Page 97 of Whatever It Takes

“Santa came. Santa came!”Emery screamed, running into our room.

“What time is it?” Quinn asked, glancing at the clock on my nightstand.

Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep from eyes as my very anxious little girl landed on the bed, falling right between us.

“Emery,” I said, noticing the ring of chocolate smeared along her lips. “Did you empty out your stocking already?”

Her grin was wide and her eyes were alive with excitement. “I did. Santa left me Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. My favorite…the Christmas tree kind.”

“You didn’t open any presents though, right?”

She shook her head. “No, but you should see how many he left me. Can we please go downstairs now?” She folded her hands under her chin and pleaded.

I kissed the top of her head. “Sure, just give me a minute to get ready.”

“I’ll take her down,” Quinn offered, pressing a kiss to my shoulder and rising from the bed.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Emery chanted, jumping up and down.

Quinn grabbed Emery’s hand and looked down at me. This was our first Christmas together as a family. Never in my life had I ever felt so content.

“I love you both,” I whispered, overcome with emotion. My pregnancy hormones were off the charts.

“We love you too, right, Peanut?”

Emery nodded her head enthusiastically. She looked about ready to jump out of her skin. Quinn and I both laughed as she pulled him out of the room.

Quinn tucked me against his side, as I sipped on my hot chocolate. Emery’s smile was wide as we watched her open gift after gift.

“Thank you,” Quinn murmured against my cheek.

I leaned back and folded my toes underneath me. “For what? I haven’t given you your gifts yet.”

“I don’t need gifts. This…” He gestured around the living room. “Is all I need. This is perfect.” The Christmas tree sat in the corner, and the stockings with our names on them hung from the fireplace. He was right, it was perfect.

Our moment was broken when Emery got to her final present. I brought the fleece blanket up to my chin, while Quinn grabbed his camera off the table and got it ready.

“This is the last one.” She sighed, clearly not happy about that. I swear, she got more enjoyment from opening the packages than the gifts themselves. I looked around the floor to all the clothes, books, crafts, and toys scattered amongst the torn wrapping paper. Quinn and I had gone overboard, but we wanted to make this holiday as happy as we could for her. These past few weeks have not been easy, but we were slowly finding our footing.

“All right.” Quinn held up the camera. “Let’s see what Santa left you.”

Emery tore into the red wrapping paper and held up the wicker basket. She looked confused as she inspected the contents one by one. We watched in amusement as she pulled out a leash, a dog collar, puppy treats, and chew toys.

Her face dropped. She looked puzzled and a little disappointed. “I think Santa made a mistake.”

Quinn acted shock. “What? Let’s check outside and see if there is anything else. Maybe he left your gift out there.”

Quinn handed me the camera so I could capture the moment. He walked over to the door and swung it open. There on our front porch step was a yellow lab with a big, red bow on top of his crate.

Emery’s eyes grew wide as saucers she ran over to the door. She looked up at us and gasped. She started jumping up and down, the short strands of her ponytail coming undone. “A puppy! A puppy! I got a puppy! This is the best Christmas ever!”

After snapping a few pictures, I sent a quick text to Brody, letting him know that it was safe for them to come in now.

No sooner after Emery snatched the puppy from his crate and started playing with him, the doorbell rang.

I walked over to answer it while Quinn sat on the floor helping Emery fasten the dog collar.

“Well, look who’s here.” I acted surprised as Quinn’s family stepped inside.

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