“We accept multiple forms of payment,” Ziva volleyed back. “As you know, a developer has offered the bank five hundred thousand dollars to buy out the mortgage on Carrigan’s Christmasland. He plans to bulldoze the whole farm and inn and turn it into luxury vacation homes.”

The crowd booed loudly.

“If this happens, families will lose jobs. The town will lose tourist traffic. Many of you will lose a place you’ve thought of as a second home for generations. None of us want this outcome.”

“Including me!” yelled out Mr. Rodriguez, the president of the bank. “I’m being overruled by the board of trustees!”

“I’d like to welcome my daughter, Miriam, to the stage, to tell you about this painting.” Ziva had spoken with her usual flair, but Miriam could see the strain around her eyes. Being in front of this crowd—with cameras streaming, certainly, into her father’s office—was burning a bridge her mom could never rebuild. This was an unmistakable message from Ziva about whose side she stood on. Miriam knew her mother must be terrified, even if she was hiding it well, and as she took the mic from her with one hand, she placed the other on Ziva’s back.

They shared a little nod, and then her mother gave her the stage.

“Before tonight, there were only two Mimi Roz paintings known to the public—and five more no one realized had been placed in storage. I have displayed the five lost paintings behind me.” She gestured to the easels set behind the podium. “Before we begin the bidding, I need to issue a correction. The materials for the auction state that there are only seven Mimi Roz paintings in existence. Until yesterday, that was true. Now, there are eight.” She paused, trying to keep her voice steady.

The crowd went silent. Cole and Hannah were both grinning up at her as she locked eyes with Noelle, who looked frozen in place.

“Friends, family, Bloomers, Carrigan’s isn’t just a Christmas experience. It’s a place to heal, to find yourself, to become,” she started, trying to remember what she’d written earlier before deciding to wing it. “I was lost from Carrigan’s for a long time, and also from myself. Being back here has given me the courage to face anything, even the things I’m most afraid of. I may never be able to make up for the hurt I caused by being trapped in my own past, but I can grow. I can be bigger, and brighter, and fiercer than my father’s worst nightmare.”

Cole whistled through his fingers, and Hannah hooted.

“To prove to myself and my loved ones that I’m done living in my father’s cage, I did something I swore I would never do again as long as I lived. I painted.”