“So you’ve been having a good time so far?” Robin asked as I helped brush the tail of one of her horses. She had caught me on the way up to the house and asked if I wanted to help get the horses ready for tomorrow’s big event. I wholeheartedly said yes and followed her off toward the stables, letting Grandma Lucy and Pop go off to help with whatever was needed in the kitchen.

And yes, I was as surprised as anyone else at me agreeing so quickly to working with horses.

Over the past few days, though, not only had I found myself a relationship that made my last one look like a piece of moldy bread, but I also found a new appreciation and, dare I say, a love for horses. I had always been scared of them for no discernable reason other than that they were just big animals that could hurt me. But seeing how much love Declan had for his horses and how gentle and intelligent they were, it made me realize my fears were a little unfounded. Especially since Declan and I had spent almost an entire day with him teaching me the ins and outs of horse care and handling. That really helped take away my fear and made this little heart-to-heart session with Declan’s mom possible.

“Absolutely loving it,” I said, working on a particularly rough knot. “You really are the Christmas Queen, I hope you know that.”

She laughed as she brushed the mane of a beautiful dapple-colored horse named Sugar Twist. “Christmas was always something so special in my family, so when I got the means to, I wanted to do something where I could treat my entire family to a nice, relaxing retreat. And then that evolved into treating other families to a beautiful, fun, and most of all, memorable Christmas.” She was smiling, her warm face only made warmer by her long brown hair that fell down in waves. I could see where Declan got those expressive almond-shaped eyes from. “That’s what I think is the most special things about the holidays. No matter what you celebrate, where you are, or who you’re with, you always remember those days. They’re always tucked away in your memories for some reason, and I love that. And I think all the majority of those memories should be special.”

“I love that,” I said, surprised at myself for getting teary-eyed.

“I can see that,” she said. “Actually, you know what I can see? That you and my son are literal soul mates.” She put a hand up. “And I know it might be too early to even say that, what with you guys only dating for four months, but… I don’t know, I see it. I’ve never seen him this happy, not with anyone he’s ever been with. And I see that same happiness reflected in you. I also see a genuine warmth and kindness, which makes me so happy.”

This was too much. I was hit with a swell of emotions I hadn’t known were lying so close to the surface. I choked back a cry and smiled my way through. “That just… it means a lot. I, um, well, I lost a lot of my family, and, um.” I was choking it back. Robin put the horse brush down and walked over to my side. She took me in a tight embrace, and I felt a little more solid, a little stronger.

“It means a lot,” I said again when we separated. “And I’m really looking forward to hanging out more than just at Christmastime.”

“Oh, are you kidding me? You’re coming with us to Vegas for the New Year. You’ve already got a seat on our plane.”

“What? No, I can’t… seriously?”

“Absolutely! Oh shoot, was that supposed to be a surprise?”

“It surprised me,” I said, laughing and exhaling a breath I’d been holding.

“Uh-oh,” she said, quirking her mouth to the side. “Well, just act surprised when Declan tells you.”

“Promise,” I said, smiling. We hugged again, my heart feeling so full. This was all I wanted. An extended family, a group of people to maneuver through this crazy world with. I hadn’t had that in a while, with Barry never getting along with his parents and with mine gone. It had been hard. It was what caused that rush of emotions, and it was what helped me know that this was right in all the right ways. Being with Declan was exactly where I needed to be.

“All right,” she said, “let’s get back to cleaning these beauties.”

And we did, my soul feeling a deep peace. The horse I was cleaning, Sunflower, was super calm with a shiny light brown and black coloring. I was even daring enough to clean out the hooves, which Declan had shown me how to do during our day-long horse lesson. I did ask Robin to keep an eye on things, though, just in case I did anything wrong. But it all went smoothly as I picked up Sunflower’s leg and used the tool hook to pull out whatever gunk was in her hooves, continuing the process on the rest of her hooves. When it was all done, I gave her a pat on the head and a carrot from the bucket. She whinnied happily in response as she munched on her treat.

There were a couple other horses to do, but Robin assured me she would handle it. Instead, she asked me to go check up on the snowball fight arena. She had converted one of the fenced-in pastures into a full paintball course with obstacles and small forts and short tunnels, except instead of paintballs flying through the air, there would be big balls of snow smacking into faces.

