Quinn hadn’t said much after the call, tried to put on a happy brave face, asking what he’d like for Christmas as they drove through the downtown. Every streetlight was adorned with a wreath, and in the square was a giant Christmas tree. The official lighting was set for tonight with the mayor doing the honors of hanging the traditional mistletoe. For the next few weeks, Brightwater couples would sneak under the bough and make out through the New Year.

Tonight he could be there kissing her, or they might be back huddled in his cabin, facing an uncertain future.

Quinn gripped her dad’s hand, staring blankly while he watched the DVD she’d brought over, Bill Murray’s Scrooged.

“I’m going to grab you a cup of tea,” Wilder said. Each second on the clock was torture for her.

Why hadn’t they just given her the results over the phone?

Better to deliver bad news in person?

He shook the fear away.

“That would be great, thanks.” She gave him a quick glance that twisted his gut. He hated that she looked worried for him, as if measuring how much he could withstand.

He limped down the hall, wishing for once he had his stick back. He could bear anything happening to himself, but for someone he loved to suffer? Who had that kind of strength?

“Dig deep, man,” he answered, bracing a hand on the wall, wiping his brow.

All the resident rooms had framed glass cases next to their doors. Inside were black and white photographs, war medals, figurines, and other family knickknacks. He paused and stared into one. The sepia-toned picture was of an attractive blonde and a smiling man cutting a cake. They stared at the camera with beaming faces, as if their future had nothing but happiness waiting for them. The next photo was a posed family photograph in front of the Hoover Dam; three little girls in smock dresses who all looked exactly like the woman. The next picture was more recent, at the Brightwater football field, a young blonde woman standing between her mother and grandmother, clearly the woman from the other two images, Mount Oh-Be-Joyful rising behind them.

A card said “Happy Birthday, #1 Grandma.”

Whoever this woman was, she’d had a good life, family who loved her. As he stepped forward to keep walking, he glanced into the room. An older woman, clearly the woman from the pictures, sat in a recliner, staring out the window.

He didn’t know why he did it, but his hand found its way to the door frame and he knocked.

She glanced over. “Hello,” she said with a gentle smile. “I’d wondered if you’d come in.”

Shit, she must have seen him lurking outside her room. He hoped he hadn’t scared her.

“Sorry to intrude, ma’am, I just wanted to say . . .” What? He was sorry? He hoped she knew how much she was loved. That who she used to be must live on in many people’s memories. “I wanted to say you have a fine-looking family.”

She laughed then, an infectious sound that made her sound like a mischievous young girl. “Of course we do, silly. But that’s because their daddy is a looker.” She winked before tipping back in her chair, rocking in a slow rhythmic pace. “Oh, Bill, we did have a good time, didn’t we?”

His throat grew tight. She thought he was someone else. Bill. Her husband probably. Damn it, coming in here was a mistake. He didn’t know if this Bill was even still alive. Probably not.

He glanced to the hallway. He could leave now and she wouldn’t know, would forget they ever spoke. Instead, he stepped closer and settled a hand on her thin, fragile shoulder. “We did indeed.”

She nodded with satisfaction, gazing up at him, her eyes a mist of tears. “Life’s a beautiful thing.” She gave a little yawn before turning to look out the window again. “You always loved the snow, dear.”

He stood silently as her rocking grew slower and her eyes fluttered closed, her chest rising and falling in the natural rhythm of sleep.

For the next few minutes, even when it was clear she had dozed off, Wilder didn’t move, only continued to watch the snow falling outside, dusting the parking lot. He wasn’t able to form anything close to an articulate thought, only that if Quinn was to get the news she dreaded, he would do everything in his power to make sure that she always felt safe, cherished, and protected. The heat between them burned but he’d never let it go out. He didn’t care about anything else—having kids, protecting his heart—if it meant he couldn’t be with her.

For once, he was proud of the man he was. “I mean to love her no matter what,” he murmured to himself, to his mother and father if they were listening. “In good times and bad.” Then he went to get the tea with the decision sinking into his heart.

He knew what he had to do.

WHAT WAS TAKING Wilder so long? He’d left to get tea fifteen minutes ago and hadn’t come back. They’d need to leave soon. She glanced over at Dad and he was staring at the screen. Was there a part of him, however locked away, that remembered watching this movie with her every year? This was Christmas to her. The smell of Dad’s bay rum soap, watching old movies. What she really loved best was hearing him laugh. He was normally reserved, but had the sort of laugh that vibrated through you until everything felt good, safe, protected.

She hadn’t heard that laugh in a long time. She’d never hear that laugh again except in her memories. Reaching out, she took his hand and held it. “I miss you,” she whispered. “I miss you so much.”

He glanced over and stared. Nothing registered on his features but his fingers gave a small reassuring squeeze.

Take it as a good sign.

Wilder came into the rec room and Quinn turned, the only person in the room who seemed to register that a new person was here.

“Your tea,” he said, handing her a paper cup with the lid on.

She took it between her hands, holding it up to take a sip. “Peppermint? Yum. Thank you. I’d wondered what happened to you.”

He gave her a strange look. “I had to hunt down someone in the kitchen.”

“To make the tea?” She frowned. “But didn’t you remember that there is a coffee and hot water station near the nurse’s desk?”

“I know,” he said simply. “But that’s not what I needed to see the dietary department for.”

“So what’s up?” she pushed. “You got hungry for a snack?” How could he think of eating? The very idea of putting food in a ten-foot radius of her mouth right now made her insides churn.

“I needed aluminum foil,” he answered.

“I’m so lost right now—Oh. My. God.” She covered her mouth as he dropped to the couch beside her and held up an aluminum ring, twisted to make a circle.

“Quinn Alexis Higsby, I want you to know that, though I might not be able to go down on one knee just yet, I do know this. People use the phrase ‘other half’ and I’ve never known what that means, never understood it until you came into my life. When you are around, you complete me. You make me want to be my best self, the man I never thought I could be. Even as you cause a fire in me, you cool me down. No matter what happens today, I want you to know that you can count on me, all the way, to support you and walk alongside you no matter how hard the path or how uncertain the destination. Mr. Higsby, sir, you raised a heck of a woman, and I promise you here and now that I will treat your princess like a queen.”

“Wilder.” Her throat swelled. “I don’t know what to say. This is all happening so fast. We talked about the future a little but in such abstract terms.”

“For so long I’ve been putting what I want out of the equation. I want you for as long as our forever will be. One day. One year. One long and healthy lifetime. Whatever news you are about to get won’t change that. Surely there could be complications, but me loving you feels like the simplest answer of all.”

“Yes,” she said. “Yes a million times over.”