Breaking Ice

Chapter Twenty-Five

The town was looking festive, with lights hanging in every store on Main Street, and the light posts adorned with small wreaths, welcoming Christmas with cheer.

The family had decided to take a shopping trip. The Redd showing the Evans around while Bexley walked down the sidewalk with Jeremiah by her side.

The chilly air could be felt, although it was not as cold as it was up north, but Bexley was probably trying to find an excuse for Jeremiah to keep her warm.

Taking the hint, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, smiling down at her as they continued their walk downtown.

"You were right. This town sure has its charm," she mentioned in a soft voice, looking through the glass window of a bookstore, where many small-town romance books were displayed, making her heart jump at the sight.

Was this a sign? What if he was right?

What if this small town was sure to bring them both together?

What if her stubbornness was the only thing keeping her from giving him her heart?

"Jezzah..."

"Bexley..."

They chuckled as she looked at him straight into his eyes, their faces close to each other.

"Can we go back to the ranch? I suddenly feel like skating around a bit," she suggested, and Jeremiah smiled, nodding his head in agreement. He wanted to be alone with her, and this might be the perfect opportunity for them.

"Sure. I can borrow Dad's truck and they can go back with Marshall," he replied, both of them heading towards where their families were, shopping around for presents.

"Mama, can we borrow the truck? Bexley is feeling out of sorts," Jeremiah asked his mother as Carol looked at Bexley, cupping her cheeks while she studied her, concerned.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" she asked, her husband taking her by the hand as he smiled at his daughter knowingly.

"She's perfectly fine, honey. Let her go with Jeremiah. They probably need to enjoy this holiday together, don't you?" he winked at Bexley, making her blush. She never thought her father would agree with letting her go alone with a boy, but he trusted Jeremiah blindly with her.

"Okay, son. But be careful, especially on the curves. Don't speed," Dolly warned while his father handed him the keys, patting his shoulder.

"Don't listen to your mama. She's exaggerating. When we were young, we used to love sneaking out and speeding down the dirt roads ourselves."

"Darlin'!" she gasped. "They don't need to know about our escapades!"

Everyone chuckled as Jeremiah led Bexley towards the truck, opening the door for her to help her before he got in on the driver's side. Driving off, they made their trip towards the ranch, the short ride making her heart palpitate.

Jeremiah stopped in front of the horse barn, turning the ignition off before he turned to face her.

"Well, what do you want to do? See the horses? Watch a movie?"

"Does it snow here?" Bexley asked, changing the subject. What he was suggesting sounded too romantic and intimate, and she... she wanted that, but she was scared.

"I had mentioned that not much, a few inches here and there. But hopefully this year we get some. You don't want to miss being up north."

"No, I won't. It's quite nice here. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the week by the tree, drinking some hot chocolate and seeing the stars from the porch," she giggled as her eyes opened wide, realizing that she suggested something as equally romantic as him.

Jeremiah chuckled, patting the steering wheel. "Why don't you go ahead to the rink? I need to get something in the house."

Bexley smiled and nodded, getting out of the truck before she jogged towards the barn where the rink was, disappearing from sight while Jeremiah blew out a deep breath, feeling suddenly nervous.

What if she doesn't like her present? It will be hard to swallow her rejection, he thought.

Without waiting any further, he rushed to the house, grabbed the little box with her name on it and made his way towards the barn.

Bexley was already sitting on a small hay bale, putting on some skates she'd found hanging by the wall, fitting her perfectly.

"Looks like you found my mama's old skates," he said, sitting next to her as he grabbed his father's skates from the floor by the hay. "She loved them. Wouldn't want any other skates but those."

"They're perfect, and beautiful," She shook her feet, looking down at the snakeskin patterned skates, loving every inch of them.

"Ready to skate?" she asked, rushing to her feet and getting in the rink, rolling down the wooden floor to keep her distance from him.

But Jeremiah was not one to give up as he skated in, catching up to her before grabbing her hand. He turned Bexley around and smiled softly at her.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, curiously.

"No. Not at all. We're friends, why would I be nervous?" She hugged herself, skating back and away from him. Biting his lips, Jeremiah skated back out, grabbing the present before he went back in and showed it to her, extending his hands for her to take it.

"This is my Christmas present to you. Knowing you were coming; I had to order it and make sure it made it here on time,"

Bexley frowned at him, curiously. She hesitantly grabbed the box, taking the pink ribbon off and opening the lid.

As she moved the wrapping paper to the side, she revealed a snow globe inside, a hockey player and a figure skater stood in display, snow surrounding them as they were looking into each other's eyes.

Bexley looked at Jeremiah, gasped and held the snow globe to her chest, letting the box fall as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh, wow. This is beautiful, Jezzah. When did you get this?"

"I got it a few weeks ago. It is custom made, so I was really hoping it came here before we did. I was going to give it to you on Christmas, with the rest of the family, but I couldn't wait. I wanted us to be alone for this," he replied, putting his hands in his pockets, feeling shy all of a sudden.

She turned around, and that worried him. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head, she turned back to face him, smiling. "Not at all. I was the one that was wrong. Having this obsession with a man who was never going to see me the way I wanted him to see me, and here you are, right in front of me. Kind and selfless, and... romantic. You are the real deal, Jeremiah Redd. The real deal," she rambled, looking down at the snow globe, noticing a small winding key on the side.

Cranking it, she saw the figures move around each other, a slow Christmas song playing in it while she shook it gently, letting the snow fall around the couple inside the glass bubble.

"So, what does this mean for us?" Jeremiah asked, hopeful.

Bexley bit her lips and smiled, her eyes holding that glint he had wanted to see as she looked at him.

"It means, that if you'll have me, we can live in our own bubble, like this one. And if you say yes..." she chuckled nervously, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. "Jezzah, would you like to be my boyfriend?"