Owen took the box and carefully shook it, but no noise came from inside it.
"You didn't think I'd make it that easy for you, did you?" I said in a teasing tone.
He grinned. "I had hopes."
"Go ahead. Open it."
Owen shook the box one more time before tearing into it just as Catherine and Natasha had done in the other room. He ripped off the paper, popped open the box, and paused, staring at what was inside the small container.
He fished out the item and held it up for me to see. "A key?"
"I admit that it isn't nearly as nice or as inspired as the new silverstone knives that you made for me," I said. "But I have been busy these last few days."
Owen stared at me with his violet eyes. "And what does this key go to?"
My heart, because you've proved yourself worthy of it. That's what I thought about saying, that's what part of me wanted to say to him. But I didn't. I might not have much experience when it came to this relationship business, but I knew it was too soon for that. Especially since I was still processing this new warmth I felt for Owen and how best to handle it-and him.
"It goes to Fletcher's house," I said. "My house. It occurred to me that you've never been over there while we've been together. I thought you might like to see it sometime. Anytime that you'd like."
"I see."
I stared at Owen, wondering if it was enough, if maybe I should have gotten him something more substantial-like a holiday tie or a light-up Christmas sweater.
Then he looked up at me, a slow smile spreading across his face, softening his features and warming his violet eyes, and I knew I'd done the right thing. "One question. Are you going to try to kill me the way you probably do all of your uninvited guests? Because I'd hate for my first visit to get off to a bad start."
"Oh, I think I can make an exception for you," I replied in a teasing tone.
Owen joined in my soft laughter. He drew me toward him, and our lips met in a hot, long kiss that made me wish the party were already over so we could be alone-
The doorbell rang, the merry chime echoing through the house.
Startled, I drew back from Owen, looking in that direction before my eyes went back to his. He nodded, telling me that I should go get it. We both knew there was only one person it could be. Only one other person knew I was here today, that we were all gathered here today. Only one other person had been invited.
So I walked to the front door, drew in a breath, and opened it.
And there she stood, her cheeks pink from the December cold and the thick flakes of snow that swirled around lazily in the air. Detective Bria Coolidge. My baby sister. She wore her long coat as she always did and held a small wrapped box in her hand, about the same size as the one I'd just given to Owen.
"Gene-Gin."
"Bria."
We stood there staring at each other before I remembered my manners and stepped back.
"Come in. Please."
Bria hesitated, then stepped inside. I hurried to shut the door behind her before she could change her mind and leave. The sounds of the others' laughter drifted down the hall to us, along with the holiday music that someone had popped into the entertainment system. The soft strains of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" filled in the silence between us. Bria stood where she was just inside the foyer, uncertainty flashing in her blue eyes.
She drew in a breath, much as I had a moment ago. "Here," she said, holding out the present. "This is for you."
I took the small box from her. "Wait here. I have something for you too."
I went into the kitchen, retrieved the other special present that I'd brought with me today, and stepped back into the hallway. Bria hadn't moved an inch from where I'd left her. She stood tall, still, and frozen, like she was afraid to move, like it would somehow hurt her.
I held out the square wrapped box, and she took it from me. We stood there, both staring at the presents in our hands.
"Well," I said in an awkward voice. "I guess we should open these."
Bria let out a weak laugh. "That is what people do."
We each tore into the wrapping paper. Bria was in more of a nervous hurry than I was, because she got to her present first. She opened the top of the box and pulled out a snow globe, which I'd found during my last-minute shopping yesterday. I'd managed to get to one of the malls an hour before it closed, then had spent the rest of the evening prepping my Christmas feast.
Bria held the globe up so that snow swirled through the scene-two young girls sitting on the rim of a fountain in a beautiful garden.
"I saw that and thought of you," I said. "Thought of us. Do you-do you remember the courtyard where we used to play?"
She bit her lip and nodded. "I do."
We didn't say anything, each of us lost in our own memories of the past. Some good, some bad, some best forgotten.
"It's beautiful," Bria said. "Thank you. But how did you know that I like snow globes?"
I hesitated. "I saw some of them in your house a few weeks ago, the night Elliot Slater attacked you."
"The night you came in and saved me from him," she finished.
I nodded.
Bria looked at me. "You know, I never thanked you for that. Slater would have killed me that night if it hadn't been for you."
I shrugged. "I was just doing what anyone would do."
"No," Bria said. "You were doing what a sister would do. Something I finally realized today. Now, open your present. Please."
I hesitated before lifting the lid on the tiny box she'd given me. A small piece of jewelry lay inside-a ring. A thin silverstone band with a tiny spider rune stamped in the middle of it. I recognized it at once. It was one of the three rings that Bria always wore on her left index finger. My ring.
"I can't take this," I said. "This is yours. Your ring. I've never seen you without it."
Bria shook her head. "It's not really my ring. It's yours. I had it and the others made the day I graduated from the police academy. It's what I wore to remind myself of you, to remember my promise to come back to Ashland someday and find a way to make Mab pay for taking you and Mother and Annabella away from me. But now that you're here with me, I don't need the ring anymore. I want you to have it. Please, Gin?"
There was nothing I could do but put it on. To my surprise, the ring slipped easily onto my right index finger. It fit perfectly.
"Well," Bria said, shifting on her feet, that uncertain look filling her face again. "I should go. It sounds like you have a party to get back to in there."