Chapter 25 Leo
Chapter twenty-five
Leo
NOW
We’d had great weather all week while putting together the booths and preparing Main Street for the Holiday Hoopla. Saturday dawned clear and cool, promising an event where folks could soak up the atmosphere while warding off the chill with hot chocolate and apple cider.
Maureen and Will had come to dinner at the house last night. She told me about a Hoopla during her teen years when it rained so hard that the rides shut down, but people still gathered around the city tree to sing carols and mingle with neighbors.
“It was basically Whoville. Teenage me thought it was so embarrassing,” she said. “But I see the charm now.”
“A few years ago, my students would have said it was cringe,” Marley added.
“They don’t say that anymore?” I asked.
“It’s acceptable, but not the current word of choice,” James answered ridiculously.
“What is?”
In unison, Marley and James responded, “Corny.”
“I like that.” Miranda grinned. “It’s a classic.”
“You’re a classic,” I said, leaning down to kiss the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
She giggled. Under usual circumstances, I was as skeptical of corny things as teenaged Maureen, but since I’d spent the past few days being openly in love with Miranda—and the nights making love with her—I was in the mood to be charmed.
Like James and Will, who had been dedicated city-dwellers before moving here, I’d succumbed to Coleman Creek’s Christmas magic. That was in addition to the fact that, also like them, I was firmly under the spell of one of the Davis sisters.
Being with Miranda physically was a revelation. She never let me get in my head, never indicated that having my bedroom skills be a work in progress was anything other than an adventure.
I felt in tune with my body in a way I'd never been before and was gaining a new understanding of myself.
Last night, after I told her I doubted I’d ever have a high sex drive, that I loved making her come, but wasn’t sure my dick would cooperate every night, she scoffed at the notion that I was confessing something terrible.
“I don’t care if sexual congress”—she curled her fingers—“is a big part of our routine or not, Bear. No one can convince me we haven’t been as intimate as any lovers, that you haven’t been the other half of me since we met.
I honestly could not care less about how often tab A goes into slot B or whatever. ”
“You’re sure?”
“Completely. You are everything I’ve ever wanted. Exactly as you are.”
I believed her. A few more days and I’d stop asking. Maybe.
As soon as we arrived at the Hoopla, Maureen and Will ventured off to film for her channel while James and Marley meandered toward the high school's booth. I saw Daniel there with his guitar. He blushed and nodded at Nan, sitting next to him and speaking animatedly to the group. With the love hearts beaming from his eyeballs, he belonged in the dictionary under the word “yearning.” Ah, well. Good luck. He was a senior this year. Maybe he’d finally shoot his shot once he and Nan were both in college.
James and Marley had a rooting interest in this, and I realized that I did too, since my brother and sister-in-law spent a fair amount of time gushing about their students.
Plus, it was tough not to cheer for an underdog. Especially at Christmas.
“What?” Miranda asked.
I pointed at the booth. “Daniel.”
She grinned. “I’m pretty sure Nan knows. Probably the whole town too.”
“More power to them. With how I’m feeling, I want everyone to be as happy as I am.”
Miranda pulled my coat open, slipping inside and snuggling against my torso. “I love you so much. I’m glad we found our way to each other.”
I kissed the top of her head just as Kasen approached, carrying Katy’s kids in his arms. Even though Rosie was nearly five, she still fit comfortably in his bent elbow.
“Knock it off, you two,” Kasen teased us in a fake-gruff voice. “There are children present.”
I reached out to shake his hand, settling for an awkward grab underneath where three-year-old Braxton perched on his forearm. “Everything turned out great, man. Thanks so much for helping me set up.”
Kasen squatted to put the kids on the ground. “Hey, I just did what you told me to. The whole town is grateful you stepped in to pick up the slack. Safe to say you’re an honorary Coleman Creeker now.”
“He’s already a Coleman Creeker by marriage,” Miranda chirped. “Don’t forget his brother is married to Marley.”
