Steven shook his head. “I can’t believe you can make a house. Thank you for your kind offer, but I might need to find my own way. I’m not much for charity.”
“Well, you don’t have to decide now,” I said lightly even as I said a silent prayer. Please, God, send them here to us.
“Yes, ma’am,” Steven said. The way he said ma’am sounded like mom. I liked it.
“Let’s eat before everything gets cold,” Mom said from the doorway. She wore a red dress that flattered her figure.
Her eyes sparkled as Joseph appeared behind her with mistletoe. “Caught you,” Joseph said.
She tilted her head for a kiss before pushing him back into the dining room.
We all grabbed a dish and joined the others at the table. Brooke had set the table with twinkling strands of tiny white lights interwoven between candles and sprigs of holly.
Cole and I sat on either end of the rectangular table as Brooke and Mom sat next to their loves.
I fought tears as I looked around the table at the people I loved best. “Who would like to say grace?” I asked.
“If you’d allow me, I’d be honored,” Steven said.
I nodded. “By all means.”
We all bowed our heads.
“Dear Lord, thank you for this feast,” Steven said. “Thank you for my gracious hosts and most of all for Brooke, who makes me very happy. Amen.”
I wiped under my eyes as we all echoed his “amen.”
“Mom, we should toast,” Brooke said as she raised her wineglass. “Last year, it was just you, Grammie, and me, and now we have three more.”
“We do,” I said. “For which I’m grateful.”
“Last year it was just me,” Cole said. “And now look at me. I have a family gathered around my table. This was all I ever wanted. Thank you all for being here.”
“Same,” Joseph said heartily. “A family. What could be better?”
“Joseph, you’re too loud,” Mom said. “We’re all right here.”
“I want God and Santa to know how thankful I am,” Joseph said, in the same volume.
Mom rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was tickled. Joseph sprinkled fun dust wherever he went.
We all dug into the food, talking and laughing as we enjoyed the bounty of the holiday. After stuffing ourselves, we were just discussing when we should eat Mom’s pies when Cole’s phone buzzed from the buffet announcing that someone was at the gate.
Cole reached out for his phone to see who would be here on Christmas Eve. “Holy cow. It’s my brother. Drew.”
“What?” I asked. “Here?”
Cole nodded and punched the code in to let his twin drive through the gate.
“You guys wait here,” I said. “We’ll go answer the door.”
I followed Cole down the hallway to the front. He opened the door and there stood Drew. I hadn’t seen him since we were kids, but like his brother, I would have known him anywhere. They still looked remarkably identical, other than Drew was in need of a shave and perhaps a good night’s sleep, given his red eyes.
“Drew?” Cole asked. “Am I seeing things?”
“Hey, brother,” Drew said as he gave us a lopsided smile.
I shivered from the cold air blowing in from outside. “Come in. It’s freezing out there.” We stepped back to let him inside.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Drew said. “Surprise.”
“Drew Paisley,” I said. “It’s about time.”
He pulled me into a hug. “You’re gorgeous. I still can’t believe you chose this loser over me.”
“What are you doing here?” Cole asked as they exchanged a quick embrace. “It’s Christmas Eve. Did you drive here from LA?”
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t call first, but it was kind of a last-minute decision and I didn’t want to give you the chance to say no.”
“I’d have never said no.” Cole narrowed his eyes. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“You could say so,” Drew said. “I’m in a bit of a scrape and need a place to crash until things settle down.”
“Things?” Cole asked.
“Listen, I didn’t know she was married.” Drew took off his fleece-lined denim jacket and peered down the hallway. “Nice place, man. Quite an upgrade from our trailer.”
“Wait a minute, back up,” Cole said. “Married? Who?”
Drew shrugged. “It’s a long story that I’ll save for tomorrow. I’m starving. You got any grub?”
“Are you in danger?” Cole asked.
“I might be, yeah.” Drew winked at me. “But let’s put all that aside for now. I want to meet Brooke and see your mom.”
“Come on, then,” I said. “We’ve got roast beef and all the fixings.”
“I always knew you were the perfect woman,” Drew said.
We showed him into the dining room and introduced him to Joseph and Steven. I brought him a clean plate from the kitchen. Brooke pulled another chair to the table. Joseph poured him a glass of wine.
I had a feeling Drew was in more trouble than he let on, but for now, I’d simply enjoy seeing him again. Whatever tomorrow brought, we’d get through it together. That’s what families do, after all.
“Did you know your stepdad and I used to wrestle over who would get to marry your mom?” Drew asked Brooke.
“Really?” Brooke’s eyes sparkled. “Tell me more stories about when you guys were kids.”
“It all started when these two knuckleheads tripped into second grade,” I said. “And I fell in love with Cole Paisley.”
“You hurt me,” Drew said with mock tragedy in his voice.
“I told him he never had a chance,” Cole said.
As the night grew nearer and nearer to the time of Santa’s arrival, we reminisced about the happy times of our childhood. Many of our stories included my sister. Most of my memories of growing up had Beth in them. She was my sister. My first friend. We’d shared so much. My sister. I caught a glimpse of myself in the window and for a second I imagined it was Beth staring back at me. What would she have been like
