LITMIR.BIZ

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that means you get to unload the car, and I’ll sort that precious little bundle out?”

      Aunt Bessie loved my kids like they were her own grandbabies. She was the veritable baby whisperer when it came to Brooklyn, and when all else failed I called on Aunt Bessie to come and help if I couldn’t get her to settle. “I was going to bath her.”

      “Leave it to me. Has she got some gorgeous little Christmas outfit?”

      I grinned. “Of course. She’s Santa’s little helper, didn’t you know?”

      She clapped her hands and rushed off toward the stairs.

      ***

      That afternoon we had a full house. With everyone present we finally let Millie decorate the tree in the front salon. We had other Christmas trees scattered around the lodge, but they were professionally adorned by Amory, and more for the enjoyment of the guests. This one was all Millie’s and she’d made all sorts of garlands for it, including strings of popcorn she and Amory had laced that morning.

      “Now, Mama?” she asked.

      I kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like apples and innocence and I felt a fierce tug in my heart. How I loved her. “Now,” I agreed, and she shrieked and grabbed her grandma’s hand. Mom smiled, and bent over the box with Millie, discussing the pros and cons of putting the tinsel on first or last.

      While they were occupied, I ambled to the kitchen and checked in on Aunt Bessie, who was helping Cruz with the Christmas Eve dinner prep.

      Amory must’ve smelled something on offer and crept up behind me. “I hope you’re making gingerbread coffee to go with those,” she said, pointing to the tray of Santa gingerbread men.

      “Aren’t we banned?”

      Our last attempt to make eggnog had resulted in carnage. At least for the eggs involved. How exactly did one separate the yolk from the white? We didn’t think it mattered, but clearly it did. Cruz bemoaned the fate of so many eggs, and banished us with a stiff warning never to attempt cooking again.

      “Technically. But this is just a snack, and you can’t mess up coffee. That’s the one gift you do have.”

      Aunt Bessie shooed us out. “Come on, you two, you’ll set fire to something, or turn the oven off by mistake. Get out and we’ll make you some gingerbread coffee, yeah?” Baby Brooklyn was snug in her capsule, smiling and gurgling at Aunt Bessie’s voice. I gave her a kiss. She looked adorable in her little Santa’s helper suit complete with Santa hat. “I better feed the munchkin,” I said, taking the warm bundle. “We’ll be in the front salon then. Out of harm’s way.”

      Amory snatched the tray of biscuits when Cruz had his back turned and we stole out of there like the thieves we were. I settled Brooklyn for her feed, while Millie and Mom heaped the poor fir tree with baubles of red, green and gold, as she bent Mom’s ear about everything she’d done that day, an exhausting list by the sounds of it. My little girl reminded me of me and Micah, and the fun we’d had on the grounds of the lodge growing up. So many places to explore and mischief to get up to.

      Amory sat next to me, munching on a gingerbread man. Her wedding ring flashed under the Christmas lights, reminding me of their wedding. Well, their elopement actually. A few years back they’d announced breezily they were off to Vegas to get married, simple as that, as if they were talking about a weekend getaway. In typical Amory style she’d been married to the man she loved, wearing a flame-red dress, with just her, Cruz, and a witness they’d paid ten bucks.

      “What’s that look you’re wearing there?” she said, squinting at me.

      “What look?”

      “You’re all misty-eyed…”

      “Am I?” I laughed and dashed at my eyes. Weddings… I loved them no matter what scale they were on. “I was thinking of your elopement, actually, and how radiant you were coming home.”

      The fire crackled behind as she contemplated. “It was perfect for us,” she said, her voice softening. While Amory was all bravado and brisk efficiency when it came to Cruz, she was almost shy about revealing her feelings. Eloping had been the right choice for them. It did make me wonder, as a wedding planner myself, if I’d ever get to walk down the aisle. I guess Kai and I had done things backwards: built up the business, had the babies. Did we really need a certificate to prove our love? Probably not in his eyes, but in mine, it was all about the celebration of that love. About sharing that precious moment with people who made your life complete. Still, we didn’t discuss it. But I often imagined my own wedding, what I’d wear, how we’d decorate the chapel, what on earth I’d say in my vows that would be enough to describe my love for him…

      “What is it about Christmas that brings all this to the fore?” she asked. “You know, the memories, the love, all that soppiness.”

      I laughed. “It’s the time of year to reflect, and hope and dream.”

      “You’d look amazing in a backless gown,” she said, waggling a brow. Golly, the girl knew me so well, she could read my mind.

      “Why, thank you,” I said, pretending not to understand. “But it’s a little cold for that.”

      “Oh, please, you know what I’m talking about. Don’t make me open Pinterest.”

      I colored. So, I’d been adding pins to my dream-wedding board? I was a wedding planner!

      Isla wandered in, and our talk fell silent. “Take a seat,” I said, smiling. In the years she’d worked at the lodge, she’d grown even more beautiful with her fire-red hair, and willowy frame. But it was more than looks alone, it was an inner confidence she’d found that made her so striking.

      “My shopping is finally done and just in the nick of time. Who wants to help me wrap them?”

      I let out a groan. “I vote Amory.”

      Amory surveyed her nails, which had little Christmas trees painstakingly painted on. “I can be swayed with champagne,” she said. Isla’s eyes brightened. “Deal! Oh, I got Micah the cutest gift! It’s a sketch of our wedding day, you know the picture under the arbor?” We nodded. “That one, in charcoal. It’s the prettiest thing.”

      “I love that picture of you two,” I said, remembering it in detail, the way they only had eyes for each other.

      “What picture?” Micah said, wandering in and holding his hands to the fire.

      “Nothing,” Amory said, quickly.

      “You three look guilty as sin.”

      “Micah,” Amory said in dulcet tones. “It’s Christmas. Can’t a girl have some secrets at Christmas without getting the third degree?”

      “Yeah,” I said. “Geez, Micah. Let there be some surprises, please.”

      He colored. “When you three confer like that, it usually means trouble.”

      I scoffed. “I hardly think that’s the case.” Poor Micah, he was right. We made a formidable team and it often led to trouble, at least where Micah was concerned. We’d cooked up crazy ideas for the lodge over the years: Halloween parties, Teddy Bears’ picnics, all sorts of things where we made Micah be the ghost, the bear, even the Easter bunny once. Not to mention all the girls’ movie nights we’d subjected him to when he couldn’t think of an excuse quick enough. In this case, however, it was innocent, but I didn’t blame him for being suspicious.

      Kai came in and took a contented Brooklyn from me. Usually she’d be fussing, but it was like she knew Aunt Bessie was in the house, so was being the prefect baby. It was nice to relax, knowing she was settled.

      “These ladies are up to something, Kai. I just know it.”

      Kai raised a brow. “There’s an adult-sized Santa suit in the cupboard, is that it?”

      I kept my laughter in check, knowing there was no such

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