A.N. There's so much fluff in this chapter and I love it all. I want to thank everyone who has reached out via comments and provided feedback on this story. Writing this story was a fun distraction from my more serious content, but then it wormed into my heart and became a work that I'm rather proud of.

Although this is the end of Year 1 for Morgan and Elliott, I guarantee there will be more to come in a future sequel. Thank you for sticking with this story despite my atrocious publishing schedule. All of the hits, author alerts, story favorites, and comments mean the world to me.

Chapter 26 — Feast of the Winter Star (Rated T)

December 25th (Winter)

I crunched through the frozen top layer of snow and stuck my ski poles slightly ahead of my step to help me balance on Robin's oversized wooden snowshoes. My breath came out in a thin mist and I was sweating through my winter jacket. I briefly paused and unzipped it before traveling on.

Tonight marked the town's celebration of The Feast of the Winter Star. The Winter's Day feast marked the winter solstice, a formal end to the natural year, and it was a time for merriment, great food, and gratitude. And it just also happened to be my grandpa's birthday.

Although I never got to visit grandpa in the winter because school and mom's job took up too much of our time, I always called him on December 25th to wish him 'Happy Birthday' and 'Happy Winter's Day.' So when I awoke, I decided that I'd take an impromptu trip to visit grandpa in a different way.

The journey to Grandpa's grave shouldn't have been difficult but the land west of my garden was still wild and a journey that should've taken a couple of minutes took nearly fifteen as I crawled beneath ancient pine boughs, through rough and dead brambles, and around huge mossy snow-covered boulders. At least the thick blackberry thorns couldn't cause too much damage what with wearing two layers of clothing beneath bib overall snow pants.

Grandpa's grave was more like a tomb in its grander and size. Someone carved out a stone slab from a natural rock shelf that protruded out of the steep cliffside. A stone platform about waist high sat buried beneath two feet of snow, so I stuck my ski poles into the snowbank nearby and set to work clearing off Grandpa's grave.

Once that was complete, I dug out four plain beeswax candles from my jacket pocket and set them on the four stone bowls that protruded from the cliff. I removed my damp mittens and pulled out a small lighter from the same pocket and lit each of the candles while murmuring the customary prayer:

Yoba. I light these candles in honor and remembrance of my grandfather. Like the North star, his guidance has given me hope in the darkest times. His support and protection follow me like the rising and setting sun, and his love surrounds me and those whom he loved like the southern winds. Keep him in your care until the time comes for us to meet again.

I held my bare hands up to the flames to protect them from the elements but the snow flurries that fell from the large pine trees extinguished the flames in short order.

"Darn it" I muttered. I looked down and dug into my coat for the lighter but when I looked up the candles flickered back to life.

The wind picked up and despite the whirlwind of snow that kicked up around me, the candles remained lit like four miniature beacons. They shouldn't have remained lit though. A child's sneeze could put any one of these candles out… And then I smelled the spicy and unmistakable aroma of pipe tobacco.

I looked behind me but I saw nobody crawling through the brambles and thick forest that I came through, and the only set of prints in the snow were mine. I sniffed my jacket suspiciously. The pipe tobacco could've been from Mayor Lewis; after all, he smoked the same brand as my grandfather, and Marnie had washed my jacket after getting it back from the hospital that they sent Shane to…

No.

Have you ever felt in your guts that you knew something was right? People sometimes call it intuition but this went beyond that. I knew as sure as I knew my own name that my grandpa was in those woods with me. It didn't matter how. It didn't matter that he was dead. It didn't matter that up until that moment I considered myself a skeptic about ghosts or even angels. My grandpa was here.

"Grandpa…" I breathed out.

My declaration was answered with another gust of wind which kicked up even more snow. I pulled down the fur-lined bomber hat that once belonged to my him and tucked my face into my jacket. The smell of pipe tobacco intensified to the point that I was getting slightly dizzy from the spice it brought. Then the wind died down, the smell vanished, and all was silent and still.

I cautiously poked my head out of my jacket-like a turtle emerging from its shell. The candles were extinguished and four thin wisps of smoke rose up to the morning sky. I almost expected to see the blue-white see-through ghost of my grandpa, but I saw nothing except a folded piece of parchment resting on the cleared stone table.

