Epilogue
PHOENIX
Melody hums while she rearranges ornaments on my parents’ Christmas tree for the third time—something between “Jingle Bells” and one of our newer tracks.
Her auburn curls spill across the hardwood as she sprawls beside the same artificial tree Mom’s had for as long as I can remember, red and green lights blinking steady overhead.
“Phoenix.” Dad’s voice carries from the kitchen. “Can you grab the turkey platter from the top shelf? Your mother insists we need the fancy one.”
I head toward the kitchen, but stop mid-stride.
Dad stands at the counter wearing his Hollow Reign tour shirt—the one from our Nashville show last month.
Black fabric stretches across his shoulders, our band logo emblazoned across the front in silver foil.
He wore it to the grocery store this morning too.
Told the checkout clerk his son was the lead singer.
My throat tightens.
“Dad, you don’t have to wear that every time I come over.”
He glances down at the shirt, grinning. “What? It’s comfortable. Good quality merch.” He taps the logo. “Besides, I’m supporting local business.”
Mom laughs from where she’s stirring gravy at the stove. “He wore it to church last Sunday. Reverend Thompson asked for an autograph.”
“I gave him one.” Dad reaches for the platter I hand him. “Signed the church bulletin.”
Warmth spreads through my chest—the kind I’d forgotten existed during those years of silence. The years when family meant obligation and disappointment instead of this easy banter, these small moments of pride that feel bigger than any sold-out arena.
“Daddy!” Melody barrels into the kitchen, launching herself at my legs. “Can you help me ride my new bike after lunch?”
I scoop her up, her laughter ringing through the house. “Depends. Can you promise not to go faster than me?”
“No way. I’m gonna be super fast.” She wraps her arms around my neck. “Like Lightning McQueen.”
Elle leans against the doorframe, watching us with that soft expression that still catches me off guard. The one that says she sees something worth keeping.
I press a kiss to Melody’s temple as she clings to me.
Elle crosses to the counter, hip bumping mine as she reaches for the cranberry sauce. Her hand finds my arm, squeezing once before she releases me.
Dad grins at Elle as he arranges rolls in a basket. “Read your piece in Reverb last week. The one on indie labels supporting emerging artists.”
Elle’s cheeks flush. “You actually read it?”
“Cover to cover. Brilliant writing.” He winks at me. “She’s the reason Reverb is worth reading.”
“I wouldn’t go that far—”
“Senior features editor before thirty,” Mom adds, pulling the turkey from the oven. “We’re proud of you too, sweetheart.”
The casual endearment—sweetheart—lands with more weight than Mom probably realizes. Elle blinks rapidly, ducking her head to hide the emotion flickering across her features.
Melody wiggles down from my arms and races toward the living room.
I follow her, settling onto the couch as she climbs into my lap. Elle appears behind us, resting her hand on my shoulder.
“Presents now? Can we do presents?”
“After lunch, sweetheart,” Elle calls from the dining room.
“Oh!” Mom emerges from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Almost forgot—a package came for you this morning, Phoenix. From California.” She nods toward a flat rectangular box wrapped in metallic red paper beneath the tree. “Must be from Casey.”
My stomach drops. Casey wouldn’t.
Melody’s already dragging it across the floor. “Open it, Daddy!”
“Melody, wait—”
Too late. She thrusts the package into my hands.
The paper tears. Inside, folded neatly, sits a Christmas sweater that makes last year’s look subtle.
Forest green with a massive light-up Rudolph face covering the entire front. The nose blinks red. Actual jingle bells dangle from the antlers. Across the bottom, in glittering gold letters: ROCK ON, RUDOLPH.
A card tumbles out. I flip it open.
Merry Christmas from L.A.! I couldn’t be there, but I could send your annual holiday humiliation. Enjoy, bitch. —Casey
“Oh my god.” Elle’s laugh bursts free as she plucks the sweater from my hands, holding it up. The bells jingle. Rudolph’s nose flashes. “This is perfect.”
“It’s hideous.”
“It’s tradition.” She shoves it against my chest. “Put it on.”
“Absolutely not. We’re about to eat—”
“Come on.” Her eyes dance with mischief. “Casey sent it all the way from California.”
“I’m not—”
“Please, Daddy?” Melody’s eyes go wide—that devastating combination of hope and sweetness that’s impossible to refuse. “Please wear the funny sweater?”
I’m fucked.
Because how the hell am I supposed to say no to that face?
“Fine.” I yank my shirt over my head and pull the monstrosity on in one swift movement, ignoring Dad’s snort of laughter from the kitchen doorway. The fabric stretches across my shoulders, bells jingling. Rudolph’s nose blinks in steady, obnoxious rhythm against my chest.
Melody dissolves into giggles. “You look so silly!”
“If any photos end up online—”
“No promises.” Elle’s trying—and failing—to suppress her grin.
“Glad I could entertain everyone.” I tug at the hem, bells jangling. “Can we eat now?”
