Jake hopes to break Brandion's seasonal gloom as his wife died on Christmas Eve, eventually marrying Cassie. The children's initial joyous applause fades as Brandon gets mad at Sister Lori for bluntly stating his girlfriend that she stole Cassie's heirloom wedding ring from the store. Mayor Tom Tinsdale lost his shirt in the real estate crisis, so his haughty wife Martha hopes to start a career as a party planner at Jake's wedding, but ignores the couple's more modest tastes. Deputy Derek Sanders falls in love with the caterer, although he is supposed to oversee the ex-fraudster Leon Deek, who is suspected of raising his bank robbery or worse, but takes a charitable job as Santa and desperately hopes to reunite his family despite divorced captivity can . Grandfather George, who has remained obsolete, is considering moving to Montréal, but the mansion offers an alternative.