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  “Is everything ok, sweetie?”

  “Yeah, JD just burned the turkey. We’re fine.”

  A few minutes later, JD stepped outside and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She settled into his warmth and sighed.

  “Sorry,” he whispered. “I ordered some Chinese. They have Peking Duck, complete with the head.”

  “Well, now your Christmas dream has come true.”

  “It already did.” JD kissed that spot on Natalie’s neck that sent warm shivers all the way to her toes.

  Natalie remembered she was still in the middle of a phone call. “Oh, sorry Mom. It’s OK if you can’t make it this year.”

  “We never expected so many guests, and you know Charles isn’t at ease holding down the fort on his own…”

  “I know, and it’s ok. You own a renovated chateau-inn in Toulouse at Christmas time. Of course you’re going to have a lot of guests.”

  “You know what? I’ll make it up to you. I’ll fly you and JD out here over spring break or whenever you can take a week off. How’s that?”

  “Sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll hold you to that.”

  “Unless, well, are you and JD…OK?”

  “Oh yeah, we’re fine. More than fine. We’re awesome.” And she meant it, especially when he nibbled her ear like that.

  “I’m so glad, sweetie. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Mom. Merry Christmas.”

  A silver Volvo pulled into the drive. Vicki jumped out soon as the car stopped, and Phil a moment later. They went to the trunk and came back around with arms full of packages and insulated casserole dishes.

  JD jogged to meet them. “Let me take some of those.”

  “I hope you like Peking Duck with your broccoli casserole,” Natalie said, holding the door open for them. “We had a little incident.”

  Vicki sniffed. “Burned the turkey again, huh?”

  “Hey,” JD said, “A Christmas Story was on. It was the “You’ll shoot your eye out” part.”

  Phil laughed. “Oh yeah, I love that movie. Let’s have a beer and watch it while the women do their thing.”

  Vicki poked him in the chest. “We’ll do our thing, but only if your thing is doing the dishes after dinner.”

  The men migrated to the living room and settled on the sofa.

  "Oh, hey," Phil called during the commercial. "Nat, did you know JD's secretary is already showing?"

  "Officer McNally works fast," Vicki called back.

  Natalie laughed. “I’m really happy for them, but I wonder how motherhood will affect her chest investment.”

  Phil choked on his beer.

  ****

  An hour later, the doorbell rang. JD opened the door. “Hey Charlie! Merry Christmas Eve.”

  “Yeah, man, same to you. I got your duck here.” He slid a big plastic box from his insulated bag. “That’s $35.70.”

  “Phew, that’s one pricey duck. Serves me right for burning the turkey.”

  Charlie laughed. He had plumped up a bit, his hair was neatly cut, his face clean-shaven. According to Mike, he’d been clean as a whistle since the school incident. He held down two jobs now—one at the Chinese place and the other delivering newspapers.

  JD handed over the money in exchange for the duck. “So what’re you and Mike doing tonight?”

  “We’re gonna do a movie, playin’ the X-Box after that. I got him a new Halo game. He’s gonna flip!”

  “I bet. You guys have fun, ok?”

  “We will. Thanks man, and Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you.”

  JD carried the duck to the table. They ate their fill, migrated to the living room and opened presents. They were cleaning up wrapping paper when Phil pulled out a box from inside his coat.

  “Oh, look, I must have forgotten this,” he said with a wink.

  Vicki froze, holding loose ribbons and crumpled bows. “Phil…”

  He hit one knee and opened the box. “You knew this was coming.”

  “Is that…?”

  “Orange carnelian. Yep. The perfect crystal for a happy marriage.”

  Vicki threw the ribbons and bows, ran to Phil and gave him a flurry of wet smacks on the lips and cheeks, followed by a squeeze of his butt. “Yes, yes, yes, let’s do it! Let’s get married!”

  JD and Natalie laughed. What a Christmas this was turning out to be, though it was bittersweet with John Allen not here. Natalie had placed his blue teddy bear lovee on the mantle to remember him today. Not that she needed to—she’d felt his absence all week in the dull ache in her chest. But having JD beside her made it a lot easier to bear.

  Finally, the dishes were done, the wrapping paper picked up, and their guests were gone for the night. JD and Natalie curled up together on the couch to watch the twelfth showing of A Christmas Story by the twinkling lights on their tree.

  “Hey,” she said. “I have a little something for you.”

  “Oh, really?” JD hugged her closer and rubbed his hand along her thigh. “Do we need to be dressed for it?”

  She giggled, then reached down to retrieve the box she’d hidden under the couch. “Open it.”

  JD looked from her to the small, long white box. He blinked a few times, hesitating, then slowly lifted the lid. Christmas lights danced across the + sign on the pregnancy test. He closed the box and kissed her tenderly.

  “Like it?” she asked.

  “Like it? I love it, and I love you. For better, for worse, and everything in between.”

  He lay back on the couch, pulling her down with him. The “You’ll shoot your eye out” scene came and went, and JD didn’t even notice.

  THE END

  A Note from the Authors

  If you enjoyed this novella, please consider leaving a short review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Word of mouth is an author’s best marketing tool, but it doesn’t do much good when there’s only one voice involved, so be sure to tell your friends about it. Thank you for your support!!

  About the Authors

  Mysti Parker is a wife, mom, author, and shameless chocoholic. She is the author of the Tallenmere standalone fantasy romance series and The Roche Hotel romantic comedy series. Her other writings have appeared in the anthologies Hearts of Tomorrow, Christmas Lites, Christmas Lites II, Christmas Lites IV, The Darwin Murders, Tasteful Murders and EveryDayFiction.

  Other writing pursuits include serving as a class mentor in Writers Village University's seven week online course, F2K. She finished her first historical romance this spring and writes children’s books under her real name, Misty Baker.

  When she's not writing fiction, Mysti works as a freelance editor and copywriter. She also reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog voted #3 for eCollegeFinder's Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.

  Discover other titles by this author at Amazon.com:

  http://www.amazon.com/Mysti-Parker/e/B0055LOTX8

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  Blog: http://www.mystiparker.blogspot.com

  Website: www.mystiparker.com

  MJ Post debuts as a romance author with "Chances Are." Educated in creative writing in Southern universities, MJ has ties to Florida and North Carolina but currently resides in New York City and works in education. MJ is married and grew up in the 1970's and 1980's.

  MJ's interests include relationships, social media, and comic books. Ask her about any and all of them!

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