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***CHRISTMAS EVE***

“Are you kidding me?” Bianca heard Holly yell. She quickly closed her notebook and tried to put it away, but she wasn’t quite fast enough.

“Hey!” Holly greeted a little too cheerfully after flinging Bianca’s door open. “Ooooh! Whatcha writing? Can I read it?”

Bianca swatted Holly’s hands away and narrowed her eyes. “No, you can’t read. It’s personal. Have you ever heard of privacy?”

“Oh puh-leeze! You don’t have privacy, remember? Come on Bean, let me read it.” Holly’s pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears. “Fine, I’ll just search your room.”

“And when you’re finished, I’ll break your fingers.”

Holly’s smile faded, but before she could respond, the doorbell rang. Thank goodness for small miracles, Bianca thought to herself as Holly stomped downstairs. “Now to hide this notebook…”


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Kevin smiled as he walked through his new home. Brianna insisted that they finish decorating as soon as possible, so that’s what they had been doing the last couple days. They had a lot to do to get the house just the way they wanted it, but that didn’t matter. This was their home. Stopping in the doorway, he watched Brianna with a loving gaze. She had just put Kyra down for a nap and she was now seated on the floor at the coffee table with Kevin’s laptop. Her hair was loosely pulled up into a sloppy ponytail and she was in old jeans and Kevin’s Kentucky sweatshirt. Kevin couldn’t help but admire how naturally sexy she was. Straightening up, he cleared his throat so he wouldn’t startle her.

“Hey, baby,” Brianna smiled.

“What are you doing?” he asked, taking a seat on the sofa. He leaned down and kissed her; softly at first, then a little more deeply.

When their kiss broke, Brianna slid over s se was leaning against the couch between Kevin’s legs. “I’m just looking for stuff to get for the house.

“Having any luck?” he asked, draping his arms over her shoulders.

“Yes, actually. There are a lot of things that would be perfect for the house. I’ve only ordered a few but not too many.”

Kevin smiled. “Baby, order anything you want.”


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“Hello?” Hayley answered her telephone while trying to make herself some lunch. Why, when the phone rings, am I always doing something that requires both hands?

Sensing the slight annoyance in her voice Nick asked, “Did I call at a bad time?”

“No, I’m just making lunch. Hang on a sec.”

Nick listened to the noises on Hayley’s end. He could hear drawers and cabinets opening and closing and dishes clanking together. “Are you sure you don’t want me to call back later?” he asked when Hayley picked the phone back up.

“Yeah, it’s fine. So, what’s up?” she asked between bites of her sandwich.

“I was just making sure you’re coming tonight,” he sounded somewhat nervous.

“Yeah, I’m coming. What time do I need to be there?”

“Around five. We don’t wanna keep anyone out late on Christmas Eve. I’ll see you later,” he chuckled…nervously.

“Okay,” Hayley mumbled when the call ended. “What in the heck is up with him?”


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Bianca was lying on her bed reading a magazine when she heard three soft knocks on her door. Glancing toward the door, she debated whether or not she wanted company. She knew it was either Holly or one of her cousins. Her brother was driving in that evening, so it couldn’t be him and her mother was out doing a little last minute shopping. As much as she loved Christmas and being around her family, she just didn’t feel very social at that moment. “Go away.”

Again she heard three soft knocks.

“I really don’t feel like company right now. I’ll be downstairs in a little while.”

Three more knocks.

Bianca sighed in irritation and decided to see why whoever this was wouldn’t leave her alone. They would surely have hell to pay for getting her off her warm, comfy bed. “Can you understand English or what?” she jerked the door open and her eyes grew wide.

“Si,” AJ smiled at her. He was holding a red rose. “I’m just a little hard-headed.”

“Yeah, you got that right,” she smiled and moved aside so he could come into her room. Plopping down on the edge of her bed, she looked at him quizzically. “What are you doing here? You should be in Florida with your family. What is your mom gonna say?”

“Well, actually,” he paused, his grin growing wider, “she told me to get m butt up here.” AJ looked around the room for a second before he picked up a wooden picture frame. He looked at it closely and immediately recognized Bianca, but not the guy she was with. He was tall with dark hair, eyes, and skin and Bianca was riding piggy-back. “Who’s this?”

“That’s my brother,” she smiled fondly. “You’ll get to meet him tonight. Well, if you stick around that long.”

“Of course I will…what makes you think I’m goin’ anywhere?”


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Julie sighed to herself as she unlocked her apartment. “Hey Mocha,” she said as the cat lovingly rubbed against her leg. She stopped long enough to hit the play button her answering machine before heading into her small kitchen.

You have three new messages, the automated voice said.

4:53 pm

Hey Jules, it’s Mom. I was just calling to check on you. I’ll call you tomorrow sweet heart. Love you.
5:19 pm She heard her sisters loud, cheerful voice fill the room.

Julie, you had better call me! Merry Christmas!
7:24pm

Hi Jules, it’s Brian. I just wanted to call and wish you a Merry Christmas. I’ll call you later.
Julie looked at her watch. “I missed him by like five minutes. I’ll call him back in a little while.”

Putting her frozen dinner in the microwave, she opened a can of cat food and put it down for Mocha. She made her way to her bedroom to change clothes. When she came back into her living room, she stopped abruptly. “What the hell?”

There was a large Christmas tree and a number of gifts underneath it. “How in the world did I not see that when I came in? Better yet, how did someone get in here?”

The shrill sound of her telephone brought her back to reality. Unable to conceal the confusion in her voice, she answered. “Hello?”

“Merry Christmas!” Brian greeted.

