Chapter Twenty-Four
HOLLY
“H olly? You came back?”
“I hope you don’t mind.” I take a step forward, pulling off my leather gloves as I walk toward him. “I stopped at your house first to see if you were there. That’s when Tag decided to be, well, a tag along.” I chuckle.
Tag stands proud beside me, Santa hat on his head, but a garland of loose fitting lights hang around his neck like an oversized necklace.
“That better not be from the tree, Tag,” Rex warns.
He snaps at him in response before flopping down at my feet.
“We’re going to give you some time,” Cassie says as she stands from the table. She walks forward and gives me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back. I know you weren’t here for long, but it just didn’t feel the same without you.”
I wrap my arms around her, all without taking my gaze away from Rex’s. “It’s good to be back.”
“Yeah, it’s uh, food time,” Jacob says, giving me a hug once Cassie stands back. “Welcome back, Berry.”
“Thanks, Jacob,” I add before he’s pulled away by Cassie.
I stand, hovering awkwardly by the door, leaving a few feet between us.
“Merry Christmas.” I inwardly cringe, knowing that isn’t the best opening I could have with him, but my brain couldn’t think of anything else without babbling everything I’ve been practicing saying to him during my car ride up here.
“Uh, Merry Christmas to you, too,” he says, shuffling on his feet and looking everywhere but me.
“The barn looks great. You weren’t kidding about how magical it is.” Another cringe. At this point, I might just kick myself out of town.
He nods, glancing over his shoulder to look at the barn before turning back to me, but still not meeting my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I start, pleading with him with my eyes. “I shouldn’t have left.”
He nods.
“Did you see the blog?”
He nods again.
I wish he would talk to me. I wish he would get mad, yell, cry, do anything to let me know that I’m not too late. That I didn’t throw away what Rex and I had because I was scared.
That he still feels something for me.
Tag huffs and rolls to his side. It’s an action that I think tells Rex he’s not happy with his responses. If I’ve been able to correctly pick up on his canine cues over the past week, that is.
“Rex, please talk to me. Do you want me to leave?”
“No!” He says, putting his hands out in front of him and taking a step.
Well, that worked.
He clears his throat and takes a step toward me, lowering his voice as he looks around at the tables close by, all who are watching us with rapt attention. “Can we talk outside?”
I nod and follow him out, pulling my jacket tighter around me to ward off the chill. It’s incredible to think that it was just a week ago that we met when he spilled his coffee all over it. So much has happened. So much has changed.
“Rex, I…” I start just as he says. “Holly, I…”
We both smile and chuckle, shyly looking at one another.
“Please, let me say what I need to say,” I plead.
He gives a slight wave of his hand, letting me proceed.
“I’m so sorry that I left town. I shouldn’t have run the way I did. I got scared when I put two and two together and saw that the town thought you were proposing. It wasn’t the thought of you asking me to marry you that scared me, it was the thought of opening up myself to that hurt again.” He opens his mouth to speak, but I put my hand up to silence him. “Please, just let me finish.”
He takes a deep breath, but nods without saying a word.
“We’ve talked about it before, and I know you aren’t Josh, but being left at the altar is a kind of hurt that I don’t think ever goes away. Not really. Even though I know you aren’t him, and would never do anything like that to me, I would always still have the question in my mind if it would happen again, and that’s what scared me.”
I pause, letting him know that I’m done with my monologue if he wants to interject.
“So, what changed?” he whispers.
Tears fill my eyes, and I glance behind him at the barn, seeing the town filled with joy as they share Christmas dinner with people who are not just their neighbours but their family. Tag sits proudly by the door, Christmas lights blinking around his neck and Santa hat perched on his head as he watches us.
Bringing my gaze back to Rex’s, I let it all pour out. “I realized that even though I was only here a short amount of time, it felt more like home than Vancouver ever has. You feel more like home than anyone ever has. Rachel made me see that I’m only hurting myself by ignoring it.” I suck in a breath. “I hope the blog about the shelter showed you how highly I think about you and what you do. You’ve created such an amazing place for the animals. You care about them so much, and everyone can see that. I feel honoured that you care about me, too. At least, I hope you still do.”
Rex blows out a breath, letting his shoulders slump forward.
