Page 31 of The Sandbar saga

"Milk, pop, or water?" he asked.

The surprises kept coming. "Pop?"

He carried two root beers to the table and passed her one. Staying with him was better than Christmas and the opposite of how she grew up. It was even different than school. Much, much better.

Maybe when summer came, she could ask him if she could stay with him instead of at the school. She could clean his house or learn to cook for him. That way, she wouldn't be a burden, and he'd learn to enjoy having her around every day.

***

CHRISTMAS MORNING,she walked out of the bedroom to hear music playing in the living room. Her stomach fluttered in excitement, and she hurried to find Dr. C.

He sat in his chair with a magazine about psychology in his lap. She bounded toward him and stopped halfway there.

Twinkling lights lit up the corner of the room. The top of the tree almost hit the ceiling. There were decorations, garland, and presents underneath.

"Oh, my God. You got a tree?" She rushed over and trailed her fingers over the little lightbulbs. "It's beautiful."

Dr. C approached her and stood at her side. "Turned out pretty good, I think."

"It's the best." She hugged his waist, believing that he never put up a tree during the holidays.

He'd given her the best surprise. She jolted, remembering the present she'd made and brought with her. "Hang on. Don't move. Promise?"

He chuckled. "I promise."

She ran back to the bedroom and opened up her bag. Grabbing the wrapped gift, she hurried back to Dr. C.

She handed him the flat box. "Merry Christmas."

"Do you want me to open it now?" He fingered the red and white bow.

She nodded. "It's not much. Kendrid also helped and let me have some of her wrapping paper."

He gently removed the paper and set it on the end table. Opening the box, he held up the framed picture of her.

It'd taken her over a week to get the frame right. It was cardboard she'd glued tiny pieces of round gravel from the courtyard at school. She tried to make it look like the rocks that are at the stream where the deer live. It came out pretty good. She'd hid all the hot glue gunk and the cardboard.

Her face warmed, seeing him looking at it. It wasn't the best present, but he held it like it was expensive and breakable.

"It's a beautiful picture of you." He rubbed his thumb over the photo. "Thank you."

Kendrid had taken the picture of her and then asked her mom to get a print of it for Katie. She thought she looked happy in the photo. Dr. C always liked it when she smiled.

She stared up at him, enchanted by the way his gaze softened as he continued looking at the gift. As if caught, he straightened his shoulders and walked over to the fireplace mantel and set the picture in front of a photo of an older couple, she assumed where his parents.

"You should open your presents now." He sat back down in his chair.

There were four gifts under the tree. She sat down and read the gift tags, thinking only one of the presents was for her and found her name on all of them.

She wasn't expecting anything. The way Dr. C treated her, it was special. He made her feel wanted. Even when she was a pain in the butt, he never sent her away.

She stood back up and rushed over to Dr. C, dropping to her knees beside his chair. Hugging his waist, she laid her head on his stomach. Tears burned her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. He was the only person in her life who cared about her, and she'd never, ever forget today for as long as she lived.

His hand stroked her hair and he let her cry. She forgot about the gifts waiting to be opened or the fact it was Christmas morning, and he'd surprised her by decorating a tree.

She had Dr. C, and that's all she'd wished for.