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The moment the lobster rolls made an appearance, my cat jumped onto the counter and twirled in three tight circles.“It is! It is! It is!” he cried as he spun even still. “It’s my favorite food! Oh, Happy New Year to you, good sir.”

I stifled another laugh. Sometimes it was really hard not to react to the animals in front of others, especially as I remembered E.B. using Merry Christmasas a curse word when last we met.

“Wonderful, thank you so much for bringing it,” Nan said, and I could’ve sworn I saw a slight blush rise to her cheek. “Little Dog Diner is a favorite of ours, too.”

“I’ll get the plates,” Mags volunteered.

“And I’ll pour the drinks,” I chimed in.

Nan plated up a nice variety for each of us, and together we retreated to the formal dining room table. None of us were big drinkers, so we shared a bottle of celebratory cider instead.

And although I hadn’t known Mr. Gable and E.B. would join us, I was definitely happy they had.

“What should we toast to?” Mags asked, a sweet smile tilting her lips upward.

“Well, first of all,to you,” I sang out.“To you being a part of this family. To us getting to know and love you. And to you surviving the kidnapping.”

We all laughed at the not-so-distant memory.

“I’ll drink to that,” Mags said with a giggle.

“Wait. Just you wait one second,” Nan clucked. “I want your resolutions. That’s right, all of you.”

Mr. Gable stood.“I resolve that this year no one will get injured on my watch.”

“Does that mean the Holiday Spectacular is returning to Glendale?” I asked hopefully.

“Not quite,” he answered with a small sigh. “We’re moving it to Cooper’s Cove, but the remaining committee members, those who haven’t gone to jail, elected to keep me as the head. And I of course was happy to accept.”

Cheers rose around the table.

“That’s awesome!” Mags enthused. “But I hope you don’t mind that I probably won’t be going next year.”

We all laughed again. My heart remained light, mostly because I knew I’d be seeing lots more of Mags in the months to follow. In fact, we’d already begun planning a family reunion for the coming summer.

“All right, who’s next?” Nan asked, looking between Mags and me and waiting for one of us to volunteer resolutions.

“Mine’s easy,” I said, shooting to my feet and lifting my glass. “This will be the year I get my private investigation firm off the ground.”

“Our,” Octo-Cat corrected, though only I understood. “And when do I get my lobster roll?”

Mags drummed her fingers on the tabletop.“I don’t know what I want out of this year other than to try new things. New things are what brought us together, after all, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am now.”

“That’s a bold proclamation given what happened on Christmas Eve,” Mr. Gable quipped.

“It is,” she agreed, “but it also speaks of just how much I love my new cousin and my new Nan.”

Nan and I bothawwwed.

When the table grew quiet again, Nan rose with her drink in hand.“I live every day like it’s my first, my last, my everything. That’s how you make life fun, you know. But this year I’m going to be a bit more careful about who I let into my life, and maybe this year I’ll even find love again.”

She glanced coyly toward Mr. Gable, who blushed and looked away.

My heart did a giant happy somersault. I never would’ve pictured the two of them together but seeing it now made perfect sense. I wondered if they felt it, too. If they were already well on their way to something wonderful together.

Yes, the next year was looking pretty good as we dove into our meals, chatting and drinking happily enjoying the good company.

“Ahem,” my cat said, jumping onto the table and flicking his tail ominously.“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ugh. Ihad forgotten his lobster roll in all the excitement over Nan and Mr. Gable’s possible forthcoming relationship.

“Off the table,” I told him, taking half of my lobster roll and setting it on the ground so that he would leave me in peace.

He jumped down after it, joy sparking in his amber eyes. He moved quickly but not quite enough.

As if from thin air, Paisley appeared and snatched the treat away, racing back toward E.B. with the giant hunk of food protruding from her impossibly small mouth.

“Unhand my sandwich, thief!” Octo-Cat cried.

“I’m sorry, Octavius,” she said, blinking slowly, as she regarded him. “I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I first smelled these things at the festival. You didn’t share then, but it’s okay. I forgive you.”

“Angela!” my cat cried, staring at me in horror. “She took my sandwich! She stole it!”

I laughed, unable to hide my amusement any longer.

I tossed him a large shrimp, which he pawed at morosely.

“It’s not the same” he mewled.

No, it wasn’t the same.

Nothing was the same as it had once been.

But you know what? Ever since Mags and Mr. Gable had joined our lives,it was better.

I couldn’t wait to see what the next year would bring.

10. RETRIEVER RANSOM

Chapter One