Brian Belden touched the garage door button to bring the door down as he entered the house. His mind had been occupied all day with the upcoming holiday. His first Christmas with Natala. His beloved daughter. The thought of her still brought a smile to his face. Technically, last year was his first year with her, when she showed up on Christmas Day, but now that they had had a year to get to know each other, he considered this their first Christmas.

He had been thinking about the tree. He had an artificial tree in its box, neatly put away in the attic. But he was thinking about all the times he had gone along with his nieces and nephews to pick out the tree, and the hilarious arguments between them as they all tried to find the perfect one. The plastic tree was for convenience, but he loved the idea of the two of them going out and finding their own tree together. He was going to suggest that tonight, he decided.

The smell of something cooking hit him and he smiled. Nat had been cooking several days a week, experimenting with his mother’s recipes and trying to recreate them for him. Moms had been working with her for months on cooking and she had a knack for it. Brain knew Natala would be moving out soon to live with her cousins, and it left a little ache in his heart. His siblings had had eighteen - twenty years with their kids at home, he’d only had one. But it had to happen sometime and it would make her happy, which made him happy. He had always known it wouldn’t be forever. She had promised to come over once a week for dinner, just the two of them. He suspected Dean would be present plenty. He didn’t mind, he liked Dean. Always had, even when he had been patching Dean and Tim up after their various escapades.

Dean had grown into a good man, and it was clear he adored Natala. That was what Brian wanted for her in the romance department. Someone who would love her and value her as a person. Someone who could give her romance and fun.

“Smells great,” he set his bag down.

“Thanks,” she looked up and beamed. “Moms’ roast chicken.”

“Thought it was familiar.”

“And I’m working on a cake that if turns out well enough, I want to make for Christmas.”

Brian nodded.”Sounds good to me.” He made a note to alert the women of the family what she was making, to ensure no one else made it. Knowing the women in his family, they’d make sure that her dessert got plenty of attention and no one else would bring any cake.

He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “What are your plans this weekend?”

“The usual,” she shrugged. “Probably spend the night at Dean’s on Friday.”

“Anything on Saturday?” he asked.

She looked up, head titled to one side slightly, curious.

The movement made him think of her mother.

“Nothing planned. Did you have something in mind?” Natala was asking.

Brian suddenly felt shy. What if she thought it was silly? She was a grown woman, almost twenty two. “Well, I was thinking, maybe, if you want to, we could go pick out a Christmas tree this weekend. Just you and me.”

A smile spread over her face and her eyes lit up. “I’d love to. I’ve never gotten to do that.”

Brian smiled back at his daughter. “It’s our first Christmas together, our first real Christmas, and I thought it’d be fun. Something nice for us to do.”

Natala nodded happily.

“So, presents. Is there something specific you’d like for Christmas?” he asked.

She shook her head but he realized she wasn’t telling the truth.

“Out with it,” he said gently.

She turned to face him, leaning against the counter, her blue eyes worried. “Well…it’s kind of silly. And expensive.”

He raised one eyebrow.

“It’s…I want a boob job,” she blurted out.

“Why?” he asked, puzzled.

She laughed. “Because I’m a surfboard.”

His face was still blank.

“I’m pretty flat, Dad. I barely qualify as an A cup, and all the other cousins, well, even Val is bigger than me in the chest area.”

Brian studied her for a long moment, thinking. “Does this have anything to do with Dean?” he finally asked. “Has he put any pressure on you or made some comment about your cup size?”

She shook her head. “No, none. This is just…I just didn’t get a lot in that department, and I’d like to have more. I feel kinda like one of the boys when I stand next to the girls.”

That’s because you were so malnourished your body didn’t develop properly, he thought sadly. Her mother had been voluptuous and curvy, at least when they were together. “I see,” he answered. He moved towards the coffeepot and reached for a clean mug, thinking.

“It’s just, I know it’s expensive but I’ve been saving up all the allowance you give me and I was hoping to do it after the new year and was hoping maybe split the cost with me,” she said in a rush.

Brian sipped his coffee and smiled at her. “I think we can arrange that. I just ask one thing. Well, two, actually.”

