A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella
Samantha Chase
To My Favorite Romance Chasers
What an amazing year this has been! You ladies are such a blessing and an encouragement to me and I am so thankful each and every day for you!!
Thank you for sharing posts, writing reviews and being there when I have crazy questions or need feedback on covers or plots. These books are for you.
Now let’s head back to Silver Bell Falls…
Chapter One
“Okay, that’s the last of it.”
Looking around the room, Melanie Harper sighed with relief before turning and smiling at her fiancé. “I didn’t think it would ever get done!”
With a smile of his own, Josiah Stone walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. “These things take some time, Mel,” he said, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. Hugging her close, he rested his head on top of hers. “Although I have to admit, this did take a bit longer than I thought too.”
“I still can’t believe the house is done and everything’s here and unpacked and…”
“I know,” he said softly. “We’re home.”
It had taken almost two years, but here they were. When Melanie first came to Silver Bell Falls—completely under protest—she never thought this would be where she was going to live for the rest of her life. And yet…here she was. Who knew that by her grandmother leaving her a cabin and the enormous property it sat on that Melanie would find not only a home, but the love of her life.
And Josiah was certainly that.
Stepping out of his arms, she went and sat on their new sofa and patted the spot next to her for him to join her. “Do you remember the day we met?”
With a husky laugh, Josiah sat beside her. “It’s burned into my brain. You, naked in the tub of the cabin…” He let out an appreciative sigh.
She swatted his arm playfully. “Not that part,” she softly chided. “I mean…did you think this was where we’d end up?”
“At the time, all I was thinking was how I was going to have to haul you down to the station and arrest you for trespassing.” He grinned. “In a towel.”
They’d talked about their infamous meeting so many times and no matter how serious she tried to be about it, Josiah always had a way of turning it around and sounding like an adorable perv.
“Let’s try this again,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “I can’t believe I came here and was so convinced it was going to be the worst thing to ever happen to me and it turned out to be the exact opposite. I mean, look how far we’ve come!”
One look at his face and Melanie knew he was still thinking of the bathtub scene so she quickly continued talking.
“We’ve built a house, Josiah. Our dream house! We renovated the old cabin and even made good use of your tiny house!”
“Your dad adjusted to tiny living better than I thought he would.”
That was true. John Harper had followed his daughter to Silver Bell Falls—a place he had frequented growing up—and jumped at the opportunity to take over Josiah’s tiny house. It meant he was close by and it gave him a place of his own until he decided where he wanted to live permanently. It was only a few months ago that he decided to build a house.
“I kind of miss seeing it out there,” she said. “There was something comforting about coming home and it being right outside our door.”
“I don’t think it was the house as much as it was having your dad right there. But he’s not so far away now, Mel. He’s just on the far side of the property.”
She shrugged. “It feels a lot farther. And there’s a lot of woods between our house and his.”
Josiah moved closer and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her. “He’s a lot closer here than if he was still back in North Carolina so…”
“I know, I know. There’s just been a lot of changes here lately and…I guess I’m trying to figure out what’s next.”
Building a house they’d designed had taken longer than originally planned and they had to do work on the cabin simultaneously to make it a little more habitable for them. It meant they were surrounded by construction for a good part of the time. On top of that, Josiah had been re-elected as the sheriff of Silver Bell Falls and Melanie had written and published two books. Life had been moving at a pretty hectic pace. They’d been working so hard to be exactly where they were right now that Melanie wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with herself.
“Funny you should mention that,” Josiah said smoothly, pulling back just a bit so he could see her face. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Really.” Then, taking her hand in his, he touched the vintage style engagement ring Melanie wore. When his eyes met hers, they were so full of tenderness that Melanie’s heart seriously skipped a beat. “The election, your deadlines, and this house have consumed us for almost two years now.”
Swallowing hard, she said, “I know.”
“And we both agreed that when I put this ring on your finger, we weren’t going to rush into making wedding plans because it would make us both crazy.”
She nodded. “I remember.” And she had to keep from complimenting herself on how calm she sounded because now that she realized where this conversation was heading, she felt incredibly nervous.