“Thank you,” she laughed. “I, uh, think Santa made an early stop by my place.”

“Why do you say that?”

Before she had a chance to explain, her doorbell rang. “Just a sec, Brian.” Julie’s jaw dropped when she opened the door.

“Merry Christmas!” a chorus of voices called out cheerfully.

Without realizing it, Julie’s eyes filled with tears. Her mom, sister, Brian, and his parents were all staring at her with large smiles. “What are you doing here? I-I don’t understand,” she stammered and gave everyone a hug. “How did you do all of this?”

“Well,” Brian began, “we all decided since you couldn’t come to Kentucky for Christmas, we’d bring Christmas to you.”

“You shouldn’t be spending Christmas alone dear,” Jackie Littrell said with a warm smile.

“Besides,” her mother spoke up, “did you actually think we would not be spending the holidays together as a family?”

Julie was speechless. She had always loved her family, but she never imagined they could ever think to surprise her like this. Wiping at the tears streaming down her cheeks, she thought about her father. This was something he would have done. He would never have accepted the excuse that his little girl wouldn’t make it home for Christmas because of work. He would have played Santa and come to her. She was barely able to speak, but she managed to get her question through her sobs. “Wh-who’s idea was this?”

Annette smiled and wrapped her daughter in a loving hug. “You have Brian to thank for this. He didn’t think you should be alone during the holidays so we came to you. Isn’t that sweet?”


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“What do you want for dinner?” Brianna stuck her head in the nursery where Kevin was rocking Kyra.

“Anything is fine with me, baby,” he smiled and gently placed Kyra back into her crib. “I’ve bee thinking about something, Bree,” he expressed, following Brianna downstairs.

“What’s that?” she inquired, making her way around the vast kitchen.

“Us.”

“What about us?” she questioned further, giving him her full attention.

“Well, I was just thinking maybe we could go ahead and get married instead of waiting.”

Brianna chuckled. As many times as they had discussed that and both agreed they wanted to have the perfect wedding. “What brought this up?”

“I’m serious, Bree. Why don’t we get married now instead of waiting until February? As long as we’re married, why does it matter where and when? Why should we care about our guests?” Kevin gushed and grasped her small hand in his.

“You’re serious,” she said quietly in a state of disbelief.

“Yeah, I am. Why not?” he asked again. “We both love each other and that’s all that matters. Let’s do it!” His voice was filled with a child-like excitement.

“No, Kevin. We both decided to wait until February. We already have most of it planned. And it’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little girl,” she said defiantly.

“Well, what if we still had that wedding, but we got married now? We could always have a wedding that our friends and family could come to, but this could be for us.”

“No,” came Brianna’s reply. “You don’t understand, do you? The wedding we have been planning is more for me than anyone else. I don’t want top get married in some chapel by the road where the minister is a cheap Elvis impersonator. Is that too much for you to grasp?”

Kevin didn’t have a chance to answer her question. Before he knew it, Brianna had stormed past him and gone upstairs, slamming the door behind her.


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Nick opened his front door and found Hayley holding a few presents. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “So, where’s the party?”

“Everyone’s in the den.”

“Hayley! C’mon in. We’re so glad you could make it,” Jane Carter called cheerfully. “Merry Christmas.”

“Thank you” she smiled politely as Jane began introducing her to a few people.

***A LITTLE LATER***

“Here,” Nick handed Hayley a glass of eggnog. “Havin’ fun?”

“Yeah, I am,” she smiled and took a sip from the glass. “Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot.”

Nick watched as Hayley went over to the tree and picked up two wrapped boxes. Smiling, she sat down and handed them to Nick. “Merry Christmas.”

Without wasting any time, Nick tore into the wrapping paper. “Hey, how did you know I didn’t have this game?” he asked, holding it up.

“I had your sister take a peek at your game collection,” she grinned. “Go ahead, open the other one.”

“Oh man, you’re the coolest!” Nick exclaimed. Taking the gift card out, he gave Hayley a hug. “I love Spencer’s!”

“Yeah, I knew you would,” she laughed.

“This is your gift,” Nick said handing Hayley a small box wrapped in green and gold paper.

Hayley carefully unwrapped the tiny box and opened it. She stared for a moment at the delicate gold necklace. It was a beautiful emerald—her birthstone. “Nick--”

“Do you like it?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, but Nick I--” she was suddenly silenced by Nick’s lips on hers.


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Howie sat, staring dejectedly at the Christmas tree. He was alone on Christmas Eve and he would be alone on Christmas day. His family had begged him to come and be with them for the holiday, but he declined. He couldn’t risk not being home. What if the police found a lead that would help them locate Ivy? What if Ivy got the opportunity to call again? He just couldn’t take that chance.

He sighed and decided he could use a drink. He went into the kitchen and pulled a glass out of the cupboard. Just as he was reaching to get something to take his mind off the world, the phone rang.

“No, Mom, I’m still not coming,” he muttered to himself. “Hello?”

“Howie?” the voice was broken up, but he didn’t need to question who it was.

“Ivy!” he yelled over the static.

“How…I..…where…am.”

“What?” he could barely make out anything she was saying because the signal was breaking up.

“I…Pier..…way seven…”

“Ivy, I can’t understand you,” he yelled frantically.

“Pierson…tha…..am. Highwa….teen….love you.”

The phone call ended abruptly and Howie stood there trying to piece together what he could understand of the short conversation. Pierson…seven…seventeen…highway…Oh God, she told me where she is! Howie didn’t waste any time. He grabbed his keys and left, deciding to call the guys later and the police after he knew where he was going. God, please let me find her!