Ben bounced up and down as he waited for Davey to arrive. Nora pressed a hand to her belly to hold in the joy. Ben had never been more excited about a birthday, and after the conditions he’d lived in until recently, he deserved every happiness.

It was hard to believe her little man was turning ten. It was also hard to believe that Steph had talked her into mentoring Davey on parenting, although she had to admit he’d been trying as of late.

The fact that he had asked for help demonstrated his genuine desire to be a good parent. It had both surprised and impressed her. Since then, she and Davey had taken Ben out a few times together. Davey had deferred all decisions to her and had analyzed her responses. She knew this because later, when they were alone, he’d asked for the psychology behind her reactions. He was also noticing Ben’s needs. He’d purchased Ben a new pair of sneakers and a new coat. The coat had been at the top of her next paycheck shopping list. But Davey had beaten her to it, and she was pretty sure the coat he’d selected—a brown NASCAR jacket resembling Davey’s race attire—was preferred over what she would have purchased.

Davey had gone all out for Ben’s birthday too. He was having the party at his dad’s place. He’d rented a lavish paintball game with props that he and Cruz had strategically placed around their barns and fields.

“My friends are gonna think I’m so cool,” Ben said, grinning. “ ‘Cause my dad’s so cool. And the paintball field is cool.” Davey and Cruz had given Ben a preview last night.

She smiled. “You’re gonna wear out the floor.”

“It’s a good warm-up.” Ben’s grin widened. “I’m gonna kick butt in paintball today!”

“Okay, little man, but first this.” She pulled him into a hug.

“Aunt Nora!”

She squeezed him tight. “Better now than in front of your friends, right?”

Ben nodded, but she let go when a knock sounded at the door.

Ben raced over and tugged it open. “Grandma!”

“I never get tired of hearing that,” Steph said, giving Ben a quick hug. She handed him a present. “You can open this now.”

“Thanks.” Ben flopped onto the floor next to Cosmo, ripped off the paper, and opened the box. Inside was a large die-cast car, a replica of Davey’s brown Ford Fusion, complete with the Outdoor America sponsor decals.

“Oh, boy,” Ben said lifting the car out of the box and studying it from every angle. “Thanks, Grandma!”

He put the car on the floor and hugged Steph again. After, he raced over to Nora. “Did you see what Grandma got me?”

Nora smiled at her nephew. She loved seeing him happy. “Very cool.”

When another knock sounded, Ben sprinted to the door and yanked it open.

Davey and Cruz entered carrying an enormous white box with a big red bow. The box indicated it was a TV. An excessively large TV.

Nora wondered if the gift was appropriate; she didn’t want to spoil Ben. But she quickly pushed the thought aside. After everything Ben had been through, he deserved this luxury. She smiled at Davey and he winked at her in response.

“Happy birthday, son.” Davey gave Ben a light punch on the arm.

“Hey, buddy.” Cruz ruffled Ben’s hair. “Happy birthday.”

Ben barraged Davey and Cruz with questions. “What is it? It’s really big!” As Ben brushed a hand over the box, Nora felt his excitement. “This says it’s a TV. Is it really a TV?” Ben bounced up and down. “A really big TV?”

Davey laughed. “It’s a 65-inch LG. I thought you needed something bigger for your video games.”

Ben’s eyes popped. “Can we set it up now? Huh, can we?” He threw his arms around Davey and Cruz. “You guys are the best.”

“This one’s from your dad,” Cruz said. “And it’s one of the best gaming TV’s out there.”

Ben beamed at Davey. “Can we set it up now? Please!”

“We gotta get you to your party,” Davey said. “We can’t have a birthday party without the guest of honor.”

“But first you have to open my present,” Cruz told Ben. “I just have to grab it from the car.” He turned to Steph. “Want to accompany me?”

Davey’s lips thinned as his mother smiled warmly at Cruz. As Cruz escorted Steph outside with his hand at the small of her back, Davey’s mouth twisted into a scowl. Why was he giving them a hard time? His mother deserved to be happy, and from what Nora knew about Cruz, he did as well.