“What’s that?”

“One, you let me find you a good doctor. I have friends in the reconstruction industry, I want you to have quality work.” She nodded. “And the second, please don’t make yourself ridiculously large.”

She laughed. “I just want a nice C cup,” she promised. Walking to him, she hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Dad.”

***

Saturday dawned bright and crisp and cold. After a hearty pancake breakfast, Natala and Brian headed out to find their tree.

Natala was surprised when Brian left the city.

“We’re not going to one of the tree stands?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, those trees have already been there for a couple weeks and they’re half dead. We’re going to go to the tree farm the family usually goes to. We get to pick out a tree and cut it ourselves.”

“Really?” she asked.

He nodded. “It’s a family business that’s been around for years. Every year they plant new trees to replace the ones taken. They can take ten years or more to really grow, so there’s a rotation system in place.”

Natala studied her father as he drove. He seemed more relaxed lately, since she and the girls had returned from North Carolina. This had been such a wonderful year, since her arrival last Christmas. Sometimes things were still awkward between them, but they had grown comfortable with each other. He was interested in her as a person, they spent hours talking, discussing everything that came to mind. He liked Dean, and always welcomed her boyfriend. Sometimes he told her funny stories about when Dean and Tim were younger, and the scrapes they’d get into, often taking Aralyn and Tiffany along for the ride. He didn’t mind her cousins congregating at the house, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it. He took her out to dinner once a week or so, making sure they spent quality time together. They went to the library sometimes, or grocery shopping together, just spending time together and getting to know each other.

Natala could see where she got some of her traits from. Her dark hair, her shyness, her quiet nature, always watching, but not always participating. The urge to help and heal. Her love of studying. Her reading had improved so dramatically over the last year that she hoped to pass the GED test the next year.

Her cooking was improving too. Moms came at least twice a week, teaching her the family recipes, giving her all the little tips and tricks she had developed over the years. Natala enjoyed cooking. It was fun, it was creative, and the best part was she got to eat what she made. It was a far cry from the heating of canned food and fast food that she had known her whole life.

She pushed the past from her mind. There would always be that lingering fear of being found, but each day she spent with her real family, it had diminished. She had found where she belonged, finally.

The city disappeared behind them as they drove, and eventually Brian headed up a long winding road, and Natala began to see the trees changing, from heavier, native trees into neat rows of the stereotypical Christmas tree. Miles of barbed wire stood as a fence, to prevent random thefts.

“They plant several different varieties up here,” Brian said, breaking the comfortable silence they had lapsed into. They were both of the sort that didn’t need to talk nonstop. Moms always said Brian could never get a word in Mart, Trixie, and eventually, Bobby around, and so he had settled into the quiet older brother role. “Fir, cypress, blue cypress, juniper and a couple of others. If you see a variety you especially like, let me know and we can start in that section.”

Natala nodded. The trees had changed from dark green to a species with a blueish tinge.

“These are pretty.”

“Those are the blue cypress.” Brian smiled at her. “That’s my favorite.”

“Then let’s get one.” She smiled back at him.

***

After checking in at the front of the tree farm, Brian was given directions to the blue cypress area, and they drove the short, rough trails to the section. As they got out, Brian picked up the saw.

“All right,” he smiled at her again, “let’s find our tree.”

He let her wander, surprised when she took off one glove and touched the trees. It wasn’t the first time he had noticed her gently touching plants, seemingly communicating with them. He himself had always enjoyed nature; it was hard not to with Tom Delaney teaching you how to hunt, yet respect the land, and his dad teaching him and Mart how to fish.

But his daughter seemed to have a special connection with growing things, and it was one of the many things he loved about his daughter. She had a lot of Talaitha in her, especially in those big blue eyes, but she was most definitely her own person. This year he had seen some of himself in her. She was always taking care of Val, checking up on the youngest cousin. She had comforted Tiffany when Aralyn took off. She was always interested in his work, asking him about patients and their treatments. It wasn’t fake interest either. Her eyes would lock onto him as he spoke, and he had the distinct feeling she was committing details to memory. She might not have been able to read when she arrived, but her memory was a steel trap, catching every word. He and Mart had spent hours with her, tutoring her in reading, and Mart had marveled at and thoroughly enjoyed his niece’s quick grasp of big words.

