Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

By the time Margo found the nest, it was well into the evening and very dark out in the woods. Judging by the time they’d set their parents’ dinner up for, she knew it was probably past ten in the evening.

She also wasn’t dressed for hiking. Her coat and mittens were warm enough, but she hadn’t brought a hat, and she had Docs on, which weren’t exactly meant for hiking out in the snow. She knew she should just head home, much like the last time she’d been out for too long trying to get photos of the owls.

Last time, she’d missed a date with Spencer. Unprepared for this as she was, she knew she had a much higher chance of something with bigger consequences happening this time.

But she couldn’t talk herself into going home. She’d done crazier things in the quest to get that perfect shot. And she had to admit she liked the rush of being daring in order to get what she needed for an article. It made her feel like a brave adventurer, like those explorers on the National Geographic channels she used to watch when she was a kid. That was what had sparked her passion for all of this, after all.

The nest was right there. It was cold, and she kept slipping on crusted ice throughout the snow, but all she would have to do was climb the tree, and she could get an amazing shot. There were plenty of branches spaced out for it, and it wasn’t like she’d never climbed a tree before. She’d done it tons of times as a kid out here. She’d climbed trees since then too, while out on location. She was perfectly capable of it.

All of that ran through her head as she peered up at the nest, trying not to think about what everyone would say if she got herself hurt out here again .

Huffing out a cloud of warm breath in the frigid air, she grabbed onto one of the branches, hoisting herself up slowly. The owl was up in its nest, and it peered down at her, clearly trying to determine how much of an actual threat she was.

She pushed herself up a little higher. The branches were icy, but she had a pretty good grip on them, and her Docs had decent tread?—

Her hand slipped, just as she was about to push herself up to the branch where she would have had a perfect angle for the photo. She tried to catch herself with her feet, grabbing for another branch with her other hand, but it was too slippery, and she let out a small scream as she felt herself falling into the snow.

The fall itself took the wind out of her, but it wasn’t too bad. She didn’t think she’d broken anything, until a sharp, hot lance of pain shot up her wrist, and she closed her eyes with a groan.

Once again, she’d hurt herself out in the snow, because she’d stayed out too late. And there were no skiing employees to help her this time.

She fumbled for her phone, hoping against hope that she would be able to make a call. Holding it up, she saw one bar of reception blink onto the screen, and she quickly navigated to Rhett’s number with her thumb, remembering that Caroline had said he would be at the fire station that night.

“Margo?” Rhett’s voice came over the line, and she let out a sigh of relief, pushing herself up against the tree to sit.

“Hi. Um, if you’re not busy, or if you can send someone else out, I… kind of got hurt. I sprained my wrist, I think. Nothing too bad, but I’m out in the snow, and it’s dark.” She bit her lip. “I can send you a pin, I think, if I can keep this little bit of reception on my phone.”

“Spencer already sent us your location,” Rhett said with a chuckle. “I guess the two of you have it synced on your phones?”

“Yeah.”

Margo’s cheeks flushed, remembering that Spencer had asked her to do that after hearing Nora’s story about getting lost while hiking in the woods. He knew she liked to go off on adventures, and he always wanted to make sure she was safe.

She’d been warmly amused by his protectiveness at the time, but now she was glad that he’d done it. She was going to have to let him know what a good idea it had been.

“Anyway, I know exactly where you are. And Spencer was worried about you when you hadn’t come back a while ago, so he sent me a text asking me to keep an ear out just in case you needed anything. I’ll be out there just as quick as I can.”

“Thank you,” Margo said, leaning her head back against the tree. It was cold, and she hoped it wouldn’t take too long. She already felt like her nose and ears were going numb.

An hour later, she found herself in the quiet exam room in Spencer’s clinic, sitting on the table while he looked at her wrist. It was just the two of them, since Rhett had gone back to the fire station after he left her with Spencer, and she bit her lip as he gently turned her hand back and forth, trying to determine just how bad it was.

