Chapter 82: Christmas

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them. – Desmond Tutu

The ornate grandfather clock from England chimed the midnight hour in the formal living room. Or as Dean called it, the special guest living room. Other than a few special occasions, she couldn’t think of a time that they had used that room.

Unlike Reese’s house, this one was two levels. The top floor was the more formal part of the house. It had formal dining and living rooms, chef’s kitchen, billiards and game room, a mother-in-law suite and a media room. All precisely decorated and rarely used. From the front, it looked like a single-story house with the second story being built inside the hill.

The lower level was where they lived. Except for the large deck that extended the length and about half the width of the lower level. Whenever they had a princess party, it was typically on the deck. The perpetually decorated deck was large, mostly covered and looked over the pool.

The heated poo