Tears fall down her cheeks as I slip the ring on her finger. “Oh Hartley, I do want to marry you.”
“I know I wasn’t marriage material before, but that’s only because I hadn’t met my wife.”
I stand, pulling her into a hug, kissing her perfect pink lips. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
She lets out a laugh mixed with a sigh mixed with joy. “You’re mine then, right? Mine alone?”
“Forever.”
“Then can we find this Pastor Monroe and seal the deal?”
“One step ahead of you, Cookie.” I tell her to put on her coat, and then I take her hand. I drag her down the street to the gazebo in the center of town where my parents are waiting, along with the pastor of the local chapel.
Mom and Dad are grinning ear to ear, and Hattie’s face is written in shock. The gazebo is lit with Christmas lights, there are trees decorated all around, and in the distance is the ice skating rink, filled with children laughing as they spin around.
“Are you ready to get married?” I ask her.
She nods, tears in her eyes. “Can I meet your parents first?”
With her hand in mine, I introduce het to Mom and Dad. “And this is Hattie. My bride.”
“Oh, Hattie,” Mom says, pulling her into a hug. “You have no idea how good it is to meet you.”
Hattie smiles back at my parents. “I feel like the luckiest girl.”
“Good,” my dad says. “Because Hartley may act like a bit of an ass, excuse my language, Pastor, but he is a softie. Always remembers to call his mom and makes it to Sunday dinner every week. He can’t be all bad if he does that.”
“Okay, enough with all that,” I say, chuckling.
“I don’t mind. I like your parents telling me all about you. After all, I hardly know you.”
Mom smiles at Hattie. “And I hardly know you. We’re gonna need to change that. I need your Christmas list, asap!”
“Mom, I thought we agreed to doing our own Christmases this year?”
Mom laughs. “I know, but it doesn’t mean I can’t get my new daughter-in-law just a little something.”
“I hear you have six new daughters-in-law,” Hattie says. “Have you met them all?”
“Not yet,” Mom says with a twinkle in her eye. “But come New Year’s Eve, you better be at my house — all of you boys and your girls, don’t forget.”
Pastor Monroe clears his throat and we turn to him. I take Hattie’s hands in mine. This may be her first introduction to my parents, but this moment isn’t about them. It’s about us.
“Hattie, Hartley,” he says. “We’ve come together today to join your lives together as one.”
Hattie squeezes my hands, I squeeze hers back. I am diving into unknown territory, head-first, but I’m not alone in it. I have her by my side.
And yes, it is scary — but it’s also really incredible.
The pastor reads through the ceremony, we exchange rings and vows. And when it is time to make my promise, I don’t hesitate. This girl is mine.
“Do you, Hartley, take Hattie as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Hattie, take Hartley as your lawfully wedded husband?”
She beams up at me. “I do.”
“Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. Hartley, you may kiss your bride.” The pastor lifts a finger, pointing above us.
I laugh as I pull my wife close, kissing her under the mistletoe.
Epilogue 1
Hartley
New Year’s Eve
I grin, wrapping an arm around my gorgeous new wife, looking around my parent’s living room. Their Christmas tree is still in the corner by the fireplace, twinkly with lights, and there are evergreen garlands wrapped around the mantel.
My parents have framed family photos lined up on it from Christmases past. But I bet a a family photo from this year is going to be mounted high, right in the center. I kiss Hattie on the lips, knowing my bride will love that, she needs family more than most, having lost everyone she loved before coming here to Snow Valley.
“I can’t believe I have six daughters-in-law,” my mom says before taking a sip champagne. “And don’t they are all seem so sweet?” she asks my dad. “And perfectly suited for each of the boys.” My dad drags my mom under the mistletoe and gives her a kiss.
All of us couples clap and holler, laughing, and my brother Matt taps a knife to the side of his champagne glass. “I’d like to make a toast,” he says. “Today, my five brothers and I signed papers and officially purchased Snow Valley, saving it from the Titan Corporation. And while that is cause for celebration, I think the real hero this Christmas is our mother. To you, Mom, for being crazy enough to believe in your sons finding love in the least likely place.”
“To Mom!” the kids all say, lifting our glasses.