Page 236 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

We’re early—we were close to the house when we got the location text from Cal and Bear—and there are only two cars parked on the side of the Victorian. Maisie’s, plus Dottie’s little hand-painted VW Bug. Molly’s car isn’t here yet, so we might still be able to see her pretend to act surprised, and there’s no sign yet of Jack’s siblings and their families, although I expect he warned them about Cal’s plan. They’ll probably give us a little space before they show up.

We park at the curb and pile out, moving slowly to ensure Roger can keep up, and Maisie and Jack meet us on the porch, Mabel strapped to Jack’s chest. Dottie stands with them, a radiant smile on her face.

“Did you get my gift?” she asks hopefully.

“Uh, yes,” I say. “Is it a sedative tea?”

Maisie stifles a laugh.

“Of course not!” Dottie says. “It’s attuned toyouraura. It’s meant to help you unwind.”

“Sounds a lot like a sedative tea,” Jace says in an undertone, putting a hand on the small of my back. I’m wearing a coat, but I can still feel it there, warm and solid.

I introduce Jace to Jack and Mabel, whom he hasn’t met yet, and we introduce everyone to Roger, who almost instantly launches into a long, convoluted conversation with Dottie involving the construction of some now-infamous building in downtown Asheville. Aidan is eager to go inside, but I convince him that we should wait for a tour until Molly has seen her house.

The slightly wry twist to Maisie’s lips suggests she’s already let herself inside.

We don’t have long to wait, though, before Cal’s truck pulls into the driveway.

“Should we have wrapped a red ribbon around it or something?” Jack asks under his breath, Mabel cooing as if she likes the idea.

“Uncle Jack,” Aidan says with a serious look, “a ribbon that long would be very hard to find on short notice, especially at Christmas time. Santa isn’t real, but people still wrap gifts.”

We all laugh, our eyes affixed to the truck. Even Dottie and Roger have stopped talking.

I lean into Jace, and he wraps his arm around me, even as I put mine around Aidan. Even though my eyes are on Molly, I can feel Maisie eyeing us with satisfaction. Maybe she feels she played a part in this all those years ago, when she took a chance and let a man with a difficult past adopt one of her rescue animals.

Molly gets out of the truck, her eyes wide as she surveys the house. “Holy shit, this looks way better than it did on Street View. It’s ours, isn’t it?”

We all sputter laughter as Cal circles around the truck and takes her into his arms, twirling her around and then dipping her for a kiss.

If he’s disappointed that his surprise wasn’t a surprise, he doesn’t show it. Then again, he knows Molly. Maybe he expectedher to find out, and part of her fun was supposed to be the joy of unraveling a mystery. The fact that she didn’t do a drive-by suggests that she did want to keep part of it a surprise.

Cal’s father exits the back seat of the truck, a huge smile on his face, but it falters a little as his gaze lands on the corner of the porch, where Dottie and Roger appear to have resumed their conversation.

Huh. Is heinterestedin Dottie?

I make a mental note to talk to Molly about it, and then suddenly we’re all greeting each other with hugs and Merry Christmases. Molly, who hasn’t met Jace yet—something that feels wrong at a gut level—embraces him as if they’re old pals and says, “Oh, thank God. I worried she’d chosen another pencil dick.”

“Molly!”

Aidan stands off to the side a little, the way he does in crowds, and I feel a crawling sensation of worry. I brought his headphones, but will they be enough protection once the larger group shows up?

Jace places a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry. Cal and I have this covered.”

My worry lifts, because I trust him. I know he would never do anything to make Aidan uncomfortable.

We all embark on a tour of the house, empty but for some temporary furniture Cal moved in for the dinner tonight—an enormous table and several chairs, a huge couch, and a Christmas tree in the corner. A veritable feast has been laid out on the granite counters and island of the kitchen, and the little placards next to each course suggest Dottie played a part in it. Cal’s father is a baker, though, and I imagine he prepared his fair share of dessert.

There’s some sort of synergy there, and I find myself wondering again about Dottie and second and third and fourth chances.

Cal leads the way through the house, which is just as lovely inside as it is outside. Of course, Molly is beside herself, and as we do our walk-through, Aidan and I pepper Jace with questions about what he did, where.

When we get to the basement, Cal leads us to a room and flicks on the light. This one has furniture—a cool-down tent just like the one he made for Aidan last month, only bigger. Inside there’s a projector casting images of dinosaurs against the side of the tent, plus a huge stuffed ankylosaurus. There’s a sound machine in the room too, producing white noise.

Cal clears his throat. “The floors and ceilings are pretty thick, so if you need a quiet place of your own once everyone arrives, Aidan, you can come down here. This room will always be yours.” He nods to Jace. “Jace helped me figure out what to put in here.”

I turn and look up at him, Aidan doing the same, and emotion clogs my throat. Aidan looks away before I do, and I barely manage to remind him, “Say thank you, Aidan.”

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