LITMIR.BIZ

       EPILOGUE

      THE FOLLOWING Christmas Eve, Rory stood near the half wall of the mezzanine watching Finley play Santa’s helper. Over the course of the year that had passed, she’d finally caught on to the whole Santa thing. Due in no small part to the new friends she’d made in Green Hill when he and Shannon had bought Mary O’Grady’s house. She’d thought the place too big and decided she liked Shannon’s house better, so they’d swapped. She took the little house that was remodeled. They got the old house and were in the process of redoing it to accommodate at least four kids.

      Finley had discovered a little girl her age about a mile up the road and they’d had enough play dates that they behaved more like sisters than friends. Right now Finley and Gwen wore little green-and-red elf suits with red-and-green-striped tights. Each held a clipboard and pen. They were the naughty and nice elves, writing down names. Finley kept track of the nice. Gwen was in charge of naughty. Funny thing was, Santa never put a kid on the naughty list. Only the nice.

      Shaking his head, Rory laughed and glanced down at the first-floor sales floor. Hundreds of customers swarmed around tables and racks. The line at the candy department was six deep. Congratulating himself on the money they’d be making, he glanced at the door and straightened suddenly.

      Shannon’s parents had arrived. Early.

      As if they had radar, they headed for the mezzanine steps. Within seconds, they were beside him.

      “Hey, Rory!” Stacy hugged him.

      “Rory.” A bit more standoffish, Shannon’s dad reluctantly offered his hand to shake his.

      “I’m glad you’re here early. You can see Finley in action.”

      Stacy glanced over. “Oh, she’s adorable!”

      Even Shannon’s dad’s expression softened a bit. “She’s quite a kid.”

      “Due in no small part to your daughter,” Rory said, desperately trying to make points with this guy, who still wasn’t over the fact that Rory had left Christmas Eve the year before. Never mind that he’d come back and proposed marriage to his daughter even though they’d only known each other a week. Nope. Dave still held a grudge. “She’s a wonderful mother. I couldn’t raise Finley without her.”

      Stacy looked around. “Speaking of Shannon, where is she?”

      He didn’t know. She’d been missing in action all morning and he wasn’t sure it was wise to tell her parents that. He hadn’t lost her. She was a grown woman, allowed to go Christmas shopping on her own if she chose, but somehow he didn’t think her dad would like that answer.

      Still, he sucked in a breath, ready to say, “I’m not sure where she is,” when he saw Shannon get off the elevator and stride toward him.

      The happy expression on her face hit him right in the heart. He couldn’t believe he’d almost walked away from her the year before.

      She strode over, directly into his open arms. “Can I talk to you?”

      He turned her to see that her parents were already there.

      “Mom? Dad? You’re early.”

      Her dad scowled. “Why, is that bad?”

      “It’s not bad, Dad. It’s just that I have something to tell Rory.”

      Her dad harrumphed. “You can tell him in front of us…unless there’s something wrong.”

      “Nothing wrong,” Rory assured him, then prayed there wasn’t.

      Shannon cleared her throat. “Okay, then—” She slid her arm around Rory again. “I’ve spent the morning with the adoption agency.” She turned in Rory’s arms. “Melissa Graham had her baby. She chose us as the parents.”

      Rory’s heart stopped. As he grabbed Shannon and hugged her, he noticed Shannon’s parents’ faces fall in disbelief. “We get a baby?”

      Her eyes glowed. “A boy.”

      His breath stuttered out. “A boy.”

      She hugged him again. “A baby. Our baby boy.”

      The speakers above them began to play the hallelujah chorus. Shannon laughed. Rory bit back tears, not wanting Shannon’s dad to see him cry.

      Pulling out of his embrace, Shannon said, “Who gets to tell Finley that she’s about to be a big sister?”

      Rory turned her toward Santa’s throne. He put his arm around Stacy’s shoulders and tugged on Shannon’s dad’s arm. “Let’s tell her together.”