“It’s not broken,” he said finally. “So there’s that. I think you just sprained it. I’ll wrap it up so that it can rest and heal. You should definitely ice it tonight. And keep it elevated while you sleep for a day or two.”

“Oh good.” She let out a breath, looking down at the bruising skin. “I was worried that it was going to be way worse.”

Spencer gently wrapped a bandage around it until she couldn’t move it very much.

“I have to admit,” he said slowly, as he secured the bandage, “I am a little worried about this.”

“Worried how?” Margo looked at him curiously, and he let out a sigh.

“I’ve been worried that you’re restless. That you’re bored here. We talked about that a little bit, but—” He frowned, setting her hand down on her knee and looking at her. “Taking an extreme risk like this seems to support that feeling. I know you knew it was dangerous to go out late at night like that, and you could have been hurt so much worse. I feel like this is you doing things like this because you’re struggling with being in one place instead of jetting around on adventures. I guess I’m just worried that it’s… that I’m not enough to keep you happy.”

Margo bit her lip, feeling her heart constrict. She could hear how worried he was, how concerned he was that she would get hurt, or leave, that he would lose her or that she would do something that would get her hurt.

“Being adventurous is always going to be a part of me,” she said softly, reaching out to hold his hand with her uninjured one. “I can’t help that. But I promise to be more careful when I go out on photography projects. I don’t want you to ever worry. Not about my safety, and definitely not that you don’t make me happy. Because you make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

His expression relaxed a bit, some of the worry draining from his face, and she gazed into his eyes as she continued.

“I know there have been some growing pains as I’ve settled back into smalltown life, but I feel like I’m really starting to hit my stride at The Gazette . I’m doing projects that feel challenging and exciting, and I love it. But just because I like to push myself and do hard things sometimes, that doesn’t mean I want to be anywhere other than here. I’m sure of that, Spencer.”

“Really?” he asked, love and hope reflecting in his eyes. “Are you sure?”

She squeezed his hand, smiling at him. “One hundred percent. Collaborating with Nora and Caroline to get this surprise ready for our parents, and seeing all of their memories, their love for each other, getting to be a part of all that—it put everything into perspective for me. I love you so much. I love our life together, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I want to stay here with you forever and have a home with you.”

Spencer’s face lit up with happiness. “I was hoping you’d say that. That’s exactly how I feel too.”

And then, to her shock, right there in the exam room, he went down on one knee, reaching into the pocket of his coat as he did. Margo stared at him, shocked into complete silence, as he pulled out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing the most beautiful tanzanite solitaire that she had ever seen.

“Having a home here with you is all I could ever want,” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. “It’s all I’ve wanted since the day I met you. I love your adventurous spirit and how you always strive to keep challenging yourself. That’s one of my favorite things about you. And if you’re going to go searching for snowy owls in the woods… well, next time, I’ll be right by your side.” He chuckled. “Both to keep you safe, and because I want to be wherever you are. I want to protect you and have fun with you and grow with you, for the rest of our lives. Margo Stoker, will you marry me?”

Spencer gazed up at her as he spoke, his expression full of emotion, and there was not a single doubt in her mind as to what her answer would be as she jumped down off of the exam table. She forgot all about her hurt wrist as a burst of happiness swelled in her chest.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, of course I will.”

Spencer stood up, reaching for her left hand as he slid the ring onto her finger.

“Good,” he said warmly. “Because I want to marry you more than anything in the world. I can’t wait to make you my wife.”

A smile curved his lips as he reached for her, pulling her into his arms. He cupped her cheek with one hand, tilting her face up toward his as he dropped his head.

And there, where they’d met for the first time, Margo kissed her fiancé, her sparkling new ring on her finger. She’d gotten engaged on her parents’ anniversary, after seeing their love showing her exactly what it was that she could look forward to if she let herself have it, and it couldn’t have felt more right.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.