after their full day of skiing. After singing carols and then lis-
tening as Michael read the story of the first Christmas, the
good food and the warmth from the fire began to catch up
with them. It wasn't long before eyelids started growing
heavy and people began to turn in for the evening, promising
to meet first thing in the morning to exchange gifts and share
in Audrey's traditional Christmas brunch.
Maggie wrapped one last present before collapsing onto
her bed and sleeping soundly and dreamlessly. To her sur-
prise, she awoke early the next morning and slipped down-
stairs before anyone else had stirred. She puttered around
soundlessly, straightening up from last night, then she started
a big pot of coffee. She took a hot cup and went to sit in her
parlor, taking time to enjoy the quiet of the morning in her
festively decorated home, with beautiful scenes of snow right
II.
out the window. She sighed in happy contentment. This is
what life should be like always-snuggled up in a warm Looking for You All My Life295
house, surrounded by loved ones, sharing good food....
Heavenly.
Soon the house bustled with people and activity, and it
wasn't long before Spencer and Leah urged everyone into the
parlor to sit around the Christmas tree. And then they began
to hand out gifts to everyone. Shouts of excitement and
"thank-yous" were heard around and about the room as
people cheerfully opened presents. Maggie was keeping an
eye out for Leah and the small box wrapped in gold foil
paper. Finally, she saw her opening it. Leah quietly stared at
the contents for a long time before she read the small note
tucked inside.
Then she came over to Maggie with tears in her eyes and
wrapped her arms around her and whispered, "Thank you,
Maggie. You have no idea how much this means to me. I
promise I will treasure it always-in exactly the same way
that I'll always treasure you." Then she stepped back and
slipped the ring on. "It even fits!" She held Out her hand and
admired it. "It's beautiful!"
Audrey joined them, placing a gentle kiss on Leah's
cheek. "Since you're a part of our family, it only seemed right
for you to have this."
Maggie went into the kitchen to take the cinnamon rolls
Out of the oven and make a fresh pot of coffee, humming
happily to the Christmas music playing softly in the back-
ground.
"Thanks for the pocketknife," said Jed. She turned in sur-
prise to see him standing in the doorway with his hands
behind his back, as if he'd been watching her for a few
moments. "It's a very handsome piece of work."
She smiled. "It reminded me of you."
"I'm not very good at wrapping...but I wanted to give