“Oh, well. If he wants to continue as our manager, he’ll understand that I have some personal problems that I need to take care of. Maybe everyone should celebrate the new year with their families,” he said and hit the end button. He couldn’t take any more upset and emotionality from his band, not after seeing and hearing what he’d just seen and heard. In his desire to succeed, in his pursuit of his dreams, he’d lost Harper.

But maybe if he acted fast, showed his commitment to her and their children by remaining in Silver Springs and driving them back to Colorado, they’d be able to put everything back together—one piece at a time.

Christmas morning dawned crisp and cold, but there was no fog or rain. Tobias went on a short hike, much shorter and less laborious than Hines Peak. He’d just needed to get his heart pumping and stretch his legs, do something to remind himself that he could climb a mountain if he wanted to—that he was no longer in a cage like an animal, living by someone else’s leave, as he’d been last Christmas and twelve Christmases before that. This also gave him a chance to once again use his new watch, which he liked.

He didn’t stay gone long. He returned and made bacon and eggs for his mother before taking her over to Maddox’s house for a late lunch—once he’d made sure they’d had a chance to have some time alone on Christmas as a family.

“How’d it go last night?” Maddox asked as soon as Tobias walked through the door.

Tobias turned to glance behind him at their mother, who was wearing sunglasses despite the fact that it was overcast outside, and moving a bit gingerly due to a hangover. “We had some Chinese food, came back and watched a movie.” He lowered his voice. “And then she passed out.”

His brother chuckled ruefully. “She drank that much?”

“Like a fish,” Tobias replied. “I had a bottle of wine up in the cupboard. She insisted I bust that out and drank the whole thing.”

“Some things never change.” Maddox, too, kept his voice low, but Jill wasn’t paying attention to them, anyway. She was too busy greeting Jada and Maya.

After a final searching glance and a quick “Thanks for taking care of her last night,” Maddox turned his attention to Jill. “Hi, Mom. Merry Christmas.”

Tobias smiled as Maya came over to hug him. At the last second, however, she grabbed his wrist instead. “Wow! Look at that watch! Did you get that for Christmas?”

Tobias hadn’t realized he’d forgotten to take it off. “Yeah, it was a gift.”

“From who?” she asked.

Maya’s surprise had drawn the attention of the others, so he found everyone looking at him. “A friend.”