“Pretty good,” Brooke replied. “So, is there anything that I can bring to dinner on Thursday?”

There was laughter coming across the phone line, “Well, of course there is. You can bring Sam, that is unless she’d rather be with her family.”

“I was counting on her being with me for the holiday.” Brooke cleared her throat, “Actually, Mom…ah…how big is the turkey?”

There was a second or two of silence before Mable answered, “Well, I don’t know…the usual I guess, twenty-five or so pounds. Why, are you that hungry already, Dear?”

“I uh…kind of invited a couple of people to dinner, Mom. There’s Peter…”

“Peter, how nice. I haven’t seen him at the dinner table for a long time. That’s no problem.”

“Well…” Brooke swallowed, “Then there’s Sam’s Aunt Sandy and Crystal.”

“Is that all, Dear, just the five of you in your family grouping then?”

“Yeah, Mom, uh…five in my fam…” Brooke was shocked by the thought of her family.

“Well, that’s no bigger than Randi’s family,” Mable muttered. “Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just wondering how many we can actually have, once all you girls are settled down.”

“Ah…yeah,” Brooke smiled now at the concept.

“Something tells me that by the time you all give me grandchildren, I’d better rent a small hall for holiday dinners.”

Brooke was totally caught off guard by her mother’s statement and she choked out her reply, “You mean C.C. and Terri, right?”

“Well, I always thought…” the matriarch paused, “…the more the marrier.”

Brooke ran those last few words through her mind. Did she say ‘Marry her’? The executive started to wonder if her mother wasn’t resorting to subliminal messages. “Huh?”

“I mean…merrier.” Mable laughed at her slip. “The more the merrier,” she reiterated.

“You already have 3 grandkids from Randi, Mom. They should keep you merry enough for a while.”

“So, Brooke…is there any special reason why you have orchestrated this little family gathering? It doesn’t matter to me, in fact, I’d like to met Sam’s aunt,” Mable continued without pausing to let Brooke answer. “Care to share, or will that ruin your surprise?”

“Ah…kind of. I really want to spend the holiday with Sam but I couldn’t ask her not to be with her family. Besides…” Brooke paused, then slowly started again, “It’ll be the first time everyone will see the two of us together, as a couple. I love her, Mom. I won’t hide that anymore, from anyone.”

“But Brooke, we’ve seen you two…” Mable paused to gather the full sense of what Brooke was saying. “Oh… a couple. Brooke, I’m so happy for you. I knew she was special when Loran came back for a concert.”

“Loran didn’t, Mom. I did. I just borrowed her stuff.” Brooke grinned, realizing that her mother knew that Sam was special to her. “Actually, if you really want to know, I need to talk to her Aunt about something.”

“Something that I need to know about, Brooke?”

“Not just yet, Mom. I want to wait until I have a definite answer,” Brooke let her voice trail off. “Let’s just say that you’ll either be throwing me a party or holding me while I cry my eyes out.”

“Sounds like my baby is serious about something.”

“Well…uhmm…” Brooke took in a deep breath, “Yes I am, Mom.”

“I’ll plan for the party,” Mable let go with a chuckle, “God knows you never cry.”

“You have no idea, Mom.” Brooke thought back to the multitude of tears she shed when she thought Sam was out of her life, then quickly shook the feeling, never wanting to experience it again.

“I know Brooke, you’re the kind that cries more on the inside than for others to see.”

God, she knows me better than I know myself sometimes. Brooke changed the subject back to the reason for her call. “So, like I said, do you need me to bring anything for dinner on Thursday?”

There was a moment of silence before Mable spoke, “How about you bringing the wine. It sounds like we might be having a toast or two this year. It seems like we’ve all got a lot to be thankful for.”

Brooke smiled as she reached into her jacket pocket and toyed with the small, rounded top box. “I hope so, Mom. I surely hope so.”

Sam watched out the window of the 300 as they pulled up to the Gordon house and parked. She felt the warm touch of Brooke’s hand on hers and turned to look into comforting blue eyes.

“You ready?” Brooke asked softly.

“God, Brooke, I’m so nervous.”

“Darlin’, they already know you and they adore you.” Brooke held Sam’s hand a little tighter, “You’ve done this already.”

“Hey,” green eyes flashed at Brooke, “I was just C.C.’s roommate before.” Sam took in a deep breath, “Now I’m potential family.”

“Potential?” Brooke questioned the idea.

“Yeah…potential. I’m not official in any capacity.” Sam looked over at the looming house and bit at her lip.

