83. The Sun, The Moon, and Now The Stars
THE SUN, THE MOON, AND NOW THE STARS
brIGHTON
“Wake up, darlin’.”
“No.” I’m way too comfy. I roll away from Eli and snuggle under the covers, pushing back into the warmth of his body.
“It’s Christmas morning.” I hear the smile in his voice.
“Five more minutes.”
He moves and a weird sound greets me. I know that sound. It’s the snuffling of an animal.
And it’s not Luna.
I listen as I lie here, fully awake now, until whiskers hit my chin and a tongue swipes my jaw.
When the wiggling doesn’t stop, I open my eyes and stare into one of the sweetest faces I’ve ever seen.
“Meet Sola.”
“Sola?”
I whistle, and Luna pops her blond head up to rest it on the bed at my face. Her chocolate eyes smile, and her tail wags lazily.
“Now you have the moon and the sun.”
I sigh, deep and contented, from my bones, as I pet Luna, while Sola pounces on anything that moves under the covers. “You’re the perfect man, Elias Finchley. Everything I need. Everything I want.”
Before I have time to roll to face him, he spoons me from behind, wrapping an arm low on my belly and pulling me deep into his body.
He reaches over and strokes Luna’s nose and rubs up her nose to between her ears.
“All I need is you,” He whispers his promise to me as I stare at the tri-colored face of the little Bernese Mountain dog puppy. The giggle that escapes me cannot be contained. The sheer joy of my life with Eli is embodied in the wiggling pup in my arms.
Without warning, Luna jumps up and flanks my other side, resting her head on my pillow and yawns. She’s not allowed on the bed and she knows it, but just this once, I allow it.
My eyes close in contentment as Sola tries to bark, obviously not the type to snuggle and sleep. Luna reaches out a paw and places it on his head. The laugh that bursts from me is echoed in the one from Eli at my back.
“He’s in for it,” he says through his laughter
“Think he’ll be a good Jeep dog?”
“Only one way to find out.”
A little “ruff” sounds again as Sola tests his voice. “No sleeping in anymore, I guess.” I fake a huff when I say it.
“You never do anyway. Besides, it’s time to head to the ranch.”
“The sun’s barely risen.”
“You’re not planning on checking on the horses then?”
“Fine. Just a quick trip to the stables before breakfast.”
After a quick shower, we climb in the Jeep, with Eli in the driver’s seat, and head to the ranch.
“Where’d you find Sola?”
“A friend of mine, Lisette, had a litter dumped by her house. They were, to our best guess, Australian shepherds, but this one oddball was in the mix. He’s definitely a Berner, but I don’t know if he’s purebred.”
“I don’t care about that.” I take his hand and squeeze, looking into the mirror at Luna’s head hanging out the window. Sola is on my lap, fighting sleep.
He squeezes my hand. “I know.”
“Thank you for rescuing Sola.” Ever so quietly, I add, “And me.”
He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses my knuckles and hums Luke Combs as we drive. As we turn into the ranch, we pass Braxton’s house, ablaze with Christmas lights. A blow-up Christmas cowboy dances in the wind in front of it.
We park at Pop’s and walk hand-in-hand, Luna and Sola at our heels, to the barn.
Snouts pop over the stalls as we enter. Brooks, Marron, and Wandy, Braxton’s horse, first, followed by Strait and Windrunner.
Chevalier, a new addition, is Willa’s. The cream beauty is all dignity and refinement with white eyelashes and a stunning tail. She peers over the stall door.
With no fear and maybe no sense either, Sola runs to her and sits directly in front of her, staring straight up in wonder. Chevalier licks him from snout to nape. Sola spins in a circle and sits again, only to have the mare do the same thing two more times.
“Well, that was fast.” I smile at the duo. Luna and Strait claimed each other and now these two.
We spend a few minutes in the barn only to discover that most of the morning’s tasks have already been completed.
“I guess Kimp would rather you be at home than working.” He extends his palm, and I take it, threading my fingers through his.
We take the well-worn path up to the big house and laugh watching Sola trying to take the stairs to the porch. The determination on his face is obvious. “You can do it, Sola. Think it through.” Once he does, he runs to stand near Luna at Pop’s front door.
A sigh escapes me, and a hand rubs my back between my shoulder blades. “Come on, Darlin’. You can do it too.”
I push open the door, facing the harshness of my first Christmas without Mom, and watch my canine family run inside—Luna to Pop; Sola to the unknown, enthusiastic and brave. In this moment, I remember who I am.
I am not timid.
I don’t play it safe.
I am gutsy.
I am tired of playing small because the world could hurt me. It can. It has. It will again.
And I’m stronger than all of that.
“Merry Christmas, Pop.” I kiss his cheek and wrap him in a hug.
He kisses me on the head and turns to Eli. The sound of him slapping his back echoes through the quiet kitchen. “Merry Christmas, son.”
“Merry Christmas, Kimp.”
