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“You should have asked me for it to begin with.”

I shook my head. “You’ve taken care of me long enough. Medical school was my responsibility.”

For years, I’d imagined calling him after I made the final payment. Sometimes daydreaming about that was the only thing that kept me from constant panic. I’d thought about how I would tell him I’d finally done it. The loans were all paid. And he would tell me he was proud of me. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d wanted to make that call. But it was all right. What he’d done would change my life, so how could I say no?

“All the good you’re doing shouldn’t be rewarded with a bunch of debt,” Jack said firmly. “I have the means, and I wanted to do it for you. End of story.”

“What is it?” Grant asked.

I turned toward him. “He paid off my student loans. All of them.”

“Wow, okay!”

Saying it aloud made my eyes fill.

I’d budgeted around those payments for years. Whatever else I wanted to do, however carefully I planned, that money was already spoken for. I knew the balance. I knew how slowly it came down. But now I was sitting beside a fire in Montana, holding an envelope that said I didn’t owe it anymore. Once again, my brother had come through for me.

“The debt’s not something I’m proud of,” I said. “After all these years and all the ways our lives changed, I still feel shame about being broke.”

I hadn’t meant to say that much. But there it was, out in front of everyone.

Grant’s hand tightened around mine.

“You shouldn’t have to be,” he said. “Not with what you’ve brought to your community.”

“Well, everyone around this circle knows life doesn’t work that way,” Knox said. “But if we have a chance to make something right, we have to do it.”

I looked across at him, grateful but humbled too.

“It’s ridiculous you didn’t tell me how much you owed,” Jack said. “This is my job, you know. To take care of my baby sister.”

There was that stubborn expression I knew so well. He wasn’t going to change his mind. And frankly, I didn’t want him to. Accepting his gift gave me the chance to start fresh with Grant. No more debt hanging over my head.

I smiled through tears. “I’m not your job or your responsibility. But since it’s already done, I have no choice but to say thank you.” I looked at Ivy. “And thank you too, Ivy. I’m sure you didn’t anticipate that I came with the Jack package.”

“It’s given Jack a lot of joy to do this for you,” she said. “Which means it gives me joy too.”

That made me look at my brother again. He was smiling, clearly pleased. I smiled back at him.

Beside me, Grant waited while I folded the paper along its original creases and slid it into the envelope. My fingers felt numb from the cold, which made it a more difficult task than it should have been.

Grant handed me my warm mug.

I leaned against his shoulder while Jasper brought out Blake’s present.

There was a photograph of all of us after the talent show, which seemed to please her a great deal. Ivy had another photo for her—of Blake and Beck sitting together on the piano bench.

After that, Madeleine opened framed wish lists she and Ivy had written years ago.

I took it all in, but also kept thinking about the envelope in my pocket.

Every so often, I would remember that the loans were gone, and relief would rush through me so suddenly that I had to take a breath. Then I would look at Jack and want to cry again.

When Jack announced that Knox had written a Christmas song, I was grateful for something else to think about.

“Hobbled For the Holidays,” Knox said.

That got everyone laughing before they’d played a note.