Now, Brian studied her. Her dark hair, so like his own, was in a ponytail today, and the crisp air stung her fair cheeks, turning them pink. Her red ski jacket brought out the bright blue of her eyes. She looked so different from the bedraggled, malnourished waif who had turned up last year. She was happy, and healthy, and in such a short time, had become the center of his world.

What a wonderful year it had been.

She stopped in front of one tree, fingering the needles gently, then reached into the tree.

For a long moment she stood there, arm buried in the tree. “This one,” she said, turning to him.

“What’s so special about this one?” he asked, walking over.

“It’s ready,” she smiled at him. They could hear voices not too far away; more people had arrived to find their trees.

Brian didn’t question, just nodded and knelt down. That trait, she had gotten from her mother. Tala had always had that same sixth sense, that deeper level understanding of things that always seemed to elude him. “Keep a hold on the trunk while I saw it.”

She nodded, and reached for the trunk again. Brian went to work sawing, and after a few minutes, she felt the tree loosen.

“Brace yourself,” Brian’s muffled voice said, “Or let go and step away.”

Natala shifted her weight to her feet and caught the tree as it gently fell towards her. Brian got to his feet and helped her ease it down to the ground.

“Nicely done,” he smiled at her. “Let’s load her up.”

Neither saw the pair watching them from another row of trees.

Bo Duke slipped his around Trixie. “That’s a beautiful sight right there.”

Trixie nodded. “You know, all the years Brian came here with us to get a tree, I wished he had a family of his own to bring along, too.” They watched the pair load the tree into Brian’s SUV.

“Same here. I always felt bad for him, given how he dotes on our kids. It always struck me as unfair that he didn’t have his own.”

“Well, he does now,” Trixie said with a smile.

With the tree loaded, they watched as Brian hugged his daughter.

***

“All right, that’s the last of it,” Brian grunted, setting the box down.

Natala raised one eyebrow. “All of these are decorations?”

Brian nodded. Usually, his parents came by and helped him decorate the tree about a week before Christmas, and that was because Moms insisted. She would string tinsel and lights and make the house festive. But he usually worked so much up until Christmas Eve, he never paid them much attention. It made his mother happy to fuss over him, so he let her.

But he had called them earlier in the week to say that this weekend, he and Nat were going to go get a tree and decorate it. He could hear the joy in his mother’s voice as she told him to enjoy every minute of it. Brian had worried that it would hurt her feelings, but she was happy for him.

So now, they sat in the living room, surrounded by boxes, with the tree sitting in its stand. He had let it soak overnight in water, and this morning they had set it the stand.

He cut through the tape on the first box. Garlands of red and green gold greeted him.

“People actually use these?” Natala asked curiously. She had only a vague memory of last year, when she had come home with Brian and the Trixie’s house had been decorated. It had been such an overwhelming first few days that most of it was a blur.

“Usually they get strung around house,” he said.

Natala studied them for a moment then rose. Together, with A Christmas Story playing on the TV, they twisted the garlands together and hung them across room, making loops.

Another box revealed figurines, and a small Christmas village that was set up on the mantle. Natala’s slender fingers studied each piece as they set them up.

There were strings of light they straightened out and plugged in, to make sure they worked.

“Colored or white lights?” Brian asked her. “I’ve got both.”

“Colored,” she said promptly, not surprising him. She was always wearing bright colors, like her mother had. No black or white for those two.

He smiled. “I prefer those too. The white just looks too blah.”

They wrapped the lights around the tree, connecting the strings as needed.

Then they started opening boxes for ornaments. Natala burst out laughing at the misshapen ornament that was obviously baked by a child. A large L.D. was pressed into it.

“One of the twins?” she asked, holding it up.

Brian nodded. “Yeah. The kids always made me decorations and ornaments when they made them for their parents or the grandparents.”

Natala unwrapped another. It was a picture of a baby with blond curls, surrounded by a soft frame with Baby’s First Christmas embroidered on it. By the date, she knew it was Aralyn.

