Before she knew it, Christmas was just around the corner, and life had become surprisingly smooth.

Her decision to publicly acknowledge what was going on between her and Cole had made things a lot better. A quarter of the town had definitely become frosty toward her, but none of them were people she’d been particularly close to. About half of them definitely stared when she was out with him, and most nights at the bar she did end up having to talk about it with at least one or two well-meaning people who wanted to express their concern, but she threw the wolf story at them and stood her ground, and it was getting easier.

Most of the time, they ended up shrugging and telling her not to hesitate to call if she needed anything. Which she took to mean, Keep me on speed dial in case you’re ever getting murdered.

On the upside, there was even a small fraction people who would actually stop to talk to her when she was with him. They’d even awkwardly say hello to him. It would take time, she knew, for it to get much better than that. She wasn’t expecting a couples invite to any dinner parties in the near future... but it was enough to be able to walk into the general store with him if she needed to.

And then there was Ella, whose stance on it all was a firm, My dad liked him and he seems pretty legit. And in the end, hers was the only opinion that Tali gave a damn about. Ella and Cole had been getting along just fine. Better than fine, which was wonderful, because it made it much easier to find time for him in the business of their lives.

He ate dinner with them a couple of times a week and Ella had come down to eat with them every single time. Considering it was usually a 50/50 toss up on whether she’d eat downstairs when it was just her and Tali, that was a good sign.

Tali was trying and failing not to be a little bit jealous about that. Ella had obviously grown to care about her a great deal, but she definitely did not think of Tali as cool. Cole, on the other hand, seemed to have effortlessly gained her admiration. Because he could fly a plane and knew about hockey, and despite not having a TV, seemed to have a natural ability at video games that Tali just lacked.

All she could do was cook five-star meals. Not fair.

Still, even if Tali was spending some time rolling her eyes at the ease of their rapport, she was deeply pleased to be able to have him over for dinner, to introduce the poor deprived man to movies he’d never seen because he lived in the most depressingly Spartan home in Alaska, and to take him up to her room once Ella was in bed and have him still there as she got ready to drive Ella to school in the mornings.

He’d been her boyfriend, more or less, since the night they met, but only now did he really actually feel like one.

There was just one tiny upcoming potential problem. She was hoping with all her heart it wouldn’t be, but that required heading it off with a couple of open, honest conversations, a prospect that left her feeling more than a little queasy.

It was an innocuous Tuesday afternoon two weeks before Christmas when she got her opportunity to begin the very conversation she was least enthused about.

Hudson arrived at the back door of Mabel’s, a crate full of fish in his arms. He made deliberate eye-contact with her as he very purposefully wiped off his boots on the mat, then said, “Hey there, Tali. How’s it going? Hear that distinct lack of squeaking?” he asked as he moved across the tile floor to dump the fish off in the freezer. “I wiped my feet, like a non-heathen. Are you proud?”

“Are you sure it’s wise to throw such a thick layer of sarcasm at a woman wielding a knife?” she called out, continuing to chop carrots.

“Not remotely,” he said, coming out with his hands free and held wide in supplication. “I take it back.”

“What do you have for us today?” she asked.

He listed off the usual fare, mentioning just one she didn’t know.

“Oh, I’ve never had that before,” she said. “Always wanted to. One of the chefs I trained under was a big fan.”

“They’re good,” he said. “And I think you’ll find them decidedly not scrawny.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m sure I will.”

He looked at his boots for a moment, then back at her. “Is Mabel around? I wanted to chat with her for a minute about something she needs fixed.”

“Oh no,” Tali said. “She just found out she’s got her first grandbaby on the way, actually. Almost fainted, then ran out the door shouting about needing to go through her yarn to see if she needs to order more colors.”

“Macie’s got a bun in the oven?” Hudson asked, incredulous. “Man, Mabel must be so excited. The empty nest thing is clearly not working for her, but I’d imagine this will help.”

“I hear that. Every time someone comes in here with a baby I’m worried she’s just gonna take it and run,” Tali grinned.

Hudson chuckled a bit at that, but then started to shrug. “Well, looks like you’ve got your hands full,” he said, gesturing to the mound of chopped vegetables piling up on the counter where she was working. There was a fiftieth birthday going on later that night, and Mabel had handed over the reins to her completely on it, menu, prep, and all. Ella was coming in after school to help waitress and was thrilled about it. “Guess I’d better leave you to it.”

