24. Quinn
24
QUINN
Q uinn awoke the next morning in the pale gray light of dawn.
Sadness settled into her bones as she remembered that today was supposed to have been the wedding day. Even if the wedding was only for business reasons, she knew it would have been a fun and special day, a chance to spend time with people she cared about. Now, it was just a disappointment.
Zandy won’t get to wear her Flower Girl outfit…
She sat up and blinked at the view from the cabin windows and was surprised to find that the trees looked… shorter. Feeling a little confused, she climbed down from her loft and went to the window by the table to investigate.
It took her sleepy mind a second to put together the fact that the trees looked shorter because their bottom halves were no longer visible. Several feet of snow covered the ground, and more was falling. The world outside the cabin was soft and white, and the hillside of Christmas trees beyond was blanketed with snow.
“Wow,” she murmured to herself.
Quinn had been planning to go see her parents today. She knew she needed to talk to her mom, and she thought she might feel better after a little grounded time with them.
But that obviously wasn’t going to happen now either. She would be lucky if she could figure out how to open the cabin door with thigh-high snow blocking it.
She turned on the radio, figuring some Christmas music would distract her from her aching heart.
Instead of music, she heard the voice of the deejay reading off a list of schools and government facilities that would be closed due to inclement weather. The courthouse was included on the list.
See? It obviously wasn’t meant to be, she told herself firmly. Even if I hadn’t broken things off yesterday, we couldn’t have gotten married today.
That realization should have made her feel better, but somehow the hollow feeling at the pit of her stomach only deepened. She gazed down at her bare left hand, wondering how it could feel so remarkably light when she’d only been wearing his ring for a few weeks.
“I’m going to be okay,” Quinn told herself out loud. Maybe if she kept saying it, she would eventually believe it. But that moment wasn’t here just yet.
She started a pot of coffee and decided to take a quick shower while it brewed. Mercifully, she still had power, which meant she had hot water, for now. In a storm this bad, it was probably best not to assume the power would stay on for long.
Quinn let the steam and lather soothe her body, wishing it was as simple to rinse away her troubled thoughts. As soon as she turned off the shower, she thought she heard something outside.
It wasn’t unusual to hear various creatures doing their thing close to her cabin. It was mostly birds, squirrels, and raccoons, with the occasional deer or fox, and one time a skunk that she was careful to avoid. But there was something odd about the noise, a swishing and thumping that didn’t sound like any of the animals she had heard during her time in the cabin.
She dried off and dressed quickly, trying not to feel too nervous. It was most likely the thump of snow falling from the roof. And nothing outside was getting in unless she opened the door.
She took a deep breath and then stepped out of the bathroom. The cabin itself was quiet and the rich scent of coffee filled the small space.
Another swoosh-thump came from outside, and then to her surprise, there was a knock on the door.
Who in the world?
Quinn didn’t get many visitors up here as it was, but with this much snow on the ground, she couldn’t imagine anyone coming up at all. But when she stepped over to the window to see who it was, she nearly couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
Beau stood on her porch, bundled up, but handsome as ever. He was holding a shovel, and his blue eyes flashed when they locked with hers through the window.
She unlocked the door with shaking hands and opened it up as quickly as possible.
“Beau,” she breathed.
All the emotion she had been trying to hold back and deny came crashing back into her chest, and a feeling of safety and happiness rolled through her now that he was here.
“I’m sorry, Quinn,” he told her, his voice rough with emotion. “But you were right. I can’t pretend to marry you. I left a message for Max this morning canceling the sale.”
It was exactly what she’d already told him, but disappointment still crashed in her chest, and she had to blink back the tears that prickled her eyes.
Had he dug his way all the way to her in the middle of a snowstorm just to break her heart all over again?
“When we started all of this, I thought we were just going to help each other get what we wanted,” he went on. “I don’t know how it happened, Quinn, but the more time I spend with you, the more I’m sure that I can’t live without you.”
She blinked up at him, her heart forgetting to beat.
Can this be happening?
“I know we got together for every reason except love,” he went on. “But from now on, I only want to be with you if it’s real.”
“Beau,” she breathed.
“You’re kind,” he said with a smile. “And you’re smart. And Zandy adores you. And you’re a very, very bad liar, which I actually think is one of your best qualities.”
Quinn couldn’t help laughing at that, though it came out as a sob.
“If you’ll give me the chance, I’d love to start over and do it right,” he told her softly, taking her hand. “But you don’t have to decide now. Just come back to the big house with me where it’s safe. Mom’s got the guest room set up for you. And when the snow melts, you can tell me if you’ll let me take you out on a real date.”