She stepped in front of Davey to distract him. “This is a very nice present.” She touched a hand to Ben’s head. “Did you thank your dad?”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ben rose chanting his thanks, making Davey laugh and diffusing the tension. “Can we set it up as soon as we get home tonight?”

Davey nodded. “You got it.”

Cosmo got up and nuzzled his head against Ben’s leg. “Look, Cosmo is wishing me a happy birthday.”

Smiling, Nora rubbed Cosmo’s fuzzy head. Good job, buddy. Cosmo had quickly become Ben’s close friend and confidant, helping Ben through the many changes in his life. Sometimes at night, she would hear Ben confiding in the dog. She’d listened in just long enough to make sure Ben was okay. Thankfully he was, except for feeling guilty that he liked living with her. She had planned to talk with Ben until she heard him tell Cosmo what she’d told him after Lynn had passed. ‘It’s okay that Mommy’s gone ‘cause she’s with the angels now.’ He’d added, ‘So she’s happy, and now I’m happy too.’

Cruz and Steph returned, and Cruz handed Ben one of the packages. “This is from me.”

Ben ripped open the paper and gaped at the Xbox One S. “Lucas has this game station, and I’ve wanted one real bad.” He trailed a hand over the picture on the box, then looked at Cruz with amazement. “How did you know?”

“Lucas told me.” Cruz winked at Ben and handed him another box. “These go with it.”

Inside were a bunch of games and accessories—controllers, steering wheels, and other gadgets Nora was unfamiliar with. But Ben, who was giddy with excitement, seemed to know exactly what they were.

“We better get going,” Steph said after glancing at her watch.

Cruz drove them to the party in his Hummer. It was a clear sunny day, with just a slight chill in the air—a perfect day for paintball. The kids had a blast. Even Daisy and Cosmo got into the action, chasing the kids around after the game had ended.

Lucas’ dad, Jamie, who Davey had also invited seemed to have fun too. Jamie was not only a huge NASCAR fan, but he was lonely because his wife, a military nurse, was currently deployed. She’d been in Afghanistan since October and wouldn’t be coming home until next summer.

Nora was starting to see a whole different side of Davey. He had put a lot of time and money into making Ben’s birthday extra special. He’d befriended Lucas’ dad. He had been genuinely appreciative of her help with parenting. She’d also caught glimpses of the special bond he had with Cruz. Even Cosmo had taken a liking to Davey and Cosmo-Astro had always been a good judge of character. Maybe her Pap had been right all along.

With more than a little dread, Davey drove to Nora’s to begin the long day of celebration. Usually, he, Cruz, and Daisy spent a quiet Christmas at Davey’s condo. But this year, they were making the rounds, spending Christmas morning at Nora’s, Christmas afternoon at his mother’s, and Christmas evening at Jamie and Lucas’.

“Lighten up,” Cruz said, tapping two fingers over Davey’s.

Davey glanced at his white fingers, loosened his grip on the steering wheel, and shook his head. “I’m a little nervous over the family festivities.” While he and his mother were now on speaking terms, they were hardly close, which could make for an uncomfortable day.

“Can I make a suggestion?”

A laugh rumbled out of Davey. “You always do,” he said, his voice teasing. Both he and Cruz knew that he needed Cruz’s guidance.

Cruz chuckled. “Let’s put the past aside for today.”

At the stoplight, Davey glanced at Cruz. Obviously, Cruz was referring to Davey’s relationship with his mother. But how was he supposed to put aside his hurt and resentment?

“Just for one day,” Cruz said. “It’ll be a gift of sorts, to your mother and to you.” Cruz pinned a look on him. “You need to model behavior for your son. Show Ben how he should treat his mother, or in his case, his mother-figure.”

Cruz was right. As usual.

Davey nodded. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

Cruz put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s my boy.”

They spent the rest of the short drive in silence, with Davey drumming up the willpower to put his bitterness aside. It was Christmas, after all.

