Ignite (Cloverleigh Farms #6)(100)

“I’m finishing an old one,” she said, hugging her stuffed penguin.

“Oh yeah?” Dex tucked Luna in and sat on the edge of her bed. “Which one?”

“The one about the ogre and the princess. It’s turning into a love story.”

“Oooh,” I said. “Tell me about it.”

“Well, they’ve been very good friends for a while, but the ogre would like to marry the princess.”

“But he’s an ogre,” Dex argued. “Are they even allowed to marry a princess? I thought her parents wanted her to marry the cruel prince.”

“They did, but this princess doesn’t care what other people say. She makes her own decisions.” She thought for a moment. “She’s a feminist princess.”

I laughed. “Good for her.”

“So do they get married?” Luna asked eagerly.

“Well, at first the ogre is afraid to propose. He thinks she’s going to say no because he’s not a prince. But he asks her anyway.”

“Because he’s learned to face his fears?” asked Dex.

“No, because her cottage is much nicer than his cave, and he really wants to live there with her.”

Dex harrumphed. “This ogre gets a bad rap in your stories.”

“What does she say?” I thumped Hallie’s feet through the blankets. “Don’t leave me in suspense!”

“She says yes, because she loves him and believes even ogres deserve a happily ever after.”

Luna grinned. “That’s a good ending.”

“It’s a perfect ending.” Smiling, I rose to my feet, kissed my fingers and touched Hallie’s forehead, then did the same to Luna. “Love stories are my favorite.”

“What about you, Daddy?” Hallie asked. “Are they your favorite too?”

“They’re growing on me.” Dex kissed his daughters goodnight while I leaned in the doorway. “See you in the morning.”

“You’re coming early in the morning for presents, right, Winnie?” Hallie asked.

“Yes,” I promised. “Just have your dad text me when you wake up.” Since the girls were spending tomorrow night with their mom, we’d told them Santa would drop by early to bring some gifts to open here.

“And you’ll come in your pajamas?”

“I’ll come in my pajamas.”

“And we can make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?” Luna asked.

“Yes—my mom’s secret recipe.”

“Goodnight, girls,” said Dex. “You have to go to sleep or else Santa won’t come.”

“You’re sure he knows to come early?” Luna sounded worried.

“Positive.” As Dex walked toward me and reached for the light switch, I saw both girls look at each other and wiggle their noses before the room went dark. I laughed softly as we went down the stairs.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“The girls. I think they’re trying to cast another spell.”

We reached the bottom and he put his arms around me. “What could they possibly want now that they have a cat, the ogre has the princess, and I have you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “but I definitely saw some nose wiggling in there.”

“Hmm.” He kissed the top of my head. “Maybe they were just making a Christmas wish.”

“True. Santa is coming tonight.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Should we give it an hour before we bring their presents over from my place?”

His hands slid down over my butt. “Can we spend that hour making out on the couch?”

I laughed, running my hands up his chest. I always wanted to be close to him. “Definitely.”





The following morning, I went over to Dex’s in my flannel pajamas, as promised. It had snowed about eight inches overnight, so I had to wear my boots, but I took them off at the door and tugged on the fluffy cat socks the girls had given me last year for Christmas.

While holiday music played from the speakers and snow flurries continued to drift, Dex and I drank coffee and watched the girls sit by the tree and tear open presents from Santa, their dad, me, and even from my parents. Over the last year, Hallie and Luna had become almost like grandkids to them—my mother adored when I’d bring them over to the bakery, and my dad was always excited to see us when we popped over to Cloverleigh Farms. Last week he’d gotten the old horse-drawn sleigh out of the barn and taken us all on a ride through the snow. He said it reminded him of my sisters and me growing up with their endless questions and squeals of excitement.

My parents got along well with Dex too. My mother loved how happy he made me, and my father respected his military career, his job as a first responder, and his devotion to his daughters as a single dad. We all went to Sunday dinners at their house as often as possible.

I’d grown close to his sister as well. Bree and I had bonded over our shared frustration with Dex’s grumpy moods and stubborn nature, and he often had to put up with teasing coming at him from both of us at once. If Dex and Justin had a Saturday night off, we often spent the evening at their house playing cards. Bree was especially grateful to me for supporting Dex when he decided to visit their father a couple times before he died last spring. While he hadn’t ever brought the girls with him, he said he’d found some peace in forgiveness and would always be grateful for the letter. I noticed him talking more about his mom and dad with the girls afterward, describing good memories from his childhood—that made me happy.