I woke before the sun this morning, the house quiet except for the faint crackling of the dying fire in the hearth. Snow had fallen heavy through the night, blanketing the world in silence, soft and untouched. Christmas morning.
Mama had been fussing all week, setting candles in the windows, baking spiced cakes, and humming hymns under her breath as if the season alone could make the world right. But my heart was elsewhere, out on the road, chasing the man who carries it with him.
I hadn’t let myself hope. Hope was dangerous—it made the waiting worse, made the loneliness cut deeper. But as I lay there beneath my quilts, staring at the ceiling, something inside me stirred. A feeling.
The faintest tap against my window.
I sat up so fast I nearly fell from bed, my breath catching in my throat. Heart pounding, I scrambled to the glass, pressing my hands against the frost-covered pane. And there he was.
Arthur stood below, snow dusting his broad shoulders, his hat pulled low, his coat wrapped tight against the cold. Even from here, I could see the way his lips curled into that small, knowing smirk.
I didn’t stop to think. Didn’t hesitate.
I threw on my shawl and slipped down the stairs as quietly as I could, past the twinkling candles, past the tree Mama had decorated with care, past the stockings that hung by the hearth. The world inside was warm and safe. But Arthur—Arthur was the fire that burned inside me.
I pushed open the back door, the cold biting at my skin, and before I could say a word, he pulled me into his arms.
"Merry Christmas, darlin’," he murmured against my hair, his voice rough with the cold, with exhaustion, with something else—something deeper.
"You came back." My words were muffled against his coat, against the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"’Course I did," he said, pulling back just enough to look at me, his green eyes dark in the moonlight. "Told ya I would."
I reached up, brushing my fingers against his face, feeling the stubble on his jaw, the warmth of his skin against the winter chill. "You’re freezing," I whispered.
He chuckled softly, tilting his head. "Guess you’ll have to warm me up, then."
I laughed, despite the lump in my throat, despite the tears burning at the corners of my eyes. He always did that—turned my worry into something lighter, something bearable.
And then he kissed me, slow and deep, the kind of kiss that made the cold disappear, made the world fall away.
When he pulled back, he reached into his coat and pulled something from his pocket—a small, worn leather pouch. "Got somethin’ for ya," he said, placing it in my hands.
I opened it with shaking fingers, my breath catching as I pulled out a delicate silver chain, a small locket hanging from it. I traced my thumb over the intricate etching, my heart swelling with emotion.
"Arthur…" I whispered, barely able to speak.
"Ain’t much," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But figured you should have somethin’ to hold onto when I ain’t around."
I looked up at him, at the man who had stolen my heart and given me his in return. "It’s perfect."
His expression softened, and for a moment, I saw it—that flicker of something unguarded, something real.
"Come inside," I whispered, lacing my fingers with his. "Stay, even if just for a little while."
He hesitated. I could see the battle in his eyes, the war between what he wanted and what he thought was right. But then he nodded, just once, and let me lead him inside.
And as we stepped over the threshold, the warmth of home wrapping around us, I knew this moment would be one I would carry forever.
Because no matter where the road took him, no matter how far he had to ride, Arthur Morgan had come home to me for Christmas.
And that was all the gift I would ever need.