Special Epilogue
I love Christmas, don’t get me wrong. But seeing everyone all happy and in love and spending time with their families reminds me of the one person who isn’t here for her favorite holiday of the year.
My mom.
It’s been years since she passed but it was so sudden and without any warning that it left a mark on my heart, one that has and will never go away.
Every Christmas, I light a candle on the window frame of wherever I am at the time so she can look down and know I’m thinking of her.
This year it’s really weighing on me. Whatever I do, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a part of my heart missing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my life. I’m living the dream in Timber Falls. The Cooper brothers and their wives have all welcomed me into their family with open arms. And I come home to Bull and Spring Haven as often as I can to see Dad, Mags, and the rest of the ranch family.
But if I’m honest, as I sit here on a bench in the town square and watch the festivities wind down after the busy all-day festival, it dawns on me that despite being content, I’m a little… lost.
I may have finally found my place in the world at Cooper Ranch. It’s somewhere I can really make a difference and share the knowledge Dad instilled in me to help rebuild the property and give back to the mountain.
It’s where I belong. For however long that may be. And yet, there’s still something I’m missing. I just don’t know what.
“Hey,” I hear a warm voice say from beside me, “is this seat taken?”
I look up just as Sage, Colton’s sister, sits down. “Is it always like this?
“Like what?”
“So… happy,” she sighs.
I snort and cock my head her way. “Maybe you need to go talk to Santa. He makes everyone happy,” I tease.
“I have, believe me. Don’t know about you, but this time of year always makes me miss my parents.”
Sage and her brothers and sister lost their mom and then their dad years ago. “I was just thinking the same thing. It’s not that I’m not happy, it’s that–”
“Somethin’ or someone’s missin’,” she answers for me. “Yeah. I get that.”
“Does it ever get easier?”
She shrugs. “Would you ever want it to? In my mind, wouldn’t that mean that you’re forgettin’ the memory of them?”
I stare into her soulful tawny eyes as something jolts inside of me. It’s not like the earth moves or that I’ve been struck by lightning or anything. It’s like something is clicking into place, somewhere deep inside me.
“I could never forget Mom,” I reply, not looking away from her.
“I could never forget my parents either.”
“So, what are we supposed to do?”
“Cherish them. Remember them. Live your life always strivin’ to make them proud,” she says, still staring at me.
There’s something about her that makes me feel better–as strange as that seems, considering we’ve barely spent any time together.
Sure, she’s visited Colt, Leah, and the kids a lot since that’s her brother, best friend, and her niece and nephews.
But in terms of meaningful time together, nope.
And something tells me I’ve been missing out.
There’s also the fact that she’s older than me by a good few years.
But sitting here with Sage now, I sense a kindred spirit of sorts.
“Hey, what’s he doin’ here?” she says, breaking the comfortable silence between us.
She points above us, and when I look up, I see Duck Norris–the cross-eyed, one-legged menace duck from Bull Mountain–perched on a beam above our heads.
Given he’s known to be a bit of a Houdini and somehow has an ability to turn up anywhere, his appearance tonight isn’t exactly surprising, given his love of baked goods and creating mischief.
What is new is what is sticking out of his beak and being held over our heads.
“Is that…mistletoe?” she asks.
“Sure looks like it.”
Sage drops her gaze to mine before it drifts further down to my mouth and back up again. “Doesn’t mean we have to…”
My heart jumps into a gallop at just the thought of it. I shake my head. “We don’t have to…” I say, even though I’m suddenly very curious about what it would be like to kiss Sage Roberts. My lips tingle at the thought.
She shrugs, her eyes crinkling at the sides as she leans in and shoots me a small smirk. “I mean, it is tradition. It doesn’t have to mean anythin’...right?”
Except it would. I don’t say that though.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice strong, thankfully not giving me away.
Suddenly, I’m feeling butterflies and without realizing I’m doing it, I’m rubbing my clammy palms on my jeans.
“Yeah…” she repeats, leaning in further just as I find myself doing the same. It’s like there’s this invisible string pulling tight between us, bringing us closer.
The moment our mouths touch, I feel that same jolt again. But this time it’s not something sliding into place, it’s like a key has been turned... locked.
We both stay there as if frozen in time. Her eyes flutter closed, but I don’t dare look away. I’m committing this moment to memory. It is my first kiss after all.
Then it’s like my body is not under my control and instinct and need take over. I slide the tip of my tongue out and glide it along the seam of her lips, earning a barely-there moan before she opens up for me.
That’s the moment a simple kiss turns into something more... something unexpected.
The world around me disappears along with everyone at the festival. It’s just the two of us and this moment… this kiss.
When a loud ‘quack’ echoes around us, we jump apart, both breathing hard, both wide-eyed. We stare at each other, neither one of us saying a word. Did she feel it too?
Because what started as a tradition, a rite of passage, is now anything but.
That kiss wasn’t something that meant nothing. For me, it was the exact opposite.
It meant everything. Now I know what the space in my heart was waiting for.
“We.. ah… should get back,” she stammers as she gets up from the bench.
I watch as she plasters on a teasing smile that doesn’t reach her wide, surprised–maybe even as confused as I am–eyes. Did she feel it too?
“Was that… OK?” I ask because it’s not every day you experience your first kiss.
“What?” she asks before understanding fills her gaze. “Yeah, Wy. Thank you.” I should be the one thanking her.
She dips down and brushes her lips against my cheek. “That was just how I knew it would be.”
And as we wordlessly walk back toward our families, there’s only one thing on my mind.
I may not know what that kiss meant, but something tells me the mountain spirit will make sure I find out.
I can only hope so, anyway. Because if my realization is right, it means that my time is coming.
Soon I will hear the Mountain’s Call.