Holiday time for the Montgomerys meant many parties, lots of drinks, and tons of food. Holiday parties, when it came to the Montgomerys in Colorado Springs, especially when that party happened to be at Thea’s house, meant lots of cheese. Abby didn’t understand why there was so much cheese, but she wasn’t about to complain. She liked cheese, maybe not as much as Thea and Dimitri, but it was an inside joke, and she made sure to leave them as much cheese as they desired.
It had been a few days since the incident with Michael, and things were going better. So much better.
Everyone had pitched in to clean up at Teas’d, and she hadn’t actually lost as much merchandise as she had feared. Insurance would take care of the rest, and because she paid a ton for insurance, they were going to help. Call it a holiday miracle, but the claim was actually going well.
She knocked on wood, ignoring Ryan’s stare as she did. She didn’t want to tempt fate, especially not during the holidays.
“What was that?”
“Just thinking.”
“I don’t know, you thinking can lead to dangerous things.”
She elbowed him in the gut, and Ryan laughed. Julia ran up to them, and he picked her up, putting her on his hip as easily as if he’d done it a million times before. Ryan and Julia already knew each other, so introducing them wasn’t that difficult. Plus, Julia was young enough that Abby didn’t have to introduce him as a special friend where things could get awkward. But they were taking it slow. Yes, they were sleeping together. Yes, they were dating. Yes, she knew she was falling in love with him. And, yes, he was falling in love with her, but they were still new. They were going to wait until everything was just right before they took any next steps.
Because this was their relationship, their happily ever after.
Abby had a good feeling about this. She had a good feeling about a lot of things.
She was going to hire another of Thea’s part-time workers for her other part-time shift. She’d had a sale right after the incident at the store and had already made her money back. Ryan and the others at Montgomery Ink Too had helped with everything, to the point where she hadn’t really had to even lift a finger. She might get spoiled with that.
Her baby girl was smiling and grinning and playing with Ryan’s beard.
Julia wasn’t going to get confused when it came to Max or Ryan. Because Max was Daddy, and Ryan was Mommy’s new friend. Maybe in the future, it would be something more, but it was okay that they were taking things slowly. It was okay that they had taken the first steps and trusted each other.
Because they’d taken long enough for this to happen, they could take as long as they wanted to get where they were going.
“Okay, time for the white elephant part of the party.” Adrienne bounced to her feet, and Mace rolled his eyes.
Then he leaned forward. “Remember, there are children in the room. So this game better end PG or G. What’s the one that’s for their age?”
“Good to know you have this whole father thing going on.” Shep rolled his eyes and brought his daughter Livvy into the living room upside down. Soon, the whole room was packed. The elder Montgomerys were sitting in an armchair, cuddling as if they were newlyweds rather than having been married for over thirty years. Mace and Adrienne were sitting on the floor, playing with Daisy as she told them about her brand-new ribbons that she had gotten already that were under the tree.
Thea and Dimitri were also cuddled on the floor, their big golden retriever, Captain, snoring lazily by the fire. The fact that he wasn’t trying to rummage under the Christmas tree or tear at the wrapping paper told them just how tired the pup was. Apparently, he had gone on a hike the day before, even in the snow, and needed his old-doggie sleep.
Carter and Roxie weren’t there, but then again, Carter was still healing, and the family acted as if everything were fine. Everything would be fine.
At least Abby hoped it would be.
Kaylee and Landon were in the room as well, but pointedly not sitting next to each other. Abby had a feeling they were going to figure out exactly what was going on with the pair of them soon. But finally, all Abby had eyes for was Ryan and her Julia.
“I got you something,” Ryan whispered.
“Really? Which one is it? I’ll try to get it from the white elephant.”
He shook his head before giving her a box. “No, this one’s just for you. I got something silly for the rest of them.”
“No fair, you can’t just hand over gifts like that,” Adrienne said, her eyes dancing with laughter.
“Hey, you play your own game; this is just for Abby, thank you very much.”
Abby knew her cheeks were red, but she just smiled at Ryan and took the box.
“Can I open it now?”
“Of course.”
“Help?” Julia asked, and Abby nodded.
“Okay, baby girl, you help your mommy open this gift.”
Abby opened her gift slowly, Julia helping with her tiny little hands while sitting on Ryan’s lap. They looked such like a family, and she was really okay with that. Because they had been friends first, and that would never change.
And she was happy.
So happy.
As she looked at the new teapot Ryan had gotten her, one she knew had been made by Jake Gallagher, she just grinned up at the man she knew she was already in love with.
“I love it.”
Ryan leaned forward and kissed her cheek before whispering in her year. “And I love you,” he whispered.
She knew it was too soon, but she didn’t care. “I love you, too.”
Julia patted each of their cheeks and then kissed them both.
Ryan laughed and kissed her little girl, and then kissed her on the lips, softly.
Everybody clapped, teasing them before they went into opening up their white elephant gifts and joining in on all the other jazz that came with a Montgomery party. Abby knew that she and Ryan and Julia were on their own path, but she was falling in love with everything around her. Not just Ryan. But she loved him. And he loved her. Yes, everything had changed, but that was fine with her.
She looked over at the tree, a smaller one next to the larger one. That one only had ornaments made for Thea’s friends, or ornaments that were made for everyone important in their lives.
There was one for each Montgomery, and one for each of the workers that had become part of the Montgomery family. There was one for Landon, Kaylee, Abby, Julia, and Ryan. And there were two more that brought tears to Abby’s eyes when she first saw them.
One was for Michael, because there had to be hope in the darkness.
And one was for Max, because there had to be love in that hope.
And as she leaned into Ryan and blew a kiss at the ornament made for the other man that she loved, Abby knew that life might have thrown her for a loop more than once, but she always found her feet. She always found that hope, that love, and that peace.
The holidays were here, and her family was holding her close.
And she had been born once again from the ashes.
This was her life now.
New beginnings and all.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Carrie Ann Ryan, discover Inked Nights, Wicked Wolf, Hidden Ink, and Adoring Ink.