I opened it. The paper felt as real as anything and it was slightly cold against my bare skin, but the neat block lettering was impossible. Nobody except my grandpa had that kind of handwriting. It said:

Morgan. You are not ready to hear from me just yet. There's much more work that needs to be done. Don't be afraid to ask for help. The town will come through just as they did for me. The farm was always meant to be yours. Help it thrive. The land is more than a farm, it is your home. Happy Winter's Day feast my sweat pea. I love you.

My hands trembled. My legs collapsed beneath me and I plopped into the deep snow. Hot tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks. It felt like my heart was swelling up in my chest and trying to rise out of my body. Grandpa had been here! Yet…nobody would believe me if I told them this. A part of me felt extremely sad about that but another part knew that this moment was special; it was a private moment between my grandfather and myself. Maybe nobody needed to know.

"I love you grandpa." I murmured out into the still winter morning.

My fist closed around the parchment only to discover that it had disappeared, but instead of feeling dismayed or disappointed I actually felt relieved. The Feast of the Winter Star was all about remembrance and showing gratitude towards those who have impacted our life this year, and this gift that grandpa had given me was one that I didn't want to share with anyone else, even Elliott.

I put my mittens back on, zipped up my coat, and grabbed my ski poles to make the trek back to the cabin. Before I left the small clearing, I took one last look back at the shrine and said a silent prayer to Yoba.

"Until we meet again grandpa," I promised.

That afternoon had the town was abuzz with excitement, energy, and general holiday cheer. I could feel it radiating out towards the bus stop as I waited for the Elliott's bus to arrive from the Zuzu City train station. Elliott had left three days prior to visit his family for the holidays while I did the same and spent Winter Star's Eve with Mom and Chuck.

The bus rolled up much slower than normal on account of the recent snowfall. Elliott made his way towards the front of the bus. He gave me a small wave and I beamed up at him. He looked rested and he was wearing a new royal blue crocheted scarf around his neck.

I stood up and waited for the bus driver to open the door. "Have a Happy Holidays!" The driver extolled before Elliott exited.

"You too." He replied jovially and I helped him maneuver his unwieldy canvas bag down the steps.

When his eyes met mine, my smile grew into a dopey grin. He set his bag down on the metal bench and swept me up in his arms. I wrapped my fingers around his new scarf and drew his face to me.

"Hello." I giggled.

"Hello to you too, love." He replied.

His hot breath played across my lips. He smelled like cinnamon and I buried my face into his chest and nuzzled against him.

"Your mom uses different laundry detergent, doesn't she?"

"Yes?" He chuckled. His dexterous fingers gently swept my hair behind my ears. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." I replied. "I like the scent. That's all."

Elliott made a sound in his throat that fell somewhere between a purr and a growl. He pulled me against him and kissed me. His tongue swept over mine which sent shudders down my spine. We were both panting a little when he finally rested his forehead against mine.

"How is it that three days away from you feels like a lifetime?" He sighed.

"I don't know." I replied and nipped lightly at his jawline. "But the weather has been terrible for the past couple of days. I'm starting to get cabin fever from being cooped up inside for too long. Let's drop your bag off at the cabin and head to town to help with the festivities. We're supposed to have a cloudless night sky tonight. Dr. Harvey heard on his radio that we could expect to see some meteor showers tonight. Maybe we could go stargazing if it isn't too cold."

"Or…" He countered. "We could go back to the house and build up a cozy fire and I can show you just how much I've missed you."

I shivered at that and kissed him again. When I pulled away, I cupped his cheek and dragged my fingers along his scalp to finger-comb back his hair.

"Let's at least help them set up and make a brief appearance. Mayor Lewis has a toast to give, there will be plenty of food, and we can exchange our gifts to our secret gift recipients, and head out early. Besides, I've never been to this festival; Mom was always working and Grandpa had his hands full caring for the cattle and pigs in the winter, and I was busy with school."

He sighed. "Of course, love. You're right. It would be wrong of us to not make an appearance. Let's go."

"And then we can snuggle by the fire." I promised him with one more kiss.

"I'm holding you to that promise, my dear." He replied as he took my hand and then pulled his bag over his shoulder. "C'mon. The sooner I can drop my stuff off then the sooner we can get to the feast."

—-

We arrived in the town square an hour later and it was 'all hands on deck' as the entire town was busy setting up the event.

I flagged Mayor Lewis down who was overseeing everything with a keen eye and marking things off a two-page checklist.

