Chapter 26 Allie
ALLIE
Allie stood in the kitchen at Lawrence Farm on Christmas morning, waiting for the timer to go off for the gingerbread cookies in the oven that were already filling the whole house with their spicy-sweet aroma.
Somehow, she felt completely relaxed, in spite of the busy morning.
She’d been up before dawn with her mom, Allie starting the preparations for a big family breakfast while her mother saw to the cows. Family started trickling in slowly as they finished up their own chores. By the time the sun was up, Allie had put on a second pot of coffee.
Ash and Maya arrived soon after. Ash explained that Maya had also been up before the sun in her excitement to come to the farm.
And naturally, Allie’s mom had told her that being an early riser was a really good thing if you wanted to help out on a farm.
Maya’s eyes had gotten really big, and she’d said she did want to help out on the farm, which earned her approving chuckles from everyone in earshot.
Then Tripp had carried her off to see the cows and check on the barn cat and her kittens while Ash sat with Allie’s dad to drink coffee and talk about what kinds of things might go in a greenhouse in Vermont.
Though they had only begun dating, and their engagement had happened awfully quickly by most people’s standards, Allie found that it seemed like Ash and Maya had been around forever.
They had spent lots of time talking about plans for the greenhouse over the past few days, which was getting them both excited.
Ash was also getting excited about Charlotte’s idea for a root beer float partnership. They were already brainstorming names and a logo.
Allie loved that her best friend and her fiancé had such a perfect way to get to know each other better. Even grumpy Tag seemed to have taken a shine to Ash, as if his wife’s approval had opened his heart.
Allie had even gone out with Maya and Ash to have lunch with Maya’s mom, who seemed much more low-key than the first time they met. Allie didn’t think they would ever be best friends, but she was glad that Maya had so many people in her life that loved her.
Everything was going well, and Allie didn’t think she’d ever been so happy as she was these last few days.
When Tripp brought a worn-out Maya back to the house a few minutes ago, she had run right over to the sofa in the corner of the kitchen, where Charlotte was looking at Twas the Night Before Christmas with Alonso.
“We read that one,” Maya said excitedly. “I read that with your grandma, Alonso.”
“Do you want me to read it to you now?” Charlotte asked her.
“I can read it to him,” Maya said.
Charlotte smiled in surprise and handed over the book, then got up so that Maya could scramble up next to Alonso, whose eyes got big as he looked up at Maya.
“I’m going to read this story to you,” Maya told him. “The best stories have a once upon a time and a happily ever after.”
Across the room, Ash put down his coffee cup and turned to his daughter, an expression of wonder on his face.
“Once upon a time,” Maya began. “It was the night before Christmas. Isn’t that exciting?”
Allie smiled.
Maya might be making up a lot of the words instead of reading them, but that was just fine. She was showing that she was interested in books, and that she enjoyed them. And she was also demonstrating that when the book had been read to her, she had really paid attention.
By the time Maya was finished telling her version of the story of a man waking up to find Santa in the house, you could have heard a pin drop in the farmhouse kitchen.
“And then Santa flew away,” Maya said at last. “And he and his reindeer lived happily ever after.”
“Again,” Alonso said immediately.
The adults applauded lightly, and Ash turned to Allie, his expression joyful, yet questioning.
She nodded to him happily, tears prickling her eyes.
Yes, that was good, she tried to tell him in her mind. That was really, really good.
The timer finally dinged, and she pulled out the first batch of gingerbread men. The bigger kids were all playing in the snow out front, and Tripp jogged off to get them. The cookies had to cool before they could be frosted, but it was a family tradition to eat some warm right out of the oven.
Ash grabbed his coffee cup and headed over to the counter with them.
Allie bent to put another batch of cookies in the oven and by the time she straightened, he was already filling the sink with warm, soapy water.
“Is Ash Tailor really washing dishes in my parents’ kitchen?” Allie asked teasingly.
“I don’t see anyone else lined up to do them,” he teased her, arching a brow.
Her heart fluttered like it always did when he was near, and her cheeks heated.
“Soon,” he murmured.
She realized he must have caught the blush on her cheeks, and she felt them heat even more.
The wedding was in just a few days. Somehow, Ash had worked a miracle with the paperwork, so they didn’t have much longer to wait.
Though Ash and Maya liked their little house, they had immediately decided that they’d rather live in the big blue house on Lawrence Farm, to be near the whole extended family.
