“I can’t believe it’s over,” Tavo kept saying as we joined the rest of my family at the lodge for a late lunch. “Is it really over?”
Pete clapped his hand on Tavo’s shoulder. “Foster said he knows a judge in Wyoming who would process a name change for you and seal the records if you’d like. You know we’d be proud to make you a Marian.”
Everyone around the pair of long tables in the kitchen nodded and added their approval as Tavo looked around in shock. Then he burst into tears.
Tavo’s friend Drew rushed breathlessly into the room from the direction of the front door. “Tavo, I’m here! The car wouldn’t start, and I—”
Tavo crashed into him, tucking his face in Drew’s neck. Drew’s arms went around him as his eyes slid closed. “Sorry I wasn’t there, baby. I’m here now. It’s going to be okay.”
I blinked at the two of them. While I’d known they’d messed around and had been spending a lot of time together over the past several months, I hadn’t realized things had become serious.
Ella clutched her chest and made an aww face, and so did almost everyone else in the room.
One thing you could say about us Marians is that we were unapologetically in love with love.
I glanced at Judd, and the second our eyes met, he mouthed, “I love you.” My cheeks flushed, and my stomach went floaty.
Papa noticed because he nudged Judd in my direction. “Careful, Chief,” he said with a warm smile. “Once we start making Marians, there’s no telling who else might get swept up.”
Judd took my face in his hands before kissing me full on the lips in front of everyone. I threw my arms around him and held him tight. When he finally let go, everyone was staring, some in shock and some with zero visible surprise.
“Oh, right. Turns out I don’t hate him,” I announced with a shrug. “Surprise.”
The room broke out in laughter.
I slid my hand into Judd’s. “And… we’ve known each other longer than you think.”
Judd stood up straighter. “I met Alex online over five years ago. We became close, but then I was in an accident—”
“IndexEcho?” Ella’s eyes went comically wide, and Mattie’s jaw dropped.
He nodded once. “It’s a long story, but now we’re here and we’re together… and I can’t thank you enough for loving and supporting Alex during everything. I’m so glad he had you.”
Tavo leaned against Drew’s chest, smiling through his tears. “And I really thought you were at Alex’s apartment to inspect the smoke detector.”
Judd’s cheeks turned crimson, but before he could say anything, one of my cousins said, “He was there to inspect something, Tavo, but it wasn’t the smoke detector.”
Considering my grandparents were in the room, I was officially mortified.
“Alright, alright,” my uncle Derek said, waving everyone to calm down. “No one needs to hear about their child’s… or grandchild’s… inspections.”
Grandpa shot him a wink. “Promise? Because you’re one to talk, Derek Marian.”
As everyone began laughing and joking around tables filled with sandwiches and side dishes, I grabbed Judd’s hand again, and we went to check on Tavo.
“You okay?” I asked.
Tavo smiled. “God, yes. I can’t thank you enough for everything. After my parents left, I thought I was on my own. Then your family just… just appeared like a miracle.”
“No miracle. Just helping others and giving back,” I explained. “And I’m sure you’ll do the same to someone else someday.”
He nodded.
“Now that you can work legally without worrying about being tracked down,” I said, “I’d like to offer you an assistant manager job at Timber. But only if you’d like that. If you have another dream you’d rather pursue—”
Tavo’s eyes got wide. “Are you kidding?” he interrupted. “Working for you at Timber would be a dream. But you don’t need to do that for me.”
I glanced at Judd, squeezing his hand tighter.
“I’m not just doing it for you. When Judd and I started seeing each other, we learned that it was really hard to find time together with our work schedules.
I’d like more freedom to be home when Judd has time off.
Being devoted to Timber for the past three years was necessary, but it’s time for me to dial back and find better balance. ”
“Hear, hear,” Judd murmured. “I’ll try to do the same.”
I glanced at him. “I know it’s not as easy for you as it is for me.”
The determined look on Judd’s face suggested that easy didn’t matter. My grumpy fire chief would prioritize us, even over his work.
I’d already confronted him about Monroe’s suggestion that Legacy was just a temporary stop on his career trajectory, and he’d spent a significant amount of time in the shower this morning convincing me that he was here in Legacy to stay.
“Or wherever you are, Firebug,” he’d added with whispered words against the back of my neck.
I’d been thoroughly convinced he’d meant it.
Judd slid his arm around me but turned to look at Tavo. “And maybe you want to rent Alex’s rabbit warren once the fire damage is fixed up because it’s going to be available. He’s staying with me from here on out.”
My chest was so full of contentment, I hardly knew what to do with it.
I could see domestic fantasies of living together swirling through both Tavo’s and Drew’s heads, but there would be plenty of time for that while Timber’s upstairs apartment went through the long process of insurance assessment and cleanup.
In the meantime, Tavo was planning on staying with Lennon and Rosie out at the ranch.
The four of us found spots at the tables and sat down to lunch, and the rest of the day passed like a dream that was too good to be true.
It wasn’t until the following day that it sank in.
I was back at Timber, working behind the bar, when Maddox called. “I need you to make up an excuse to keep Adrian distracted today. Everyone’s been helping out, and now it’s your turn.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I said. “And I’m leaving here in a bit to serve hot drinks at the Starlight Spectacular. Our food truck is doing hot cocoa, cider, and these cinnamon stick things—”
“Just give me an hour. Please?”