“Um, actually,” she said, putting her knife down. “I wanted to talk to you for a minute. If you’ve got time.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “Yeah. Sure. What’s up?”

She walked over to him. “Uh. So I wanted to discuss...Christmas,” she said, hesitant. “Obviously Thanksgiving was a bit of a mess in lots of ways. But I’ve been talking to Ella, and it sounds like she really wants to have it at the house. She said being at the Callaways didn’t help with missing Matty at all. Just made it worse. So we’re in the process of getting it together. It’s been super fun, actually. I cut down a tree,” she said, trying to bring in some cheer before the inevitable uncomfortableness. “With my hands! I mean, not with my hands, but with a saw that I held in my hands! I am officially amazing and Alaskan as hell.”

“That’s great,” he said, clearly fighting not to laugh at her.

“It is,” she said emphatically. “The last three years all I’ve had is a plastic one about two feet tall.”

He gave her a funny look. “That’s weird.”

“What?” she laughed. “It’s not weird! Doesn’t anyone up here ever use a fake tree?”

“No,” he said, still looking at her like she was nuts. “I mean, maybe some people do, but if that’s the case they’re probably too weird for me to have ever stepped foot inside their house, so I wouldn’t know.”

She rolled her eyes. Couldn’t they just continue stupidly bantering at each other like this and not discuss anything awkward? This was fun. This was definitely a lot more fun than what had to come next.

“Well, uh, anyway. We’re doing it at Matty’s and...Ella’s pretty excited. She wants to help cook, which is a first, so I’m pretty excited too. And I know you’ve always spent Christmas together. We both really want you to be there.”

He looked pleased, if a little flustered, and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. I mean, I...didn’t exactly make any other plans. Sure, I’ll come.”

Tali shut her eyes. “Okay. Good. I’m glad to hear it. It’s just…well, the thing is… Cole. He really doesn’t have anyone else, and I know you don’t like each other but—”

“Right,” he said, and she could tell that it had instantly clicked and made him deeply uncomfortable, his entire demeanor changing.

“But Hudson, you’re family. You’re Ella’s family, and it’s...it’s really important that you get to be there for her. So...I mean, I know you don’t like each other, like, at all, so if him coming would be enough to put you off then, then you have to tell me, okay? And I’ll work something out.”

“Tali, it’s your home now,” Hudson said softly. “You can invite anyone you want there.”

She scratched at her hair, feeling squirmy, desperate. “Yeah, I know, but...look, we can figure something out, okay? I can always go to see him after we’ve had dinner, and you can stay with Ella or—”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to worry about making plans around me. And I know Ella likes him too,” he said, though his lips barely moved as he said it and it looked like it caused him enormous difficulty to do so. “I’ll be there,” he said, then frowned slightly. “How does he feel about the whole thing? I’m pretty sure he likes me even less than I like him.”

That gave Tali pause, as she was once again reminded of the frustrating mystery of why Hudson had left his clan in the first place, but now wasn’t the time to theorize about that.

“I haven’t talked to him about it yet. I wanted to discuss it with you first. You’ve known Ella since she was born. You’re her family. I had to make sure inviting him wouldn’t drive you away first. But I think he’ll be okay with it. I have no idea what all this bad blood between you is all about—which is super frustrating, by the way, so if you ever wanna fill me in, I’m all ears—but he knows what a big part of her life you are.”

“Well, like I said. I’m in. And for my part, I’ll promise to be civil,” he said.

She sighed with relief. “Thank you, Hudson,” she said, surprised at the tightness of her throat. “It means a lot to me that you’re willing to do this.”

He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “If I’m Ella’s family, I’m yours too, right?” he muttered. “I wouldn’t want to let either of you down.”

They were only standing a few feet apart, and she was overcome by the urge to hug him again. He really was a good hugger. But something made her stop herself. A smile and a thank you felt more appropriate, so that’s what she did.

“So, uh, should I bring anything?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck again in that habit of his.

“Oh, I don’t know. I feel like we’ll probably have more food than any of us will know what to do with, but I can let you know closer to the day?”

“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Sure. Anyway. I know you’ve got a big crowd coming in for dinner tonight, so I’ll head on out. Uh, see you soon, I’m sure.”

“Bye,” she said, waving at his retreating back.

One down, one to go, she thought as she went back to her carrots.