Forever in Alaska (Moose Falls, Alaska #3)

Prologue

LANDON STONE WAS THE type of kid who could typically figure things out on his own, but at the moment he was stumped.

He couldn’t figure out how Santa Claus was going to find him this year, and it was really bothering him.

He was smart. Everyone told him so. He was at the top of his class, and his teacher had already suggested promoting him to second grade from first grade.

His mom had vetoed the suggestion to promote him since she was worried that his social life would suffer.

Plus, his brother Caleb wouldn’t have liked them being in the same grade.

And who would have blamed him? That would have been embarrassing for someone like Caleb, who cared a lot about the way things looked, especially his own reflection staring back at him in the mirror.

Not that Landon had a huge amount of friends to begin with.

Being the new kid in school was tricky. Everyone already had a best friend, and he wasn’t exactly a great conversation starter.

He’d messed up royally on his first day by asking a few of his classmates what their IQ was.

They had looked at him as if he’d just landed from another planet.

At this point he was beginning to think maybe he was from Mars.

His older brothers, Xavier and Caleb, seemed to be fitting in way more than he ever would.

Xavier was athletic and sociable. Caleb was charming and hilarious.

The girls all loved him. What did Landon have going for him other than his gigantic brain?

So far most of his classmates didn’t seem very impressed with his intelligence.

So what if he knew the exact order of planets in the solar system?

They didn’t care that he owned a magnifying glass, a microscope, and a copy of Science World Encyclopedia.

Thankfully, he’d found a group of science geeks like himself to hang out with.

They had all bonded over everything from Bunsen burners to asteroids.

His own little tribe. It didn’t stop him from being homesick, but it helped.

Christmas in Arizona wasn’t shaping up to be anything like what he’d experienced in Moose Falls, his old hometown in Alaska.

It was the best place ever, and every single day Landon wished he was back there.

But his family had moved to Arizona due to the D word.

Divorce! He had listened to the local meteorologist Marv Simmons, who’d said there was a zero chance of snow. ZERO! It was absolutely pathetic.

At least there was one thing he was really excited about.

He had a new science teacher, Mr. Demmings, who was going to take students to the planetarium on Christmas Eve.

The way he figured it, he could track Santa’s whereabouts and maybe get a glimpse of him through a telescope as Santa made his rounds.

Landon was hanging out with his brothers and watching an old show called Star Trek. He liked the way all the officers and crew were brainiacs. They used their smarts for space exploration. He thought it was pretty cool.

“Hey, guys. Let’s try to get Mom something nice for Christmas this year,” Xavier suggested. “Have you been saving up your allowance?”

Caleb made a face and shrugged. “I’ve spent most of mine. Comic books, candy, and going to the movies are expensive.” In response, Xavier rolled his eyes.

“What about you?” Xavier asked Landon.

Landon grinned. He was really good at saving his money. “I haven’t spent any of mine.” Landon puffed his chest out. He might be the youngest Stone brother, but he was fiscally responsible. He’d been listening to the NPR radio station, and that term had been used repeatedly by the host.

“Figures,” Caleb muttered. “You probably have the first dime you ever made.”

“And that’s a good thing,” Xavier said, flashing Landon a thumbs-up sign, “because Landon’s making up for the fact that you’re broke.

Now we have a decent shot at getting Mom something special.

” It wasn’t really Caleb’s fault that he couldn’t handle his money.

If his brother asked him nicely, Landon would be willing to show him a thing or two.

“Let’s make a list of things she might like,” Xavier suggested. “Then we can narrow it down and pick something.”

Landon ran over to his desk and found a pen and pad of paper. He held them up. “Got it!”

Caleb quickly swung his head up. “Perfume. Or some of those bath salts she likes,” he suggested.

“That’s good,” Xavier said, sounding encouraging. “She would enjoy those.”

“She loves reading,” Landon said, thinking about all the times their mom had sat in the tub with a glass of wine and a romance novel. “We could get her something at the Bookworm.”

The Bookworm bookstore was Daisy Stone’s favorite store.

It had been around since she was a girl, and she still liked going every week.

This time of year, the front windows were filled with festive decorations—candy canes, twinkling lights, and a big fat Christmas tree.

Although it was far from being in Alaska, it did fill him with a feeling of holiday cheer.

Landon beamed. It was a good thing to be useful. He cared a lot about what his brothers thought. When they were happy with him, Landon felt ten feet tall.

Xavier snapped his fingers. “What about some dangly earrings?” he asked.

For the next half hour or so they all threw out ideas, and Landon wrote them all down. The list was pretty long and included all of Daisy’s favorites.

“Are we getting a present for Dad?” Landon asked, looking back and forth between his brothers. Neither one of them was smiling. Caleb bit his lip. Xavier had a vein jumping around by his eyebrow.

