She did so.
"Your brothers are really good guys," he told her.
"Love them to pieces," she said. "I just wish that..."
He looked up at her. "What?"
Morwenna looked back at him for a moment, wondering how he managed to make them all talk about things that they wouldn"t share often. With each other. With anyone. If they spoke to each other, they fought. And they weren"t really into airing private grievances with others.
She laughed suddenly. "You"re reminding me of how it was when we were kids. I could be ready to throttle Shayne or Bobby, but if anyone else said something about them, I"d be ready to throttle that person."
Gabe grinned. "I guess that"s the way it should be."
"I think that Shayne"s current situation is just terribly painful. He really loved Cindy. I don"t think he was a great husband. I mean, he"s so dedicated to his patients. Oh, he adores his kids, but Cindy was the one who was with them most, and I think he"s as happy as can be that he does have them for Christmas, but without Mom and Dad or Cindy, I don"t think he remembers how to do Christmas."
Gabe found the "screwdriver included!" bag and nodded as he divided his attention between her and his task. "The most intelligent people in the world can usually look around and figure out what would fix things for someone else, and yet struggle with their own situation," he said.
"Genevieve broke my heart tonight. In her prayers, she basically asked G.o.d to put her parents back together."
"That"s natural."
"And probably impossible. Cindy, I"m sure, thought long and hard before she left my brother."
"Nothing is impossible while we"re drawing breath, kid," he said lightly.
"Then you believe in miracles, huh?" Morwenna asked him.
"If you think about it, life itself is a miracle. Sure, I believe in miracles." He grinned at her, pausing for a moment. "Just like your little play-miracles are out there. We have to make them happen."
"Well, you"re just like Little Miss Sunshine, Pollyanna and a ray of light, all rolled into one," Morwenna said. "Life isn"t like that. It"s all messy, and complicated, and I"m sure that Shayne tried to fix things. Sometimes, when things are broken, they"re shattered, and that"s that."
He laughed and sat back for a moment, staring at her. "Wow! From what I can see, you all have a really good life going here. The three of you grew up with parents who really love you. They have their personalities and their opinions, but they love you, and it"s obvious that every move they"ve ever made was with your best interests at heart. Shayne is doing what he loves for a living. You have a good job, even if it"s not what you planned, and if you had any b.a.l.l.s, you would do what you really wanted. Your problem with the fellow your brother referred to as lover boy or boy toy is probably the fact that you decided you needed someone, even if he wasn"t the right one, and you"re really not happy with yourself, so you"re playing the game of trying to a.s.semble the right pieces. Bobby-"
"Yeah, go on, pick on Bobby, the dropout!" Morwenna said, angry and about to get to her feet and leave.
"I was about to say that Bobby is the one on the right track. He knows what he wants-and he"s going to go after it. His biggest fear is hurting those who love him while he"s on the way. All that he needs is a little faith."
Morwenna frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Your brother really is a brilliant musician. Have you ever really listened to him play? He"s amazing. He wants to pursue it. But in your family music is a hobby. Bobby can make more out of it, he just feels he has to prove to all of you that he can do it before he really gives it his whole heart. But he"s moving in the right direction."
"Well, thank you, Mr. Cop-without-a-badge or-uniform!" Morwenna said. "And how do I fix my life?"
"Oh, Morwenna, that"s so easy. Quit playing the game. Stop trying to fix other people, and support them, in whatever they need. Don"t try to play any roles in life, and stop and think about what you really want," he told her.
"So simple!" she told him with heat. "So simple-and maybe you might want to think about life that way yourself! You"re just great at pointing out problems. Surely you have something in your life that you"re not dealing with. Maybe you should worry about yourself."
"I didn"t mean to be intrusive," he said. "You"re just good people-you should be happy."
"What is happy? I mean, who is happy every single minute?"
"Content, then. Happiness is going through life with problems, and yet knowing where you"re going, and enjoying the moments that are filled with laughter and love."
