This gift is bigger than the last one, and my hands shake a little as I open it. What I find is a saddle pad with my horse's name embroidered onto it.
"This is perfect, thank you." I lean in and kiss her in front of her dad and sister.
It's not a long kiss, but enough to show her what she means to me. When I pull away, she has a beautiful blush on her face.
"Now it's my turn." I get the presents I tucked at the back of the tree and hand one to each.
I got her sister a gift card to the arcade, where Candy said she likes to go and relax right by her school. I got her dad the belt buckle Candy said he’d love, and she was right.
All eyes turn to Candy when it’s her turn. She smiles at me as she slowly opens her gift and gasps.
"Well, what is it? Don’t keep us in suspense!" Parker bounces in her spot on the sofa.
"It's an old leather-bound copy ofPride and Prejudice," Candy says as she runs her hands over the cover of the book.
"It's not an original, but it’s over a hundred years old."
Candy hugs me with tears in her eyes. "It's perfect."
After the gifts, the girls make hot chocolate and French toast bake for brunch, and we listen to Christmas music and talk. After brunch, I have one more surprise up my sleeve.
"Candy, I've got one more gift for you, but it was a little too big to get in the car, so it's at the ranch. I'm going to steal you away for a couple of hours, and we'll be back in time for dinner," I tell her, and a huge smile crosses her face. Her dad looks at me questioningly, and I wink. "I'm sure she'll send pictures. See you guys in a bit."
Candy is excited the entire way to the ranch, and as I pull in, I bypass the house and head straight for the barn.
"Okay, close your eyes," I tell her, placing a hand over them.
I lead her to the stall next to my horse and position her where I want her before removing my hand.
"Open them," I tell her. "I figured my fiancée needed her own horse on the ranch. This one is already saddle-trained. She's gentle and perfect for you. All she needs is a name and some love."
Candy squeals and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me into one of the best hugs I've ever received. "I love her!"
Candy walks up to the horse and pets her, and they bond almost instantly. "Since I got her on Christmas and our names are Christmas-related, I think we should keep up the tradition. What do you think of Jingle Belle? And we’ll call her Belle, for short."
Belle nods as if she can understand.
"I think it's perfect."
I've never been a huge fan of Christmas, but now I see its appeal. It's going to be our holiday.
Epilogue
Candy
Over a year later
Life couldn't be more perfect. North and I decided that even though Christmas was a massive part of our lives, we didn’t want a Christmas wedding, so we got married that summer.
It was beautiful. Our color scheme was red and silver, we served candy canes, and we got married on the ranch so both of our horses could be involved. It was perfect.
North and his parents are still working on their relationship, as are he and Jake. All three were at our wedding, our biggest supporters outside my family.
North and I have spoken about it a lot, and he doesn't feel comfortable around his family like he used to. His brother apologizes every chance he gets. He thought he was in love, and when she told him she was pregnant, he wanted to do the right thing.
North and his brother hang out once a month, just the two of them. It's still a work in progress, but they're trying.
We've been to a few family dinners at his parent's place, and it's been awkward. I keep telling North they need to talk about the elephant in the room instead of ignoring it, but his mom always changes the subject when he tries to talk about what happened.