9. Abigail

9

Abigail

A fter that, everyone was more than ready to go home.

The drive back to their house was somber. Ruby was exhausted and upset by her failed Christmas surprise. She perked up after they set up a new Christmas tree in the front room specifically for her decorations, but Abigail and Jasper’s nerves were still frazzled by the time she went off to bed.

“That could have gone badly,” she said as they headed back downstairs after putting Ruby to bed.

“Worse than it actually did?” Jasper had a far-off look in his eyes. “I didn’t realize she’d been planning something. Do you think…”

“That all your plans rubbed off on her?” Abigail gave a weak smile. “Don’t take all the blame. You weren’t the only one plotting.”

“I wasn’t?”

It was time to come clean.

She took a deep breath.

“Momm-yyyy…” A soft wail drifted down the stairs.

She turned back to the stairs. “I’ll go see what that’s about.”

“Dad-dyyy…”

“Sounds like I’m coming with you.”

Ruby was waiting for them, sitting upright in bed, a determined and slightly damp expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Abigail asked, sitting beside her and pulling her into a cuddle.

Ruby sniffled against her shoulder. “Does Santa Claus really not bring presents if you’ve been bad?”

Abigail exchanged a look with Jasper. “Well…”

“What if you do something wrong but it’s already really late… if he’s already packed the presents, does he still give them to you? Or does he throw them away?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Bee-bee,” Jasper told her, patting her hair.

“It’s not ME,” she said, outraged. “Hamish and Lola… They did…” Her voice faded into a muffled whisper.

“I’m sure they didn’t mean to set the tree on fire,” Jasper said.

Abigail was less sure, but she kept quiet.

“Remember when you used to accidentally set things on fire? And Santa Claus always brought you presents, because he knew it was an accident,” Jasper said reassuringly.

“They did it on PURPOSE. And they were YUCKY,” Ruby grumped. “And then they LAUGHED.”

“What did they laugh about?” Abigail asked.

Ruby looked disgusted. “You’re not allowed to tell anybody.”

“Okay…?”

“ Or Santa.”

“I promise.”

Ruby looked around, as though worried someone else might be listening in. She pulled Abigail’s head close and whispered damply in her ear, “They did WEES and then they set the WEES on FIRE.”

Abigail went perfectly still. This was serious business.

If she laughed, Ruby would be very upset.

“That was… very cheeky of them,” she managed to say at last.

Jasper looked confused. He must not have heard the whisper.

“I never did that!” Ruby stuck her chin out.

“Nope. You never did.” And I didn’t know just how lucky I was, Abigail added silently.

Ruby’s expression changed to one of mercenary hopefulness. “Does that mean I get more presents? Because I never set my wees on fire?”

Jasper burst into a coughing fit.

“We’ll see,” Abigail said firmly. “It’s getting late. If Santa’s going to have time to reach our house you’ll need to get some sleep now, won’t you?”

Jasper was still coughing when they kissed her goodnight and left the room. He clicked the door shut behind him and sagged against it, sliding slowly to the floor.

“Of all the things I never knew I had to be grateful for,” he groaned. “I thought little girls were sugar and spice and all things nice?”

“Sugar and spice and mass destruction.” Abigail sat next to him, her back against the door. “Are there any kids in our group who aren’t going to be firebugs from birth?”

“Don’t tell the alphas just yet, but I think Sheena’s pregnant.”

“You noticed that too?” She took his hand, twining her fingers through his. “Sheena’s baby will be part sheep shifter…”

“And part hellhound. Which makes me think hell-lamb. Another checkmark for the firebug column, either way.”

She hummed. “Olly and Jackson are maybe going to start trying soon. I don’t think owls or pegasi are known for their pyromania.”

“Ditto griffins and winged lions. So, there is hope. Eventually, the local kids will stop trying to burn things down.” He rested his head against hers.

“Or they’ll have to start trying harder.”

“Please, I’m trying to stay positive!”

“We need some friends with ice-magic to balance it out. Put that in the tourist brochures.”

Jasper laughed. “It’s the twenty-first century. I’ll put it in the tourist TikToks. With rizz.”

“With what?”

“You know, I actually have no idea.”

“Oh god. It’s finally happened. I’m too old for slang.”

“You’re perfect.” He lifted his head. She looked up to find him gazing down at her, his eyes like a banked fire. Her heart thudded. “And I’m an idiot for not doing this sooner.”

He lowered his head and kissed her.

Not one of the quick hello or goodbye kisses they exchanged as automatically as making coffee in the morning. Not a goodnight kiss or a quick peck on the way past. A long, slow, passionate kiss that sent ripples over her skin and made her toes curl.

His hand came up to her face, cupping and caressing, holding her gently as he explored her mouth with his lips, his tongue, his teeth. She melted against him.

Maybe her plans had worked, after all.

“So.” Jasper leaned back, surveying her with heat-filled eyes and an expression of mischievous satisfaction. “I hear you’ve been scheming against me?”

She was still light-headed. “And you’ve been scheming against my schemes!”