From the back seat, Daisy nudged her nose against his arm. At the next light, he rubbed her ears. Nora had insisted that Daisy come along, which had pleased the hell out of him. He wouldn’t have wanted to leave his girl behind on a holiday.

He pulled in front of Nora and his mother’s duplex and drew in a long, deep breath. You can do this, he told himself. He got Daisy out of the truck while Cruz grabbed the bag of presents, and the three of them made their way up the walkway.

Nora opened the door before they’d even reached the porch. She hugged Cruz, Daisy, and then him. “Come on in.”

A sweet, delectable smell assaulted Davey’s senses as he made his way into the living room. “Smells good in here.”

Nora smiled. “Steph, Hud, and I have been baking.”

Davey frowned. Why was Hud here? He wasn’t family.

As Nora stepped over to the stairs and called for Ben, Cruz nudged him. “Remember, lighten up.”

Steph came out from the kitchen. “Merry Christmas,” she said approaching them. She gave Davey a quick hug, and Cruz a long, tight hug which didn’t help Davey lighten up.

“Dad! Mr. Cruz!” Ben rushed over and threw his arms around Davey and Cruz’s leg.

Davey laughed. Ben’s enthusiasm never failed to put a smile on his face.

“Merry Christmas, buddy,” he said, bending down to give Ben a real hug.

“Yeah, you too.” He grinned. “Wanna play a racing game?”

Unsure of what the plans were, he glanced at Nora.

“Go ahead,” she said. “We’ll have breakfast when you’re done.”

Davey went upstairs with Ben and found Hud in Ben’s room. “Hud’s been playing with me in between cooking,” Ben said.

Davey introduced himself to Hud.

“Guess I’ll leave you two to play,” Hud said, rising.

“You can stay too,” Davey found himself saying. What the hell? But the words were out and he couldn’t take them back.

They all settled in front of the TV, with Ben in between Davey and Hud. As Ben rummaged through his games, Davey looked over at Hud. Was he here because of his relationship with Davey’s mother or because of his relationship with Nora? He hoped it wasn’t the latter. “What’s up with you and Nora?” he blurted before he could stop himself.

Hud chuckled. “Nothing to worry about here.” He lifted his hands in the air. “She’s like the kid sister I never had.”

Davey’s body relaxed and all of the sudden he liked Hud a whole lot more. Ben popped in his NASCAR game and the three of them played for forty-five minutes.

Ben was his usual chipper self, and the more Davey chatted with Hud, the more he liked him. After finally winning a race, Hud put down his controller. “We should head downstairs, grab some food.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you won,” Ben said.

“We made donuts and muffins,” Hud said, and Ben tossed his controller aside.

In the kitchen when Davey spotted bacon and sausage, he nearly hugged Hud. He assumed it was Hud who had cooked since both Nora and his mother didn’t eat meat. After a delicious breakfast, they made their way to the living room to open presents.

Ben ripped open his gifts in a wild frenzy, then flopped on the floor in between Cosmo and Daisy who were hitting it off well. Ben still had another gift to open from him and Cruz, but they were saving it for last since it was a group gift.

Davey had expected to be uncomfortable with the gift giving. He and Cruz usually did an event instead of a gift. They’d take in a sporting event or go fishing. One year, they went all out and spent a few days on a beach in Bora-Bora. Because he and Cruz didn’t do traditional gifts, he hadn’t been a part of a big gift exchange since his youth.

Drifting back to his childhood Christmases, he had to admit that his mom had gone all out to make them special. They’d always gotten a big tree and he and his mother had decorated together. She would bake for days, making all of his favorite sweets. On Christmas day, they’d open presents and afterward his dad would retire—meaning he’d go out drinking—and Davey, Cruz and his mother would watch Christmas movies all afternoon. He and Cruz had carried on the tradition of watching Christmas movies.

When Hud rose holding a red, white, and blue quilt resembling the American flag, Davey returned to the present moment. Hud got up and hugged Nora. “You remembered my cold apartment.”

