Chapter 10
I lean against the kitchen doorframe, watching my girls work their Christmas magic. Jelena stands on her step stool next to Noel, both of them dusted with flour, both wearing matching red and white aprons that Rosa brought over yesterday. My chest tightens at the sight. This is what I came back to Bear Ridge for. What I’ve been fighting for all these years without even knowing it.
“Daddy!” Jelena waves a cookie cutter in the air. “Look what we made!”
“Amazing, princess.” I move closer to inspect her handiwork. The kitchen counter is covered in an army of gingerbread men, some missing limbs, others with too many. All perfect.
Noel catches my eye over Jelena’s head, and her smile hits me like a punch to the gut. Even with flour on her cheek and her hair escaping its messy bun, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The ring on her finger catches the light, and my heart does that thing it always does when I see it. Mine. Finally.
The doorbell chimes, and Jelena squeals. “Is it Mama Rosa?”
“Let’s go see.” I scoop her up, flour and all, heading for the door. But it’s not Rosa - it’s Jim Barkley, standing awkwardly on our porch with a bottle of wine and what looks like wrapped presents.
“I’m early,” he says, shifting from foot to foot. “I can come back…”
Jelena scrunches up her nose, studying him. “You’re the man from the restaurant.”
“Yes, I am.” Jim’s voice is rough as he holds out one of the wrapped packages. “I brought this for you.”
“A present?” Just like that, her suspicion melts into excitement. “Daddy, look! Another one for under the tree!”
I set her down and she grabs the gift, darting back inside. The awkward silence stretches between Jim and me until Noel appears in the hallway, still wearing her flour-dusted apron.
“Dad,” she says quietly. “Come in.”
He steps inside, and I close the door on the cold. We all stand there for a moment, three adults trying to navigate this new reality. Then Jelena’s voice rings out from the living room.
“Daddy, Can I put it with the others?”
“Yeah, princess. Go ahead.” I’m grateful for the interruption. For her innocent excitement cutting through the tension.
The sound of another car pulling up has me moving toward the window. Through the glass, I watch Rosa park next to Jim’s Mercedes. The contrast between her beat-up Honda and his luxury car is stark, but that’s Bear Ridge in a nutshell. High society mixing with working class, all of us trying to find our place.
The doorbell rings again, and this time when Jelena races to answer it, her whole face lights up.
“Is she here?” Jelena runs in from the living room. Rosa shoulders through the door with a stack of plastic containers balanced precariously in her arms. I move to help her, but Jelena is faster, launching herself across the room.
“Auntie Rosa,” she says, throwing herself into Rosa’s arms. She nearly topples the containers I catch just in time. “I missed you so much! Are you coming home?”
Tears well in Rosa’s eyes as she crouches down, hugging Jelena tight. “I missed you too, baby. So much.”
“We all have,” Noel says softly, stepping forward. “We’re glad you’re here.”
Rosa’s eyes snap up, uncertainty warring with hope on her face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Noel’s smile is gentle. Real.
The doorbell breaks the moment. This time it’s Alix and Ryan, their arms full of gifts. Jelena peers at them curiously, then turns to me with wide eyes.
“Daddy! They look the same!”
Ryan laughs. “That’s because we’re twins. I’m Ryan, and that ugly one over there—” he points to Bryan coming up the walk “—is my brother Bryan.”
“But how do people tell you apart?” Jelena demands, her earlier shyness forgotten in the face of this marvel.
“Nope,” Bryan says, setting down his packages, “I’m the handsome one.”
The door opens again, letting in a blast of cold air, and Dani already shedding her coat. “Move it or lose it, boys. It’s freezing out there.” She spots Lowe behind her and grins. “Well, if it isn’t Bear Ridge’s finest. Thought you had patrol tonight?”
“Chen’s covering.” Lowe steps inside, and the temperature seems to drop as Rosa straightens, her arms tightening around Jelena.