I blew out a breath. Thankfully, Tavo had already taken charge of prepping the truck for the event with Karim’s help. “What exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just get him to Timber and keep him occupied.”
Since Judd was back to work at the firehouse, which was particularly busy today as they helped prepare the holiday light display on Slingshot Mountain’s ski slope, I was honestly happy to have my own distraction.
What could I say to get him to Timber that he would believe?
“Adrian!” I said when he answered his phone. “Thank god you answered. I need backup. Legacy’s asshole fire chief just called in another ‘random inspection,’ and I’m about to lose my fucking mind. Can you come keep me company while he’s here and help me not commit homicide?”
Thankfully, he didn’t particularly care that when he showed up, there was no inspection or any chief.
My bad.
Instead, he drowned his sorrows in my spiked hot cocoa and told me the story of the miscommunication between him and Maddox. Poor Adrian was completely twisted up about it.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said firmly.
He stood up. “What do you mean? Do you know something?”
I nodded. “I do. And I have a question for you. Have you told Maddox how you feel? Like, specifically?”
Adrian dropped back down on his stool. “I’ve told him I want him. That I… that I have…” He hesitated, but I could tell he had strong feelings for our grumpy hardware store owner.
I smiled at him in understanding. Why did it always seem so much clearer when it was someone else experiencing it? “Have you said the words ‘I love you, I want to stay here, I choose you over everything else’?”
Adrian’s eyes widened. “Not exactly.”
“Uh-huh.” I leaned against the bar. “You know what’s not complicated? Telling someone you love them. Everything else is just noise.”
“But…”
“And if you love him, Adrian,” I said softly, “then trust him.”
Before he could respond, Tommy appeared beside us.
“Adrian! Perfect. I need you to—”
Adrian shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. If someone needs cookies or a ride or to be saved from a rogue fire inspection, you’re gonna need to find someone else. I have to find Foster. I have to get to—”
“Slingshot Mountain?” Tommy finished. His smile was suspiciously bright. “Good, ’cause I’m here to drive you. To make sure you get there safely.”
I hid my own smile. Maddox had roped in another Marian for whatever grand gesture he was planning for Adrian.
As soon as they left, I raced to the kitchen, gathered my crew, and headed to the mountain.
Even though I’d attended the Starlight Spectacular for the past three Christmases, this one was different. As I passed out hot cups and paper envelopes of warm treats, I finally felt like a true local.
“Thanks, Alex!” Mrs. Hoffman called as she hurried away with her drinks.
“Alex, thank god you’re here,” Tim, a regular customer at Timber, said, rushing up and yanking out his wallet. “I promised my niece one of those cinnamon things she got last time. She’s been talking about them for literally an entire year.”
We stayed busy until the lights went on in an exciting reveal, and everyone’s attention was pulled away by the display.
The moon shone down on the snowy slope as the colored lights danced and flickered to the sound of synchronized holiday music. Everyone stood around in clusters of happy couples, families, and friends.
As I watched my community and hundreds of tourists enjoy the festive moment, I remembered another conversation I’d had with IndexEcho all those years ago. About spotlight moments.
His voice came warm and smooth from behind me as Judd’s arms snaked around my middle, and his lips found his favorite spot below my ear.
“Sometimes in life, we have those spotlight moments, don’t we?” he murmured. “When all the world seems just right, and we’re caught between wanting to live it and wanting to capture it.”
“Which one are you going to do?” I whispered, leaning back against his solid frame and enjoying this perfect moment as fully as I could.
“Live in the moment and capture the man,” he said softly.
We stood there together like that, watching the faces of our family and friends turn all the colors of the rainbow while the hushed, white winter around us lay thick and clean like a blanket full of promise.
This was our fresh start. Here, together.
DrunkenPoet and IndexEcho.
Alex and Judd.
The names we carried didn’t matter as much as the connection. And I’d never felt more connected to anyone before.
I’d thought it was coincidence that had drawn us together twice… but now I knew it was fate. There was a part of me I knew would thrive now that my heart was safe in Judd’s keeping, and I was determined to make sure the same was true for him.
After our “spotlight moment,” when the cold started seeping in, the cinnamon stick warmer began to beep, and a few people lined up for more refreshments, Judd let me go so I could get back to work. But after a minute, I felt his eyes on me.
“Firebug, tell me you have a fire extinguisher in this thing.”
I glanced to the spot where the fire extinguisher lived…
Or was supposed to.
But tonight, in its place was a note in Juni’s handwriting.
I borrowed this one to replace the one I yeeted. Replacement hasn’t come yet.
In the time I spent composing shrieking, ranting text messages to Juni that ranged from WTF to you’re fired to bring me a fire extinguisher asap, the warming oven began to let out a distinct burning smell.
I looked up at the Chief in horror as his eyes narrowed at me.
“You know I have to write you up for this, right?”
Instead of being angry, though, he looked downright thrilled.
I realized that the infraction meant another several months of random fire inspections from my very own Smokey the Overbear.
And I decided I was very okay with that.