A Real Cowboy Always Protects by Stephanie Rowe

Chapter Thirty-One

Christmas

Skylar snuggled next to Logan on the couch, grinning as the entire Stockton clan, plus their dear friends Gary and Martha Keller, gathered in Chase's living room for Christmas morning. Her mom had been flying back and forth a lot, and Skylar was so delighted she was there for Christmas.

Sitting with Zane's oldest son, who was her age, was Leila, who Skylar and Logan had been fostering. She looked so happy, but there were still times when the sadness weighed heavily in the seventeen-year-old's eyes.

She seemed to sense Skylar's gaze on her, because she looked over at them, her face lighting up as she waved to Skylar.

Skylar smiled back and blew her a kiss.

The Christmas pancakes were already eaten, bacon consumed, hot chocolate brewed by the barrel.

Logan's beautiful laugh echoed through Skylar as he talked with Zane. He was so happy. So complete. She smiled as she ran her finger over the gold band encircling his finger. Apparently feeling her touch, he looked over at her, grinning as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"I still remember that first Sunday brunch we attended together," he said. "I was so uncomfortable with all the kids and wives and chaos."

She smiled. "I remember."

"But you gave my family back to me," he said, pressing a kiss to the two rings nestled together on her ring finger. "You gave me my life. I love you so much."

She grinned. "I love you, too."

"Excuse me." A raspy, older voice rang out. "May I have the floor, please?"

Skylar and the others looked over as Frank walked over to the hearth to stand in front of the fire.

His recovery from his car accident was going so well. He was no longer using a cane, and he was getting steadier by the day. From what she'd heard from Zoey and Ryder, he'd filled out a lot from when they'd first met him, and he had agreed to continue living with them in the River House forever, even after he recovered.

He had to. He and Liam were family now.

She leaned over to her mom, who was sitting next to her. "He looks pretty handsome up there in his Christmas vest and Santa tie, doesn't he?"

Abby giggled. "He always looks handsome."

"All right." Frank grinned at the room. "Abby, I need you to come up here."

Abby squeezed Skylar's knee and hopped up, weaving around kids, unwrapped presents, and acres of crumpled wrapping paper as she navigated to Frank's side.

Frank put his arm around her and turned to the room. "I'm not gonna lie. Ryder and Zoey have been a gift to me and Liam." He nodded at them. "You guys are my kids now. You're Liam's parents."

Liam grinned, and Ryder and Zoey raised their coffee mugs to Frank. "We love you," Zoey shouted.

Frank nodded. "And I love you. All of you." His gaze settled on Lissa. "I will forever be grateful for you opening the door to the Stockton clan and all the love that comes with it. I thought I was going to die a lonely old man, and instead, I'm thriving as a happy old man getting younger every day."

There was a round of cheers and applause, and Skylar's heart filled with love. The Stocktons were so amazing how they opened their arms and hearts to anyone meant to be a part of their family, including her.

Frank's smile faded. "I'll tell you though, it ain't easy being around all this romance and lovey-dovey shit all the time, and having to go to bed all alone every night when the love of my life is off in Vermont."

There were a few catcalls, and Abby's cheeks turned pink.

Frank turned to Skylar's mom, took her hand, and then he went down on one knee. He pulled a ring out of his vest pocket and held it out to her. The place erupted into cheers, and Chase had to quiet everyone down before Frank could continue.

He gazed up at her, love etched all over his face. "My dear Abby, you brought life back to my heart when it was on the verge of closing forever. You make me feel like a teenager again. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, loving you, bringing sunshine into your life. Will you marry me?"

This time, the room was utterly silent. Waiting.

Skylar held her breath. She'd seen how happy her mom was with Frank, but would she be willing to leave Vermont? Because it went without saying that Frank could never leave Liam and the Stocktons behind.

She didn't have to wait long. Abby burst into tears, flung herself into Frank's arms and started laughing and crying. "Yes, yes, yes, yes. Of course I will. It took you long enough! We're not getting any younger, you old devil."

Frank let out a whoop and hugged her. "She said yes! We're getting married!" The room erupted into cheers, and everyone leapt up, running over to hug them.

Skylar and Logan stood up, and they made their way through the crowd. Abby saw her coming, and spoke to Frank. The two of them turned to face Skylar and Logan. "I know I should've checked with you first," Frank said to Skylar. "But I thought you might give it away. I hope you're okay with it."

Skylar said nothing. She just walked right into him and hugged him fiercely. He laughed and hugged her back. "I love you, Skylar," he whispered. "I know I'm not your dad, but I feel like you're my daughter."

"I love you, too, Frank." She pulled her mom into the hug, and then Logan wrapped his strong arms around all of them. They stood there like that for a moment, just love upon love upon love.

Then Skylar saw Leila watching them, yearning etched all over her face. She nudged Logan. "It's time," she whispered.

Logan looked over at Leila and nodded. "Time," he agreed. He reached down between the cushions of a nearby chair and pulled out a thin, flat box. "Hey, guys. It looks like we missed a present." He made a pretense of checking the tag. "It's for Leila."

Abby squeezed Skylar's hand, and everyone took their seats, anticipation on their faces. Because every adult in the room knew what was in the box.

"For me?" Leila looked thrilled. "But I already got so much." Even as she protested, she was on her feet and heading over to them.