"We finally made it Mayor Lewis." I remarked with a smile. "Elliott's bus came in at 11 AM. So put us to work. What do you need help with?"

"You can help us with the food." Robin called out. "We're carrying out the trays and setting the tables that the boys have organized. And Elliott, you can help my husband with tasks that require vertical talents as you both are the tallest men here."

"Yes ma'am." Elliott inclined his head and went with Demetrius.

"C'mon. Follow me into Gus's kitchen. He's nearly worked himself to exhaustion with all of the cooking, so it's the least we can do and carry everything out for him. The poor man probably hasn't slept in a couple of days."

And within a matter of a couple hours, the town came together and set up the Winter's Eve Festival.

Jas and Vincent helped Evylyn, Jodi, and Caroline decorate the ten foot tall conifer that sat in the town square. The kids hung bulbous holiday ornaments in record time while Jodi and Caroline discreetly went behind them and adjusted the ornaments so they were spaced equally apart instead of all clumped at the bottom. Meanwhile, Marnie held the ladder as Mayor Lewis set the gold holiday star at the top of the tree; it's crystalline and glass shell glinted magnificently in the stark winter sunlight, and when the light hit it just right, it actually looked like it was twinkling.

Alex, Pierre, and Harvey shoveled and salted the walkways. Alex took to the work with youthful enthusiasm saying something about not needing to work out because shoveling was great cardio whereas Pierre and Harvey tried to disguise their fatigue by taking occasional moments to clean the non-existent fog and moisture from their glasses.

Willy, Gunther, and Gus moved picnic tables around the center tree while Emily, Hailey, and Leah decorated the town square with all sorts of festive displays. They wrapped pine garland around light poles, hung strands of holly attached to festive holiday ribbons, and every house in the square was decorated with large multicolored twinkle lights.

In the downtime while people enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and light refreshments courtesy of Evelyn, Jodi, and Caroline, the younger crowd: Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail built an army of "snow goons" next to two other handsome snowmen. They seemed to come up with more outlandish and macabre constructs and soon the park just south of the Saloon looked like a scene out of a low quality zombie movie.

By 3PM the festivities were ready to begin. The men had arranged the tables into a half circle and people sat in order of age starting at the top with Evelyn, her husband, and Mayor Lewis and ending with Jas and Vincent on the left and right sides of the half circle. Elliott and I took our seats next to Leah and Emily who were wearing matching bracelets made out of fresh holly. From across the way, I caught Shane's eye. I expected him to avert his gaze or busy himself with his drink but instead he simply nodded once in acknowledgement.

The smell that filled the air made my stomach flutter in anticipation. Along with the standard fare of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes with farm fresh butter and homemade gravy, Gus also had some more exotic choices like crab cakes, shrimp coconut soup, and fiddlehead risotto. And for dessert, there were blueberry tarts, fruit salad, and blackberry cobbler.

Mayor Lewis stood up from his picnic table and cleared his throat expectantly. The idle and excited chatter died down almost immediately.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Another year has come and gone and it's made me realize a couple important things about myself and about my job as your mayor." Mayor Lewis paused and took out a pair of discrete reading glasses and unfolded a small piece of paper that clearly had a pre-written speech on it. "Today is a time to be thankful for this year's good fortune, and we all have a lot for which to be thankful. Each year, I look forward to the Feast of the Winter Star because today marks a day where we reflect on the past year and look forward to the new things that are to come. I am honored to serve as your Mayor and I wish all of you health and happiness in this upcoming year. To you all!"

Mayor Lewis raised his wine glass and toasted everyone and we mimicked his gesture by toasting our own glasses to him. As soon as he sat down, the idle and happy chatter picked up once again and settled into a comfortable hum. Almost immediately, Elliott was caught up in another one of Willy's fishing stories which left me free to sit back and observe the crowd as I ate.

Vincent and Jas were at the end flinging mashed potatoes at each other with their spoons. Jas's aim was remarkable as one of her shots hit Vincent square between the eyes, but then Jodi quickly put a stop to their childish mischief and they both settled in to eat their mashed potato ammunition.

Sebastian, Abigail, and Sam finished eating in record time and Sam pulled out his guitar and plucked a few acoustic Christmas tunes while Sebastian and Abigail played cards. Penny and Maru were talking with Dr. Harvey and their faces all held the same look of intellectual curiosity as Maru showed off a couple of technical diagrams while they all ate.

