“Yes, ma’am.” My husband chews his lower lip. “It felt like fate. My girl was seconds away from marrying the wrong man, and I had no one but myself to blame. I pushed her into dating. I drug my feet on coming back for her. I just…I waited too long.” He shakes his head.

“And then lightning struck,” I say, sniffling.

“Boy did it ever,” he says, bringing my hand to his lips. “There was my girl, already in the dress, carrying a child without a father.” I huff. “Her babies were always supposed to be mine.” He places a hand on my tummy. “And so, I grabbed the ring I’d bought years ago for her, got down on one knee, and asked the love of my life to marry me. To share this child with me. To build a life with me.”

“And she said yes…” Helen dabs at the corner of her eye.

Lyle nods. “She said yes.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I can’t believe you actually did this.” Dane scours our parents’ yards in awe as the machine-made snow piles up around us. He scrubs a hand through his poufy curls then stuffs a hat on his head. “Those kids are going to flip out.”

“It was your sister who gave me the idea without even knowing. Sammi asked if I thought we could rent a cabin in the mountains next year when your dad would hopefully be able to travel again. She was really excited at the idea of giving the family a white Christmas.” I can’t help but grin at how awesomely it’s turning out. “I figured…why wait?”

“That’s my boy.” Dad wraps a hand around my shoulders, staring out at his lawn that’s quickly being transformed into a winter wonderland. “Spoilin’ that girl right.”

“I learned from the best, Pops.” That man would go to the ends of the earth to make my mother happy. I can only hope to be a fraction of the husband and father he is.

It’s an unusually cold day here in Los Angeles, at under forty degrees, so the snow is having no issue sticking to the trees and the ground. The guys from the snow company are currently stacking hay bales to build a hill for sledding. Frank should be back from the sporting goods store any minute with sleds, gloves, and boots for the masses. I can’t wait to see the look on my wife’s face when she gets here. My pulse is racing a mile a minute.

“Have any of you heard from the ladies?” I glance from Dane to each of our fathers. “Any clue what time they’ll be back?”