She glanced at her father, distracted by the expression on his face. His energy was shifting, his aura fluctuating from pleasure to sadness.

She dug deeper into the box. Ornaments made of popsicle sticks, glass balls with glued on sequins and ribbons, more misshapen pottery attempts, and wrapped carefully in a smaller box, were numerous sets of baked pottery, with small hands pressed them into them. Natala smiled faintly as she studied them. Each cousin’s name was pressed into it with their year: All had been made at age 5.

Natala glanced up at Brian, disturbed by the unreadable expression on his face. His aura was tinged with anger.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, softly.

“You’re not here,” he said sadly, looking at the ornaments they had unwrapped. “All of the kids are here, but you’re not. All those years, we can never get them back. I should have your handprints, and your art attempts, and your popsicle ornaments. We should have been able to do this every year.”

Natala swallowed, trying to ignore the familiar rush of anger at her mother.

“I wish I was here too,” she said quietly. “But we can’t go back in time, we can only go forward. So we make our own, new memories. And they’re ours exclusively.” She reached over and took her father’s hand. Brian smiled at her, but the sadness lingered in his eyes.

“You’re right,” he said. “But I think we should go out and buy some ornaments too. I want you to pick out ones you like, so you have some representation on this tree, too.”

Natala smiled at him. “I would love that.”

***

The weekend before Christmas, Natala found herself squished in the backseat with Dana and Mabon, as Aralyn drove them and Tiffany, out to Crabapple Farm for the annual Christmas Cookie Day. Trixie, Honey, Diana and Daisy followed in Trixie’s car. Since her mother was behind her, Aralyn kept her speed to the posted amount.

“What’s Christmas Cookie Day?” Natala had asked.

“It’s awesome. We all go to Moms’ and spend the day baking a crap load of cookies,” was Aralyn’s answer. “And we stuff ourselves with fresh baked cookies and milk.”

“We eat all the cookies?” Natala asked, incredulous.

Her cousins laughed. v

“No,” Tiffany answered, smiling. “Most of them get boxed up and taken to Jim’s school and the homeless shelter in Sleepyside, for Christmas. Our parents went to high school with the guy who runs it, Lester Mundy, and he really appreciates the help. Grandpa Matt’s company donates a bunch of turkey and stuffing and potatoes and such to them to on the big holidays.”

“That’s really cool,” Natala said.

“Wait till you see my new recipe for this year,” Mabon enthused. “Nutella Chocolate Chip!”

“I can’t wait for Moms’ sugar cookies,” Dana put in. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t make them like hers!”

“I’m drooling already,” Aralyn said. “I hope Moms has lots of milk ready!”

***

Natala took the sugar cookies out of the oven, ready to sit down for a while. Eleven women in the kitchen of Crabapple Farm was a bit overwhelming. Everyone had their station though, even Valerra, who had run over from the Ten Acres cottage to join in the fun. Her job was adding chips and nuts.

Natala had been assigned to the oven, which she didn’t mind because she was often cold. She got to time and watch the cookies, and guard them from wandering fingers that were tempted to snatch one, most often the blonde cousins, Aralyn or Mabon.

Daisy and Diana were in charge of decorating, piping and frosting the cookies with bright Christmas colors.

Aralyn and Tiffany were the mixers, giving Aralyn prime dough tasting opportunities, Dana did the measuring of ingredients, and Mabon, the scooping of the dough. Honey and Trixie were the dishwashers, and Moms did the rolling of the chilled dough while overseeing them all efficiently, keeping the production line moving and stopping her granddaughters from tasting too much.

“Moms, what was the worst present Grandpa ever got you?” Valerra asked.

Helen Belden thought for a moment, and chuckled. “The year after we were married, I asked Peter for a cowl-neck sweater. He really tried,” she shook her head, smiling at the memory, “bless his heart. He got me this hideous navy tunic-length sweater with a wide stripe of red and one of green across the chest. And there were some narrow stripes of white that went around it too, I believe. It came with a long knitted tie to go around the waist. It was simply ghastly, and I tried to act enthusiastic about it but I finally, very gently told him it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. He's never bought clothes for me since, and truly, I think I’m grateful.”