As more and more people finished their meals, the seating order didn't matter as much and people intermingled with one another. Well…at least everyone mingled except Shane.

I set my empty plate in a dirty dishes bin and went to where Shane was sitting.

"Hey." I said warmly.

"Hey Morgan." He didn't seem brash or rude but there was a hollowness in his voice that made me ache in sympathy.

"Um…mind if I sit for a moment?"

He shrugged. "It's a free country."

I took that as an invitation and sat with my back against the picnic table.

"So…uh. How are you doing?"

Shane popped a piece of turkey into his mouth and deliberately chewed and swallowed before answering my question. It looked as though he was giving my question quite a lot of thought.

"I guess I don't know." He said. "The doc I'm seeing has me on this medication that's supposed to help…level me out I guess … but I don't know if it's working. I don't feel bad but I also don't feel much of anything. I see him twice a week but sometimes I feel like everyone's scrutinizing me like I'm a disgusting insect."

I blinked a few times in surprise. His response had been more forthright than I was expecting, and then I began silently panicking as I thought of something I could say that would make him feel better.

I was about to deny his claim that the rest of the town was scrutinizing him to try and ease his fears, but I realized that it probably did feel like that from his perspective. When I looked around, I saw that most of the people were almost acting like he wasn't even there. He was the social pariah; the proverbial bomb that was about to explode at any second. People tiptoed around him. People were afraid of talking with him, and even I kept my distance after everything that had happened.

"Yeah…that's pretty shitty. I'm sorry."

His dark eyes panned up to mine. He scrutinized my expression clearly trying to determine if I was lying or placating his fears just to uphold common courtesy. Yoba, the world must've burned Shane badly for him to be this distrustful of people.

"Yeah well that's life I guess. I've done a lot of this to myself. I guess I have to deal with it one way or the other."

"What d'you mean?"

Shane shrugged, "I'm not the man I used to be. You might not believe it but I use to play Varsity Gridball in high school. I was good. Okay, maybe not as good as Alex but I was still good. Then one bad knee injury ended my season. My scholarship was revoked, I was dropped from the gridball team, and well, depression and anxiety followed closely behind it. I couldn't exercise and I couldn't play a game that I loved so I threw myself down the proverbial bottle. But … I got myself here. I have to somehow get myself back out."

I started speaking before I really considered what I was saying. "If you're ever looking for something to do, I could use an extra pair of hands on the farm. There's not much to do right now, but once the snow melts I have a ton of lumber and debris that I'm looking to clear so I can start up an orchard like the one my grandpa had. I couldn't pay you until the summer, once the profit from my spring crops come in, but I'll have way more work than I can handle. And it is great exercise."

Shane cocked a dark eyebrow at me. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yes. I actually am." I replied in surprise at myself.

Shane sighed. "Thanks Morgan. I appreciate the offer. I'll let you know once my schedule frees up. Marnie pulled some strings for me and found me a job working at the Joja call center for the winter. It's a temporary job but it's across the street from the therapy place."

"Oh? I'm sorry, but why would she think that customer service work would be right for you? It nearly destroyed my soul and I'm not —" I winced at how that sentence was about to end but Shane gave me a soft smile.

"The word you're looking for is manic depressant." He said. "It's okay. The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? And I'm not working in customer service. I'm working in the IT division. Joja is trying to start an online store and Sebastian's been teaching me the basics of computer coding. Their IT department offers on the job training and I figure it would be a good chance to get my foot in the door so I can finally move out of Marnie's place and live on my own."

"Wow! That's really cool." I replied. "So did you give your notice at Joja Mart?"

"Nah." Shane shrugged. "Morris fired me the night that everything happened and I lied to Marnie about it. That was just one of the many things that led to all of … that."

"Alright folks! It's time for our secret gift exchange." Mayor Lewis announced. "Remember that this was a serious gift exchange with a 100 gold limit and not a white elephant gift exchange."

Mayor Lewis scowled at Sam who had the good sense to look chagrined.

"C'mon." Shane said. "You've heard enough about my problems. It's the Winter's Day Feast. Let's go open our presents."

The entire town gathered around the giant pine tree, and Maru and Penny helped pass out the wrapped parcels. Elliott caught my eye and I gave him a warm, pleased smile. He and I had agreed to swap presents privately later tonight. And that was only a partial innuendo. I did get Elliott an actual gift in addition to sex.

