decided to stay in Moose Springs.”
Lana turned to Graham, and to her pleasure, he squeezed her in a hug so tight, he lifted her off her feet. Setting her down, Graham kept an arm around Lana’s shoulders.
“Thank you for bringing her up here,” Graham told her. “I met the love of my life because of you.”
“Zoey brought herself here,” Lana assured him. “She would have found this place eventually. I was lucky enough to be here when she did.”
“Yeah, me too.” He squeezed her shoulders. “How are you? You took a dip in an ice bucket yesterday.”
“I’m fine. Not even a sniffle. Rick’s been taking good care of me.”
Graham followed her line of sight to where Rick was standing with Easton.
“He’s a good guy. Being around you has made him a lot happier than I’ve seen him in years. Let me know if he causes you any trouble. I’m happy to play protective big brother anytime you want.”
They shared a grin.
“Thank you, but I can’t imagine him doing a thing wrong,” Lana told him. “Actually, since I have your ear, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Not now, obviously.”
Sighing dramatically, he leaned into her. “You’re going to make me do actual mayor things, aren’t you? On my engagement day. You’re so mean to me. They haven’t even sworn me in yet.”
“Oh, no one will care if a few formalities are skipped. I only want a little meeting to talk about some things we can both do for Moose Springs. I’m thinking Jonah desperately needs a day off and some help.”
Chuckling, he pressed a swift kiss to her temple. “All right, darlin’. Only because I love you.”
He ambled away to rejoin his friends, steal a kiss from his fiancée, and wrap Zoey up in his arms. Knowing those two, they wouldn’t be letting go of each other anytime soon. Standing off to the side, Lana watched them celebrate. Four friends…five now that Zoey was officially one of them.
Rick came up to her, his Santa beard now tucked into his coat pocket.
“You belong here,” Rick said in her ear. “With them. You’re part of their family too.”
She wanted to believe him. Large, fat snowflakes were falling, dusting his shoulders, and he looked so cute in the Santa costume, Lana wrapped her arms around his waist.
“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Lana told him. “I know it’s two days away, but still…”
Those hazel eyes had lightened to a shade of green she’d only seen last night.
Taking her face in his hands, Rick kissed her, a long, slow kiss that made Ash start gagging in the background. He kissed her again, mouth lingering. “You’re gorgeous.”
Lana started to reply she had nothing on his Santa-ed self, but he added, “You are, inside and out, and braver than anyone I’ve ever met. You’ve taken on the Santa Moose.”
“The Santa Moose isn’t that scary. Elusive but not scary. I’ve completely failed at catching it so far.”
“The Santa Moose is terrifying.” He pressed the softest of kisses behind her ear. “And I know you’ll catch it.”
Lips curving, he drew her deeper into his arms. Lana really didn’t care when her phone started to chirp in her back pocket, but when it went to voicemail, she checked the caller ID.
“It’s my parents’ home,” she told him. “My mother’s office line. They have to be the only people still living with more than one landline.”
Lana answered when her phone started to ring again. “This is about the worst time possible,” she said as Rick pressed another kiss to her neck, then her collarbone. “I promise to call you tomorrow on Christmas Eve, Mom. But I decided to stay in Moose Springs for Christmas this year.”
“Lana, you need to come home.” Jessica’s voice was sharp with the kind of tension she never let anyone see. “It’s Killian. There’s been an accident.”
Chapter 15
Flying wasn’t new to Rick. He’d travelled plenty in his semipro days and more than a couple of trips to see his parents. Flying in a chartered jet from Anchorage to Chicago on a moment’s notice? That was definitely new.
Rick had packed a bag without even asking if she wanted him to go with her. He knew how much she loved her cousin, and from what Rick could tell, Killian was in bad shape.
Like…really bad.
He’d gone through this before, and Rick’s heart was breaking for Lana. He didn’t want her to lose someone she loved. But if she did, she wasn’t going to go through