of your life, exactly what role were you envisioning? Friend, Christmas tree supplier, ice-skating instructor, grumpy waitress to run lines with…”
Emily laughed. “All of the above...and more.” She stepped forward, biting her lip and looking at me through long lashes. “I was thinking girlfriend, if you’ll have me?”
My eyes widened. “As in a publicly acknowledged, romantic girlfriend?”
Emily smiled. “Yes. No more sneaking about.”
My head spun. “But how would it all work? Dressing up as a Christmas elf at the tree farm is probably the best acting gig in Sapphire Springs, and while you make an incredibly cute elf, I don’t see that giving you a huge amount of job satisfaction.
And all I can do is farming, and unfortunately Brooklyn isn’t overflowing with farming jobs. ”
Emily took a step closer. “I know. But Sapphire Springs is not that far from New York. It could be my base. I could commute to New York, stay at my parents’ if I need to.
Although, if I got a role in LA or somewhere else, we might have to do long distance for a while.
But I’m afraid that comes with dating an actor.
Of course I’d miss you terribly, but we’ve always got phone and video calls, and you could come and visit me.
And all of that might not happen anyway—I’m not exactly fielding a lot of job offers at the moment.
But I understand if it doesn’t work for you. ”
My mind whirred. Emily wanted to move to Sapphire Springs to be with me?
“I know we haven’t known each other for that long and we’ve moved kind of quickly,” Emily continued, clearly taking my stunned silence as hesitation.
“I could rent Olivia’s apartment if you want to take things slow.
I don’t have to move in with you or anything.
Or we can obviously just stick to being friends, if…
if that’s what you’d prefer,” Emily’s voice broke, tears filling her eyes.
I placed the axe on the ground, stepped forward, wrapped my hands around Emily’s waist, and pulled her into me.
“That is definitely not what I’d prefer. Us dating, you moving to Sapphire Springs, sounds incredible.”
This was the best Christmas present I’d ever received.
Emily broke into a brilliant smile. “Oh, thank god.”
I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.
After a long moment, Emily pulled back. “I do have one condition.”
“Oh?” I frowned.
“If I get another role, you need to get internet access at your house, so I can take work calls and, if I do travel for acting gigs, we can talk, face to face on screen. It was driving me up the wall not being able to speak to you properly the last few weeks.”
I chuckled. “I am sure it can be arranged. Roz has been trying to foist it on me ever since she took over the farm.”
Emily leaned in and kissed me again. I closed my eyes, focusing on the softness of her lips, her faintly floral scent, the warmth of her body pressed against mine.
A horn beeped. We both jumped. Emily pulled back, her eyes wide.
“Merry Christmas!” a man yelled out the window.
Emily’s face softened into a smile, and she wrapped her arm back around my waist, not waiting until he drove off.
“Merry Christmas!” I yelled back.
“That reminds me,” Emily said. “Apart from apologizing and trying to win you back, I’m also here to see if you’d like me to accompany you to Christmas dinner?
There’s absolutely no pressure if you’d prefer to go alone, but if you would like me there, I would love to come—assuming your parents would be okay with it.
Mom piled me up with food, so I can bring that if that would help. ”
I gazed at Emily with wonder.
“I would love that. Does that mean you told your parents about us?”
Emily shrugged. “Sort of. They’d basically figured it out themselves.”
I glanced at my watch. “I’ve kept my parents waiting years for this; I don’t want to be too late. We should probably head there now.” I picked up the axe. “I might just leave this in the truck. Jake and Kelsey might freak out a little if I turn up brandishing an axe.”
Emily chuckled as she turned to follow me.
I placed the axe in the back of the truck and we started toward the turnoff for my parents’ house. It was only a few hundred feet away, not worth the distance to drive.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” Emily grinned.
“Okay, now I’m nervous. Please don’t tell me you rode a motorcycle here.”
“God no!”
We turned the corner and a moving van, covered in Christmas decorations, came into view parked on the side of the road.
My jaw dropped. “What is that?”
“Lucia’s moving van, with the bling courtesy of Lucia, Mom and Dad,” Emily said. “They wanted to do something festive for us.”
I grinned. “I love it.”
Emily grabbed my hand in hers, and my chest expanded.
“They’ll be thrilled to hear that. Now, let’s go be with your family.”