She smiled sweetly. “You never know when you’ll need the help of a Dick and Jane expert.”
He stepped toward her and she took off running. She’d taken less than a dozen steps when he grabbed her and they fell, rolling and laughing, into the snow.
Steven and Trista appeared as if by magic and joined the dog pile. It seemed right that they be here.
Moments later, the four of them lay back in the snow, laughing hard and trying to catch their breath.
Kyle hadn’t enjoyed himself this much in years.
* * *
Lexi hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time. And her kids hadn’t, either. She sat up and brushed the snow from her coat.
Kyle looked at her for a long moment before he spoke. “Actually, I could use some help brainstorming part of my plot.”
Trista’s eyes grew wide. “Can I help, too?”
“Yeah, me, too.” Steven dropped into the snow beside Kyle. “I’m a good reader.”
Kyle ruffled Steven’s hair and Steven stared adoringly up at Kyle. And Lexi realized things were happening too fast. Things were already changing for her and the kids. The perfect world she’d created was turning topsy turvy and rolling in the snow.
The thought excited her.
The thought terrified her.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Lexi snuggled into the afghan Kyle had wrapped around her shoulders. The kids sat on either side of her on the couch. Kyle stood by the family room fireplace and looked nervous.
Kenneth plopped down in a chair next to the couch. Keefe and his family pulled the comfortable chairs closer, in a circle, as though circling the wagons to keep away danger.
Their father sat in the recliner, his feet up.
Kyle wasn’t used to hosting, but he wasn’t totally inept. “I would like to thank you all for coming to my home this year for the holidays. And I would like to start a new tradition. I would like us all to open one gift tonight, and this year I bought a special gift for each of you for that purpose. Justin and Jill have agreed to help me.”
Keefe’s children handed out the gifts.
Justin handed a brightly wrapped gift to Trista. “This one’s for you.”
“I have a gift? Really?”
Lexi smiled at the sweet, surprised look on her daughter’s face, and realized she wasn’t the only one feeling the magic of family. Emotion caught at her throat.
Justin nodded. “And so does Steven and your mom.”
“Wow,” Lexi said and blinked back tears that burned her eyes. “The disgusting little elves must have been busy this holiday.”
Kyle looked at her and smiled. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done the last few days. For the happiness you’ve brought to my family.”
“Here, here,” Kenneth raised his mug of hot cocoa, “I’ll drink to that.”
“You’ll drink to anything,” his father said in his pleasant Irish brogue. He raised his own mug to Lexi. “I thank you, as well. This has been a delightful celebration.”
“You’re welcome,” Lexi said as Jill placed a large red-and-white, candy-cane-striped package in her lap. “And thank you.”
Lexi glanced up, but she couldn’t read the look on his face. Kyle was studying her intently. A slow smile lit his features. “I wasn’t sure what blackmailers liked for Christmas, so I had to guess.”
Lexi laughed as his brothers looked at them curiously.
“You’re a blackmailer, too?” Kenneth raised an eyebrow. “You are multi talented, aren’t you?”
“Go ahead,” Kyle urged Lexi. “Open it.”
Trista had already opened hers and squealed with delight when she saw the beautiful collector’s doll.
Steven said, “Bad!” and then “Thanks, Kyle. How did you know I’ve been wanting a remote control race car?”
“I’ve got connections.”
Lexi unwrapped her gift slowly, savoring the feel, though temporary, of belonging to a family at holiday time. She lifted the box lid and looked puzzled. “Fudge?”
He smiled, and Trista giggled. Lexi looked from one to the other.
“I heard it’s the one thing you absolutely, positively can’t do, so I decided to lend you a hand.” He shrugged proudly. “I made it myself.”
Lexi laughed. “Sure, you did.”
When Kenneth touched her forearm lightly, his touch held none of the sizzle of his brother’s. “Actually, Kyle has always made superb fudge.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Even Alyssa nodded.
“Who knew?” Lexi laughed. “Thank you very much for the homemade fudge. Would anyone like a piece?”
“Oh, no, you don’t. There’s fudge for everyone else in the kitchen. This is yours.” Kyle pointed toward the box. “Look underneath the fudge.”