When she heard a bark at the door, she hurried to open it, eager to see her four-legged best friend, Comet. He didn’t disappoint. She laughed when she saw he was carrying a big wrapped Christmas present in his mouth and he wearing a new ugly Christmas sweater. This one had a bunch of Santa cats all over it.
“Well, don’t you look puuuurfect,” she said to Comet, laughing at her own joke. He proudly dropped the Christmas present at her feet.
“Well, Merry Christmas to you, too, Comet. What do we have here?” she asked.
She unwrapped her gift at a speed that would have made Caylee proud and then laughed loudly. It was a new ugly Christmas sweater. This time it was an emerald-green hooded sweater with a giant elf face on it. When she checked out the hood, it had fuzzy pink elf ears and a pointy top. On the front of the sweater was a pinned note that said, Wear me!
She laughed again and looked at Comet. “Let me guess. Another family tradition?”
When Comet barked and ran down the hall, Riley only hoped he wasn’t going to get another sweater.
After a hilarious, lively Christmas breakfast where everyone wore their new ugly Christmas sweaters, Luke led them all out to the lake to make Christmas snow angels. It was a new tradition he’d just come up with, and everyone agreed it was a good one.
While people took pictures with their snow angels, Riley stood back and noticed that, once again, her angel wings and Luke’s angel wings were touching.
“So what do you think it means that our snow angels’ wings are touching?” Luke asked as if reading her mind.
Riley smiled as she thought about it for a moment, then looked into Luke’s eyes. “I think it means we’re supposed to be together, here and always.”
Luke smiled back at her. “I like that. I like that a lot.”
They stood side by side, hand in hand, with their own shoulders touching as they turned back to look at their angels.
“Okay, everyone, it’s time for my favorite Christmas tradition,” Caylee called out.
As everyone followed Caylee down to the lake and stepped on to the ice, heading for the Christmas Lake Christmas tree, Riley hesitated for a moment.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked.
Riley looked at the ice and took his hand. “I am now.”
Once they were gathered the beautifully lit Christmas tree, they all joined hands. Then one by one, each of them shared a memory, honoring members of the military they knew and all the brave men and women who served their country.
When everyone was ready to head back to the lodge, Luke playfully pulled Riley behind one of the Douglas firs and kissed her.
“I have a present for you,” he said with a boyish smile.
“I thought we agreed we weren’t doing presents,” Riley said. “That we were going to make memories instead.”
Luke nodded. “We are . . . after you open your present.”
Riley laughed. “You’re impossible.” She looked around. “So where’s my present?”
Luke pointed at the tree.
Riley raised an eyebrow. “You’re giving me a tree?”
Luke laughed. “No, the tree is where you’ll find your present.”
But Riley didn’t see anything.
“Look closer,” Luke urged.
Loving a challenge, Riley started moving around some of the branches. “There’s no way you can hide anything in here,” she said. “These branches are too thick.”
“Did I say it was in the tree?” Luke asked with a mischievous grin, then kissed her again.
Riley pulled away, laughing. “Stop distracting me.”
She circled the tree, and that’s when she spotted it. It was just peeking out from a patch of snow—a little tin box about the size of a shoebox.
Excited, she scrambled to pick it up and lifted it in victory. “Got it!”
Luke laughed as they walked over to what had become their favorite bench and sat down together. “Open it,” he said.
She gave him a look. “You sound just like Caylee.”
“No, Caylee would’ve already opened it for you.”
They both laughed.
As Riley started to lift the lid off the tin box, Comet came running over and sat down at her feet and tried to poke his nose inside the box.
“Comet, hold on,” Riley said, laughing as she moved the box out of his reach. When she finally removed the lid, she found something wrapped in burlap inside.
Her eyes flew to Luke. “Is it . . . ?”
He just smiled back at her.
She carefully took out the burlap bundle and slowly unwrapped it until she found the Christmas gift she’d dreamed about.
A Christmas Lake Angel.
She carefully picked it up and held it to her heart. “How did you get this? I went to Merry and Bright, and Lisa said they were sold out.”
“They were,” Luke agreed. “But Paul helped me out.”
“Paul?” Riley asked. “How could he help?”
“Paul Harrison, of the Christmas Lake Harrisons, is the great-great-grandson of Thomas Harrison . . .”
“The original artist?! Thomas who made it for Cynthia?!” Riley said, both shocked and excited. “Paul is part of that family? The family that makes these angels?”
Luke chuckled and nodded. “He is. When I told him why I wanted to give you this angel, he had his dad make one more Christmas Angel this year, just for you.”
Still holding the angel to her heart, she looked into Luke’s eyes. “What did you tell him?”
When Riley looked into Luke’s eyes, she could see the love.
He smiled back at her. “I told him that you’re my Christmas ever after and that I want to spend every Christmas and every day with you.”
When Riley kissed him, she felt so much hope in her heart and knew her Christmas wish had come true.
She’d gotten her very own Christmas love story, and this was only the beginning . . .
Acknowledgments
Christmas is the time of year I always look back on the great loves of my life. I am forever grateful for the lessons they’ve taught me about how to love and be loved. I’ve learned to never settle, go all in,
