“What?” Jason levered himself off the sofa and reached down into the box, but Ruby grabbed Bugsy and clutched it against her chest.
“He’s home. He’s mine.”
“He is yours.” Jason looked at the familiar rabbit in disbelief. “Where did he—”
“I wrote to Santa.” Ruby squeezed Bugsy hard, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Actually, Aunty Hannah wrote to Santa for me, but I told her what to say and I signed my name.”
There were tears in Beth’s eyes, too, as she looked at her sister.
“How... I don’t know...”
“It’s Christmas,” Hannah said softly. “Lots of good things happen at Christmas.”
That was true, Suzanne thought, looking at Adam and then at her three daughters.
She’d never thought she would see them this relaxed and happy together.
The next hour passed in a whirl of gifts and laughter.
Luke gave Posy a beautiful photographic book of the mountains of North America and Alaska.
Suzanne flicked through it quietly, pausing as she looked at the photographs of Mount Rainier. There was sunset and sunrise, sunshine and storm.
“You don’t have to look at that, Mom.” Posy tried to take it from her, but Suzanne shook her head.
“It’s a beautiful mountain.”
Her life h
ad changed that day, and for years she’d associated it with bad things. She’d punished herself with thoughts that were often irrational.
She’d imagined Cheryl watching from some dim and distant place, judging her.
I entrusted you with my girls.
She’d always thought that the responsibility for everyone’s emotional well-being was hers. That any discord between the girls was somehow a reflection on her.
Now she saw how absurd that was.
This wasn’t Cheryl’s family, it was hers.
And they were doing just fine.
Feeling ridiculously emotional, she went through to the kitchen to check on the turkey.
Posy followed her.
“Can I talk to you, Mom?”
“Of course.” Suzanne kept her back to her, and by the time she’d lifted the turkey out of the oven, she was back in control. “I need to start using the gym. This thing weighs a ton.”
“It smells amazing.” Posy leaned forward and sniffed. “You’re a fabulous cook.”
“You’re good, too. You’re doing a great job in the café. Your brownies are as good as mine.” Suzanne basted the turkey and then realized Posy hadn’t responded. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Posy flashed her a smile. “Nothing. Forget it. Are you done? I’ll lift the turkey. Hauling yourself up a rock face builds muscles in the right places.” She lifted the turkey easily and slid it back into the oven. “If it’s all right with you, I’m going to take Ruby for a quick ride on my improvised sleigh. It’s pretty cold out there, so we won’t be long. And I’m going to make sure we don’t lose Bugsy.”
Suzanne leaned against the counter. “You followed me in here to say something. I want to know what it was.”