Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,69

I needed to change the subject. “Come on, let’s get up. I heard Stevie yammering away already. Pretty sure Santa’s been.”

I went straight out to the living room, following the smell of coffee and toast. “Morning,” I said brightly. “Merry Christmas!”

Ren followed me out, still a little sleepy and probably a little more confused at my quick departure. “Morning,” he said, his voice croaking.

I handed him a cup of coffee. “Should we do breakfast first? Or presents?”

“Presents,” Liv replied. She knew I was nervous and excited about this, but not wanting to let on, she added, “It’s Stevie’s first Christmas.”

No one had the bad manners to say Stevie had no idea what Christmas even was. She got presents almost every time someone came to visit, but that wasn’t the point.

So we sat on the couches and Josh handed out the gifts. He pulled the big box we’d brought with us over first. “This one is to Stevie, from Uncle Hamish and Uncle Ren.”

Liv opened it and put her hand to her mouth when she saw what it was. I’d told her Ren was making Stevie something, like he’d made the spinning mobile that hung over her crib with the wooden Australian animals on it. He’d once said his dad had the knack for handcrafting wooden toys, but holy hell, Ren had found a hidden talent. And I think part of him loved doing it because it made him feel close to his dad.

But he’d spent more time on this gift. It was a push walker trolley type thing that had wooden blocks in the front. He’d made it all by hand, added wheels and stabilisers, and made different shaped wooden blocks, and painted each one with non-toxic paint in subtle pinks and whites. It looked like something from a high-end toy store.

It was gorgeous.

And, of course, I’d bought her clothes and shoes and a beautiful plush wombat, but Ren’s gift was something special.

There were other gifts between us all, but it was soon my turn to give Ren his present. “We kind of agreed to no expensive gifts and I wanted to do something meaningful. So, it’s mostly papers,” I said, swallowing hard.

Ren gave me a curious look as he unwrapped it. It was about the size of a manila folder. Okay, it was the exact size of a manila folder, but it was the papers inside of the manila folder that mattered.

Ren frowned when he saw the folder but he opened it, and he read the first page.

US immigrants visa application . . .

His eyes shot to mine. “Haims,” he whispered.

“Keep reading,” I managed to say.

He scanned the first page and flipped through the next fifty-something pages, then stood up and crushed me in a hug. “You’re staying?”

I nodded, unable to stop my tears. “Liv helped me with the application. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you, Ren,” I said. “I left Australia because nothing felt right, and I came here and met you, and everything just clicked into place.”

He hugged me again, lifting my feet off the ground and making my spine crack seven different ways before he put me back down and he hugged me for the longest time. “I love it. I love you. But that makes my gift to you seem kinda lame,” he said with a frown.

“No, it won’t,” I said. He handed me the box and we sat down so I could open it. It was a decent-sized box but it wasn’t overly heavy, and I had no idea what was in it. I ripped into the wrapping paper and opened it to find . . . lots of felt pouches. “What are these?” I wondered, pulling one out.

I opened the first one, and inside were wooden pieces, shapes, hand painted by the looks of them, about the size of milk bottle lids . . . Six pink hearts and six purple hearts.

“Open this one,” he said, handing me another pouch from the box.

These shapes were wooden . . . “Candy canes and mistletoe,” I whispered.

“For your tic-tac-toe board,” he said, making an embarrassed face. “I did different themed ones so we could play it all year around. He took out another pouch and inside were pumpkins and cauldrons. “These ones are Halloween. The hearts are for Valentine’s Day. And there’s another one of kangaroos and emus, just because it’s for you. And it’s not taking anything away from your mom’s game, but I know you love it and I thought it’d