“Oh, wow,” she murmured, her heart stuttering. She thought she was going to miss the Christmas finery of her parents’ house but couldn’t imagine a more festive scene than the one before them.

“Jayne went all out this year,” Sam said with a real laugh as he parked the car next to a row of trucks and SUVs.

“It’s incredible and—” Bella jumped as the Land Cruiser was suddenly surrounded by a dozen smiling faces.

Tater, who’d been sleeping in his crate in the back, woke up with a happy bark. His tail thumped against the wire side, and Bella felt nerves rise in her chest. This was way different than the subdued holiday she expected at her parents.

“They’re going to love you,” Sam repeated, like he could read her thoughts. He reached out and gave her arm a quick squeeze, then opened the door of the car.

This big family Christmas celebration was happening whether Bella was ready for it or not.

CHAPTER FOUR

SAM HAD KNOWN his family would like Bella—everyone liked Bella. But he hadn’t expected the way she made him feel like he fit into the fabric of his big, boisterous clan without always having to play the role of the clown.

Every time one of his sisters or brothers told a story of his childhood or teenage antics, Bella would immediately counter it with some piece of information he’d previously told her about a rescue or emergency he’d responded to at the station.

To his eternal gratitude, she didn’t go into great detail about the calls that had gone badly. The houses they couldn’t save or the story of the elderly woman who’d latched onto Sam and bawled her eyes out as his coworkers had failed to resuscitate her husband.

Sam hadn’t realized how much he’d shared with Bella over the course of their friendship until he heard her retelling the particulars of his job to his family.

And although his siblings never ceased giving him grief as the baby of the family or referencing embarrassing moments from his past, Sam thought that he caught his father looking at him with a new sense of respect, something he never would have imagined before Bella.

The first two days after arriving, they’d stayed at the resort cabins. There had been cookie baking, badminton games and charades around the fire when the younger kids went to bed. At first, Bella had seemed overwhelmed by the energy of his extended family, although Tater had loved it from the start.

The puppy made immediate friends with the other dogs. His father’s ten-year-old golden retriever, Gracie, had bonded with Tater right away and managed to keep the puppy from exerting himself too much, as if she knew he needed time and space to heal.

Bella had soon found her place as well, and Sam got a true glimpse of her gift with children. His sisters both had elementary-school-aged kids. Two boys for Heidi and one of each for Marla. The oldest of their siblings, Brian, had a set of thirteen-year-old girls, Allie and Amara, and even the teens gravitated toward Bella.