Noelle precariously balanced on top of the step-stool as she pushed up on her tippy-toes, but the branch she was eyeing for the last ornament—a mermaid she had bought in the Copenhagen airport gift shop on her connecting flight home last year—was still out of reach. Maybe if she hadn't been wearing her favorite pair of skin-tight, black leather pants, she could have stretched the additional two inches needed. Then again, she was the one who refused any assistance in prepping for the holiday season this year. And where did that get her? That's right. Standing on a too-short ladder and about to fall into the prettiest tree she'd ever seen.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound of the smoke detector going off made Noelle wobble, but she caught herself just in time. Backing down the steps, she ran toward the kitchen as the smell of burnt cookies hit her nose.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" she pleaded. She couldn't afford to have anything go wrong. Not today of all days.

A wisp of smoke was already floating out from the oven, but when she fully opened the door, the whole kitchen became engulfed in a stinking, gray fog. Grabbing a heat-proof mitt, Noelle pulled the cookie sheet out only to find a dozen, smoldering black discs. Darn it. The shortbread would definitely be off the menu tonight. She should have just stuck with her no-bake coconut rum balls. There was no chance of burning those, although at this rate, she'd probably find a way to mess them up, too.

Noelle pouted. She was starting to remember why she used to dislike Christmas so much. After throwing the mess into the garbage bin, she stretched to unlatch the window above the sink. But as soon as she pushed the panes open to let the fresh air in, the doorbell rang.

She gasped. "They're early!"

Noelle had been sure she had at least another hour before the visitors arrived, but she must have lost track of time somewhere between cleaning, decorating, and baking. Running to the entryway, she nearly slipped in her candy cane patterned socks on the hardwood floors before skidding to a stop with an exasperated "whoa."

Taking a calming, deep breath, she opened the door. Outside, it was dark and cold. The snow had been coming down hard for the last few hours and there was no sign of it relenting anytime soon. But that didn't bother the guest standing on the porch wearing a furry coat and a huge smile.

"Oh my gosh! It's so good to see you. You look amazing as always," Avery gushed as she pulled Noelle into a hug, errant snowflakes falling from her shoulders onto the threshold.

"You, too! And I'm so happy you're here," Noelle greeted her back, ushering Avery inside. "And congratulations again for being named the next director of the New York City Concert Orchestra, by the way."

Avery waved her off as she slipped out of her coat. "Aww, stop. That promotion was months ago," she said in her Texas drawl that hadn't quite disappeared after years of living in Yankee territory, trying her best to stay modest in spite of an even bigger smile on her face that the acknowledgement brought.

"Well, I haven't seen you in forever, so forgive me for a bit of vicarious pride," Noelle said before turning back toward the door. "Where are the others?"

As soon as the question left her lips, two kids bounded up the steps and into the house.

"There you are!" Noelle exclaimed before quickly helping the girl out of her snowy jacket. "Oh, you're so big, Holly. How old are you now? Eleven was it?"

The little girl giggled. "No, Aunt Noelle! Chris is eleven. I'm seven," she explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Noelle said with exaggerated seriousness before winking at Holly's older brother who was kicking off his boots a few feet away. "I always get the two of you mixed up."

"But I'm a girl and he's a boy!" Holly protested, already curiously eyeing an escape into the rest of the house, no doubt tempted by the twinkling lights and soft music coming from the adjacent rooms.

"That's true. But you both have your mom's beautiful blonde curls," Noelle said, patting her on the back. "Go on ahead to the living room. There are some snacks waiting for you, but don't eat too many because we have the big feast coming up soon!"

"Okay," Holly sing-songed as she ran out of sight, followed by her less rambunctious older brother.

"You're so blessed," Noelle said to a beaming Avery as they watched the children leave.

"You can't complain either," Avery said, touching her on the arm. "And with a little planning, you could always have your own."

Noelle sighed. "Maybe someday. Luckily there's no rush—"

"This place doesn't get any warmer the more you come here, does it?" the question from another newcomer on the porch interrupted Noelle's musing. Also stepping inside, the man placed a duffel bag on the ground before removing his knit hat. Although his kids had their mother's fair coloring and musical aptitude, they also inherited their lawyer father's quick with and strong features. Lucky for them, Julian Rooney was just as attractive as his wife.

"Maybe we can find a sauna or thermal bath to defrost you," Noelle said, giving Julian a hug before he also began taking off his cold-weather gear. Peeking outside, she saw a stack of suitcases by the wall and Nick driving off with the sleigh. Confident that he didn't need anything now that he was on his way to stable the reindeer, she finally shut the front door. "Come in, come in. We don't need to stay in the entryway," she said, trying to usher the guests after their children, but Avery held up her hand.

"There's one thing before we do anything else," she said a little sheepishly. When Noelle looked at her with a raised brow unsure of what this was about or even how dire of a conversation they were about to have, she continued. "I know I should have asked before we came, but honestly I was both worried that you might refuse for some reason, plus we didn't make the final decision until the last minute."

Noelle's heart began to beat faster. This sounded serious. "What is it?" she asked, glancing from Avery to Julian, but still only getting concerned looks in return.

"Meow."

The unexpected sound came from the bag at Julian's feet. Looking at it with more scrutiny, Noelle finally saw that it wasn't a simple duffel, but rather a soft-sided pet carrier.

"That's not who I think it is?" Noelle asked as she crouched beside the bag. After unzipping the lid, a fluffy gray cat poked his head out. "Well hello there, Cat Damon. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"So, that's the thing," Avery said with clear apprehension in her voice. "While he's still perfectly healthy, you know he's not getting any younger. And as much as we hate to have him so far away from us, we thought that—"

Avery looked to be on the verge of tears, so Noelle cut her off. She knew where this was leading. If Cat Damon stayed in New York, he'd die of old age in a few years, if not sooner. Living in Keskitalvi would extend his life at his current state indefinitely.

"Of course. You know I love this dumb furball. And Otso will be delighted to have his little buddy back. Probably," she said with a laugh, taking the cat into her arms.

Avery and Julian looked visibly relieved as he put a hand around her waist and kissed the top of his wife's head. "Thank you. We know this is taking advantage of what's special about this place, but—"

"Listen," Noelle said, shaking her head. "You guys have kept our secret for over a decade, and you're entitled to be a part of our lives as much as you choose to be. Taking your cat is the least we can do. Consider the topic closed. I don't want to hear any more about it. Now, let's go find some glogg and Yule cake."

"I thought the Yule feast didn't start until dinner time?" Avery asked, following her into the kitchen.

Noelle put her index finger in front of her lips. "Ssh. I made extra. Just don't tell the tonttu or they'd eat it all," she said with a laugh, already looking forward to starting the Yule season with Nick, her friends, and the rest of her extended family in Lapland.

The End

Author's Note: Yaaaasss! Another book finished. Phew! This was a NaNo project, but in reality it took me almost three months to write the 50K words. That's still two months shorter than my previous record of writing a full book, so I'm thrilled to have stuck with it. What did you think of the story? And how did you like the end? Any questions? Anything that you would have liked to have seen happen differently? I'll eventually tackle edits and revisions, so I'd love to get your feedback. Thanks for reading! xoxo