44. Epilogue - Clark
One year later . . .
“Hurry up, hon! You can’t miss the start of your own movie!”
“I’m coming!” Clara calls from across the room in the kitchen. She waltzes over, balancing two mugs of hot cocoa—mine plain, hers brimming with whipped cream.
I pretend not to notice the dollop of whipped cream Clara offers to Chase. Let’s just say he’s been spoiled with a lot of unsanctioned people food ever since Clara and I got married.
Our relationship might have seemed fast to some people. But we both knew the day we professed our love by the tree at Crown Center that we were in this forever. Not to mention, long-distance relationships are the literal worst.
Clara continued working for WritInc and living in Kansas City for the first three months we dated, but we saw each other almost every weekend. I took a handful of long weekend trips to KC to join her and her parents for their Thursday night dinners. But Clara almost always wanted to travel to Noel. That Hindu Rope Hoya I bought for her did the trick, apparently.
We’ve both made adjustments and compromises as we’ve learned to blend our very different personalities and preferences. Even without Syd’s frequent reminders, I know that Clara has made me a better man. She’s forced me to grow and stretch in ways that I never would have done on my own—like finally seeing a therapist to work through my complicated childhood and family loss. Admitting I needed Clara in my life opened the door to admitting I needed help from a professional, too.
When Clara’s movie script was officially purchased for production by the Heartmark Channel, they asked her if she had ideas for additional films. Needless to say, Clara’s mind is chock full of “Christmas love stories,” as I affectionately refer to them. She resigned from her role at WritInc in order to move to her cabin in Noel and write movie scripts full time. Heartmark has already purchased the rights for two more, and I’m 100 percent confident that this is only the beginning.
Davis and Syd helped me plan a second annual float trip in June, complete with another “surprise injury” by Junior. Of course, it was a ruse for them to leave so that I could get down on one knee and ask to be Clark-and-Clara for the rest of our lives. Syd and Davis were ready with fireworks down the beach the moment that Clara screamed yes and jumped into my arms.
We got married in downtown Noel the day after Thanksgiving, surrounded by the Christmas magic that Clara dreamed up. It means delaying our honeymoon until after Christmas, but neither of us wanted to miss out on the second annual Christmas Fest—even bigger and better than last year.
The festival ended the day before the air date of Clara’s Heartmark movie, “Christmas Saved Our Town.” Syd is hosting a watch party at their house, and I’m sure every other television in Noel will be tuned to the channel tonight.
But Clara and I are curled up together on the couch at home, just the two of us. And Chase.
We decided that I would move into her cabin after we got married, rather than us living in my childhood home. My family legacy is still too complicated for me to want to begin my new family with Clara among the ghosts of those memories. For now, I’m renting the house out to Beau and Abby. The pet food production facility opened in October, and Beau was able to secure a position and wrap up his job in Joplin. They moved back to Noel just in time for Christmas Fest.
After several long conversations with Clara, Davis, and Syd, I resigned from my position as mayor. Emily took over the job, completely capable and willing to lead our town. Noland’s has been doing well enough financially to hire more full-time employees. That means Emily has had more time—and far better ideas—to devote to the mayoral office than I ever did. She’s also enjoyed lording her civic authority over their three teenagers to keep them in line.
Stepping down as mayor lifted a weight off my shoulders in more ways than one. It’s freed me up to let go of some of the lifelong pressure I’ve felt from my last name. Allowed me to separate who I am from my ancestry. It’s also given me more time to focus on my new wife, which is really the only thing I want to focus on these days. It turns out Pops was right—I’ve scored the biggest jackpot on earth in loving Clara. I have a hard time thinking about anything other than the incredible woman sitting next to me.
She takes a sip of her hot cocoa, then sets it on the table next to mine before burrowing under my arm against my side. “Even though I’ve seen bits and pieces of the footage, I’m so nervous to see the real thing for the first time,” Clara says, face buried in her hands.
Grasping her wrists, I pull her hands away from her face. I press a kiss to each fingertip before angling my neck down to kiss her lips. “It’s going to be perfect,” I tell her.
She sighs and leans in to kiss me again, reaching one hand up to thread her fingers through my hair.
“Better be careful, or I’m going to carry you back to our room, and you’ll miss your movie debut,” I growl, only half teasing. Clara kisses the tip of my nose, then settles back in to watch the movie.
When Renee’s character first encounters Jack on the screen, he’s all rough edges and gruff bluster. “Hey, this guy is nothing like me,” I whine, squeezing Clara’s knee right where I know she’s ticklish.
“Who said he was inspired by you?” she exclaims between gasping giggles. I narrow my eyes at her. “Okay, okay, he was 99 percent inspired by you. But you’ll see past Jack’s grumpy exterior to his heart of liquid gold soon enough.”
Clara winks at me, and I’m tempted to make good on my threat to forgo the movie and carry her back to our bedroom. Instead, I tuck her tighter to my side, kissing her temple.
“The liquid gold might have stayed buried forever if not for the spunky, Christmas-loving beauty who came and rescued this grumpy Nole,” I murmur. “Who knew I’d be saved by No-el?”
Clara untucks herself from my side and swings a leg over my lap, straddling me. She places a hand on either cheek and studies my face. My hands find her waist, and I study her back. After getting lost momentarily in her cornflower-blue eyes, I ask, “What is it?”
“You say you were saved by No-el, but you weren’t the only one who needed a rescue. I don’t know that I ever would have prioritized my own passion if I hadn’t come here and met you. This movie”—she gestures over her shoulder—“literally wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t stumbled upon this town. Saved by Nole,” she finishes with a thoughtful smile.
Clara leans down to press her soft lips to mine with all the tenderness mirrored in her eyes.
The tenderness quickly deepens into passion, and I kiss my way from her lips across her chin, down the slope of her neck.
“Clark?” Clara murmurs. “I’ll watch the movie on rerun. I’d like you to carry me to our bedroom now.”
I smile against her neck, then reach up to thread my fingers through her curls.
“As you wish.”