It wasn’t from a deer. It was from something much smaller.

A twig snapped somewhere ahead.

Cato immediately went rigid beside me, ears perked, tail high, every muscle in his body coiled.

I gestured for him to hold, and he followed my command, remaining still as I listened.

And listened.

And listened.

Finally, I heard it again.

Movement.

The crunch of snow.

And then a giggle, followed by a voice hushing the offending laugh.

I smiled despite myself as I stepped closer.

And closer.

And closer.

“Run!” a little voice shouted.

Two small figures burst from behind a snow-covered pine.
Charleigh’s pink hat was already halfway off her head, her dark curls bouncing as she sprinted through the snow.

“Home base, Matty!” she squealed. “Get to home base!”

Matthew tore past her, his boots kicking up powder with every step.

I chuckled, watching the two people who brought me so much joy every day run through the snow, their laughter echoing among the trees.

It was so different from my childhood in this place when I had nothing to laugh or smile about.

These two amazing humans gave me so much to smile about every day.

“Hurry! Before he gets us!” Matthew encouraged Charleigh.

I took that as my cue to return to our game, running after them at an easy jog. I could have caught them in seconds if I really wanted to.

But I didn’t want to.

This had become one of my favorite games to play whenever Ariana and I brought the kids up to the cabin for a weekend getaway.

So I deliberately slowed, exaggerating my effort, which seemed to irritate Cato, who was anxious to chase after Charleigh and Matthew. But being the loyal dog he was, he stayed by my side.

Even though I could tell he wanted to join in on the fun the kiddos were having.

“Oh, no,” I called, feigning breathlessness. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it.”

“He’s slowing down, Matty!” Charleigh shouted, looking back just long enough to nearly trip over her own boots.

My heart leapt in my chest. I’d seen the five-year-old little girl fall down and get back up as if nothing had happened countless times. That didn’t do anything to settle my anxiety over the idea of anything bad happening to her. To either of them.

“Eyes forward, sweetheart,” I admonished.

“Okay, Daddy.” She corrected herself and kept running, her little legs struggling to keep up with Matthew.

But being the kind older brother he was, he slowed down to wait for her.

The cabin finally came into view through the trees, smoke curling lazily from the chimney.

And standing on the porch, wrapped in a cream-colored sweater and thick knit scarf, was Ariana.

“Did they outsmart you again?” she called out with a teasing lilt in her voice.

“We’ll always outsmart him!” Matthew yelled.

“Home base!” Charleigh squealed.

“Safe!” Matthew declared.

The two of them launched themselves up the porch steps and wrapped their arms around Ariana, who squeezed them tightly, pressing kisses to each of their hat-covered heads.
For a moment, I simply stood there and looked at them.

At my wife.

And my children.

My life.

There’d been a time when I didn’t think I’d ever have any of this.

When I didn’t think I deserved any of this.

But Ariana made me realize I did deserve to be happy. Deserved to have everything I ever wanted.

That I deserved to have a family.

But that proved to be more difficult than either Ariana or I expected.

We’d tried to have children of our own. For a while. Long enough to know it wasn’t going to be easy.

But neither of us had wanted parenthood to become appointments and schedules and disappointment month after month.

So we’d stopped trying. Instead, we’d opened our home.

At first, we only intended to foster. To be a safe place while children and families found their way back to each other.

Some only stayed for a few weeks. Others for months.

A few still sent us Christmas cards.

Then Matthew and Charleigh arrived.

Their parents had died in a car accident, and none of their family members wanted to disrupt their lives to take them in.

But we did.

And somehow, before either of us realized what was happening, they became ours.

Legally, it happened six months ago.

In every way that mattered, it had happened the second the social worker showed up at our doorstep.

“Well,” I said when I finally caught up, placing my hands on my hips and pretending to be out of breath. “Looks like I lost. Again.”

Matthew and Charleigh grinned, giving each other a high five.

“Better luck next time,” Ariana said, brushing a soft kiss to my cheek.

“I don’t know.” I beamed down at my kids. “These two always seem to get the best of me.”

“Best two out of three?” Matthew suggested, arching a single brow.

I parted my lips to respond, but Ariana cut me off.

“Not today. You both need to dry off and get ready for dinner so you can get to bed early.” She paused. “Unless you don’t want Santa to visit tonight.”

That was all it took for Charleigh and Matthew to scramble into the house, each of them fighting the other to be the first inside.

I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. They reminded me so much of Spencer and me when we were their age. How serious Matthew could be at times, just like I was. How Charleigh always had an uncanny ability to make Matthew laugh, especially on difficult days, just like Spencer always did for me. The love they had for each other.

“You’ve got that look again,” Ariana said softly, snapping me out of my memories.

“What look?” I slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her toward me.

“The one where you look worried this could disappear if you blink too hard.”

I huffed out a laugh. Maybe she knew me too well. “I guess I still can’t believe this is my life sometimes.”

Her expression softened, and she draped her arms over my shoulder as she hoisted herself onto her toes, her mouth brushing mine.

“Believe it. This is what you deserve. Like I told you all those years ago when you tried to insist otherwise… You’re a good person, Henry Fontaine.” She covered my lips, her kiss warming me despite the frigid temperatures.

From inside the house, Matthew groaned, saying something about us kissing again while Charleigh giggled.

Ariana pulled back with a laugh, meeting my eyes. “Come on. Dinner’s ready.”

She linked her fingers through mine and led me inside the house.

It didn’t matter how many times I’d crossed this very threshold over the past several years. It still felt surreal to walk into this house to the sound of children laughing and playing. To the sight of family photos and a Christmas tree.

To a place filled with love.

It no longer felt like I was coming in from the cold.

It felt like I was coming home.