Kasen flinched but washed it quickly. We’d been talking over the past few days while we worked, and I’d gotten a bit of his history, including some about the eight years during high school and college when he dated Marley.
I knew he’d once tried to get her back, but she’d already fallen head over heels for James.
They’d all managed to become friends, but I got the impression there was a scab there. At least for Kasen.
Thankfully, most of our discussions had focused on the work.
I’d been pleased to discover that he possessed natural carpentry skills.
His eye for detail made sense, since he worked as a graphic designer.
While I made sure the booths were stable and the lighting and PA systems worked properly, he’d touched up the paint, set up the craft vendors' tables in neat rows with eye-catching displays, and printed fun new menus for the food stalls.
Because we’d had extra time, he also strung up more lights than the event usually had. I’d heard multiple people remark on how magical it was to have the twinkling colors twined around every lamppost, storefront sign, and tree on Main Street.
Braxton tugged on Kasen’s leg and pointed at a family nearby. I recognized Travis and Vivienne Bloxham and their children.
“Sen, can we go see Scarlett and Connor?” Braxton asked.
Kasen made eye contact with Travis and hitched his neck toward Katy’s kids. Travis nodded. “Sure, Brax. Make sure to hold your sister’s hand.”
The little boy nodded solemnly. “I will.”
“You’re good with them,” Miranda said. “Katy’s lucky to have your help.”
Kasen shoved his hands in his pockets. “Like I said before, it’s not a thing. They’re great kids.”
“They are,” Miranda mused. She glanced over Kasen’s shoulders. “But where is Katy? I know The Landslide closed for the Hoopla.”
Kasen frowned. “She had to step away because he called.” His voice remained level, but his expression thundered.
“Ah,” Miranda responded unartfully. What could she say? Even I knew that Katy’s ex was a jerk.
“I don’t want to gossip,” Kasen said, “but since Marley and I already know, I don’t think Katy’s keeping it a secret that Mike backed out of coming to visit for the holidays.
He told the kids he would come for Thanksgiving, then begged off, and a few days ago, he canceled on Christmas.
” Kasen shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Then just now, he had the nerve to call and tell Katy he was having a ‘little snafu with money.’ He asked her to put his name on a few of the gifts she bought.”
“That’s pretty low.” I grimaced.
Miranda huffed. “Also, stupid. Everyone knows kids get all their gifts from Santa.”
Kasen’s jaw ticked. “That’s what she told him. But when it started veering off into a longer discussion about how he also wouldn’t be able to produce his support payment—again—I grabbed Rosie and Brax to give her some privacy.”
“Good call,” Miranda said.
“Literally the least I can do,” Kasen said gruffly. Under his breath, he added, “Tough to get her to let me help with anything.”
I exchanged glances with Miranda, clearly on the same page that we’d ventured well past the line of what was and was not our business.
I pivoted to a topic I hoped was more neutral, complimenting Kasen on the new signage he’d produced for the event.
Our conversation turned benign—the Seahawks win streak, the weather, the number of times he’d had to read Frog and Toad to Rosie—and Kasen relaxed.
Ten minutes later, Katy joined us, waving over to Travis and Vivienne.
“Everything okay?” Kasen asked.
She patted his forearm. “It’ll be fine. Nothing to ruin our night over.” None of us missed the stress in her voice, but I admired her fortitude. “The kids have been asking to ride the merry-go-round and get hot chocolate.”
Kasen nodded. “Great. I’d love some cider.”
Katy looked at Miranda and me. “Want to join?”
“Thanks,” I said. “But we were headed to the park to listen to the carolers.”
Katy smiled, shaking her head. “Brax won’t go near them. Especially the ones dressed in Victorian garb. He says their big hats are scary.”
I chuckled as she and Kasen drifted away.
Miranda and I walked toward the park, which had small groups of carolers stationed about every fifty yards. “I didn’t realize we had a plan to listen to the singing.” She quirked an eyebrow.