Once the gifts were passed out, Jas skipped up to me with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Did anyone give you a gift yet?"

"Nope." I replied. "Maybe I was too naughty this year."

Jas rolled her eyes. "After saving Uncle Shane, I doubt you were naughty. You could ask for like 100 toys and Father Winter would give them to you, no questions asked."

I chuckled, "Well I'll keep that in mind. I do need some new stuff for the farm."

Jas wiggled impatiently. "So? Did you guess who your secret gift giver is?"

I feigned ignorance, "I dunno. Um…Harvey looks awfully suspicious over there by himself. Maybe it was him."

"Nooo." She urged as though she was trying to give me a subtle hint before the excitement got the best of her. "IT WAS ME!"

I jumped back in overblown surprise, "What! That's crazy! I had no idea!"

Jas beamed and handed me a purple gift bag with pink tissue paper sticking out of it. "Auntie Marnie let me wrap it myself."

I set the bag down on the picnic table and dug through the tissue paper. A conical object was wrapped up in more pink tissue paper but Jas had taped every inch of the material down so it was impossible to open.

I tried to slice away at it but my nails were clipped too short to make much of a dent.

"Um, I might've used too much tape." Jas said in a small voice. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I smiled. "I like a challenge. Opening a gift is part of the fun of receiving a gift. You just —" I tugged at the tape hoping a hole would peel open for me to tear at the flimsy tissue underneath, — "Man, did you dip this thing in glue?"

"Here." Shane's voice said from behind me.

I turned to him. He held a box cutter out and I took the tool with a grateful smile. I carefully carved the tape away and peeled the tissue back to reveal a blue seashell.

Jas smiled. "Do you like it? I found it with Ms. Penny and Vincent when we were by the ocean learning about aquatic animals. I kept it all this time because I thought it was pretty, but then when I heard that I had you as my secret gift partner, I thought you'd like it more."

I gave Shane's box cutter back to him, knelt down, and pulled Jas into a hug. "This is a great gift. Thank you."

I stuffed the tissue paper and tape exoskeleton into the gift bag and put the shell in the palm of my hand. The outside of it was a deep cerulean but the inside had an array of iridescent colors swirling in a rainbow pattern. I spent a lot of time down at the beach fishing and I had never found a shell quite like this one. It was beautiful.

"And if you put the seashell to your ear you can hear the ocean!" Jas instructed with childishly innocent enthusiasm.

"Oh really?" I smirked and I put one end of the shell to my ear. Since the shell was in the shape of a lopsided cylinder, it didn't actually make the same echoing 'ocean' sound but I played along.

"Oh yes, I can hear it!"

"Go on and say goodbye to Vincent so we can go home. And don't forget your hat." Shane said.

Jas pulled on her purple winter hat and matching mittens and ran through the crowd and out of sight.

"You're good with her you know." I told Shane as I put the shell into the bag for safekeeping.

He looked away. Doubt etched his features, "Yeah well …"

"Hey." I insisted. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "She loves you Shane. Don't ever doubt that."

He nodded and then cleared his throat. "So…Marnie let it slip that you were my secret gift exchange person. Don't feel bad if you didn't get me a —"

— "Shut up." I smirked and I handed my gift out to him. "Just be careful, it's fragile."

He set the brown gift bag on the picnic table and pulled out two mason jars full of my canned hot peppers.

"Oh…wow. Morgan … these …these are my favorite. How did you know?" He asked.

"Gus." I smiled. "When I received your name in the mail, I honestly had no idea what you'd like so I asked Gus for some help. Considering everything that's happened recently, I felt like getting you a six pack of beer would be less than helpful, but I did grow a bunch of peppers in the spring and now you have what remains of that batch. I hope that's okay. I didn't really have time to go out and buy something. This winter's been pretty brutal and …"

My voice died when he looked at me. His dark eyes looked unusually clear — probably thanks to the sobriety — and he bit his bottom lip.

"No..this. It's great. C — can I give you a hug?" His face flushed just asking the question.

"Sure." I replied and I pulled him into a chaste side hug.

His denim jacket smelled like woodsmoke and his touch was cautious. When I let go, he looked over at Elliott who was still deep in conversation with Leah and Emily. He was holding a bottle of wine with the Stardrop Saloon label on the side. Clearly Emily had been his secret gift giver.

"Your boyfriend isn't gonna give you a hard time if I take you up on the offer to help you on the farm?" He asked quietly.

