Perfect Song (Mason Creek Book 2) by Lauren Runow (christmas read aloud .txt) 📕

around us as I bury my head in Tucker’s shoulder, suddenly embarrassed that everyone saw our little public display of affection.

“Thank you again for coming tonight.” Our MC joins us onstage. “That’s the end of our show. Good night!” he yells into the microphone, and everyone claps in response.

I turn to Tucker, reaching up to touch his face as I stare into his eyes. “You’re really here?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, I’m really here. And I’m not going anywhere either.”

He leans down to kiss my lips, and I wrap my arms around his neck. Holding him here with me to wash all my pain away.

Epilogue

Justine

One Year Later

As I sit on the back of the houseboat, I take the moment to breathe in the air around me. I never thought I would be living back in Mason Creek, but here I am, loving every minute.

I’m so thankful the magazine has allowed me to work remotely, and once a month, I fly to New York to meet with everyone in person, which is perfect because I also get to see my friends there. It’s like I get to live the best of both my worlds, which I never thought was possible.

The best part though is having Tucker by my side. He truly is my favorite part of my life.

I’ve never forgotten what I went through in New York, but I know the good Lord was watching over me. He protected me from anything bad happening but also knew that me heading home was what needed to happen.

Crazy to think, if I hadn’t gone through that horrible incident, I never would have met Tucker, and I’d probably still be with Jimmy. The thought makes me chuckle to myself. It’s funny how the universe works sometimes.

Tucker comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my very big belly.

“How are my girls?” he says as he kisses my cheek.

I place my hand over his. “We’re good. She’d better come soon, or she’s going to run out of room.”

Tucker rubs my belly. “Are you making your mommy uncomfortable?”

I laugh as I lean back against him. I still can’t believe we’re going to be parents. It was a surprise, for sure, but one that Tucker was unbelievably excited for.

Of course, we were committed to each other, but marriage wasn’t really discussed yet. He got down on his knee with the pregnancy test in his hand. When I told him he was being ridiculous, he produced a ring from his pocket.

Turned out, he had already planned on popping the question, and the only thing the baby had changed was how he was going to actually propose.

We got married by a waterfall just outside of Mason Creek with only our family and close friends in attendance. Thankfully, after we came back from New York my parents realized what we had was real and they gave us their blessing. I never wanted the big ceremony with hundreds of people, and our wedding was perfect.

Raising a baby on a houseboat wouldn’t be the smartest thing, so we bought a house in town after the song went big.

Yes, after the livestream event in New York, Tucker’s phone had never stopped ringing. The company that had filmed the event for us gave us the footage to put up on YouTube after we got so many requests for it, and it blew up.

He had multiple record companies coming after him, but he had been honest when he said he didn’t want that type of life. When they offered to buy the rights to have a big country star sing the song, plus any others he wanted to write, he knew that was the right choice.

Since then, the song he’d sung, titled “Die a Happy Man,” was on the top of the charts for so long that we lost track. He’s written a handful of songs now for multiple artists, and it’s amazing seeing him so happy, doing what he loves.

He still performs with his band and even tries out new songs on them before submitting them to record labels.

The thing I’m most thankful for is how Tucker has come to grips with his diagnosis and how he’s keeping control of it. Yes, he has to take medication, and there have been a few flare-ups, but we know what to do and how to overcome it. Now, it’s a part of our life that we deal with instead of letting it change the way we live.

Now that our baby is almost due, he’s officially put in his notice at Bumps and Dents. Though he didn’t need to work there as long as he had since he’s making so much money on the songs, but he refused to quit because that was his life. He enjoyed what he called his Groundhog Day and didn’t want things to change just because he was making more money.

When he said he wanted to stay home with our daughter so I could continue to work and follow my dreams, I knew I’d found my perfect man. He said he wanted to create his new Groundhog Day with us and the next chapter in his life.

This way, too, Tucker can make every home game for Matthew when he plays for the University of Montana’s baseball team, so it’s a win-win. I’m sure he’ll be the only dad in the stands, yelling for his boy while having his daughter in a baby carrier tied to him, but he’ll rock it and love every second.

I feel our baby girl kick, so I grab his hand and move it to where she is. “Do you feel that?”

He smiles big. “We can’t wait to meet you too!”

“Oh!” I pause, suddenly feeling like I just peed my pants before realizing, “Oh shit. My water just broke!”

Tucker jumps into gear. “I know what that means.” He laughs with excitement. “It’s showtime!”

He helps me, and I realize just how much of a mess I made, considering I’m wearing a thin summer dress and only my panties to catch what just