Eli grabs two mugs of coffee and meets me in the living room where a fire crackles and the tree is lit.
“And who’s this little fella?” Pop extends a hand to Sola, who’s bouncing like he has springs in his paws.
“This is Sola. He’s a rescue and our newest addition.”
Pop leans down, scoops up the pup and rubs his hand down his spine and back again. “Well, aren’t you just a cutie?”
“Morning. Sorry we’re late.” Emberleigh pushes through the door, bags sliding down her laden arms. “We tried...”
Eli takes what he can from her arms and sets the packages around the tree.
Colt ambles to the threshold and falls to all fours, beginning to crawl to Pop.
Braxton brings up the rear. A glass dish in one hand, coffee mug in the other. “He insisted on doing it himself.” He shakes his head as a proud smile splits his face.
“Pa-Pa.” Colt beelines it for Pop. He hasn’t quite gotten the last “p”. Pop sets down Sola before grabbing Colt and tossing him into the air. Colt twists and turns his body straight down to Sola who drops his chest to the floor and extends his tail straight up, wagging as fast as he can.
“Here we go.” I lean forward and set my coffee mug in the center of the coffee table as far away as I can from Colt’s fingers and Sola’s tongue. “Colt, this is Sola. Be gentle. Sola, Colt will probably be your best friend.”
Braxton returns from the kitchen and drops into one of Pop’s recliners. “Please tell me that’s not his.” He points at the pup licking Colt’s face.
“No way. He’s mine.”
“Thank God.” He exhales. “A toddler is enough. A toddler and a puppy might do me in.”
“You act as if you have no help.” Emberleigh’s fake outrage is cut off by Colt’s giggles.
“Oh, Brax. Colt needs a dog. Look at him.” I’m stirring the pot and loving every second of it. I grab my mug and lean back into the sofa and Eli’s chest. It takes all I have not to snort in my coffee.
“Don’t you dare,” my brother starts.
“Don’t you dare what?” Layton comes around the corner from our old bedrooms. Sola runs for him and tries to find a toe to bite. “Ouch.”
“She better not have my boy thinking he needs a dog.” Braxton lifts his coffee mug in a toast. “Merry Christmas, Lay.”
Layton runs his hand back and forth across his head, sending his hair in all different directions. “Merry Christmas, everybody.”
He stumbles toward the kitchen, Sola nipping at the legs of his sleep pants that dance behind his heels. “Who’s this and where’s Looney?”
My girl lifts her head and pushes up onto her haunches and ambles off to the kitchen. She loves Layton and can’t get enough of him when he’s home.
“Incoming,” I throw over my shoulder as she heads his way. I whistle for Sola, not knowing if that’ll work at all. From the sound of his attempted bark in the other room, it fails miserably.
The front door opens again, and Exton steps back to let Willa go ahead of him. She enters, arms full to her chin with boxes. Braxton stands up to relieve her and kisses her cheek. Exton fidgets with something on the porch.
“Merry Christmas,” the room calls to both of them.
Exton slides an arm around Willa’s shoulders. “Merry Christmas, y’all.”
Layton comes back into the room with a large green foaming drink in his hand. Luna flanks one side. Sola springs around his other.
Exton squats and clicks his tongue. Luna lumbers over for pets, her pesky younger brother following in her wake.
“How are you, sweet girl?” Exton strokes Luna and holds her eyes.
She sits and soaks up his attention. “Who’s this little rascal?
Is he annoying you?” As if ignoring his question, she slides to the floor and twists to show him her chest and belly.
“I see,” he says, lifting Sola who tries to climb her and passing him over his shoulder to Willa and giving his full focus to Luna.
He’s going to be a great dad, but I pity his kids if they try to lie to him. Between his skills and his creativity, they’ll be in for it. It may be the most fun thing to watch over the next twenty years.
“Oh, you are so cute.” Willa nuzzles Sola as he tries to eat her long hair.
“He’s got to nap at some point,” I mutter but only for Eli to hear.
The shaking next to me says he’s amused.
After breakfast, we sit in the living room, the detritus of all the opened gifts strewn about. Luna’s quiet snores fill the place. Colt is playing in the boxes and not with the presents. It’s a good thing his gifts came in great boxes.
Emberleigh is snuggled into Braxton’s lap—that story has come full circle. Willa leans into Exton. Layton is laid out on the floor, trailing ribbons on the hardwood for Sola who is acting like a kitten chasing them. Pop is kicked back in his recliner. All is right with the world.
“Well, there’s one left,” Eli offers. We’ve been done for a while, so this is a surprise. From deep inside the branches, he pulls a small white box. It’s flat and long and has a silver ribbon on it. He sets it in my lap.
When I open it, I’m floored. I mean, flat out stunned. My jaw drops, and my eyes flit between his and what I hold in my hands.
“You have the sun, the moon, and now the stars,” he says, kissing me chastely.
What has he done?