“Sure thing,” I said, happy to help in whatever way I could. I grabbed my coat and tugged it on, buttoning up and leaving the stables out through the back, going down a narrow path surrounded by bushes on either side, their branches holding bundles of bright red berries that seemed to pop out from the snow-dusted leaves. It wasn’t a path that was commonly used, I noticed. Everyone stuck to the main path that seemed to wind down from the main house through the entire property, but I liked using the lesser-known paths sometimes.

This one felt a little more secluded. It was taking me away from where I needed to be, but I knew it would loop back around and drop me off right in the back of the pasture. I looked around, seeing tall pines on my right, hearing the birds singing like a professional chorus from high above.

It was all so peaceful. I could see exactly what Robin meant when she said holidays were always memorable. Somehow, someway, they would always be printed in bold letters across your memories, and I knew this Christmas would always be remembered as one of the best.

I let my mind wander, just being happy in the moment, thinking about everything that had happened in the past week, from Declan picking me up at Rockefeller Center to Declan lying under me while I rode him into the damn clouds. It was a whirlwind of a time, and I couldn’t wait to see what else the future had in store for us.

Guess we didn’t really need all that fake backstory we talked about on the ride over.

…

We talked about dating for seven months. Then we switched it to four.

I stopped walking, everything falling into place right in front of me.

Brooke used the original seven… Because Arturo told her about it. They’re together. They’re working together, and they’re robbing Declan’s mom blind.

“Holy shit,” I said aloud, to no one around.

I turned sharp on my heels. This couldn’t wait for the scenic route, I had to head back to the mansion and talk with Declan about this. Maybe he knew something else that could glue the entire thing together because it still wouldn’t be easy to prove anything.

Movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I stopped, frozen in my tracks. Peering through the thick tree cover, I could make out two shapes. Two very familiar shapes.

Brooke and freaking Arturo.

No way. This can’t be happening.

Except it was happening. They were meeting feet away from me, where there was another road that wasn’t a part of the property. Arturo had appeared to pull over to the side and was standing by the passenger door, speaking to Brooke, who had her back turned to me. She was holding something in her left hand, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Looked like a small box of some kind… a jewelry box?

I quietly fumbled for my phone. This needed to be documented. If I had pictures of this, then the entire case could potentially be cracked. I’d just need to see if Robin was missing anything that resembled that box Brooke was holding in her hand. With the phone open and the camera aimed at them, my finger hovered over the shutter button.

And then they did something that surprised me even more. Arturo put his hands around Brooke’s waist and pulled her in for a kiss. I swallowed back my soap-opera-style gasp.

This was it, the shot I needed. Brooke’s hand was relaxed at her side, the box almost falling out of it, a brand scrawled across the top, all while the two thieves locked lips.

I took the photo and instantly realized my mistake.

Except, it was already too late.

My phone wasn’t on silent, the camera shutter sounding like a freaking chainsaw starting up. I wanted to freeze but knew I’d be caught, so I dropped to the ground. I dropped as if I had spontaneously caught fire.

Shit, shit, shit.

I started to crawl. This was insane, but I needed to get out of there unseen. So I kept crawling, fast, using my forearms to push me across the ground, like a sad little caterpillar, going, and going, and, what the—a pair of boots?

“Andrew?”

“Declan!” I got up off the ground, dusting myself off and looking over my shoulder, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

“What… are you okay? Did you have too much of the eggnog? I know Grandma Lucy made it strong but… that strong?”

“I haven’t even had a sip,” I said, getting my phone out and pulling up the photo I had just grabbed. That was when Brooke and Arturo ran around the corner, both of them out of breath, a branch hanging from Arturo's gray jacket. Brooke’s cheeks and nose were flushed red, matching the intensity in her eyes, which quickly seemed to diffuse when she saw I was with Declan.

“I, um, hello,” she said.

The damage had been done. Declan looked at the photo and then at the pair that was standing in front of us.

“Listen, it’s not what it looks like,” Arturo said in a feeble attempt to make things better.

“Explain to me exactly what it is, then. Because from what I see in this photo, the two of you are having an affair and robbing from my mother.”

“Robbing from me?”

