First Kiss Last by Sara Miller (read e book .TXT) 📗

hand and a piece of paper in front of her. Sky was across from her, similarly decked out. She looked to be in deep thought. Liam sat on his dad’s lap. They each had a piece of paper. Cade’s already had writing on it.

“So . . .” Leah looked at Cade expectantly. “What are we doing?”

“Making our Christmas lists, of course!”

“Of course!” Liam repeated.

Leah looked down at her empty sheet of paper and her mind went blank as the page. She had no idea where to start. Leah peeked at Sky’s page and it too was empty.

“No ideas?” Leah asked her.

“I’m waiting,” Sky explained. “Dad hasn’t said what to do yet. I mean, I have an idea since we do this like every year but he usually changes it up or adds something new. It’s actually really cool but don’t tell him I said so.” She eyed her father with a smirk. “It’d like, totally ruin my street cred.”

Cade laughed and picked up his list.

“Okay, so here’s the backstory. For years I got the kids whatever they asked for or whatever was popular or whatever marketing I fell for. Needless to say, it was a waste of money for a whole lot of junk. A couple years ago, I started being more intentional about each item I bought. It started off with the Four Gifts idea. Are you familiar with that?”

Leah shook her head. She’d never heard of it, but was intrigued. Leah looked to Cade for more information but he nodded to Sky, giving her the go ahead to explain.

“Something you want. Something you need . . .” Sky started it.

“Something to wear. Something to . . . READ!” Liam chimed in proudly.

“Yes. Except I still kind of failed,” Cade confessed. “At least with Sky. I did better with you though, bud, didn’t I?”

Liam smiled broadly.

“I got a book on horses,” Sky cringed. “And hair bows to wear. Hair bows. Like big giant ones,” she shuddered then laughed.

“Needless to say, I learned my lesson and I ask for suggestions. Are we all ready?”

“Ready!” Liam yelled.

“Oh, just a reminder: we don’t get everything we write down. We won’t always get one from every category. You can put multiple items in a category ’cause there are multiple people who will be gifting. This also gives options in case an item is too expensive or not available.” Cade waited until everyone nodded before continuing. “The first four are the standard ones: want, need, wear, read.”

Leah watched as Sky jotted down the four words, leaving plenty of space between. She tapped her cheek twice with her pen before beginning her list. Leah followed suit but also paid attention to Cade and Liam.

The boys worked on Liam’s list. Cade wrote down the categories and asked Liam what he wanted on the list. When it was words he knew, Liam took the pencil and wrote them himself. When it was something more complicated, Liam did his best and Cade jotted down helpful notes beside it.

Leah kept her list very simple and affordable. Christmas was really for the kids and she wanted them to be the focus.

“I’m ready for the next round, Dad,” Sky said.

“Something to do or make. So an activity, craft or outing.”

Cade also added “something to eat” and “something for the family” to their lists. The family gift, they explained to Leah, was usually a game or movie or something for all of them to share. Last year, for example, it was the bean bag chair in the living room.

“This is fantastic, Cade. What a great idea!” Leah was genuinely impressed. Cade smiled, clearly pleased, but played down her praise with a shrug.

“So what’s the new one?” Sky asked. “He’s always got one,” she informed Leah. They collectively focused on Cade, waiting.

“Last one. Now this is different. It’s not for us.”

“Huh?” Liam was stumped.

“I want us to think of ways we can give back and we’ll pick one and it will be from us all.”

“Huh?” Liam repeated.

“Give back? So like . . .” Sky thought hard. Leah watched her pretty face put in mental effort. “Like on TV when they adopt a family for Christmas?”

“Or donate food to a food bank or homeless shelter?” Leah offered.

“They do Toys for Tots at school!” Liam caught on quick.

“Yes, exactly!” Cade beamed.

Sky grinned at him. “This might be your best one yet, Dad.”

“Thanks, darlin’.” Cade was choked up so Leah stepped in.

“So, what do you think?” she asked the kids. “Should we write down our ideas or keep saying them out loud?”

“LOUD!” voted Liam.

Leah cleared her throat to cover a laugh but Cade did not bother. He barked with laughter causing Liam to have a fit of the giggles. Sky, focused on thinking of “a way to give back,” was unaffected by her brother’s exuberance. She forged ahead.

“Yeah,” she agreed, “Leah’s idea gave me an idea, so I think brainstorming out loud will make it easier.”

“Okay, Liam’s way it is.” Cade agreed.

Liam whooped.

Brother and sister took turns sharing their ideas. Cade and Leah voiced a few thoughts, but mainly the kids took the lead. Leah sat back and enjoyed hearing Sky and Liam work out the details.

The result was humbling. Sky and Liam decided they wanted to bake cookies, an idea of Leah’s, but they took it up a notch and wanted to deliver them to a nursing home. Knowing how much Cades’s grandpa had meant to him, and how much Gigi had meant to her, Leah soon had tears in her eyes. Cade looked fit to burst with pride.

Sky saved them both from embarrassment or blubbering by announcing it was time to go shopping. She gathered the lists and helped Liam get ready to go. It gave Leah a few moments to recover.

They headed to the mall. First stop was the food court where they refueled before starting out. Cade looked over the lists as they ate, asking a few clarifying questions and making a few suggestions.

Leah wasn’t sure how this normally worked, but she