"No." I said firmly. "He's not."

Shane looked at me like I was insane. But then he shrugged, "I — I just get nervous I guess. Call it part of my anxiety or something, but you seem really happy with him and I don't wanna mess that up. I — I mean —"

I held up a hand to stop him and he looked relieved, "Shane. I appreciate the concern but it's not necessary. Elliott and I trust each other. Besides, he's over there talking to two women now and I'm not jealous."

"Yeah but they're gay." He stated.

I was going to argue but stopped, "Okay…fair point. But still, we can be friends. I'd like to be friends. As long as you can deal with the fact that that's all we are and that's all we'll ever be."

His dark eyes took on a haunted look. He whispered, "I don't have many friends."

I nodded, "And now you have one more if you'll have me."

"I — I —" He winced at how awkward he sounded and he took a breath before speaking again. "I'd like that I think."

I extended my hand to him. "Well then. It's good to meet you, friend."

Shane took my hand. His own hand dwarfed over mine. His skin felt warm and his palms were calloused. "It's nice to meet you, too. And thank you." His eyes met mine. He worried his upper lip with his bottom teeth and self consciously rubbed his hand along his thick stubble. "Thanks for saving me."

Before I could respond, Jas came peeling out of the crowd with Vincent hot on her heels. She held out the boy's hat and taunted him in a sing-song voice. The poor kid hadn't hit puberty yet so Jas was still a full head taller and her legs were longer than his.

"Viiiinceeent! Cooomee and get your haaaaat!" Jas crowed.

Shane watched the spectacle with an expression of one part chagrin and three parts quiet amusement.

"She's a Hellraiser alright." He muttered. "I better go and stop this before she makes Vincent cry again. Happy Holidays Morgan."

"You too." I chuckled and watched as he jogged after the duo. I picked up my gift and rejoined Emily, Leah, and Elliott. The ladies were clearly attached at the hip so I didn't take it personally when they left to go and sample some of Gus's spiked eggnog.

"All's well that ends well then?" Elliott asked and he took my hand into his.

"Yeah. Vincent won't be mad at Jas for too long. I'll bet you fifty gold they'll be finishing that snow goon that they started before the feast is done."

"I'm talking about with Shane." He said with an enigmatic smile.

"Oh…yeah I think so."

I looked into Elliott's eyes and I think he sensed my uncertainty because he said, "Remember. I trust you, Morgan."

"Thank you." I replied. "I love you Elliott."

He lightly kissed me and I blushed as I felt the heat of several eyes watching us.

Although the kiss was chaste, I felt uncomfortable with feeling like I was being watched so I cut the kiss short. "So…ah…what did you get from Emily?"

Elliott held up the bottle. "Emily kept the last of Gus's autumn ale for me. She apparently pulled it before the Stardew Fair and paid Gus for the lost profits. Somehow she knew that this was my favorite, but I don't think I ever mentioned that to her."

I shrugged and feigned innocence, "Who knows. Emily is quite astute."

Elliott tilted my chin up and gently kissed me once more. "Or a little bird told her about it the night that Sam's band played at the Saloon."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I replied cheekily. "C'mon. Let's go on home. If you kiss me once more, I think the town will start prematurely planning our wedding."

Just because he could, Elliott gave me one last brief peck and said, "After you my dear."

We made it back to the cabin just as it became too dark to see. Our timing was perfect since I had left my headlamp behind on accident and tonight was a moonless night. When we got inside, we kicked off our boots by the door and I tossed a few dry logs on the smoldering embers. Within a couple minutes, the hearth roared to life.

"Shall we exchange our gifts?" Elliott asked.

"Sure. I'll go first. You gotta close your eyes though."

Elliott dutifully closed his eyes and waited patiently with his hands outstretched.

I pulled his gift from my purse and set it in his hands. He opened his eyes and glanced at the envelope.

"Brilliant! It's a letter. Uh…what is it?"

"Open it idiot." I urged.

Elliott grinned at me, did so, and read the single sheet of paper. His lips murmured silently and his eyes flitted from left to right and then grew wider.

"Morgan! This — this — what? How?"

