Sammy's New Year's Surprise (Happy Holidays Book 2)

Sammy’s New Year’s Surprise Happy Holidays Part 2 Pepper Ryder Jones Copyright 2023 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events is merely coincidence. Any unauthorized distribution of this work or its characters is not permitted. Cover by: Erin Dameron-Hill Award-Winning Cover Artist www.edhgraphics.blogspot.com Table of Contents Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Epilogue Other Books Prologue Sunday, December 25 (11:35 pm) Hearing a knock at the door, Sammy grumbled and sat up in bed. Glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand, she shook her head, grabbing for her cell phone where it lay charging for the night. Not seeing any missed calls, she frowned when she heard the knock at the door once more. “What could anyone need at this time of night that they wouldn’t have tried to call first? I hope everyone’s alright.” Turning, she placed her feet on the floor and took her bathrobe from the headboard, where she’d placed it for the night when she crawled in bed. Halfway down the hall, she grumbled in irritation when whoever her late night guest was knocked again. “Hang on. I’m on my way. Show a little patience, please.” “Hurry up, Sammy,” Ethan called through the door. “I haven’t got all night. And it’s cold out here. It’s snowing again.” Pulling the door open, she eyed the big, dark headed man with concern. “What’s going on? Is someone hurt?” she mumbled, pulling her robe tighter about herself when she was hit with a blast of snow and cold air. “No,” he grumbled, shaking his head in confusion. “Is someone sick?” she pressed, starting to feel a little irritated. “No,” he snorted. “Why would someone have to be hurt or sick?” “It’s almost midnight, Ethan,” she growled in frustration. “Not to mention, like you said, it’s snowing again, and freezing out there.” “So?” he shrugged, obviously unconcerned with the time. Or the cold weather for that matter. Rolling her eyes, she stared at the one man that filled her dreams every night. The one man, that despite all his marriage proposals, she was certain she’d never have. To say she was becoming annoyed would be an understatement. “What do you want, Ethan, that couldn’t have waited till morning? You don’t show up at someone’s front door at this time of night without there being a reason. I was in bed, asleep.” “I need to talk to you.” “About what?” “Marriage,” he mumbled with a slight cringe, and crammed his hands in his pockets. “Don’t start that,” she huffed. “Why would you wake me up at midnight to tease me like that?” “I’m not teasing,” he growled, reaching out to pull her into his arms when she tried to turn away. “Samantha Wade, will you marry me, please? I’m 1 Monday, December 26 “Wait!” Sammy Wade shouted suddenly, pushing Ethan Warren back as far as he’d allow. She’d come over to visit with Emma Foster, her best friend from childhood, until after the New Year’s, and had made it just in time for dessert. Which they’d all finished eating already. Well, not Emma and Cade, Ethan’s older brother. Due to a ten-minute kissing session. She’d just been innocently trying to return to her chair after putting her dessert plate, along with Ethan’s and Papa Zeke’s, in the dishwasher, and all the sudden she’d found herself dragged under the mistletoe. Something she hadn’t even realized was in the light fixature over his head until it was too late. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to kiss Ethan. Boy did she want to kiss him. That wasn’t the problem at all. The problem was she was angry, and he had a lot of explaining to do. Even if he didn’t know it yet. “What?” he frowned. “Are you going to do this, or not?” “Yes,” she nodded. “I just have another question.” “Okay,” he grunted, raising a dark eyebrow at her. “What’s your question?” “So, you don’t try to call… mistrial, we’ll call it,” she mumbled. “Mistrial?” he laughed. “Is this a courtroom now?” “You know what I mean,” she shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so,” he nodded. “Continue, please.” Glancing around at the others nervously, she cleared her throat before looking back up at him. Shaking herself, she had to remind herself not to get lost in the depths of his intense blue eyes. “Is there some kind of time requirement? Like if this kiss doesn’t last so many seconds, you’re going to declare the results invalid.” “Invalid results now?” he grunted, eyeing her like she might have lost her mind. “Now it’s a science experiment.” “Thirty seconds,” Cade called out from where he still sat beside Emma at the table. He could tell by the look on Ethan’s face, even if none of the others could see it, he was too stressed to make any kind of argument right then. He’d decided he was going to do his best to help his brother out as much as possible. Setting a timeframe, for the moment, was all he could do. “Thirty seconds?” she exclaimed. “That’s a bit long, don’t you think?” “No,” Cade answered with a shake of his head. “You have to give him