It took several minutes for the laughter to die down.

“I remember we did a Dirty Santa, the first year we were Marshals,” Trixie said, “and one of the men, I’m pretty sure it was Bo, brought a can of peanuts. And all the men were mocking whoever had brought them, but the other gifts were all frou-frou things and you know they’d rather have gotten the peanuts!”

“The first year you and Bo were together,” Honey said laughing, “he came to me to ask what to get you. He had this notion that a certain someone had given him, that you wanted a new mixer.”

“What?” Trixie said. “Me? A mixer?”

Honey nodded, her hazel eyes sparkling as she leaned against the sink. “A certain someone who will remain nameless but his wife and daughter are here, thought it would be hilarious to tell Bo you wanted a special high-end mixer, and tell Luke that I wanted a new vacuum.”

Everyone but Trixie burst into laughter.

“My cooking wasn’t that bad,” she sniffed. “Certainly not enough to warrant a fancy kitchen appliance!”

“If Bo hadn’t come to me, and realized he had been set up, we would have had a very different first Christmas together,” Honey laughed.

“That sounds like Dan all right,” Trixie said dryly.

“Sounds like he was testin’ the boys,” Daisy said with a smile.

Honey nodded. “He figured if they didn’t know us well enough by that point to not get them such things, they didn’t stand a chance. But Bo thought that seemed like such an odd gift, knowing your propensity for uh…your experimental forays into cooking so he came to me.”

“I hope Dad’s presents have gotten better over the years,” Aralyn said, taste testing the current dough she was mixing. Tiffany slipped a spoon into the dough for a taste as well.

Trixie laughed. “They have. He’s never given me a household appliance. Though Luke did get talked into giving Honey that awful painting!”

Trixie and Daisy started laughing.

“I remember that!” Daisy giggled.

“Which painting is that?” Tiffany asked. “We don’t have any hideous paintings.”

Trixie wiped her eyes and Honey still shook with laughter. “Back then, when we just starting out, money was really tight. You know we lived with Dan and Daisy lived with Luke and Bo. So we would set a limit on how much we could spend. The boys went shopping one day, to this huge outdoor flea market.”

“Remember we grew up in the country and didn’t exactly have classes in art appreciation,” Daisy chimed in.

“Luke knew that Honey was looking for some art work to brighten up our house, so he stops at this booth with these college kids, and he’s browsing through, and they get to talking,” Trixie continued. “And he says he’s shopping for his wife, and they start asking him what Honey is like, and somehow, they convinced him that this particular piece was in the current style that was all the rage. I think they may have also dropped some big names, like it was in the style of Picasso.”

“So Christmas morning arrives, and I can tell by the size and shape it’s a painting. And Luke had been with me when I admired this lovely ocean scene a few weeks before. I mean, it was stunning, I wanted to reach in and touch the waves. So I unwrap it, all excited,” Honey couldn’t go on from laughing.

“She had this big ol’ smile on her face as she opened it,” Daisy continued, “and then all of a sudden, her face just falls and she’s lookin’ at it. And you can tell she’s tryin’ to think of something tactful to say, so she turns it around to show us, and forces this smile, and Trixie blurts out, ‘You had Bobby paint her something?’”

The room burst into laughter.

“I felt so bad,” Honey confessed. “And I hung it in the hallway for a while because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, even though he knew I didn’t really like it.”

“I don’t remember a painting like that,” Tiffany said.

“It ‘accidently’ got lost in the move when we moved up here,” Honey giggled.

*

Moms had set a big pot of chili on in the morning, and whipped together a large batch of cornbread that went into the oven after the last of the cookies came out. The women hungrily feasted on chili and cornbread, then relaxed in the living room to watch It’s A Wonderful Life.

Finally, they returned to the kitchen to assemble the bakery boxes to be filled with cookies.

