Page 68 of Take Me Home for Christmas

Just then, Emma walked in, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “I think Santa came early.” She brought a flat, brightly wrapped package to her mom. “This says my name. Can I open it?”

Dina read the tag and looked up. “It’s from Brax.”

My stomach plummeted. He’d bought Emma a gift?

I closed my eyes to keep from crying any more. It was clearly a book. He must’ve somehow bought it when we were shopping.

She tore it open and confirmed what I suspected. It wasThe Night Before Christmas. A brand-new copy of the same classic edition we’d grown up with.

He’d given her a thoughtful gift, one with meaning—not only because he’d read it with her, but also because it was a cherished book to my family.

And that wasn’t all he’d done.

He’d encouraged me to tie up my loose ends with Charlie.

He’d run back and snagged that red dress because he suspected I’d never buy it myself.

He’d sacrificed spending the holiday with his sister to come home with me because I needed him.

I placed my hand over my chest because it physically ached. He’d donea lot.For me.

Emma held up the book like show-and-tell. “Aunt Mia, will Uncle Brax come back to read with me?”

“I hope so,” my mom answered for me.

“He left a few gifts under the tree,” Liam said, who’d walked into the family room and then back into the kitchen.

“Those are from our shopping trip yesterday,” I said.

“I found this one on the coffee table.” My dad walked over with a small square box and placed it on the island next to me. It was beautifully wrapped in sparkly green paper, with a bright green foil bow on top. “It’s got your name on it.”

That got me choked up again. Hadn’t he done enough? I shook my head. And pushed it away. “I can’t open it. I…I don’t want to.”

“You should open it,” my mom said, pushing it back. “He bought it for you.”

“I’ll just put whatever it is in the donation pile,” I said. “Along with those five-inchers.” Which, as of now, I no longer considered to be my lucky shoes.

“You don’t mean that—about the present, that is,” Dina said. Under her breath, she added, “Those shoes should have gone out with the trash a long time ago.”

I gave a little snort.

“See?” my mom said. “At least you can laugh a little.”

Right. Mainly so I didn’t break down and bawl in front of my entire family. I ripped off the paper to find a plain cardboard box taped at the seams. Liam opened the junk drawer and slid a pair of scissors to me down the length of the island.

I cut the tape on the box and opened it. Something was packed in heaps of white packing peanuts, which spilled from the box like snow.

And then I pulled out a snow globe.

My eyes instantly blurred so that I couldn’t even see it. I had to wipe my eyes on my sweater. While I was doing that, Caleb, of all people, spoke.

“It’s the same one as when we were kids,” he said, his tone incredulous.

“No way.” Liam lifted himself halfway out of his chair to see.

“I showed him our photo album,” my mom said. “I told him about it.”

Everyone gathered around.

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