I chuckled. "Your father got in contact with some of his colleagues and the professor in their English Department sent me a flyer to their writer's workshop programs. I know how you feel about Alexandria University but it's a six-week course this spring and they introduce you to several local accomplished writers, and they'll help you publish, and they can offer you far better advice than I can on what qualifies as good writing. I already sent them your tuition to enroll in the program. I hope that wasn't too —"

Elliott cut me off with a ferocious kiss that left me both breathless and speechless. He cupped my face and when we broke apart, his voice was thick and slightly rough.

"You talked to my father?"

I nodded. "I called your mother a couple of weeks after I left. I explained to her what I was thinking and asked her if she knew of any writing workshop programs. She then put your dad on the phone and he made the necessary contacts and sent me the information."

"And he gave you the information just like that? He's never been supportive of me, Morgan. So —"

"— So maybe he realized that you do have potential." I interjected. "And maybe I sent him my copy of your book and explained to him why you need this class to help keep you marketable. And maybe he actually read your book and agreed with me."

Elliott's brows furrowed and he shook his head in disbelief. "My father read my book? You sent him the copy I gave you?"

"Uh…I bought that from you." I chided. "And yes I did. I hope you're not mad. I know you've been struggling with this second book and I just wanted to help you. I'm sorry if I —"

Elliott shook his head. "No Morgan. Do not apologize to me—not for something like this." He pulled me into him and an emotional shudder made his chest tremble. "Yoba. I've never met a more thoughtful person than you. I just — I can't believe it. Thank you."

I nuzzled into his chest. "You're welcome."

He chuckled and then he cleared his throat. "Uh…this sort of makes your present a little corny, but…"

I pulled away from him. "Nonsense. I'm sure I'll like it no matter what it is."

"Alright. Close your eyes then."

I closed my eyes. I heard Elliott walk into the bedroom and come back out with something that smelled floral. I heard tissue paper rustling, and my heart thundered from the anticipation.

"Can I open my eyes?" I asked.

"Not quite yet." He said.

"Elliott…" I complained.

"Relax, love. It will be worth the wait, I assure you." I smelled the cinnamon aroma his clothes gave off as he came closer to me. He cleared his throat again and then I felt a gentle weight settle on top of my sternum. Elliott clasped something around my neck and then took a step back.

"Go ahead and open your eyes."

I did and I looked down. A small ruby sat encased in a sterling silver circular band. The pendant was about the size of my pinky nail, but despite its modest size, the ruby glinted and sparkled merrily in the candlelight.

"Elliott…this is…" When I looked up, I saw the second gift and my voice died in my throat.

He smiled and held out a beautiful winter bouquet of holly, primrose, crocus, and snowdrop. "Morgan Grace Raymond, will you be my girlfriend?"

I laughed and accepted the bouquet. The subtle, soft aroma of the winter flowers was offset by the assertive pine sprigs that garnished the arrangement. It smelled crisp and heavenly and like the best parts of winter.

"I don't understand. What's this all about? Did you not think we were dating or —"

— "Oh no!" Elliott interrupted. His lopsided grin looked mischievously dashing. "I am completely smitten with you my love, but I wanted to make us official in the proper Pelican Town sort of way. So…do you accept my proposal?"

"Of course!" I chuckled. "The bouquet is beautiful. I can't believe Pierre sells bouquets in the winter. This must've cost you a pretty penny."

"Not at all." He replied. "Leah helped me gather the flowers and pine boughs and Emily helped me arrange it. Those two certainly have an eye for style. The only thing it cost me was the time and a couple of days of literal cold feet."

"And the necklace?" I asked.

Elliott smiled and he drew me closer to him. "It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me the morning before you left and told me to never let you go. So this, my love, is my promise to you. I intend to marry you Morgan. Not now, but someday. So I am giving you this as a promise pendant. You mean everything to me, and when I look back at this year, I can honestly say that you've made had more of an impact on my life than anyone else that I've met. I wouldn't be where I am today without you. I love you Morgan."

Happy tears welled up in my eyes. "I love you too Elliott."

The fire crackled and popped as we kissed. The cabin's frosted windows fogged up from the heat, and I thought back to nine months ago when the cabin's stark emptiness reflected just how big of an impact my grandpa left.

The beauty of life is that life continues even after the people you love pass away. Grandpa's death rocked me to my core, but his death was also the catalyst I needed to change my life.

Grandpa's words echoed in my head: The land is more than a farm, it is your home. I left Zuzu City looking to escape. But what really happened was that I came home.

I am home, I thought.

I had Elliott and Golden — our little family in the making — and I had never felt more complete and satisfied.

I am home.