There had been a time when Allie wondered if the house her parents had set aside for her would stand empty forever. But now she knew it would soon be filled with happy memories.
“It was incredible to see that,” Ash said, nodding toward the sofa, where Maya was looking at the pictures in the book with Alonso. “She seems so confident.”
“It made me really happy too,” Allie agreed.
“But she wasn’t really reading,” Ash ventured. “Is that a problem?”
“It’s normal for kids who are just getting started,” Allie told him.
“For now, we mainly want to see an interest in books, which she definitely has. And I noticed that she really remembered the story from when my mom read it to her. She has great story comprehension—she understands what’s being read to her.
It means she’s going to be a strong reader once she has the skills. ”
“She’s interested because of the time you spend with her,” Ash said, his voice deep with emotion. “She’s going to be a good reader because of you.”
“She’s interested because she’s super bright,” Allie amended. “And I’m going to be there to support her every step of the way, so maybe she’ll pick up her skills a little faster. But she’s incredible all on her own, Ash. You knew that already.”
“She’s even better with you,” he said softly. “Both of us are. I spent so many years competing, chasing after the feeling that I never had enough—enough money, enough success. With you, I finally feel content with what I have, and with who I am.”
Allie leaned against his shoulder.
“You’ve changed me too,” she told him softly. “I used to complain about being the little sister. No one wanted my opinion, and I felt left behind sometimes.”
“There’s some truth to that,” Ash said.
“Only because I let there be,” Allie said, shaking her head. “It was easier not to assert myself, not to go for what I wanted if someone else said it wasn’t a good idea.”
“Are we talking about the greenhouse?” Ash asked.
“Well, yes, I mean I adore Principal Chittenden,” Allie said. “She’s been a mentor to me, so when she said it wasn’t a good idea I was ready to drop it. But it’s also about you.”
“Me?” Ash asked.
“When Tripp found out about your business success, he didn’t want me to keep up the charade,” she said. “I mean he loves you now—you know that. But he was worried.”
“I can’t blame him,” Ash said, chuckling. “I mean look at what those investors wanted to do with their money when they came to town.”
“Anyway, I respect my brother, but I made my own decision about you,” Allie said.
“And when we were apart I was planning to work on the greenhouse funding on my own too, with or without your help. I don’t need anyone else to tell me what I want anymore.
My family loves me and respects me. The person who was keeping me the baby sister was me. ”
“That’s profound, Allie,” Ash said, his serious eyes telling her he meant it.
“It’s just good,” she said with a smile. “One more thing Maya and I have in common, a newfound self-confidence.”
“Me too,” Ash said. “Funny how deciding to rely on you has made me feel more at peace with myself.”
The front door swung open and everyone, including Ash and Maya, called out, “Shoes.”
They really did fit right in.
“Cookies,” Zane’s twin boys yelled as they thundered into the house with their cousins trailing behind.
“That’s our cue to get out of the way,” Allie said, laughing.
She took Ash by the hand and led him down the hall toward the living room as her beloved nieces and nephews poured in.
Nick, Cal, and Cody led the way. Olivia and Delphine were gossiping together just behind them, with Chance and Elizabeth bringing up the rear.
When the kids had passed, Allie pulled Ash into the living room.
The fire crackled, the Christmas tree glowed, and snow fell softly out the window, adding a fresh blanket of pure white to the fields and trees.
Ash gazed down at her, the heat in his dark eyes rivaling the fireplace flames.
“You’re mine, Allie,” he said. “Forever.”
“Forever,” she agreed, closing her eyes as he bent to kiss her.
The moment his lips claimed hers her heart was flying, and pictures of their future flashed through her mind.
She pictured their wedding day, and then saw the three of them filling greenhouses with fresh flowers and vegetables, hosting a family party to celebrate the new root beer floats, working on volunteer projects at the school, attending fundraisers and planning family events, a montage of joyful activity stretching out as far as her imagination could possibly carry her.
As Ash pulled back, his eyes hazy with wanting, Allie reached up to stroke his jaw and revel in the idea that he was really going to be her husband.
She knew now that whatever they set their minds to would be in their reach as long as they did it together. But the truth was that everything that mattered most in the world was already right here under this roof.
Allie’s happily-ever-after might have been a long and winding road. But the joy in her heart told her it had been worth every single step of the journey.
***
Thanks for reading Sweet Fortune!