“But, your shop,” Quinn managed at last.
“I don’t need it,” he told her, shrugging. “I never did. All I want is you. And you’ll run this farm for the rest of your life if you want, by the way. You don’t have to give up a thing, whether you let me take you out or not. You’re part of the family now.”
Quinn smiled through her tears.
“Besides, I’ve been studying the books some, like you showed me,” he confided. “The way you’ve got the place running, it can support us both. Once it’s mine, we can set up a profit-share.”
“You studied the books?” she asked him, amazed.
“I really like that portal you set up,” he told her. “Makes it easier to see what’s going on.”
“Wow,” she said, trying to wrap her head around everything she had just heard.
“What do you say?” Beau asked. “Will you come with me today? Spend the holiday in a house with a generator in case the power goes out?”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“Yes?” he asked. “You’ll come with me?”
“Yes, to all of it,” she heard herself saying, even as her cheeks heated.
“All of it?” he echoed.
And though she knew she was about to put herself out there in a very real way, for once Quinn’s stomach wasn’t twisting and her heart wasn’t pounding out of her chest.
“I feel the same way you do,” she told him simply. “That’s why I left yesterday. That’s why I couldn’t go through with it. You and Zandy… you’re in my heart now. I couldn’t keep going like it was all just pretend. And I couldn’t bear the thought that it would ever be over.”
The next thing she knew, he was pulling her into his arms and cupping her cheek in his hand.
“Quinn,” he murmured.
He bent to press his lips to hers, the warmth of his mouth such a contrast to the freezing cold outside that it took her breath away. Happiness flowed into her, washing away all the doubts and negativity, and she clung to him as he kissed her gently until they both pulled back, panting.
“Wow,” Beau said.
“I guess we’d better get back to Zandy before we’re both snowed-in up here,” Quinn said.
“That’s probably for the best,” Beau agreed. “Do you need anything?”
“Uh, I’ll just grab a few things,” she told him. “Come in. I won’t be long.”
“I’d better not,” he told her. “Take your time. I’ll just enjoy the view.”
She turned to look out at the trees with him, but once again he was only looking at her.
He winked, and she found herself laughing again as she headed back inside to pack up an overnight bag.
* * *
A few minutes later, they were walking down the trail Beau had dug through the woods.
“You must be exhausted,” Quinn said, impressed.
“Not really,” he said. “You’ll see why in just a minute.”
They walked on for a bit, and when the path turned and widened, Quinn couldn’t help smiling.
“You got the tractor working again,” she said happily. “And you put a plow on it. Beau, that’s amazing.”
“I didn’t have much else to do last night,” he told her. “Besides miss you, and regret some of my more recent life choices.”
Quinn laughed, her heart feeling light as a balloon as Beau helped her onto the tractor and climbed in beside her. A moment later, they were bumping all the way down the path through the snowy trees, toward the big house.
As soon as the house came into view, the front door burst open and Zandy came dashing out, waving a piece of paper over her head.
“It worked,” she squealed. “It worked, it worked, it worked!”
“Zandy, sweetheart,” Anne-Marie said, chasing after her. “You don’t have any shoes on.”
“It worked, Grandma,” Zandy said, running back to hug her grandmother.
Beau helped Quinn off the tractor, and they headed up to the porch to say hello.
“Come on inside,” Anne-Marie said. “I just have to peel the cold, wet socks off this little Christmas elf.”
Zandy giggled and the bright sound lit up places in Quinn’s heart that she hadn’t realized were in shadow. Beau swept Zandy up in his arms, and they all filed in.
Once they were inside, he set her on the sofa and crouched to help her remove her snowy socks without making too much of a mess.
“Look,” Zandy said, waving the paper around over his shoulder at Quinn.
“What’s this?” Quinn asked, taking it.
“It’s my Christmas wish ,” Zandy said excitedly. “ Look.”
Quinn looked down at the paper. On it were three figures—two big ones and a little one, in front of what looked like a Christmas tree.
Beau straightened and looked at it with her.
“That’s us ,” Zandy said happily. “I was wishing we could be together on Christmas and now we are .”
Quinn felt her heart fill up to overflowing. She knelt in front of the sofa and smiled at Zandy from right at her level.
“I’m so glad I get to share the holidays with you, Zandy Wilson,” Quinn told her.
Zandy slid off the sofa and hugged her tight in reply.
Then Beau took hold of them both and yelled for his mom to get in here .
Before she knew it, after such a sad beginning to her morning, Quinn found herself wrapped up in a big, warm, family hug and feeling happy beyond her wildest imagination.