Christmas Miracle by Violette Dubrinsky

whiny, and easily delivered it right back at her brothers. When breakfast was finished, they made their way to the living room, where soft Christmas carols were playing. Melanie was pleasantly surprised to see that Cameron’s gifts were joined by many more from the family.
    She took a seat on the couch and watched with a smile as Adeline practically rushed through opening her presents. The eighteen-year-old opened each one with her name before she stood, proceeded to beam at everyone, and then did something that was guaranteed to give her a good heckling throughout the next year, and probably for next Christmas too. She began to dance around like a six—no, four-year-old. Sebastian Sr. clapped to urge her on as his redheaded wife, Cait, tried to stop him. Aiden, Brendan, and Cameron released loud guffaws and shook their heads at each other.
    When the dancing was finished, she ran over to Cameron and gave him a hug and kiss, before doing the same to everyone else. Even Melanie got a hug and a kiss. As Melanie considered the amount of brand-named bags, shoes, clothes, and jewelry the girl had gotten for Christmas, she decided that had she been an eighteen-year-old, she would have acted the same way.
    Now that the “Christmas beast” was sated with presents, the other family members went under the tree to retrieve their own. Melanie couldn’t help her laughter when Cameron opened a long box and retrieved a walking stick with a Christmas bow on it.
    He lifted it and smirked. “Did someone mix the two Sebastians up again?”
    Everyone else but Sebastian Sr. laughed. The older man only retorted, “I may be older than the lot of you, but I’ve got a spirit younger than all of you combined.”
    “You tell ’em, luv,” Cait Mackintosh replied, soothing her husband’s ego even as she winked at Cameron.
    “Yeah, Da. The nametag on that gift obviously says ‘Cameron,’” Brendan added, laughing when Cameron wagged the stick at him. “Merry Christmas, big brother.”
    “You are getting up in age, Cam. We just thought to show you that we recognized it.” This was from Aiden. “As Brendan said: Merry Christmas. Next year, we’re going to throw in some Rogaine.”
    Covering her lips with her hand, Melanie looked at Cameron. Although he wasn’t smiling, she could see the laughter in his eyes. Cameron Mackintosh was thirty-two, nowhere near old age, so it was only understandable that he didn’t take them seriously. She watched as Cameron reached under the tree. He tossed something at Aiden, who caught it with a loud laugh. It was his present. He did the same to Brendan.
    As his brothers worked at their presents, Cameron looked to her and smiled. She lowered her hand and let him see the laughter playing around her lips.
    “What’s this?” Brendan exclaimed.
    Aiden was overturning the box, banging on the bottom. “Why, Cameron, it seems you’ve lost your wits along with your age. It’s empty!”
    “Exactly. Merry Christmas.”
    Melanie giggled and shook her head, and Cameron winked at her.
    “Oh, come on,” Brendan whined, and he plopped himself next to her and began to look at her with wounded puppy eyes. “See how he is, Melanie? Not even a present for his brothers. What kind of man does that to his own brother?”
    She was chuckling from the moment he turned those eyes on her. And then Aiden joined her on the other side, shaking his head and adding to Brendan’s sob story. Those two were a hoot.
    Cameron glared at both them.
    “No one opened my presents yet!” Adeline whined.
    She heard a low groan from both Brendan and Aiden, and then Brendan whispered conspiratorially, “You don’t have a present for her, do you, Mel? Tha’ way we can open her presents after lunch.”
    “Sadly, no.”
    “Was worth an askin’,” Aiden added, before pasting on a lovely smile and walking toward his sister. He threw an arm around her shoulders. “Show us the presents, Addy.”
    Cameron filed in where Aiden had been and