Skylar smiled. Christmas had been almost overwhelming for Leila. She, Logan, and Leila had spent many hours talking about how this Christmas was so different for Leila. After years of being in foster care, never belonging, rarely getting a gift for Christmas, and always worrying about what terrible thing was around the corner, it was difficult for Leila to relax.

Skylar understood. Logan understood. They'd both spent years fearing what was to come, afraid to trust the good.

She smiled at Leila as the teenager took the present from Logan. "It's just a little thing."

"All right." Leila flashed them a quick smile, then retreated to her spot on the carpet with it.

Unaware that the entire room was watching her, she bent over and carefully untied the ribbon. She rolled it up and then tucked it in her pocket, as she had done with all the other ribbons. She'd told Skylar that the ribbons were the prettiest thing she'd ever seen, and she wanted to keep them forever.

She carefully slid her fingers under the tape, unwrapping the present without tearing the paper. She then folded up the paper and put it on the pile of wrapping paper she'd accumulated from the day, which she was also planning to keep forever.

The gift box had candy canes and a Black Santa on it. Leila smiled, tracing her fingers over Santa's face. "I've never seen a Santa with my skin color before."

"The world is full of so many different colors, all of which are beautiful," Logan said. "Including Santa."

Leila smiled and lifted the lid. Inside was white tissue paper tied with a red satin ribbon. They all waited while Leila carefully untied the ribbon, tucked it in her pocket, and opened the tissue.

Inside were typed documents. Signed documents. Legal documents. Adoption documents. Adoption documents that made a seventeen-year-old girl the legal forever daughter of Logan and Skylar Stockton.

Skylar's throat tightened as she watched Leila's face as she read them.

The teenager's eyes widened, and then her hand went over her mouth. She jerked her gaze off the papers and stared at Logan and Skylar. "Is this for real?"

Skylar nodded. "You bet it is."

Logan smiled. "We love you, Leila. We want to make it official."

"But I'm seventeen. No one adopts seventeen-year-olds. I'm too old—"

"No!" Skylar ran across the room and dropped to her knees in front of Leila. "We love you, Leila. You're perfect and beautiful and you're the daughter we were meant to have."

Logan sat next to Leila and put his arm around her shoulders. "Because you're seventeen, you still have to sign them. But we already signed. If you don't want to, you'll still be our daughter in our hearts. You'll still live with us. You'll still be a part of this family forever."

Leila stared at him, then looked down at the papers again. "It says…it says that my name will change. My name will be Leila Stockton." She looked up, disbelief etched on her face. "I'll be a Stockton?"

Chase smiled. "You'll be one of us, Leila. We all love you." He gestured at the room. "Look around. Everyone is waiting desperately for you to sign that paper and officially become a part of us."

Leila did as he said and looked around. Her eyes widened as she took in the expectant expression on everyone's face. The big smiles. The love surrounding her, reaching for her.

Her gaze finally settled on Logan and Skylar. "You're too young to be mom and dad to a seventeen-year-old."

Mom. Tears filled Skylar's eyes. "I'm not that young, and even if I was, it doesn't matter. I want to be your mom, Leila."

Logan took her hand. "I know you're scared, Leila. You're scared to trust this. To believe in this. In us. But you know this family. You know we don't walk away. Take a chance on us. We won't let you down. Skylar had to teach me that I deserved love, and now it's your turn to learn that lesson." He put a pen in her hand. "I love you, Leila. Be my daughter. Be our daughter."

She stared at the pen with anguished longing. "I'm not always nice," she whispered.

"God," Skylar said, laughing through her tears. "None of us are always nice. That's what love is. You don't have to earn it. You're worthy of it simply because you're you. It's forever, through everything." She set her hands on Leila's cheeks, drawing the girl's gaze to hers. "I love you, Leila. You're meant to be my daughter, and I'm meant to be your mom. And Logan is meant to be your dad. You know it. Let it happen."

Leila stared at her for a long moment, then she bent over, flipped the page on the documents and signed at the little red tab. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she looked up.

She looked at Skylar and said one word. "Mom." Her voice broke as she said it, and the room erupted into cheers.

Skylar hugged her, and Logan wrapped them up in a fierce embrace, hugging them so tightly Skylar felt like he'd never let them go. And she knew he wouldn't. He'd hold them tight in his arms forever, no matter what. And that was exactly where she wanted to be.

Her mom knelt down. "Finally, I get a granddaughter," she said. "I've been waiting forever for you!"

Leila laughed and opened her arm to pull Abby into their little hug. "Can I call you Grandma?"

"You better!"

Chase crouched next to Leila. "Hug your Uncle Chase, Leila." And then, the room descended on them, tackling the new family to the ground in a pile of hugs, love, and family.

Thank you for reading Logan and Skylar's story! Are you new to the Stockton clan? Read Chase and Mira's story to see how the the first Stockton brother fell hard for the woman who would heal his heart. Download A Real Cowboy Never Says No and start reading today!

The Harts are finally here!Fall in love with Brody as he gets a second chance with the sassy, spunky woman who he loved and lost a decade ago in A Rogue Cowboy's Second Chance. He broke her heart, and now she needs to trust him with her life. One-click A Rogue Cowboy's Second Chanceto get started.

Do you love small town romance? Try Unexpectedly Minethe first book in my Birch Crossing series, in which a single mom rents her spare room to a distractingly handsome business exec who just might help her learn to trust again.