Marshall immediately stepped back, his hands raised as though distancing himself from radiation. “Watch the ice.”
But the image of Bianca leaning against him, Marshall steadying her, seared into Gracie’s brain. They were a family, albeit a broken one. Olivia deserved this, and her midnight present.
They all made their way toward the cluster of cars, laughing, talking, corralling kids and animals and joking about the goat that tried to steal Red’s glove.
She’d tell Marshall tomorrow, later in the day, after presents and breakfast. Maybe they’d take a walk and talk. Certain that was the right plan, Gracie turned to where the three of them were, trying not to watch Bianca as she glued herself to Marshall’s side.
But it was impossible not to see her whispering to Marshall. Gracie couldn’t hear the words, but she saw the shift in Marshall’s face—soft, familiar, the look people get when someone references a memory they share.
Bianca laughed quietly. “How about the year when Olivia was three and you had to?—”
“Build the tricycle from hell,” Marshall finished, chuckling.
“I had to break into the neighbor’s garage for a tool. Do you remember, Marsh?”
He nodded, his laugh growing hearty. “Yeah. I remember. Their alarm went off and the Wilsons almost called the police.”
“I remember!” Olivia said, dancing.
“No way,” Marshall replied. “You were three.”
“But I do remember, Daddy.” She slid between her parents with a little hop in her step. “I woke up and you both came up to my room and said Santa set off the alarm and he’d be at our house next, so I had to go back to sleep, so you both got in my bed. I think about that every year on Christmas Eve.”
Gracie’s throat tightened at the music of their laughter.
Bianca wasn’t just a random nuisance. She was the mother of Marshall’s child. They had a history, a tapestry of life together.
And now, with a pregnancy looming like a storm cloud, the strong threads of that tapestry might pull him back into something Gracie couldn’t compete with.
Gracie forced a smile amid the calls of “Merry Christmas” and “be safe,” but her insides were churning as a gray, uncertain shadow slipped into her heart.
Elise could still feel the warmth of the sweet success on her cheeks, even after the lights around the campus quad had been shut down for quite a while. The glow lingered, humming under her skin like she’d swallowed a star.
The Live Nativity had been a wild, improbable triumph.
Even Eeyore kept his braying to respectable limits and carried Mary with true grace. The hay bales stayed upright. The angels didn’t push over the manger. The choir had knocked it out of the park.
And Shambles, the beautiful miracle sheep, trotted out with her new patch around the eye Wade had saved, like a queen wrapped in wool. Her owner had been in tears when he thanked them for saving her sight.
“This was unreal.” Nicole threw her arms around Elise, nearly knocking a headband of tinsel off. “Seriously. I’m so proud of you. That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Agreed,” Cameron added, and then leaned down to hug Elise carefully from behind her chair. “You pulled off an amazing night, E.”
“Thanks, Camelot,” Elise whispered, her throat tightening at the pride in her brother’s eyes. “And one week from tonight, you two will pull off another amazing event.”
Cam and Nicole looked at each other with that glint Elise was used to seeing in their eyes.
“We will?” he joked.
“What are we doing?” Nicole asked.
“It’s New Year’s Eve. Want to go crazy and get married?” Cam kissed her on the lips. “Pretty please?”
Nicole just laughed and gave him a hug. As they joked around, Elise glanced over at the barn where Wade stood talking to the vet students who’d played Joseph and the innkeeper. He winked when he caught her eye, making her stomach flutter. Butterflies? No, these were full-on Christmas cardinals taking flight.
Her parents were nearby, talking with one of the professors. They kept looking over with soft, melty eyes that clearly communicated how they felt about tonight. Deep, strong pride in their daughter, which made her feel like she’d been dipped in warm chocolate and life was nothing but goodness.
“Hey,” Cameron said quietly, pulling her attention back. He leaned down so his face was even with hers. “Can we talk for a second?”