Brooke leaned over the center console and placed a tender kiss on Sam’s lips as she turned back to look at Brooke. “You’re official in my capacity.” Brooke grinned at her. “You are my family.” The dark-haired woman smirked, as she secretly patted her jacket pocket, “Besides, who knows what could just fall into your lap at a holiday gathering.”

The blonde knitted her brows at the thought but let it go, writing it off to nervousness. She then smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. “God, Brooke, you always know the right words to say to calm me down.”

“That’s because I love you so damn much.” Brooke looked at her parent’s house, and then at Sam, “Ready, Darlin’?”

“Okay,” Sam took in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “Here goes nothing.” She reached for the door handle then quickly turned back to look into loving blue eyes. “Kiss me first.” Sam’s small hand clutched at Brooke, grabbing onto her sleeve. “You’ll love me no matter what, right?”

“Darlin’, I’ll love you forever…no matter what.” Brooke leaned over and kissed the insecure woman as deeply as she could, to erase any doubts that she could ever have. After the intensity of the kiss diminished, she placed one more gentle touch of her lips to Sam’s ear and whispered, “I love you, Sam.”

The young woman closed her eyes, savoring both the words and touch of her lover. “I was hoping you’d say that,” Sam whispered back, then opened her eyes, revealing a more confident woman. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

Brooke winked and nodded approvingly at the woman as she let her fingers glide over Sam’s cheek. “Okay Baby, just hang on a minute.” Brooke deftly opened her own door and climbed out of the driver’s seat. She grabbed the bottle of wine from behind her seat, then walked around the front of the car. Upon reaching Sam’s side, she opened the passenger door for the young woman to exit.

Smiling pleasantly, Sam took the hand that was being offered to her and climbed out of the 300. She looked up to see Brooke bringing the small hand to her mouth and kissing it while their eyes stayed locked on one another until Brooke winked at the woman, and closed the car door. Sam wrapped her arm tightly around Brooke as they made their way to the house.

The Gordon house was filling with family and friends as the time was growing nearer to the dinner hour. Being made the official greeter for the day, C.C. took her job rather seriously. She spent her time listening for the next doorbell to chime in, then took off running like a maniac to get to the door before anyone else. Her only competition came from Randi’s children. With Brooke being the only Gordon sibling left to arrive, C.C. stayed near the door, watching and waiting.

Casting a wayward look out the front window, the brunette spied Brooke’s 300 parked at the curb. Smiling, C.C. strolled over to the door and waited for the sound of the chime to announce the next guests. When the melodic sound of the Westminster chimes sounded again, C.C. pulled back the sheer curtain on the side panel of the door and looked at the two figures standing on the porch. “Hey, look who’s here,” she announced, “My sister and my roomie.” C.C. opened the door to greet them. “Glad to see you finally made it here, you two.” She then turned and yelled out, “Mom, Brooke and Sam are here.”

A lone, dark eyebrow raised on Brooke’s forehead as she wrapped her arm around Sam’s shoulder. “Of course we did. We wouldn’t miss a family holiday.”

The small crowd of children soon parted that had gathered behind C.C., leaving Mable Gordon directly in view of the door. “Ah… Sam, it’s so good to have you here.” The matriarch called out over her shoulder, “Henry, your daughter, Brooke, is here. Come and greet her.”

Brooke tightened her hold on Sam, then leaned over to whisper in her ear, “It’s ok, Baby…relax. I’ve got you.”

The young woman nodded slightly and muttered, “I’m trying.” Turning her attention to Brooke’s mother, Sam turned on her warmest smile. “Mrs. Gordon,” she saw the hurt in the woman’s eyes, then quickly corrected herself, “Mom, thank you for inviting me.”

“You are very welcome, Dear.” She wiped her hands on her apron and gave Sam a hug.

“Have my aunt and cousin arrived yet?”

“Yes, they have. As a matter of fact, we were just having a cup of tea in the kitchen. Sam, she’s just a lovely person. They both are. I’m so glad that you all could make it today.”

“Mable, what is it that you…” the man stopped short when he saw the blonde in the doorway. “Oh, Sam…your aunt and I were just talking about you.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hello Brooke. That was nice of you to bring Sam but I thought she was coming with C.C.”

“Hello Mister Gordon,” Sam nodded politely and smiled.

“Hey, Pop, of course I was going to bring her. I can’t stand to be without her.” Brooke turned to look at Sam, then back to her father. “Actually Dad, she’s here with me today.”