“Wait—” Melody’s eyes go wide, hand flying to her mouth. “Daddy! What about the secret?”
My pulse hammers.
Elle’s eyebrows rise. She crosses her arms, mouth curving with amusement. “What secret?”
“Nothing.” Melody clamps a hand over her mouth.
“Melody Grace.” Elle crouches down to her level. “What secret?”
“Can’t tell. Daddy said.”
Elle’s gaze shifts to me, curiosity sparking in those amber eyes. “Phoenix?”
My throat tightens. This wasn’t how I planned it—fumbling in front of my entire family with turkey getting cold on the table, wearing a light-up Rudolph sweater that jingles every time I breathe—but the moment presents itself anyway.
I stand, bells jingling with the movement. Elle’s eyes widen slightly as I extend my hand to her.
“Come here.”
“We’re about to eat—”
“One minute.”
She studies my face, reading whatever she finds there, then nods. I lead her toward the Christmas tree while my family settles around the table, their voices dropping to whispers.
I reach for a specific ornament—silver with delicate filigree, hanging exactly where Melody placed it this morning. My pulse hammers against my ribs as I lift it from the branch. Rudolphs nose blinks between us.
“Phoenix?” Elle’s voice wavers. “What are you—”
I open the. Inside, nestled in velvet, sits a ring.
White gold band, single diamond catching the colored lights. Simple. Classic. Exactly what she described years ago when we talked about hypothetical futures that seemed impossible.
I drop to one knee. The hardwood presses cold through my jeans. The bells jangle softly with the movement.
Elle’s breath hitches. “Oh my god—”
“I had a whole speech planned,” I say. The bells jingle as I shift position. “Something poetic about second chances and family and choosing each other every day. But honestly?” I glance down at the ridiculous sweater, at the blinking nose and jangling bells. “I think this might be more us anyway.”
Tears spill down Elle’s cheeks. Behind us, my family has gone silent—no clinking silverware, no whispered conversation. Waiting.
“I’ve loved you since the night you walked into that dive bar in Nashville,” I continue.
“Loved you through every stupid mistake I made, every mile between us, every moment I convinced myself I’d ruined everything beyond repair.
” My throat tightens. “You gave me a daughter I didn’t deserve.
A second chance I’ll spend the rest of my life earning.
A family I’d stopped believing I could have. ”
She covers her mouth with both hands.
“So marry me, Elle. Let me make this official. Let me spend every Christmas morning watching you with our daughter, every tour break coming home to you, every ordinary Tuesday being extraordinarily grateful you chose to have a life with me.” I pause.
“And I’ll wear ridiculous sweaters every day if it means you say yes. ”
Silence stretches. Melody appears at my side, eyes wide.
“Say yes, Mommy,” she whispers, loud enough to carry across the room. “Please say yes so I can be the flower girl.”
Laughter breaks the tension. Elle sobs—the good kind, the kind that comes with joy too big to contain.
“Yes.” She drops to her knees, framing my face with her hands. “Yes.”
The ring slides onto her finger—a perfect fit. She kisses me hard—tasting like tears and promise.
“You proposed in an ugly Christmas sweater,” she murmurs against my lips, laughing through tears.
“Casey’s timing is impeccable.”
“It’s perfect.” She pulls back, eyes shining.
My family erupts in cheers. Melody launches herself at us, wrapping her arms around both our necks in a collision of limbs and laughter and jingling bells.
“Wait, wait!” Mom rushes toward us, phone raised. “Let me get a picture!”
“Mom, let me change out of—”
“Perfect! Stay right there!” She kneels, angling her phone. “Elle, show the ring. Phoenix, stop trying to hide. Melody—perfect, sweetheart, just like that.”
The flash goes off before either of us can protest. Then another. And another.
Dad wipes his eyes while Mom snaps photos from every conceivable angle. Elle presses her forehead to mine, her breath warm against my lips, her laughter soft and private between us.
“I love you,” she murmurs.
“I love you too.”
We stay like this—tangled together on my parents’ living room floor, Christmas lights blinking overhead, Rudolph’s nose flashing in rhythm, the scent of turkey and pine filling the air.
Melody squirms between us, chattering about wedding dresses and flowers and whether she can wear her sparkly shoes.
Later, after lunch, I’ll help her learn to ride that bike. After that, we’ll open presents and drink hot chocolate and fall asleep watching holiday movies.
But right now, I close eyes and let myself feel it—the completeness of this moment. One blizzard. One desperate ride on a tour bus. One confession that shattered and rebuilt everything.
One perfect, impossible Christmas that changed my entire life.
Even if I am wearing jingle bells and a light-up Rudolph nose.
Get ready for one more moment of magic. In this bonus epilogue, follow Elle and Phoenix eighteen months later as they return to the small town where everything changed—and finally say “I do.” Their Christmas miracle becomes a summer wedding filled with family, laughter, and the promise of forever.
Read the bonus epilogue Final Encore: The Wedding.