I am happy! she thought defensively.
Was she?
She turned away from him. This time of year, getting together-it could be one of those times when they were just happy, and appreciating one another.
"Hey," he said softly, and she looked up at him. For a moment, she felt as if the fleeting seconds of time they shared, on the floor in the cold of the garage, were some of the most intimate she had ever known. His eyes were a green like the gra.s.s in summer. They seemed to speak in a whisper to her soul. She wanted to touch his face, and marvel that anything with such rugged appeal could be so tender and knowing.
She almost moved back. She liked him. And she was in a relationship, and she wasn"t going to have any dreams about a stranger suddenly cast on their doorstep.
"I"m sorry," he said. "I can see that you all wind up in tangles because you do love one another so much. But here"s the good-whether or not there is a miracle and Cindy and Shayne wind up back together or not, they"re on their way to being the best they can possibly be. Cindy sent those kids here, right? Likely because she decided that they should have a real family Christmas, even if that meant it was one without her."
Morwenna sighed. "Shayne thinks she wanted quality time with the new love of her life."
"Well, of course he does. Someday he"ll step back and rethink that."
"What"s this about Bobby? He"s my brother-what do you think you know about him that I don"t?" Morwenna demanded.
"You should ask Bobby," he told her. "Hand me part D3a, will you, please?"
She did so. For a moment, she didn"t really see him. She rose awkwardly, thinking about the things Gabe had told her. It was true; Shayne was hurting. And Bobby...
She wanted to talk to her brother. Alone.
"There we go!" Gabe said.
Startled, she looked back to him. He had risen as well; the bike was completely a.s.sembled.
"Wow," she said.
He grinned. "Not bad, eh?"
"Not bad at all. Now, all we have to do is get it to the house in this storm."
As she spoke, the garage door opened with a thud. Bobby, bracing himself, stood in the doorway.
"Thank the Lord! It"s done, and I don"t have to help," he said, eyeing the bike.
"That"s the ticket," Morwenna said. She smiled at her younger brother. "Get here as soon as it"s done. But you can help. We have to get the bike up to the house. Where is Shayne? I thought he was coming right back?"
"Connor called him from upstairs-he wanted a gla.s.s of water. And maybe he still believes in Santa, just a little, because he didn"t want to come down the stairs-maybe jinx the possibility," Bobby said. "Shayne"s with him now."
"Good for them both," Morwenna said, her voice a little husky. She realized that she was fighting the desire to cry. They did have their health. They had each other. People, good people, were out of work, starving in America and around the world.
She walked over to her brother and gave him a fierce hug. "I love you, Bobby." Then she hurried out of the garage and headed for the house.
Despite the cold and the wind, she paused. The bright lights of the Christmas tree shone out on the crystal-white glitter of the snow. It was beautiful. The warmth inside beckoned to her.
Life itself was a miracle.
And the beauty of the night, even in the wind and snow, was astounding. She smiled to herself, thoughts swirling in a real prayer.
Happy birthday, Jesus. And thank you.
"Easier said than done!" Bobby laughed. He had the back half of the bike; Gabe had the front. It wasn"t even that big a bike; it was just awkward making their way through the snowdrifts to the house. When they reached the door, though, Morwenna was waiting, and they were able to walk right in, shedding snowflakes as they did so. Bobby stared at Morwenna, feeling awkward for a moment. He smiled at her.
She smiled back.
Shayne came down the stairs just as they entered.
"Hey! Great. That"s amazing! It"s already together!"
"Your sister reads directions well," Gabe said.
"Let"s put that right here, to the left of the tree," Stacy suggested. "Shayne, you did a great job getting stuff here at the last minute for the children."
"Thanks," he said huskily. "Too bad I can"t give them the one thing they really want."
"No, not Cindy," Morwenna said, walking over to Shayne. She stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "But they"ve got their dad, and you"re a great dad, Shayne."
"I suck," Shayne admitted.
