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Sebastian gave him a disgruntled look. I suspected it was because Emmett loved to tell us no.
“For the record, I said we’d love to have one but that you—” Hanna began tentatively.
“Wanted one, too,” Sebastian said firmly, lifting the pup and cradling her in his arms.
Emmett raised a brow. “Everyone else named their puppies after Santa’s reindeer.
The puppy squirmed, and Sebastian let her down.
“Can we name her Dancer?” Ember asked as the puppy danced around her as if waiting for her to engage with him.
“I don’t see why not. Besides, it seems to fit,” Sebastian said.
“Prancer or Dancer?” Hanna asked.
Ember hugged the puppy. “She’s a Dancer.”
Hanna crouched to pet her. “And she’s perfect.”
Sebastian scooped the puppy into his arms and walked into the living room. Ember knelt in front of him and the puppy. “We’re keeping him, right?”
“How can I say no?” Sebastian asked as Dancer crawled from his lap to Ember’s.
I didn’t think anyone in this room could say no to a puppy. “You can thank your favorite uncle.”
“You’re not the favorite,” Heath began, which set off a familiar argument over which brother was the best uncle.
I raised a brow. “Did you buy your niece a puppy for Christmas?”
Heath shook his head in disgust, knowing I’d won this round.
At some point, Dancer crawled from Sebastian’s lap into Ember’s, and Hanna sat next to them. They were a family. The realization formed an ache in my chest. I wanted me and Holly to be a family. I wanted a puppy and children one day. Even though we lost our first child, I still felt like we were destined to be a family, however that looked.
“Can we open presents now?” Ember asked.
Sebastian smiled. “Let’s do it.”
I sat on the couch, content to be in the presence of my family. I enjoyed Ember’s exuberance as she ripped the wrapping off the presents, pausing for Hanna or Sebastian to take a picture. She’d yell her thanks and then move to the next one.
I couldn’t help but think that our Christmas mornings wouldn’t always be like this. Sarah and Knox were at their house. And eventually, Heath and Marley and Emmett and Ireland would have their own children. We’d do Christmas mornings by ourselves, then move to the main house for dinner.
I wanted to be a part of the festivities, but I also wanted a family of my own to spend Christmas morning with. I hoped next year, Holly would be sitting next to me, and in the years following, we’d have one or two kids of our own.
The cousins would grow up together, having sleepovers and building forts in the woods. It would be just how we grew up but even better because our family was larger.
I pulled out my phone and sent Holly a few pictures of Ember unwrapping presents and Dancer, who was having a ball with the leftover wrapping paper. Ember was dangling a ribbon in front of her, taunting her to chase it.
I captioned the image:
Merry Christmas. I miss you.
Before I could wait for her response, Sebastian sat next to me. “I can’t believe you did that without talking to me first.”
“Are you mad?” I was positive he’d be okay with the puppy, and if not, I would have kept her.
Sebastian shook his head and smiled. “They love her already. You outdid Santa this year.”
“Everyone knows that Santa doesn’t bring pets. So, I had to take credit for it,” I teased, knowing it would get his ire up.