Natala looked around at her tired but happy cousins, aunts and grandmother. This was where the magic happened, she thought. In a family kitchen, like this one. How many dinners and parties had there been here over the years, of the old Bob-Whites and their friends, and her own cousins? This house radiated love and warmth, and it was truly Natala’s favorite place to be. Stretchy walls, indeed, she thought with a smile.

***

Natala admired the presents she had purchased for Brian.

She tucked them into her bag, sticking the receipt in her purse.

“You sure he’ll like them?” she asked Dean.

He smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss. “He’s going to love it, Gypsy. I can’t think of a more perfect present for him.”

“I hope so,” she murmured.

***

Natala tied the laced on her ice skates, and let Dean help her up.

“You know, I haven’t done this since last year, when you first taught me,” she laughed nervously.

Dean helped her onto the ice, holding her hand. “Like riding a bike, Gypsy. Just relax.”

The lights were a little dimmer than she remembered, but the music was soft, with lots of ballads. The local rink had a couples night, and Aralyn and Cam had invited them to join them. They had invited Tiffany too, but she opted to stay home with a book and hot cocoa. Hanging out with a bunch of couples was not her idea of fun.

Cam and Aralyn were already on the ice, skating hand in hand.

“They look so elegant,” Natala said. v

Dean nodded. “Aralyn and I grew up skating on the lake at Manor House. Cam only learned how once they got together. Aralyn taught him, actually. In fact,” Dean laughed as he slipped his arm around her, “ask him sometime about their first lesson.”

“That sounds like a story,” Natala commented.

“Oh, it is. Regan and Jim still tease him about it too, I bet. Cam took a few lessons after that so he could keep up with her.”

Dean shifted around, so that he was skating backwards but kept his arm around her waist, and they slowed down. “You okay?”

She nodded, but her grip on him was tight.

“Wanna dance?” he asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Out here? On the ice?” she asked.

“Mmmhmm,” was the answer as he pulled her closer.

She tensed. “I don’t know how to.”

“Follow my lead,” he said. “Match your movements to mine, but you move forward while I move backwards. Just a regular waltz.”

She was clutching him tightly as she tried to move with him. He loved to dance and had taught her several, like the waltz. Her cousin was nearby and Natala watched her for a moment. Aralyn made it look easy, but Aralyn was a natural athlete. She and Cam were clearly in their own world.

“There, see?” Dean said soothingly. “You’re doing great.”

Natala giggled nervously and looked up into his blue-green eyes. Warmth spread through her as she saw the love and devotion in them. She could see all the way into him, and it touched her deep inside. How had she gotten so lucky to find such a wonderful man? That nibble of insecurity popped up, as she remembered Aralyn’s comment about him sleeping with half of their class. She pushed the thought away. She was no saint, and the past was the past.

As the evening wore down and couple began to congregate in groups, Aralyn waved Natala and Dean over to where she and Cam were talking to friends from high school. Aralyn introduced them to her cousin, who smiled shyly and said hello.

“We’re going to go get some coffee, do you guys want to come?” Aralyn asked.

Dean looked at Nat but she shook her head slightly. She had something else in mind for the evening.

“I think we’ll pass this time,” Dean said cheerfully, “but you guys have fun!”

It was one of the nights she usually spent at Dean’s, so they headed back to his and Cam’s apartment.

“Do you want some hot cocoa?” Dean asked, nuzzling her neck. He was glad Cam & Aralyn were out with friends, he liked having the place just for him and Natala.

“Not right now,” she answered, enjoying the feel of his lips on her neck. “I think there are other things we should do.”

"Yeah, like what?” he gave her his lazy smile as he drew her to him.

Her answer was to kiss him, and he felt the difference immediately. This kiss was it. It was passion, and love, and trust and a promise. It was her. It was him. It was them…together, spinning through time, wrapped in a cocoon of pure love.

When she finally pulled away, Dean was speechless, his eyes slightly glazed, and wanting her desperately.

Natala looked up into his eyes and felt something inside of her shift, and settle into its proper place. It was time.

“Like for you to take me to your room and make love to me,” she said softly.

Dean hesitated, studying her, as his brain raced to absorb the meaning of that kiss. She had never kissed him like that. She had been different since she came back from North Carolina, a good different. More settled, more at peace, more comfortable with herself.