“In my defense, I didn’t know you were scheming. Had I known, I would have acted differently.”

“You would have schemed more cunningly?”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have schemed at all.”

She pressed her lips together, searching his eyes, and found the same thing she always did: more love than she’d thought existed in the whole world, all in this man, and all for her.

Her heart somersaulted.

“Don’t say that,” she complained with a grimace. “Then I might start to think we could have talked about this whole thing like sensible people, and we both know that neither of us is sensible when it comes to Christmas.”

He gave a wry smile. “Good point. You’re right. I probably would have listened to everything you said, and then schemed even more subtly to achieve the best Christmas ever without you noticing.”

“Don’t make me tie you up with tinsel to save you from yourself.”

“Being tied up was an option?” His eyes gleamed. “You know, I just remembered, I have a whole extra project I need to work on right now—”

She grabbed him as he pretended to stand up, and they both stifled laughter.

“I wouldn’t dare,” he reassured her. “Even for the promise of being tied up with tinsel.”

“Really? It’s so wiry. And the shiny bits would all flake off and get everywhere…”

“Stop, you’re turning me on.”

She giggled, and nestled against him. “All right. Who gave it away?”

“The schemes?”

“Mmm.”

He stroked her hair. “Nobody.”

“Then how did you—”

“You tried to confess what you’d been up to a few times. Once I began to put the pieces together, that suggested you had something to confess to.” His hand reached the nape of her neck, and he massaged the tight muscles there. “And then I began to get suspicious. I knew what I was scheming. The biggest, best Christmas ever. But somehow every time I got something started, someone grabbed it and ran away with it.”

“Didn’t you ask your friends to help you out?”

“Help me out, yes. Leave me with nothing to do except spend time with my wonderful mate…” The warmth in his eyes was tinged with regret. “It’s so obvious in retrospect. I’ve been a complete idiot, haven’t I?”

She grimaced. “We’re well matched, then. I admit it. I got my friends to sabotage all of your new schemes. I mean, I guess all our friends worked together to do it, by the end.”

“Terrible. It’s almost as though they want us to be happy.”

Her stomach squirmed. “But… that’s why I did it. I thought I sensed you being unhappy through the mate bond. There was something there—some stress, or tension, and I thought it must have to do with all the extra Christmas stuff you were planning. I wanted you to take some time off. Sheena and Meaghan and the others thought I just wanted more date nights with you around our anniversary, that’s why they—and I know I was wrong, but—”

His forehead creased. “You weren’t wrong.”

“I wasn’t?”

He shook his head. “You saw through me better than I saw myself.” He kissed her, gently as a snowflake. “I’m sorry I messed up all your date night schemes.”

“I’m sorry I tried to sabotage your life’s work instead of have a simple conversation.” She bit her lip, and Jasper’s eyes caught on the movement. “And it’s not like I took advantage of all the opportunities the others made for me to whisk you away, anyway. Just spending time with you and Ruby when you weren’t running around was the perfect lead-up to Christmas.”

“Something I feel like I should have known, instead of focusing on the running-around part.” Jasper ran his fingertips along her shoulder. “But, you know… we’re not completely out of time.”

He nodded at the closed door they were both leaning against. “You think she’ll sleep all night?”

“I don’t think she’s asleep now. ”

They both listened to their daughter singing carols to herself in bed until her voice slowed as she drifted off and the house was filled with silence.

Jasper took her hand. “Remember our first Christmas?”

“How could I forget? It was the Christmas I found out dragons existed. The Christmas I learned there was more to Christmas than being yelled at and hoping for the sort of holiday that only happens in the movies.” Her eyes grew misty. “The Christmas I met you.”

“I thought it would be my last Christmas.” Jasper’s voice tightened. “That my family curse would catch up with me, and I wouldn’t have anything to show for my life except years wasted hunting for something that didn’t exist, instead of spent with my family in the time I had. And I would spend the rest of my days only half of myself, losing either my dragon or my human side forever. Instead it was the Christmas I found love. The Christmas the tragedy of my life turned into happiness.” He reached up to cup her face. “The Christmas I found you. And my life did change forever, for the better.”

He paused. “I think I’ve spent every Christmas since then trying to top it.”

“You noticed?” she teased him gently. “You know, for a while there, everyone thought you were going to step back. You actually managed it one year, remember?”

He gave a wry smile. “One year was enough to give me anxiety. I couldn’t let you think that meeting me was the highlight of our lives. I had to show you that every year would be better. That even though you’d been alone before, from now on and every year after, you’d always be surrounded by people who loved you.”

“And what about pulling back, when the celebrations became ridiculous?”

“How could I pull back from showing you how much I love you?”

She took him in—all of him. The love and warmth in his eyes, the strength in the hand that was holding hers, the softness of his palm against her cheek. This man who’d seen every sad, unhappy part of her behind the spiky armor she’d worn for so long she thought it was a part of herself, and made it his mission to turn the world into something that would fill her heart.

“Easy,” she told him. “You let me show you how much I love you. ”