Chapter 21
CODY HELD himself very still, listening to Sean’s sonorous breathing and his mom’s sleepy sighs. The curtains were closed against the winter night, but he swore he heard bells. Holding his breath, he slipped out of bed and padded barefoot over to the window. He wrapped his hands in the thick wool Pendleton blankets that served as window coverings but wasn’t quite brave enough to open them. Finally, shaking from both cold and anticipation, he peeked out.
The moon painted a glistening trail across newly fallen snow. Down below, shadows moved. A quiet voice, jingling bells, and a then an animal walked into view. Cody almost yelled but clapped his hands over his mouth. A reindeer. It had to be a reindeer. And there was a man standing down there. Santa? Was it possible? He didn’t know what to believe so he closed his eyes and trusted the Universe to make his wish come true. When he opened his eyes, nothing moved below the window. Had he jinxed Christmas? He whirled to wake up his mom, but she’d curled into Sean’s arms, both sleeping hard.
Liam. He’d go find Liam. He tiptoed out and with infinite care, opened each door until he found the room where Liam slept with his parents. Creeping to the bed, he touched Liam’s arm.
Cracking an eyelid and holding his breath, Liam tried to remember where he was. Somebody snored and sheets rustled as the bed shifted beneath him. His dad. And his mom. They’d simply put him in bed with them last night. Christmas Eve. No. Surely it was Christmas Day. But somebody was standing beside the bed, hidden by the dark.
“Liam!” Cody hissed and shook him gently. “Wake up.”
He cautiously sat up and glanced around the room as his eyes adjusted to the dark. His mom lay on her side, facing him and his dad was spooned behind her, his arms holding her to him. Creeping out of bed, he motioned for Cody to move away. They tiptoed to the window and Liam pulled back the drapes. The far horizon glistened with a pale gray tinged with pink. It had snowed overnight and the light from the not-yet-set full moon danced upon the white carpet.
“What are you doing, Cody?”
“I saw him, Liam. I saw HIM!”
“Him who?”
“Santa. And a reindeer. I heard the jingle bells. They woke me up so I went to the window. He was out there. And there was a reindeer.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “You were dreaming.”
Jerking on his arm, Cody tried to pull the bigger boy toward the door. “No, Liam. I SAW him. For real. C’mon. I’ll show you. I bet there’re tracks outside.”
Casting an uneasy glance toward his parents’ bed and surprised his dad hadn’t reacted when Cody entered the room, Liam let himself be dragged out. Maybe he was the one dreaming.
In the hallway, Cody led him toward a window set on a small landing a few steps down the staircase—a window that faced to the west. Here, the moon was fully visible, a glowing globe painting the white world with silver sparkles. Wind had whipped the snow into peaks and valleys and the yard looked like a meringue pie. While untouched snow stretched away from the house, right below them, dark spots stained the pristine carpet.
“See? I told you. Those are hoof prints! Santa was here, Liam. But we were supposed to be asleep and I wasn’t. What if I scared Santa away?”
Liam stared at the younger boy. Tears welled in Cody’s eyes and his skin looked pale in the wan light. His bottom lip quivered and only stopped because Cody swiped at his nose with the back of his hand. Did Liam admit that Santa didn’t exist? Or let Cody accept the guilt when there was no tree or presents for them? He’d found the stash of presents in the RV, but they’d been left behind along with everything else when they were evacuated on the helicopter.
“Maybe if we go back to bed, it’ll be okay. Do you think that’ll work? Do you, Liam?” Cody bounced on his toes, quivering like a puppy wanting to go outside.
At a loss for words, Liam shrugged. What he really wanted to do was go outside and look at the tracks. If Cody was right, that meant someone was sneaking around and that couldn’t be good. Maybe that Army captain betrayed them after all. Maybe he should go wake up his dad, but Liam remembered how tired he’d looked—how tired all the Wolves had looked. His fingers twitched and the skin on his arm itched again. He scratched idly, still staring out the window and trying to decide what to do.
He caught a flicker of shadowed movement from the corner of his eye. The itch got worse as his heart rate ticked up. “Shhh!” He clapped a hand over Cody’s mouth. “Someone’s downstairs.” Desperate fear warred with hopeful anticipation in his whispered caution.
Cody’s eyes went wide and he mouthed the word “Santa” against Liam’s palm.
Both boys listened intently, holding their breath. Even with his enhanced Wolf hearing, Liam couldn’t discern anything else. He slowly let out the air in his lungs and dropped his hand. “It was nothing and I’m cold. C’mon, let’s go back to bed.”
Looking rebellious, Cody planted his feet and shook his head. “No. I’m going outside. I’m telling you, Liam. I saw a reindeer and Santa Claus out my window. I’m gonna find the tracks and prove it to you.” He pivoted and started down the stairs.
Liam figured he had no choice but to follow. As the oldest, it was his job to look after the younger kids and keep them out of trouble. Wandering around this strange house at the crack of dawn couldn’t be a smart thing to do. And going outside barefooted with no coat? With snow on the ground? That was just plain stupid.
He bounded down the stairs to catch up to Cody. The great room remained shrouded in darkness as they stole across the space toward the wide front door. The younger boy gripped the knob and turned it. The door opened easily. It hadn’t been locked.