He touched her face gently. “Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded, smiling at him. He grinned.

“In that case, my beautiful Gypsy, allow me to escort you.”

He slid one around her waist and took her hand. Laughing, she realized he was waltzing her to his bedroom.

***

Christmas Eve, the entire family had gathered at Dan and Daisy’s place for the annual party.

Natala had joined her cousins in the traditional snowball fight, on Aralyn and Tiffany’s team. It was girls against the boys this year, and the girls handily beat them.

“If we had had Tim here, we would have won,” Logan groused.

“Keep your fingers crossed that he makes it home,” Aralyn said. “He’s still sitting in Baltimore, at the Amtrak station. We’re lucky we got the plows through enough for Moms and Grandpa to get over here. Hopefully we can get some sledding in at the school next week.”

“Do we get cocoa now?” Val asked, bounding up to her cousins. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the snowball fight and their victory.

“Sounds good to me,” Nat replied, putting one arm around her. “Let’s go get some.”

As they trooped inside the house, Daisy was hanging up the phone and turned to them. “Tim’s on his way!” she spun around and grabbed Dan by the hands. “They got the tracks cleared and he’s boarding now!”

Enthusiasm went around the room. Tim making it home would make the family complete. Lyris had driven home with Daisy two days before and had been helping her with the cooking.

“Hot cocoa and cookies are ready,” Helen announced from the kitchen.

Leif and Logan dashed past their cousins, scrambling to get their favorite cookies.

“Slow down, piggies,” Aralyn said crossly. “Leave some for us!”

“We need sustenance,” Leif replied, cramming a cookie in his mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Trixie said automatically. “Sustenance for what?”

“Caroling tonight. We gotta load up on carbs!”

“There will be plenty of time for that later, so stop hogging the cookies,” their mother laughed.

***

that had been put aside last year, after Natala’s dramatic arrival. The large group went house to house, singing to entertain their neighbors.

Leif, Logan and Miles enjoyed fooling around, changing their voices, attempting a deep baritone for some songs, chipmunk voices and falsettos for others. They cracked the rest of the group of using exaggerated gestures while acting as if they were reciting Shakespeare, and lots of jumping around and erratic dancing.

They burst into their favorite rendition of “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”, as their parents shook their heads in despair. The neighbors, being used to them, enjoyed the performances and offered them hot cocoa afterwards. Trixie desperately hoped the sugar high would wear off before midnight.

***

Christmas night, after the big celebration and the stuffing of faces, after the wrappings were cleaned up, presents packed up to go home, sleepy children bundled off to the car, Brian and Natala drove home around the corner, the SUV laden with presents and leftovers.

After closing the garage door, they carried everything, putting away the leftovers in companionable silence. Brian put the teakettle on, humming.

“I have a couple of presents for you, Dad,” Natala said shyly.

He chuckled. “I have some for you, too. How about we have some tea and pie, and I’ll make a fire?”

She nodded and ran upstairs to get her father’s presents.

By the time she came back downstairs, Brian had a merry fire roaring and the teakettle was starting to whistle.

Natala set a tea bag in each cup, and poured the water to steep. Pulling out the remains of a crabapple jelly pie, she cut two pieces and plated them. Her black forest cherry cake had been devoured in minutes, with heaps of praise for her developing culinary skills. Leif and Logan had started squabbling over the last piece so Tim had covertly slipped in and taken it. Of course their older cousin had to rub it in, moaning happily and loudly as he ate it slowly, taunting them.

Brian came in and took the tea to the living room, where the tree was lit up and glowing brightly. The room was warming up from the fire, and she joined her father on the sofa. There was a stack of beautifully wrapped gifts in front of him, and hers sat next to it, brightly colored with big bows.

After the craziness of the evening and the overwhelming noise of the family gathered in one location, it was pleasant to sit together and quietly eat their pie.

The TV was muted and playing A White Christmas, which Natala had only recently seen for the first time.

Natala’s heart raced. What if he didn’t like her gift? What if he thought it was stupid? Dean had assured her Brian would love it, and he was rarely wrong.

