Emily awoke that morning to a text from Dave Rossi telling her that, on his way out of town for the holidays, he would be dropping by to finalize all the details on the sale of the ranch. And those words sent a frisson of alarm racing through her. She couldn't even pretend not to know the reason she felt so panicked...she couldn't lie to herself. She knew, deep in her heart, that selling the ranch would be a mistake. But, at that point, she wasn't sure it was even possible to back out of the sale without accruing legal and/or financial penalties.

To make it all worse, she knew that when Rossi dropped by, everyone – including Fran who seemed to have spontaneously adopted her and Damon who still seemed on the fence about her – would be there to witness it. She wasn't sure who she was more concerned with disappointing: the mother she'd never had or the father-in-law she hoped to have...

All in all, it seemed to truly be a clusterfuck of a situation. But, then again, she was kind of used to situations like that.

As it so happened, when Rossi came to the door, Emily was in the middle of fielding yet another call from Clyde demanding an update on her arrival back in London. Which is how Ethan ended up answering the door...

(He technically wasn't supposed to be answering the door to strangers, but it seemed to be the one habit Alex just couldn't break him of. Partly because, living in the country where everyone knew everyone else, he failed to understand stranger danger. Partly because he was seven and not all that great about listening in the first place.)

"Who are you?" he asked Rossi, perhaps a little rudely. He squinted, staring up at him as if assessing his worthiness like Anubis, weighing his soul against a feather.

Rossi just chuckled at the greeting. "My name's Dave," he said, "And you must be Ethan – Emily has told me all about you."

Ethan puffed out his little chest with pride. "I own the ranch," he informed him, in spite of having promised Emily that their so-called contract would remain a secret between the two of them.

Rossi raised a brow. "Do you now?" he asked, not entirely sure what to make of the boy's claim or why he'd felt the need to tell him so.

He nodded firmly. "Miss Emily gave it to me. I have a 'comtract'."

"Really?" Rossi said, playing along. "Well, that's quite impressive, young man. I don't think I've ever met someone who owned property before they graduated from elementary school." He winked. "Is Miss Emily here? I need her to sign a contract too."

Ethan frowned. "What kind of 'comtract'?"

Rossi didn't particularly seem to want to burst the boy's bubble, but he didn't really know what else to say... "Well, she promised to sell me the ranch," he admitted. He felt bad about it, but, well...he'd never been all that great at dealing with children.

"No."

Rossi was stunned to silence for a moment. "No?"

He nodded once, resolutely. "She can't sell you the ranch. 'Cause I own it. She promised."

Emily came downstairs then, her heart leaping into her throat when she caught sight of Rossi. "Dave, you're early..." she said, rushing down the last few steps.

Ethan instantly flung himself at her. "Miss Emily, you lied!" he accused. "You promised you weren't gonna sell the ranch unless I said so! You promised!"

She winced, guilt surging up her chest. "I know, but..."

"You can't break a promise!" he insisted. "Mom says you hafta keep your word!"

"I know," she said again. "I tried to keep my promise, but..."

"If I might interrupt?" Rossi interjected. Both Emily and Ethan glanced at him, the former with desperation, the latter with enmity. "I'm afraid, my hands are legally tied here."

Emily blanched, thinking he was going to break the boy's heart.

Instead, though, he said, "If you have a contract with this young man, as he says, there's simply nothing I can do if he refuses to sell me the ranch." He shot Emily a wink to show he was trying to placate Ethan. "I'll have to bow down to his authority as the legal owner of this ranch. Now, if you'll excuse me... I have six sisters waiting for me in New York."

After taking a moment to reassure Ethan, Emily followed Rossi out the door. "Wait!" she called after him. "Thank you...for playing along. I didn't realize how upset he would be."

"Oh, I wasn't playing," Rossi said.

"Wh-what?" Emily stuttered.

He shook his head. "It's actually what I was coming here to tell you... Several people in town have told me that the ranch is an institution here and to develop it would be a blow to the community. I was on the fence, but seeing the way that boy reacted, I've made up my mind."

"But... We have a contract," Emily said.

He nodded. "I know. And I still plan to give you your money...on one condition."

She raised a brow, wary.

"You promise to keep this ranch going for many years to come." When she still seemed confused, he explained, "Consider me a sponsor. I'll contribute money to the cost of running the ranch each year and, in exchange, I'll be your official legal counsel in any and all matters."

Several long moments of stunned silence passed.

Then, Emily clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle whatever sound wanted to escape, unsure whether it would be a sob or a laugh or possibly even a scream. She felt about seventeen different emotions all at once and didn't know which one to lead with.

And, seeming to understand her silence, Rossi grinned, clapped a hand on her shoulder. "To your continued health, wealth, and happiness." He turned, plodding through the snow to his car, leaving Emily standing there, too stunned to move, too stunned to even think. Because somehow, she was getting everything she wanted, but couldn't quite believe she could have.