I will back the tears with each breath that passes without him speaking. I don’t know how much more I can take, waiting to hear if he forgives me. If I can even be forgiven at all.
“Say something, please,” I plead.
His eyes search mine. “So, what does this mean? You being back in Candy Cane Creek.”
“I know it might take some time to make it up to you, but I would like to stay. I’m hoping you still want me here. That you still want us.”
“Oh, Holly,” he says before closing the distance between us, wrapping me up in his arms. “I never stopped wanting you here. Wanting us.”
I sag into him in relief, not bothering to hold back the tears as I wrap my arms around his waist.
“But, I need to know that you aren’t going to do this to me again. I can’t bear to think that every time you get scared, you’re going to run.”
“I’m not going to.” I pull back to look into his eyes. “I asked Rachel to look after my place until it sells. I already have a call into my realtor.”
“Wow, really?” The corner of his mouth ticks up into a sly smile. “What if I didn’t take you back?”
I chuckle. “Well, then I guess I would have to find another Christmas obsessed town with a handsome pet rescue owner to take me in. I’m not sure if he’ll ruin my jacket or not, though.”
“I hardly ruined your jacket,” he chuckled with a roll of his eyes.
I look up at him, my arms still wrapped around his waist, thinking just how lucky I am. “Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for, Holly. I’m just happy you came back.” He strokes his hand down my hair and kisses the top of my head. “I know I can’t rid you of the fear of what happened with Josh happening again, but I promise you that I will do my best to always talk to you about everything, even the hard things. Even if that means I have hesitations or worries, but I’ll never leave you in the dark about anything important. Especially something as important as spending the rest of your life with someone.”
I nod, holding him tighter before looking up at him. “And I promise to be better about telling you how I feel, not just running away.”
“If we stick to those promises, I think we’ll be fine.” He brushes a strand of hair off my face with a smile.
“I think so, too.” I look down for a moment, feeling the heat of a blush at my cheeks. “I love you, Rex.”
His eyes sparkle behind his glasses as he cups my cheeks. “I love you, too, Holly.”
Rex leans in slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. My heart beats rapidly, knowing this is it. With this kiss I give him my promise to give not only Candy Cane Creek, but us a chance.
And this time, my rapid heartbeats are from excitement, not fear.
Just as his lips are about to touch mine, a loud bark comes from behind Rex. Tag looks up expectantly at me as he sits, his festive adornments in place.
I chuckle and drop on my heels, giving him a scratch on his head. “I love you, too, Tag. I’m sorry I left you and the others.”
Tag gives a huff, looking to the side as if he doesn’t quite believe me.
“I see you aren’t so easily persuaded.” I reach into my pocket, pulling out a puppy cookie shaped and decorated like Santa Claus. “I know this won’t make up for everything, but maybe it’ll be a start.”
Tag tilts his head to the side, regarding me just long enough to make me wonder if I’m going to be rejected by a dog on Christmas Day.
“Come on, Tag. She did bring you a cookie after all,” Rex encourages.
“And you led me here to Rex. That makes me think you aren’t so ready to get rid of me.”
With a raised ridge above his eye, he licks my hand before taking the cookie and storming off back into the barn.
“I have to admit, I didn’t expect Tag to be a harder sell than you,” I chuckle as I stand.
“What can I say? I guess I’m just a softie and he’s an old grump.”
“I won’t argue with you there.” He takes a step toward me, holding his arm out to me. “Would you please join me for Christmas dinner? I can promise you it’s the best in town.”
I giggle—actually giggle—while I take his arm. “I’m pretty sure it’s the only dinner in town. I think I saw everyone in there.”
“I mean, if you want to be picky about it,” he starts as he leads me back toward the barn. He stops just as we’re about to cross through the doors, turning to me. “I’m really happy you came back, Holly. I know none of this has been easy for you.”
“And it hasn’t been easy for you, either. I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve gone through. Experiencing all of this after losing Lauren.” I place my free hand on his arm, holding him close to me.
He looks down at my hands holding him and nods. “And I want to thank you for being so patient with me while I navigate this as well. I never thought I’d be here again. Having to start over…”
“But here we are…doing it together.”
“Yes, together.” He brings his gaze back up to me with that dazzling smile of his, and I know that everything will be okay.