it tremble. “I’m in it for forever, Faith.”
She laughed and cried at the same time. “Me too.”
A slow and sexy smile spread across his lips, and he leaned forward. “Does this mean you’ll come home?”
She sighed into the word. “Home. I’ve always wanted one of those.”
He kissed her lightly, testing and teasing all in one brush. “I’ll build us a beautiful home on the ranch. You can have whatever you want.”
She used her grip on his shirt to pull him closer. “I just want you.”
He closed the distance between them and kissed her soft and slow. His hands buried in her hair, and she lost all track of time and place. There was only his kiss and the low growl he made when she kissed his jaw.
Who knew how long they stayed that way? When they pulled apart, her stomach gurgled.
Caleb laughed. “I think you worked up an appetite.” He rubbed his beard in the crook of her neck, making her giggle.
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I’m starved,” she admitted.
“Me too. I saw a burger joint down the street. You want to pick something up on our way out of town?”
She thought about the way she’d left things in Sleigh Bell Country. Caleb was right. Nothing was more important at Christmas than family. “Yeah, I want to grab something for my dad too.”
Caleb’s warm smile said he knew she was going to talk this out with her old man. “Sounds like a plan.”
She hurried to shut the clinic down, making the mental shift to moving to Sleigh Bell Country. Johnathan would buy her out in a heartbeat. After the cool reception she’d gotten when she’d come back, it was obvious he was ready to be on his own.
Which was just fine with her. Her condo would sell, or she could hire someone to rent it out. Either way, it wasn’t an obstacle. She hadn’t even unpacked her bags. They could swing by and be on their way home in fifteen minutes tops.
Tonight was Christmas Eve, so that meant that … “Oh my gosh! The parade!”
Caleb’s head came up from where he was scrolling on his phone, waiting for her to do what she needed to.
“You’re going to miss the parade.” She wilted. “I’m so sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to playing Santa.”
Caleb tucked his phone away. “Jack wanted to fill in, but I told him to buzz off and passed the suit on to Forest.” He grinned.
Faith laughed. “One of these days, you’re going to have to forgive Jack for giving you bad advice.”
“I lost twenty-four hours with the woman I loved—it’s going to take a while to make that up to me.” Caleb offered his hand, and she took it, locking the clinic behind her. He stopped and wrapped her up. “Besides, I’m right where I want to be.”
Faith lifted to meet his lips with hers and reveled in the knowledge that she was in love. In love with a wrangler who trained flying reindeer for Santa. She burst out laughing in the middle of their kiss.
“What?” Caleb asked.
“I just realized that you work for Santa. That makes you an elf.” She poked his arm.
He lowered his brow. “First off, I’m an independent contractor. Secondly, I’m a wrangler, missy.” He touched his hat brim. “That’s eighty-five percent cowboy, fifteen percent reindeer specialist, and zero percent elf.”
Hmm, seemed she’d struck a nerve there. “Wrangler … elf.” She held out her hands as if weighing the two of them against one another. “Potato, po-tah-to.”
He tickled her side.
She laughed and scooted deeper into her seat. She’d have to drive to her place and then leave her car there. It still wasn’t worthy of Sleigh Bell Country’s winter driving conditions.
Caleb leaned over the top of her. “I love you, Faith.”
She buried her fingers in his beard and pulled him closer. “I love you, Caleb.” She kissed him, and her soul filled with music. The kind of music that made her feel things through every fiber of her being. The melody wrapped her up and testified that this was the man she was meant to find. That Dad’s heart attack had happened for a reason—to bring her to Sleigh Bell Country to meet Caleb and to heal their relationship.
He pulled back, his breath fogging up the windows even with the door hanging open. “Let’s go celebrate Christmas.”
She smiled and bit her lip. Never had she felt the holiday so deep inside of her. She’d never be alone again. From this