“I had to think fast.” I defended myself. “Not to be rude, but I really want to be alone with you.”
“Me too.”
I kissed her on the nose. “Panda, I have to tell you something, and it might seem like it’s coming out of left field.”
My tone was light, so she knew nothing was truly wrong.
She smiled. “Good thing I'm in the mood for a curveball. What’s up?”
“When we were talking to Kasen, a thought popped into my head. It’s not fully formulated, obviously, but I guess I realized that I consider him a friend now. We got along really well this past week while setting things up. And I don’t think James would mind that I’m friends with Marley’s ex.”
Miranda tilted her chin up. “He won't mind. Marley and Kasen are on great terms now, and I know she wants the best for him.”
“That sounds like Marley.”
“Is that what you wanted to say?”
“Not exactly. More like, I thought about how I consider Kasen a friend now, and I care about Katy and other people I’ve met here. I'm even crossing my fingers for Daniel and Nan. It's like the Coleman Creek vibe has taken a serious hold of me.”
“O-kay?” she drawled slowly. “It's great that you're making connections, but I’m not following where you’re going with this.”
“Like I said,” I spoke quickly. “It’s not fully formed yet, but I think maybe I could be happy in Coleman Creek. James and Marley are here, and they’ll have kids eventually, plus the only thing grounding me to Tacoma is my job and a few friends.”
“What about your parents?”
I released a long sigh. “Honestly, years ago, before I concluded—very, very wrongly—that I’d never be in love with anyone, I hadn’t envisioned staying near Seattle.
But once I started thinking that my life would be spent solo, and I was struggling to make meaningful friendships because I didn’t want anyone to figure out about me—”
“I hate that you ever felt like you needed to be ashamed or embarrassed.” Miranda frowned.
“It’s okay. Truly. The point is that I thought it might be a good idea to stay by my parents to maintain that sense of family. Plus, James was still in Seattle at that time. Now, I feel like I wouldn’t mind starting over. My parents would understand. In fact, I bet they’d encourage it.”
“So you want to move to Coleman Creek?”
“No. I’m just saying it’s something I’d support if you ever wanted to. Obviously, my home is with you. If you want to stay in Los Angeles, then I’ll start planning to move there. But I kind of get the feeling that you don’t?”
She sucked in her bottom lip. “A part of me would love to come home. But I also feel like I want to prove myself at my job first. I know I can be good at it, that I can earn my coworkers’ respect and Walt’s trust. It’s nice to know Coleman Creek is on the table, but we just did this big, huge thing—making the leap into a relationship.
We don’t need to change everything all at once. ”
“As long as we’re committed to being together, we can keep talking.
” I lowered my voice, holding her tightly.
“But just so you’re clear, nothing about this leap feels too big to me.
I’m not scared or worried or overwhelmed.
I was all those things without you, but with you…
With you, I can do anything. You might be @theadventurousmiranda, but I’m the one starting the most exciting journey of my life. All because of you.”
“I love you,” she hushed out. “We’re going to be together forever, aren’t we?”
“Yes, my beautiful, precious love. We’re going to be together forever.”
In the background, chaos reigned as Victorian carolers belting out “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” competed with an a cappella rendition of Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me.” I heard none of it, fully focused on the woman in my arms.
Miranda kissed me, and it was as much of a revelation as the dozens of kisses we’d shared since we declared our love. It was the promise of a future and a memory of the past.
The kiss was late nights laughing and video chatting, lamenting terrible hiking trails and wealthy clients demanding perfection.
It was confessions of grief and shame, worries about the future, fears of being stuck in the present.
It was power walking past toddlers at Disneyland and shaking a vending machine on the side of the road to get the Three Musketeers stuck on the ring.
The kiss was the way she pretended to faint whenever she saw my dystopian paintings, and the secret smile we exchanged when someone mentioned Barbie or Thor.
It was shared history, built-up trust, and so much more than just pressing our mouths together.
It was everything. She was everything.
And now we belonged to each other.
For real.