Page 31 of Until the Snow Melts

Cassidy scoots closer, her hand settling on Axel’s shoulder. “And I want to be your family too,” she says softly. “Ethan and I—we want to create a family together. But we need you to help us do that.”

“You want my help?” Axel asks.

“We can’t be a family without you,” I tell him. “You’re the most important part.”

“You really want me? Even though I wet the bed?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Cassidy says. “Lots of children wet the bed sometimes. That doesn’t make you bad or unwanted. It just means your body is still learning, and that’s perfectly normal.”

“And I can keep all my presents?”

“You can keep the gifts,” I assure him. “And next Christmas, there will be even more.”

“And I won’t have to say sorry for crying?”

“Never,” I say firmly. “Good families don’t hurt kids for having feelings.”

Axel is quiet for a long moment, his gaze moving from his gifts to our faces. Then he suddenly launches himself forward, wrapping his thin arms around both of our necks in a fierce hug.

“I love you, Daddy,” he says against my shoulder.

The word stops my breath. Daddy. Not Mr. Ethan. Daddy.

“I love you too, son,” I whisper back. “So much.”

Cassidy wraps her arms around both of us, and I wrap my free arm around her waist as she melts against us. Over Axel’s head, I kiss her lips.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes are bright. “Are we really a family now?”

“We really are,” Cassidy confirms, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. “The paperwork might take a little while, but in our hearts we’re a family.”

Axel looks between us, then down at his pile of gifts, then back up with a wide smile. “This is the best Christmas ever.”

“The first of many,” I tell him, ruffling his hair. “We have a lot of Christmases to make up for.”

“Can we make pancakes now?” he asks. “Family pancakes?”

“Family pancakes it is,” Cassidy laughs, standing and extending her hands to both of us. “Come on, boys. Let’s go make our first Christmas breakfast together.”

As we head toward the kitchen, Axel tugs on my hand. “Daddy? Remember when you said some gifts aren’t toys and stuff?”

I pause, remembering the conversation from yesterday. “I do.”

“I think I got all the kinds!” he says, bouncing a little. “I needed a family, and now I have you and Aunt Cassidy. I wanted presents, and I got lots. And the surprise—” He grins up at us. “The surprise is you both want to keep me!”

Cassidy’s eyes fill with tears. “That’s exactly right, sweetheart.”

Sometimes the best gifts can’t be wrapped. Sometimes they’re found in the most unexpected places, born from heartbreak and forgiveness, and strong enough to heal years of pain. Other times they come in the form of a little boy who just wants to belong, and two adults who finally understand that home isn’t a place, it’s the people you choose to love.