"But you"re already working on not sucking," Bobby said. "So all is good! Mom, the tree looks great. Absolutely great."
"I just have to sneak up to my room when I"m sure Genevieve is deep asleep to get a few more things," Morwenna said. "I have a little dress-up set I"d bought for Alex"s niece and a comic-book creature one of our clients gave me. My real gifts for the kids went through Cindy, of course, but they"ll have something from me."
"I scrounged together a few old pieces, too," Stacy said. "They"ll be good."
"Well, I didn"t scrounge anything, but I have a Christmas-morning present for them, too," Bobby told them. He grimaced. "I wrote them a song."
"Their own song. Cool, really cool," Gabe said.
Mike MacDougal studied his son. "That will be great, Bobby. We"ll all look forward to hearing it."
Bobby thought that his father sounded a little awkward; words of praise had always been hard for him. He smiled.
Stacy stretched and yawned. "Well, I"m to bed," she said. "It"s been a wonderful Christmas Eve. Thank you all. Thank you all for being here with us."
Stacy walked over and kissed Morwenna, then Shayne, and then came to Bobby. There was something glittering in his mother"s eyes.
Happiness, he thought.
He hugged her warmly in return. "Good night, Mom," he told her. "Thank you. It was a great Christmas Eve dinner."
"Glad you liked it," she told him. She turned, and paused, seeing Gabe. Stacy smiled warmly and gave him a hug as well. "Welcome to our home for Christmas. You"re all set, right?"
"Your family has been great. I have more than I would have had anywhere," he a.s.sured her.
"Well, good night, kids," Mike said. He repeated Stacy"s actions, giving each of his children a hug, and pausing in front of Gabe. He offered him a handshake. "Merry almost Christmas, Mr. Lange."
"And to you, sir," Gabe said.
Mike stared at him. "Aren"t you worried? Your, uh, your prisoner is still out there-at large nearby."
"I will be vigilant," Gabe said. "I won"t let any harm come to your family."
Mike wagged a finger at Gabe. "Trust me. I won"t let any harm come to my family."
As his parents walked up the stairs, Bobby heard his father whispering to his mother. "What do we know? The guy could be a crook! We could wake up to find out that he"s robbed the entire place. Or worse, we could not get to wake up at all!"
"Hush!" Stacy said.
But Mike raised his voice, intending to be heard.
"You know I always sleep with that shotgun by my bed. You never know when a starving bear is going to wake up."
"Bears hibernate, Mike, you know that," Stacy said.
Then they were upstairs and out of earshot. The three MacDougal children looked awkwardly at Gabe.
"Dad"s been a prosecutor for a really long time," Bobby said.
Gabe laughed. "Hey, he"s a bright man, and he"s seen the worst. That"s okay. It"s not a bad thing to be prepared for-bad things."
"Yes, despite all the miracles in the world," Morwenna said, "they do happen!"
"So do good things," Gabe countered. As he spoke, the old grandfather clock in the parlor chimed midnight.
They all stood still, listening.
"Merry Christmas, bros!" Morwenna said then, and kissed Shayne and Bobby. She studied her brothers" expressions. "Merry Christmas," she said again softly. "And I hope that your present is the future, and that it brings you all that you want-and deserve," she said. She moved quickly away, and walked over to Gabe.
She hesitated a minute, and then gave him a hug. "And you"d better not prove to be a lowlife thief or anything of the like," she told him.
She turned around to look at them all. "I"m going to grab those little gifts for the kids. And, then, I"m cuddling up with my niece to get some sleep. See you all in the morning."
She ran up the stairs. Shayne, Gabe and Bobby called after her, "Merry Christmas!"
They looked at one another. "I"m going to go on up and cuddle with my son, myself," Shayne said. "Guess I need to grab those chances when I get them," he said.
""Night, Shayne," Bobby said.
Shayne paused in front of Gabe. "Merry Christmas. And thanks."
"Hey, I need to thank you all," Gabe told him.