27. Epilogue

Epilogue

Mars

“So what do you think?” I hung the last ornament on the tree and took a step back. We were hosting the Station 69 holiday party tonight, and I’d wanted to get our tree just right before everyone came.

Samuel wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck below my ear. “I think it’s perfect, just like you.” He gave my ear a little nip, and I squirmed out of his arms and moved out of reach.

“Don’t you be starting anything, Daddy. People will start showing up in less than an hour.”

“An hour’s plenty of time for what I have in mind.”

“Well, you can just put that right out of your mind because I still have to take a shower, and I need to wrap my gift for the party. It has to be wrapped perfectly so people will want to choose it.” We’d decided on a white elephant gift exchange for the party, and I was really looking forward to it.

“I tossed mine in a gift bag.” He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you did, but that won’t do for my gift.”

“You better hustle then. I would hate it if you didn’t have time to make your twenty-dollar gift look like a million bucks.”

I did not, in fact, run out of time, and by the time the first person arrived, both me and my gift did indeed look like a million bucks.

We’d invited the crew members from the station along with their families. Samuel had also invited Hawk and Gator, but only Hawk was able to attend. Gator was on assignment somewhere, and we didn’t ask where.

This was technically a Christmas party, but truthfully, it was more than that. The station had been through some rough stuff this year. They’d gone through a change in leadership, and they’d all been impacted by the arsonist in one way or another. Some directly, like Keith, who’d been injured, and Cody, who’d lost his record shop, but all of them had worked the fires, worried about their families, and stuck together until the guy was apprehended.

Add in the bomb at the station, and everyone just wanted to get together to celebrate life and the fact that they’d all survived.

The next thirty minutes or so was a chaotic rush as the guests arrived. Our house was a decent size, but we’d invited a lot of people, and it was packed. Luckily, the weather was pretty mild so far this year, so we’d been able to set up a couple of fire pits and some chairs outside to give us some extra room.

“Where should I put this?” Caleb asked, holding up his gift. It was obviously a book, but what else would a librarian bring to a gift exchange?

“Just under the tree is fine.”

“Sure. No problem. Have you seen Andy?”

“Not yet, but he texted me that he was coming. I think Mika is with him and Jesse.”

“I don’t think Mika has any family to spend the holidays with, so I’m glad you invited him.” He looked around, spotting Keith standing by the fireplace with Kevin and his husband. This was my first time meeting either of them, but they’d seemed like nice guys.

“I guess I should go be sociable, but find me later.”

“Maybe after things calm down.” I’d never hosted a party this large before, but I’d had events at the shop that were every bit as big, so I knew how everything worked. Once all the guests had arrived and had a few minutes to say hi to everyone else, things would get a lot less chaotic.

A few minutes later, Andy and Jesse showed up with Mika in tow. I greeted them all at the door and told them to put their gifts under the tree.

Andy handed a small package to Jesse. “Will you put this one under the tree for me?”

“Sure thing, Slugger.” Jesse took the package and walked off.

“Now this doesn’t go under the tree.” Andy grinned at me. “This one is just for you. I know it’s against the rules, but it couldn’t be helped. You have to have it.” He held out something about the size of an album.

“I don’t even have a turn table,” I said.

“Well, I’m sure Cody will be happy to fix that. His store re-opened last week, you know. But this isn’t a record. Take it and open it.”

I reached out my hand and took it. I could tell right away he wasn’t kidding. It wasn’t an album. It was too bendable to have a record inside. “You want me to open it now?”

“Yeah.” He waved over to where Keith, Kevin, and now Robert and his girlfriend were standing. “They’ve all already seen it.”

Okay . Like that wasn’t concerning. I cautiously unwrapped the gift. As soon as I saw what it was, a smile spread across my face. “Oh, wow, look at that.”

It was a Vesper Fire Department calendar for the next year, and the cover was a group photo with all the guys holding puppies.

I laughed when I spotted Andy in his cute little bunny ears. “OMG, let me guess, you’re Mr. April.”

He gave a dramatic bow. “That would be me. But take a look at Mr. December.”

I froze and looked up at him. “No way?”

“Yes, way.”

I flipped quickly through the calendar to December, and there he was. My very own Santa Daddy. He wore a red hat with a fluffy white ball on the end, a pair of red suspenders, no shirt, and he was sexy AF.

“This is the best gift ever,” I said, laughing. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me about this.”