Nora smiled. “I’ve been working on that quilt for a long time.” She kissed Hud on the cheek. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with it until you told me about your drafty bedroom.”

Davey was touched by Nora’s thoughtfulness. He hadn’t known that she quilted, nor did he know how she found the time to do it between her job and taking care of Ben.

“Oh, Nora.”

Davey turned to look at Cruz surprised by his tone of voice, a mix of wonder and admiration.

“Where did you find this?” Cruz asked, holding up a worn Serenity High School yearbook.

“Ella and I found it at an estate sale,” Nora said. “I fanned through it and recognized Steph on the cheerleading squad. After that, I looked for you and found pictures of you too.”

“That is so sweet,” Steph said, making her way over to Cruz. She leaned over Cruz’s shoulder as he flipped through the yearbook. “Look at us in this picture, Cruz,” she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Remember our nights putting the yearbook together?”

As Cruz and his mother reminisced, Nora handed Davey a present.

Surprised, he took the square package. He hadn’t expected anything from Nora. “Thanks,” he said, then ripped off the paper to uncover a scrapbook.

Inside were pictures of Ben all the way back to the day he was born. Davey’s heart squeezed studying Ben, young and innocent and new to the world. He turned the page to find pictures of Ben as a baby, then his first birthday party. As Davey flipped through the scrapbook, appreciation welled in his chest. There was Ben taking his first shaky step, Ben with a fishing rod, Ben in a baseball uniform. Nora had painstakingly put together chronological pictures of Ben’s life, with callouts of key milestones, and people, places, and dates. She’d given him the gift of memories from the years he’d missed in his son’s life. It was the best present anyone had ever given him. Deeply moved, he got up and pulled Nora into a hug. “Thank you.” He felt like he should say more but thought he might actually cry if he talked about it.

When he drew back, Nora smiled and rubbed his arm. She seemed to understand his inability to communicate his deep gratitude. “You’re welcome,” she whispered.

Davey returned to his chair more than impressed by Nora’s gift giving. Her gifts hadn’t cost as much as his, but they had come from the heart. He couldn’t have been more moved by the scrapbook and the memories she’d given him. Cruz had clearly been touched by the memories in his yearbook, and Davey’s mother had been thrilled with the grandma frame and mug Nora and Ben had made for her.

After Davey gathered himself—which had taken a few long minutes—he and Cruz handed out their gifts to his mother, Nora, and Ben.

“You need to open these at the same time,” Cruz said.

“It’s a group gift,” Davey added.

Ben ripped his open first. Holding up the airline ticket, he scrunched his lips. “What is it?”

Nora pulled out the Talladega NASCAR Experience ticket that accompanied the airline ticket. “It’s for a trip that includes a race experience.” Her words were directed to Ben but her gaze was glued on Davey. “It’s a very generous gift,” she said, her eyes dreamy.

Nora’s reaction pleased Davey. He had figured Ben would love the gift and his mother would too, but he hadn’t been sure about Nora until she gave him the honey-sweet look. His body heated thinking about time away with Nora and time alone with her if he could arrange it.

“A family trip,” his mother said, her voice blissful. She rose and pulled both him and Cruz into a hug. “What fun!”

“Where are we going?” Ben asked. “And do we really get to race?”

“We’re going to Alabama,” Davey said. “And we got tickets for the NASCAR Experience at the Talladega race track.” He grinned. “And yep, we’ll get to race.”

“This is epic,” Ben said. “But I wish Lucas could come too. He’s gonna be jealous.”

“Guess what?” Davey squatted down to look Ben in the eye. “We got tickets for Lucas and his dad too.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “Oh boy—it’s double epic! Are we gonna tell him tonight?”

“Yep.” Rising, Davey ruffled Ben’s hair. “And you can do the honors.”

After another round of video games, this time with Cruz, they all made their way next door to his mom’s. They had to leave the dogs behind at Nora’s since his mother’s cat wasn’t fond of dogs, but Davey didn’t mind. Daisy looked perfectly content snuggled up to Cosmo.

