Page 40 of Under the Christmas Tree

“Oh, I can make it bigger than that. Fifty bucks says snow before midnight.”

“Adam,” his wife, Lora, said, shaking her head and laughing.

“Okay. You’re on,” Maggie agreed easily.

“What will I do with my winnings?” Adam mused aloud, much to everyone’s amusement.

Even through the rod of tension holding her prisoner, Katie laughed too. Adam was funny, but mostly, she was just happy with how easily Maggie fit in with her family. How it felt like she had always belonged there. Katie had worked so hard to keep Maggie and her mom apart for fear of what would happen, that she hadn’t realized how good it could be to have Maggie with them.

Maybe Maggie was right. Maybe this was hard, but maybe it hadn’t been better before.

Someone walked slowly up to her side and, without looking, Katie knew it was her mom.

“You made the hot cocoa,” she said, more formal than the last time she’d told Katie to make it.

“Yeah. I know it’s not what we used to have for New Year’s Eve, but, since you liked it so much…”

“It was a good choice.”

Katie’s heart pounded. She was used to flippant comments and deflections around her mom. She was used to being told things she didn’t want to hear, but she wasn’t used to this. She had no idea what to do with it. She had no idea how to have a conversation with her mom when it wasn’t simply a case of her mom telling her what to do.

She liked the sound of a relationship that didn’t work like that though.

“Have you had a nice week?” Katie asked after several moments of them both staring into the hot cocoa.

“Yes, it’s been… illuminating.” She nodded, mostly to herself. “How has work been? I hear people still have babies this time of year.”

And just like that, Katie knew they’d be okay. That little callback, her mom’s slightly sarcastic tone, and the promise that, while this part was going to take some navigating, things were going to be okay.

She let out a laugh, relieved and overwhelmed. “They do indeed. Maggie missed her flight because one showed up early. Babies just… do their own thing.”

Her mom looked her over, really looking at Katie for what felt like the first time in years. “They do,” she said quietly, as if only just realizing it. “I guess we spend so much time trying to get babies to do things on our schedules that we sometimes forget there comes a time when it's not on us to tell them what to do anymore.”

Katie smiled softly. “You did a good job, Mom.”

She pursed her lips, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Thank you.” For a moment, she clearly warred between being sentimental or letting the moment go. When baby Jaden squealed delightedly at something, the moment broke and Irene grinned. “You were an absolute nightmare, so it took some work.”

Katie laughed genuinely. “Worse than Adam? I don’t think so.”

“What’s worse than me?” Adam asked, coming up behind them and dropping an arm on each of their shoulders.

“Mom’s trying to make out that I was harder work as a kid than you were,” Katie said, looking up at him in sheer gratitude for his help in getting them all to this moment.

“You were,” he insisted. “I had it good before you came along, then it was all tea party this, climbing a tree that. You never did anything on anyone else’s schedule. Probably why you’re a doctor.”

She frowned. “Explain.”

“No, thanks.” He nodded to the pan. “You serving this or just staring at it all night?”

“Oh my god,” Maggie cried before Katie could answer.

The three of them spun to see what was going on.

Katie’s eyes met Maggie’s. She was laughing and shaking her head. “It’s snowing.”

Adam barked a laugh. “Told you so.”

Katie looked at her mom as she pointed at Adam. “I was worse than this guy?”

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