“Sheriff,” she says, her voice Arctic cold.
I watch surprise flicker across Dani’s face at Rosa’s tone, at the way Lowe’s usual easy smile falls away. This is clearly not the Lowe she’s used to seeing at their regular Sunday brunches.
“Ms. Evans.” His voice is equally frosty.
The silence stretches until Noel clears her throat. “The turkey should be about ready. Why don’t we move this into the dining room?”
I watch them all file past - this complicated collection of people trying to become family. Jim hovers uncertainly at the edges. Rosa keeps Jelena close, while Lowe maintains his distance but can’t seem to keep his eyes off them.
“You okay?” Noel squeezes my hand as she passes.
I pull her close, breathing in the scent of ham and sugar cookies and home. “Better than okay.”
And I am. Because this - all of this messy, complicated, beautiful chaos - is exactly what I came back for.
The dining room erupts in chaos as everyone finds their seats. Jelena insists on sitting between Noel and Rosa, which puts Rosa directly across from Lowe. Perfect. The twins take opposite ends of the table, still bantering about who's better looking, while Alix rolls her eyes at their antics.
"Need help with anything?" Jim asks Noel, hovering by his chair.
"Just sit, Dad." Her voice is cool but not cold. Progress.
I catch Dani watching the undercurrent of tension between Rosa and Lowe, her eyes narrowing like she's solving a puzzle. When Rosa passes him the potatoes without looking at him, barely acknowledging his quiet "thank you," Dani's eyebrows shoot up.
"Auntie Rosa," Jelena pipes up, "did you see my dress? Miss Noel helped me pick it."
"It's beautiful, baby." Rosa's voice softens the way it always does with Jelena. "You look like a princess."
"She helped me get ready too," Jelena continues, and I feel the whole table hold its breath. But Rosa just smiles.
"She did a great job." Her eyes meet Noel's across Jelena's head. Something passes between them - understanding, acceptance, maybe both.
"Speaking of great jobs," Jim clears his throat. "Trace, I heard the new distribution center's ahead of schedule."
"Yeah." I'm grateful for the shift in conversation. "Should be up and running by spring."
"You know," Ryan cuts in, "Alix's agent, Caren, might know someonewho could help handle your legal work."
Alix elbows him. "I can speak for myself, honey."
"But you weren't."
Their easy banter breaks some of the tension. Even Jim chuckles, and when Jelena asks why everyone's laughing, the warmth in the room feels real. Until Lowe speaks up. "Will you be needing security for the center?"
Rosa's fork clatters against her plate. "Because cops make everything safer?"
"Rosa," I warn softly, but Lowe's already responding.
"Actually, I was thinking of private security. Something community-based. Local people who understand the area."
"Local people?" Rosa's laugh is bitter. "Like the local officer who—"
"Who wants dessert?" Noel stands abruptly. "Jelena, want to help me bring out those cookies?"
"Yes!" Jelena bounces in her seat. "Daddy, can I show everyone my gingerbread house?"
Just like that, the moment passes. But I don't miss the way Lowe watches Rosa for the rest of the meal, or how she deliberately avoids his gaze.
Later, as people start gathering coats and saying goodbyes, Jim pulls me aside.
"Thank you," he says gruffly. "For including me. For..." he glances at Jelena, who's hugging Rosa goodbye, "for letting me be part of this."
"You're welcome." The words come easier than I expected.
Dani's the last to leave, linking arms with Lowe. "Walk me to my car, Sheriff?" But she's looking at Rosa as she says it, something speculative in her expression.
Finally, it's just us. Noel sinks onto the couch, pulling Jelena into her lap. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
I sit beside them, wrapping my arms around my girls. "No," I agree, watching Rosa's taillights disappear down the drive. "Not bad at all."
Sometimes family is what you make it. Sometimes it's messy and complicated and nothing like you planned. But sometimes, if you're lucky, it's exactly what you need.