Page 119 of Riverbend Gap (Riverbend 1)

She jumped from the sofa and was in his arms in two seconds flat. “They’re happy tears. It’s so beautiful. I can’t believe you did this. I can’t believe you remembered.”

He drew back, his gaze piercing hers. “I want to give you everything you’ve always wanted.”

Her heart squeezed tight. “Oh, Cooper. You already have.”

At ten o’clock on Christmas morning the Robinsons gathered in Lisa and Jeff’s living room for a gift exchange. Delicious smells emanated from the kitchen, making Katie’s stomach growl.

Christmas decorations littered the room: a Santa doorstop, a mantel garland, a nativity, three stuffed snowmen, and candles galore. The live Fraser fir stretched toward the ceiling, topped with a glowing angel. Its limbs were adorned with homemade ornaments, most of them made once upon a time by the Robinson children.

“Mom was supposed to pass our ornaments to us when we struck out on our own,” Cooper explained as Katie perused the dozens of baubles. “But as you can see, mine are still hanging on her tree.”

“So are mine,” Avery said. “She can’t bear to give them up.”

“Oh, that’s not true.” Lisa smacked Avery’s shoulder. “I’m waiting for you to get married is all.”

“Really?” Gavin said. “Because I got married and you never gave me mine.”

“Oh, hush, you guys.”

Jeff wrapped his arms around his wife. “It’s Christmas. She’s allowed to be sentimental.”

Coming around the family—around Gavin—had been a little awkward at first. But Katie and Gavin soon settled into a comfortable friendship. When they had nice weather they sometimes teamed up to beat Avery and Cooper at cornhole.

He’d also begun dating again, though there was no one serious yet.

As the family exchanged gifts, laughter and inside jokes abounded, all of which Cooper patiently explained. By the time the wrapping paper lay in shreds on the floor, Katie was richer by one sweater, a pair of leather gloves, cordless earbuds, and a gift certificate to a spa in Asheville.

Over the past couple months, things had gotten back to normal between she and Avery. Avery had been thrilled to take Katie back at the clinic. And so far, even with the bridge out, business was enough—just barely—to keep them all employed.

The other businesses, including Jeff’s store, were surviving too. Even better, Trail Days had been such a boon for the town that the council had agreed to make it an annual event.

The doorbell rang and Katie’s mother arrived, bearing two freshly baked pies, just in time to join the Robinsons for Christmas dinner. Her relationship with her mom had found solid footing in the past weeks. They met for coffee nearly every Saturday morning, and the more Katie learned about Beth, the more she respected all the woman had overcome.

In late November she and Beth had driven up to Max Patch, where Katie had spread Spencer’s ashes. There, Katie had borne witness to the remorse of a woman who’d been too late. It broke Katie’s heart. But the time on the mountain had been healing for Beth. Sadly, some regrets could never be fixed. They just had to be endured.

After clearing the living room the family gathered around the table, ready to dig into the feast spread before them: baked ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, sweet potato casserole, and yeast rolls. As good as the food smelled and would no doubt taste, the people surrounding Katie outshone it by a thousand kilowatts.

Katie’s gaze drifted around the table at the people who’d become her family, and Cooper’s words from Trail Days played back in her mind.“Sometimes family isn’t the situation you’re born into but the people who’ve chosen to love you along the way.”The truth of those words settled over her like a warm blanket. And when they bowed their heads to say grace, Katie said an extra prayer of thanks for the unexpected blessing of family.