Kendra tied the red bow firmly and smiled at her work. She placed the pretty wrapped package under the twinkling tree and stood back to admire it. She glanced at the clock and sighed. Kevin, Kelly and baby Chelsea were coming over for a special Christmas Eve dinner along with a couple guys from the team. She needed to check in with Hildy and make sure everything was set.

“There you are,” Troy smiled when he tracked her down in the living room. “Hildy said everything is set and she left. She wanted to get home to her own family.”

Kendra gasped. “I wanted to give her our gift and wish her a Merry Christmas.”

Troy kissed her. “I gave her the gift already but she was in a hurry.”

“I still can’t believe she came in this morning. It’s Christmas Eve.”

Troy pulled her into his arms. “She’s very dedicated. Besides, I think she’s afraid now that you live her that you’ll take over all her duties.”

Kendra snorted in his chest, inhaling his musky scent. “Not a chance. I have too much to do at the shelter plus I have the animals to look after.”

Troy released her and smirked. “This place is turning into a farm.”

She planted her fists on her hips. “What am I supposed to do, Troy? Leave them all to live out their lives in a cage in the shelter?”

He bent to kiss her temple. “Of course not. Just don’t steal Spanky’s loyalty from me. All your other creatures seem to prefer you over me.”

“Jasper lets you ride him,” she pointed out.

“Yeah but not that other thing you brought home. She tries to take a bite out of my arm every time I walk in the barn.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. “She does not. She’s still just a filly and she’s a little temperamental.”

“Whatever,” he said, waving her away with a grin. “What time is the baby going to be here?”

Kendra hid a smile as she straightened a couple magazines on the coffee table. Ever since little Chelsea was born, Troy was smitten. Once the season ended he insisted Kevin and Kelly leave her with him if they had things to do or just needed a night out. “Six and I really think she’s a little too young to appreciate the replica World Series ring you had made for her. Just because your team won doesn’t mean everyone in the world wants to hear about it.”

“Your brother does,” he reminded her.

“Yeah well he’s a baseball freak,” she said.

He snagged he arm and dragged her to his body. “And you’re a freak about this baseball player. Don’t tell me you weren’t excited when we won.”

She beamed at him. “I was a little proud of you.”

He kissed her nose. “And I’m a lot proud of you. Is Marta coming tonight?”

Kendra’s smile softened. “Yeah.”

Her relationship with her mother had improved dramatically since Marta’s suicide attempt. It wasn’t perfect by any means but it was better. With Troy’s gentle nudging, Kendra had finally called that counselor and eventually began to feel better. After awhile, Marta began to join her and together they worked through the ups and downs of their relationship. Kendra began to let things go and was touched when Marta offered to contact Jerald Browning to have a DNA test done. Kendra thought about it for a week and talked it over nearly every night with Troy but decided that while she’d like to have a relationship with Jerald, she didn’t know if she was ready to find out if he was indeed her father.

As her relationship with her mother improved, her love for Troy deepened. She relented after he helped his team win the Series and finally gave up her apartment. Troy teased her that she only did it because she had a menagerie of animals living in his barn but she knew that she needed to see him every day when she came home from the shelter or when he returned from his sessions with his trainer. And every night when he tucked her in his arms, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. She knew where she belonged.

“Hey, you ok in there?” Troy asked, brown eyes brimming in concern.

She grinned. “Just thinking how happy I am.”

“Good, keep thinking that,” he said as he left her to rush down the hall to the bedroom. “I want to give you your gift tonight.”

“That’s cheating,” she called after him, not really meaning it. She knew he’d worked hard on her gift because she often walked in on hushed conversations he would have with Derrick. Finally she’d see just what it was.

He returned with a large box and a goofy grin. “Sit down,” he ordered. She did as he asked and accepted the gift. She tore the glimmering green paper off and opened the box. She groaned and pulled out a Racers jersey. Naturally it had his name and number on the back. “Cute,” she said, tiny grin flirting with her face. “A little late for this, don’t you think?”

“Not at all,” he said, smiling widely. “I think it’s just in time.”

“What do you mean?” she asked warily, dropping the jersey in her lap.

He shrugged. “I just thought you could wear it next year, you know, and maybe…” he pulled a smaller box from his pocket. “I thought maybe you’d wear it because maybe you’d like the name on the back to be your name.”

Her eyes grew and her hand flew to her chest. “You mean…”

He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. “I mean I want you to marry me and if you agree, you’ll be a Neal also.”

She couldn’t breathe, let alone speak, as her eyes stared at the ring reflecting the twinkling lights from the tree.

“I could get on one knee if you prefer,” Troy asked nervously.

“No,” she choked out. “I mean, yes, but no, you don’t need to.”

His brows knitted together in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

She threw her arms around his neck nearly bowling him over. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

“Good,” he squeaked out, wrapping his arms around her waist. “But I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, releasing him to sink back into the sofa.

He took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. “I love you, Kendra,” he told her with a kiss.

“I love you, too.”

Spanky crept into the room and sat, eyes on her two favorite people. As they embraced once more, she wagged her tail happily.