“About what?” Steven asked.

I flipped the calendar around to show him and Roxy, and the look of horror on his face was priceless. “No, just no.”

But Roxy was laughing. “That…that is perfect.”

“It’s not perfect, it’s—”

She started singing. “I saw Marsy kissing Santa Claus…”

“Oh my god, just stop.” Steven covered his ears.

We were all laughing when a strong pair of arms snaked around me from behind.

“What’re you all laughing at,” Samuel asked.

“Steven’s reaction to seeing you as Santa Claus.” I held up the calendar so he could see it.

He groaned and shot Andy a glare. “I suppose I have you to thank for this?”

“Just doing my part to try to save the puppies, Chief,” Andy said with a grin.

“I think it’s amazing. As a matter of fact, I have a feeling it’s going to be Christmas all year long in this house.”

The back door opened, and a group of guys who’d been out in the backyard came inside.

“Who’s that?” Mika hissed.

“That’s Samuel’s friend, Hawk.”

“The one that works with Gator?”

“Yeah, Hawk and Samuel have been friends for years.”

A few minutes later, Caleb came over. “You already gave it to him, didn’t you? And I missed it!”

“He did, and I love it.” I turned the calendar that was still on the month of December.

“Yeah, he’s not bad, but I’m a bit partial to Mr. November.” He reached over, took the calendar, and flipped it back a month. “I mean, look at that cute little puppy.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that’s a cute ball of fluff.”

“Right. What kind of dog was in Samuel’s pic?” Caleb flipped the page back to look.

“I have no idea. Was he holding a dog?” I asked, and everyone laughed.

The white elephant gift idea with mostly rowdy firefighters had turned out to be way more fun than I’d anticipated.

Caleb’s book turned out to be a romance that had a hot firefighter on the cover. Becca had picked it to open, but Kevin’s husband, Jamar, stole it when it was his turn.

Because we’d set a low price point, there was a bunch of super-creative, fun gifts. Keith had brought a set of hot sauces that a few people had stolen, but my gift had turned out to be the one that was stolen the most.

Ziva had given me the idea, and apparently, it had been good. I’d just taken 25 lottery tickets, put them in an envelope, put the envelope in a box, and wrapped it all up.

Ford had ended up with it, but he refused to scratch them off because he said he didn’t want to make everyone jealous when he won a ton of money.

Kevin had gotten a People of Walmart Calendar that he was way too excited about. “I can’t wait till Ronda gets back. She hates the People of Walmart stuff. I’m gonna hang this in her locker.”

Robert clapped him on the back. “That’ll teach her to skip out on our station Christmas party.”

Ronda and her wife, Callie, had gone out of town to visit family in South Carolina. I’d never met either of them, but Samuel had told me that she and Kevin were tight.

Caleb had ended up with Roxy’s gift, and when he opened up the bag with four little crocheted animals, he’d been delighted. Only one person had looked like they might steal it from him, and Keith had given them a look that turned them the other way, something I thought was the sweetest.

By the time the gift exchange was over and the food was about depleted, most everyone was ready to go home.

When the last person had left, Samuel wrapped me up in a hug, and I relaxed against him.

“I think that went really well. What do you think, Kitten?”

“I think your first holiday party as Station sixty-nine Chief was a success.”

“Because of you.” He grabbed me and pulled me down on the couch with him. “I was going to get a cake and call it a day.”

“No, you were not,” I said.

“Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about it. I should have. Michael always had everyone over at his house for the holidays.”

I snuggled in next to him. “I love having a fireplace.”

“Did you have one growing up?”

“No, we had a wood stove, which was great for heating the house, but it wasn’t cozy like having a fire.”

He placed a kiss on my temple and sighed. “It’s funny how something that can be so beautiful can be so destructive.”

“It’s really pretty. I could sit here and watch it all night.”

“Mmm. That works for me as long as it means I get to hold you all night.”

This man. I swear he was absolutely everything I’d dreamed of and so much more. I don’t know what I did in a past life or in this one for this to be my reward, but I intended to make the very best of it.

I hope you enjoyed the men of Station 69! They were such a joy to write. It is always hard to say goodbye, but in this case, the good news is we aren't going far at all. I hope you will join me for my next series, Three Bears Tactical. It will feature hot Alpha bodyguards and the men they are willing to die for. You can preorder Hawk and Mika's book here: Hawk