Epilogue
One Year Later
Evergreen Hollow was completely covered in snow. It was a few days before Christmas and it had snowed almost every single day. This year, Keena smiled when she looked at the Christmas lights in town.
She rested one hand on the steering wheel while the other remained comfortably entwined with her mate’s. Brice sat next to her singing along with the holiday music that played on the radio. Brice glanced over at her with a smile that made Keena’s heart skip a beat.
“What?” Keena asked. Her gaze dropped down to Brice’s shoulder that held her mark.
It was covered now by her clothing and winter coat.
That morning, they had lain together in bed.
Each morning she pressed a kiss to the mark she had made on Brice’s skin the night she’d claimed her.
The healed scar proclaimed Brice as hers forever.
“I was just thinking,” Brice murmured.
Keena tore her eyes from Brice’s shoulder and focused back on the road.
“The last time you were just thinking, you had me putting together new shelving racks at the shop,” she grumbled playfully. Not that she minded. She loved helping her mate out at the bookstore.
“I was thinking of last Christmas,” Brice said. She gave Keena’s hand a firm squeeze. “A lot has changed since then. You smile more. You laugh all the time now.”
“I have reasons to now,” Keena admitted. She brought Brice’s hand to her lips and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it.
“I’m glad,” Brice said.
The conversation settled into a comfortable silence.
Keena glanced in the rearview mirror at the backseat.
A beautiful evergreen wreath rested there, decorated with pinecones, holly berries and a wide silver ribbon Brice had insisted on tying on herself.
A bouquet of white lilies lay beside it.
They were one of Lizzie’s favorite flowers.
The cemetery gates came into view a few moments later and Keena’s smile faded. Not from grief this time, but from peace. She parked the SUV and killed the engine. For a moment, neither of them moved.
“Are you ready?” Brice asked.
Keena looked toward the rows of headstones before turning back to the woman beside her. There had been a time when she’d made this walk alone. She had believed she always would.
Now…she didn’t have to.
She leaned over and kissed Brice softly. When they parted, she rested her forehead against Brice’s and smiled.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” She exited the vehicle and went around to open Brice’s door.
She helped her mate down from the truck.
Keena lifted the wreath from the back seat while Brice gathered the bouquet.
Their boots crunched softly through the fresh snow as they made their way between the rows of headstones.
The cemetery was underneath a quiet blanket of snow that was untouched except for a handful of footprints left earlier by other visitors. Wreaths and flowers decorated the grounds painting the stark white landscape with dots of color.
Keena slowed as Lizzie’s grave came into view. For a moment, she stood quietly. Brice stepped beside her without saying a word. Snow had gathered across the top of the granite marker hiding part of Lizzie’s name.
Keena crouched first and brushed away the powdery snow with gentle strokes. A second hand joined hers. She glanced up and looked into Brice’s smiling face.
“I figured you could use some help.”
“Thanks.” Keena’s heart warmed at the sight of her new mate clearing the headstone of her first mate.
Working side by side, they cleared all of the snow away so that Lizzie’s name was visible.
Brice brushed away the last bit of snow near the base of the stone before she reached for the wreath and flowers.
“Okay, now we are getting somewhere.” She gave a satisfied nod as she positioned them against the headstone. She stepped back to admire her handiwork. She smiled at the headstone. “Hey, Lizzie.”
Keena rolled her eyes at Brice’s silliness, but she honestly loved it. This wasn’t the first time she’d brought Brice with her. Each time, Brice shared things with Lizzie as if they were old friends.
“Girl, let me tell you about this wolf of ours,” Brice began. She grinned and shook her head. “She is still drinking black coffee. I have tried everything. Vanilla. Hazelnut. Peppermint mocha. Caramel. She still chooses black every single morning.”
She gave a dramatic sigh and glanced upwards.
“You do know I can hear you, right?” Keena said.
“I know. But this conversation is between me and Lizzie,” Brice said haughtily.
“She’s not going to want to hear about my black coffee,” Keena said. She gave a shrug. “I like what I like.”
“Why is this wolf so damn stubborn? She needs to live a little,” Brice said.
Keena laughed. She couldn’t help it. She just never understood why neither of them could accept that she liked her coffee black. It wasn’t a crime to like black coffee.
“Anywho, girl. I wish we could have met. I think we would have been good friends,” Brice said softly. She glanced toward Keena with a devious smile. “I’m sure you would have warned me about this wolf and how stubborn she can be.”
“Okay.” Keena stood and tugged Brice by the arm. She giggled and took a step back. Keena bent down and rested her fingertips along Lizzie’s name. “I still miss you. They say grief changes with time and I’m starting to think they’re right.”
A few moments passed before she could continue.
“I still love you, Lizzie and I always will.” Tears filled her eyes. She sniffed and wiped away the lone tear that escaped. “I don’t think there will ever be a Christmas that I don’t think of you.”
Her gaze drifted toward Brice who had stepped a few feet away to give her and Lizzie privacy. Keena chuckled at the way Brice was watching a cardinal hop along a tree branch.
“You would have loved her Lizzie.” Another laugh escaped her as she shook her head. “The two of you would have teamed up to harass me and I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
The thought made her smile widened then she felt a sweet tenderness appear in her heart. She traced Lizzie’s name with her finger.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For loving me so completely. For showing me what a fated mate could be, and for burning those cookies. I thought loving someone else would mean I was leaving you behind. I promised I would love you for the rest of my life and I will.”
She paused again and had to wipe the tears from her face. She glanced over at Brice who was singing softly and kicking up small piles of snow.
“I love her so much, Lizzie. She makes me laugh, she challenges me and reminds me to live.” She kissed her fingertips before resting them against the top of the headstone. “Merry Christmas, Lizzie.”
She stood to her full height and turned to Brice who had extended her hand to her.
“You ready to head home?” Brice asked quietly.
“Yeah.” She slipped her hand into Brice’s without hesitation. She entwined their fingers together. She pulled Brice close to her as they walked along the path that led to where they had parked. Keena glanced back only once.
The wreath and flowers were beautiful and Lizzie would have liked them.
Her heart felt full at the moment. Not because she’d let go of her first love, but because she’d discovered there had always been room for another. She would carry Lizzie in her heart forever.
Hand in hand with Brice, Keena guided them to their future, leaving two sets of footprints stretching across the snow.
Thank you so much for reading A Second Christmas Moon!