Oh, what the… are you serious?

Robin came from behind us. We were close enough to the stables that she must have heard the commotion and seen us gathered.

“What’s going on here,” she said, her attention falling on her son.

“Andrew found these two making out right before Arturo went off to fence whatever jewelry Brooke just stole.”

“Ridiculous,” Brooke said, her face twisting, her tone venomous. “This is crazy. Robin, I would never.”

Robin ignored her for the moment. “Arturo, why are you here? You said you’d be with your family?”

“I… she asked… I… it’s been, um… shit.”

“It’s over, Brooke,” I said. “Tell us why.”

“Why?” she said, arching her brow, venom still in her voice. “Why steal from one of the richest women on the planet? Someone who wouldn’t notice if an entire Range Rover went missing from her garage?”

“This woman you’re talking about like a stranger is your stepmother,” Declan said. I grabbed his hand in mine, hoping to ease some of the anger he was bound to be feeling.

“Yeah, well, she’s not my mom and she was never going to be, so it only made sense. And at the same time I met Arturo, around five years ago. His marriage made things complicated; it’s been difficult, but we make it work. Our partnership benefits us both, with his connections to someone willing to buy what I pick up. It also helped that he knew exactly where those cameras you installed went up, so I knew how to avoid them.”

Arturo was silent through all this, as though he had given up the moment Robin came on the scene. He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to meet hers.

“How did you know the passcodes to the safe?” Robin asked, shock painted in bold strokes across her face.

“I set up cameras of my own. When you started with the safes, I snuck in and put nanny cameras so I could see whatever you put in. Don’t worry, I made sure the cameras recorded a very tiny area and only aimed toward the safe.”

Robin audibly gasped. “I feel sick.”

“I’m sorry, Robin. I have a problem.” Her tone was shifting, as though she were reeling in real time that her aggressive strategy wouldn’t get her out of this. “I’m a kleptomaniac; I’ve been like this since I was a kid. I’ve just hidden it from everyone, even from my own father. It was easy and kept my lifestyle maintained. Arturo would get nice bonuses, too. How do you think he could afford that two-story house with the huge backyard? Wasn’t savings from what you pay him, that’s for sure.”

This needed to end. It was going on too far, and Robin was just getting more and more hurt. I had to put the final nail in this coffin.

“Brooke,” I said, “there’s a bump in your coat pocket. What is that?”

“My phone,” she said quickly.

“Take it out,” I said.

“No, absolutely not.”

Robin crossed her arms against her chest. “Brooke, let us see what’s in your pocket.”

She didn’t have a choice. She reached in and pulled out the blue velvet box I had spotted earlier. Close up, it was clearly a box holding some kind of ring, and judging by the velvet white script over the top, the brand was an expensive one.

“Oh my God…” Robin looked down at Brooke’s hand. “And you’re stealing from me now? Here?”

“I… it was out in the open. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t think you’d even notice this one.”

Robin put a hand to her mouth, her hand shaking. It hurt to see her like that, and I could see Declan growing more and more upset. I had to take this into my own hands.

“All right, Brooke, you realize that we can’t let this go. I’m going to call the police and let them know what happened, and you and I can wait for them to get here. Declan, why don’t you and your mom go wait back in the house?”

“The police?” Brooke’s voice cracked, the severity of the situation seeming to hit her. Arturo was standing to the side, speechless.

“I’m staying right here,” Declan said, his laser focus pinned on Brooke and Arturo. “Mom, you head back. I’ll call you when we need you.”

“Oh God… no, please, don’t call the police.”

I was already talking to the nine-one-one operator.

“The police are on their way,” I said, ending the call. Declan was standing next to me, his expression made of stone. Rigid lines and hard angles. It was painful to see this happen to such a good family, but a part of me was also glad that this saga could finally be put to rest. They had been living under the shadow of these robberies for years now, and finally, there was a culprit to be held accountable. Well, culprits in this case.

I felt a rush flow through me, the kind of rush I assumed the detectives at Stonewall felt when closing a hard case. This rush was amplified by the fact that it was Declan’s family I was helping, people that had come to mean so much to me in such a short time.

It may have been a messy Christmas Eve, but I had hope that Christmas would arrive with an entirely different energy.