They ate Christmas dinner at his mother’s place and Davey wanted to kiss Hud for preparing the best ham he’d ever tasted. Ben devoured the mac and cheese Davey’s mother had baked, and everyone, including Davey, loved Nora’s gnocchi. Davey and Cruz insisted on cleaning up since they hadn’t helped with the cooking.

“I didn’t cook either,” Ben said. “So I’ll help too.”

Ben’s help added an extra fifteen minutes, but he made the chore fun. Davey marveled at his son’s ability to make anything fun, even doing dishes. After drying the last pot, Davey put down his towel and went in search of his mom to ask where to put the few dishes he and Cruz couldn’t place. As he stepped toward the living room, Nora made her way toward the kitchen. Talking over her shoulder, Nora slammed into him.

He grabbed her arms to steady her as a blush crept into her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she said. “Guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s okay.” His voice was barely audible because his breath had caught in his throat. He didn’t let go of her. He couldn’t; he was completely and totally captivated. Instead, he gazed into her pretty green eyes. He wanted to say something brilliant, pithy, or funny, but no words formed. All he could think about was kissing her. Every single day he thought about the kiss they had shared. He fantasized about it and mulled over what it would feel like if he did it again. He probably would have sold his soul for the mere chance.

“Look,” Ben called out in a gleeful voice. Davey heard him but was unable to pull away from Nora’s spell.

Nora tipped her head toward Ben and blushed again. This time, her cheeks turned deep crimson.

Curious, Davey glanced over. Ben was pointing at a large cluster of mistletoe hanging above him and Nora.

Cruz gave Davey a puckish look. “You can’t disrespect the mistletoe.”

“Yeah Dad,” Ben agreed. “Now you gotta kiss Aunt Nora. Ha, ha.”

Nora turned back toward him. “I, uh….”

She started to pull away but he tightened his grip on her arms. “We can’t risk the mistletoe wrath,” he said quietly.

Clearly flustered, Nora opened her mouth, then closed it. When she opened it again, she leaned toward him, blinking her lashes. He was pretty sure she had no idea what she was doing, but in the process, she was killing him.

Swooping in, he touched his lips to Nora’s. Because they had an audience, he kept it to a light, breezy brush. But that didn’t lessen the impact. His entire being felt the smoldering effects. He desperately wanted to shoo Cruz and Ben off so he could haul Nora someplace private where they could give in to their blazing chemistry.

Nora stepped out of his arms and his body slumped with disappointment. He took one last look at her before making his way to the living room.

A short while later, his mother brought out cookies, popcorn, and the homemade hard candy she used to make when he was little. He caught her gaze and she extended the bowl of candy toward him. “I haven’t made this in years, but I thought you might like it.”

As he took a piece of the red ribbon candy, warm affection whirled through him. “Thanks.” Once again, he wanted to say more, but he didn’t know what else to say. He popped the candy into his mouth. It had been a kind and thoughtful gesture, especially since he remembered how long it took her to make this candy. “It’s really good,” he finally said, making his mother smile.

They all settled in the living room to watch movies. Once again, he was touched by his mother’s gesture to recreate their happy holiday memories. He and Nora sat on the floor with Ben and in between them. He could have stayed like that forever, drawing in Ben’s gusto and Nora’s sweetness.

Two movies later, Cruz announced they had to leave. They’d promised to take Ben to Lucas’ so Ben could visit with his best friend and so he and Cruz could bring some cheer to Jamie who was missing his wife.

Later that evening, Davey reflected on his day. He’d expected the rounds and the family togetherness to be draining, but it hadn’t been. It had been the best Christmas he’d ever had.

He’d experienced the joy, warmth, and comfort of family for the first time. As a child, his mother had made his Christmases warm, but there hadn’t been a lot of comfort given the ongoing contention between his parents. But this Christmas had been a positive, loving experience that he would cherish for many years.