Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

Tomorrow, Yule is over and we've weathered it without a single possession.

Lying in the enormous bed Joshua made, I'm as exhausted as they are.

But a prickle at the back of my mind, makes my eyes fly wide and I wiggle out from under Thomas' arm.

"Where are you going, beautiful?"

I pull on my underwear before I answer. "Get dressed."

Joshua is out of the bed in an instant, taking hold of my arm and turning me to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's wonderful, just get dressed and come on! We have to go outside." I pull my warmest skirt on and grab one of Chase's shirts, It's just going under my jacket, anyway.

They're still pulling their pants on, looking at me like I'm crazy when I hurry through the house to where I've stashed what I hadn't previously had any idea how to give them.

"Beautiful," Thomas says, as he comes out. "You had better be putting boots on. I do not want to worry about you freezing your toes off anymore."

"Boots on!" I say as I step into a pair and whisper. " Legatu. "

He looks at me like I might be cheating with a spell like that. But I ignore it and lead the way to the front door.

It's just before midnight, but the flat sheet of clouds is bright from the waning gibbous moon behind it. And when we step out onto the gravel, they figure out what had me so excited.

It's snowing.

Big, fat flakes flutter down from the sky, disappearing before they even touch the ground… but it's snowing.

It never snows here. There's too much salt in the air.

"Is this your doing?"

I shake my head. "Weather magic is complicated and takes a whole life to learn. This is the real deal. And…"

I turn to them and have to bite back a laugh as they stand in a half circle in front of me.

"It's the perfect opportunity to give you these."

I pull the small boxes from my pocket and place them in each of the guy's hands, glad they wait until they all have them before they open them.

"Rings?" Chase asks when he pops the top.

"Yes."

"Like… ring rings?" Johnny asks, a suspicious smile on his face.

"Mmhmm." I nod and take a little step forward. "I'd go down on one knee, but the gravel's cold and hard, so… "Will you take this witch to wife?"

"Of course, you silly woman." I'm caught up in a hug so tight, so warm, so full of love, I think I might burst.

"Will you make it official?" Johnny asks, holding out the ring box and I wonder how I got so lucky.

"This," I say, as I take the ring from his box and place it on his finger, "Was my great grandfather Mathis' ring. He preferred the outdoors to anything involving people and had a habit of attracting stray animals."

I take Chase's next. "This belonged to my grandfather Mathis. "He knew how to talk to people in ways, I'll never understand. Everyone liked him, and he always knew exactly what to say to you when you needed it." I slide it onto his finger and he takes my hand, kissing my palm.

"Yours," I say, taking Joshua's from him, "Was my grandfather Cole's. Dad's dad. And he… didn't want my dad to marry my mom."

Joshua's face crumples. "That doesn't sound very nice."

"Maybe not. But, he was the sort of man who could command anyone's attention, and he was strong, but fair… people used to joke that he would disappear into the woods one day and simply turn into a tree because his head was hard as wood." When I slip it onto his finger, he still looks a little concerned.

Thomas waits, looking down at his, and I know he's curious to find out who's ring I gave him and why…

"This," I say, looking at it for a long moment before I place it on his finger. "Is five generations of Mathis men old. It came here from the old country—as they say—on the hand of a man who lived to be one hundred and five… and probably would have kept on living if his heart hadn't been broken as too many of his children passed on before him. Matthew Mathis was the most patient man in the world…"

"You picked them out, specifically, then?" Joshua looks down at his and I know he wonders why he wound up with the one he did.

"Yes. Everyone who wears these rings leaves a little bit of themselves behind. They picked you. The moment I touched them, I knew who they belonged to… I knew there was no chance we would wind up anywhere but together."

"How soon?" Johnny asks. And the other laugh.

"We'll want to have a small ceremony, or we will never hear the end of it from my mother, but… the next full moon. It feels like the perfect time for a binding, doesn't it?"

"The full moon it is," Chase takes my hand. "You're freezing. Get back inside."

I laugh as they usher me in, already making small plans. And when we're finally back in the bed, and as they lie sleeping around me, I let a gentle smile play across my lips, and rest my hand on my stomach. This year will bring new things for us all…