When they finished their pie, Brian picked up the stack of presents and with a smile, turned to her.

“These are for you. I was hoping you didn’t think I had forgotten.”

She laughed. “No, I just thought…well, it’s our first Christmas together as a family, a real family, and I was hoping we could do this, just the two of us.”

“Me too,” he agreed. “Now, open those.”v

With a grin, she tucked her dark hair behind her ear and carefully opened the pretty packages. Inside were old books, decades old, if not older, she thought, studying them. Little Women, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague. Faded covers, worn spines. These were well-loved books.

“They’re young adult books,” he explained, “and I know your reading is progressing, but these were Moms books when she was younger. Trixie read them as well, and probably Aralyn and Tiffany, maybe even Val. I asked her if I could give them to you and she said she wanted you to have them. She said you’re both her first and last grandchild, and she wants you to keep them.”

“They’re wonderful,” Natala murmured, running her fingers over the covers. She could feel the love of her grandmother in them.

“And this is your birthday present.” He handed her an envelope.

Puzzled, she started to open it. There had been a birthday cake at dinner, they sang to her, and she had received extra presents, for her birthday in addition to the Christmas presents.

She opened the envelope gently. “IOU for breast aug-men-tation,” she read out loud and her face lit up. “Really, Dad?”

He nodded. “I’ve made some calls and found a very reputable doctor in the city. I know how much you want this, and I want to be the one to give it to you.”

“Thank you,” she leaned over and hugged him tightly. “For the books, and this.” She pulled away. “And these are for you.”

He reached over and took her hand. “You already gave me the greatest gift I could have ever had, when you showed up last year. And the fact that you started calling me Dad instead of Brian…that means everything to me,” he said softly.

She felt the tears stinging her eyes. “I wish I had come sooner,” she said softly.

“Me too,” he admitted. “But we’re together now and we have the rest of our lives.”

She smiled at him, dabbing at her eyes. “You should open your presents. Dean assured me they were the right ones.”

Brian smiled at her. “I’m sure they are.”

He unwrapped the first present, wondering why it was so heavy. Instead of a book, he found a white box, and lifted the top off, then stared at it.

Bigger than the others, it was a ceramic imprint of her hands.

“It’s not from childhood,” she said softly, “but it’s the best I could do.”

Brian swallowed, trying to get past the lump in his throat. “Dean was right,” he whispered. “This is perfect.”

He set it lovingly next to him on the sofa, and opened the other box. He burst out laughing. Inside were lopsided popsicle and yarn ornaments for the tree, one with a picture of Aralyn, Tiffany and Natala, and the other of Dean and Natala. They were followed by a small, lopsided pottery vase, painted with flowers, and a baked & glazed tree ornament with the year pressed into it.

“Did you make these?” he asked.

She nodded. “The pottery part was hard, but the flowers were easy.”

“It’s lovely,” he studied it. “Really lovely.”

“There’s one more,” she said shyly.

“This is too much,” he told her.

She shook her head. “No. Not compared to what you’ve done for me. Go on.”

He unwrapped the last present, and this time, he couldn’t stop the tears from sliding out of his dark eyes.

It was a framed, black and white photo of him and Natala. He remembered Dean taking the picture at Thanksgiving, and here it was in black and white. Natala had come up to Brian and hugged him, and they smiled at each other. Dean had caught the moment on film. Even in profile, the resemblance was strong, and the love evident.

Brian stood and walked to mantle over the fireplace, setting the picture smack in the middle. He had several snapshots of her from family gatherings over the last year, but this was the first one of the two of them, that he had seen.

“That’s where it belongs,” he said softly, turning to smile at her. “And you’re where you belong, with your family, and me.”

He held out his hand to her and she went to her father for a long hug.

Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!

***

Author’s Notes
- Merry Christmas, my darling MaryN!I am delighted to write for such a wonderful. You are always there to help me out with graphics and story ideas and I am so grateful and appreciative! I hope you've enjoyed this; Brian startled me when he said he wanted to be in the Christmas story. He's one of the more secondary characters in my universe but it's hard to say no to him.
- Word Count, 6,790