“I don’t think so,” Xavier said, dragging out the words. “We won’t be seeing him anytime soon, I don’t think.”

“That’s what Mom said,” Caleb agreed, nodding. “Plus, he doesn’t deserve one.”

Landon jumped up from the bed and got in Caleb’s face, fists raised. “Take it back,” he shouted, fully prepared to sock his brother in the nose.

“I won’t either,” Caleb shouted. “You little twerp. Don’t you understand that the divorce is all his fault? Because of him Mom cries every day, and we’re stuck here in Arizona.”

Xavier stepped between them, facing Landon. “Hey! Put down those fists. That’s not how we solve things between the Three Musketeers. Is it?”

Landon put down his fists and nodded. “No, it’s not,” he mumbled. “But he—”

“He nothing,” Xavier said. “Caleb told you something that you didn’t want to hear, and that bothered you, right?”

Suddenly all the steam went out of him. He let out a little cry and sank down to the floor. “It’s not fair that we had to lose so much,” he cried out. “I want my dad.”

Before he knew it, both Caleb and Xavier were down on the wooden floor with him with their arms around him, comforting him. He was blubbering like a baby, and he couldn’t seem to stop. Everything he’d been holding inside him was bubbling over. His whole body heaved and shuddered.

“I’m sorry, Landon,” Caleb said, squeezing him tightly. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“Everything’s going to be all right,” Xavier said, rubbing his back in a circular motion.

He continued to cry until he had no more tears inside him. When he finished, Landon looked at his brothers through red, puffy eyes.

“I miss him and I know that maybe the two of you don’t, but just thinking about him being all alone in Moose Falls makes my stomach hurt,” Landon confessed. “I don’t have anyone to talk to about it.”

“You can always talk to us,” Caleb said, gripping his shoulder. “And you’re wrong. We both miss Dad just as much as you do.”

“You do?” Landon asked, swiping at his eyes.

“Of course we do,” Caleb chimed in. “We just keep it to ourselves because there’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to suck it up.”

Landon heard the sadness laced in Caleb’s voice. It made him want to cry all over again. He hated being sad, but he disliked knowing Caleb and Xavier were feeling this way even more.

“I think sending him a present is a great idea,” Xavier said. “Let’s make two lists. Okay?”

Landon vigorously nodded. He hated the idea of his dad waking up on Christmas morning with no family and no presents under the tree.

Once again, they began tossing out ideas as Landon wrote them all down. A leather belt. A new knit hat. An ugly Christmas sweater. In the end they decided upon a book and some soaps for their mother and a knit hat for their dad.

“What happens if Santa doesn’t know our new address?” Landon asked. He bit his lip as he awaited a response from his brothers. If anyone knew the answer, it would be them.

Caleb let out a snort and rolled his eyes. Xavier jabbed him with his elbow.

“Hey, that hurt,” Caleb complained, reaching for his side and grimacing.

“It was supposed to,” Xavier muttered. “Landon, you don’t need to worry about that,” Xavier reassured him.

“Santa has a registry of addresses, and they always get updated every week. Mom wrote to him right after we moved, and she gave him our new address.” He looked over at Caleb. “Isn’t that right, Caleb?”

Caleb let out a cough, then began to vigorously shake his head. “Absolutely,” he said. “’Cause it wouldn’t be fair if the kids who moved got cheated out of presents. That’s like against the law or something. We deserve love too.” All three of them chuckled, with Caleb laughing the loudest.

“Thanks, guys,” Landon said, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt. “It’s been worrying me,” he admitted.

Landon felt a lot better simply sharing his fears with his older brothers.

They always made everything better. And things had been tough lately.

Moving from Moose Falls to Arizona had been hard for him.

He hadn’t complained or talked about it much.

He and his brothers had made a pact to protect their mother’s feelings no matter what.

“She’s doing everything she can to make a life for us. We can’t let her down,” Xavier had said.

Xavier’s words always played in his head like a recording.

He understood the assignment even though he was only seven years old.

He wasn’t just smart, he was empathetic.

Sometimes it wasn’t good to be this way, because everyone thought he was overly sensitive, but he just absorbed the emotions of others and responded to them.

So when his mother was crying her eyes out over leaving Moose Falls and their father, Landon soaked it all up like a sponge.

She still loved his dad. He knew it just like he knew that his brothers loved their dad even though they were both angry at him for messing things up with their mother.

Sometimes everything went around and around in his head until he felt dizzy.

He was finding out that sometimes love was complicated.

Daisy was afraid she’d bitten off more than she could chew by leaving Alaska and her sons’ dad.

Whenever his mother used those words, Landon thought of his grandmother.

It was one of her favorite expressions. Hattie Stone was a legend in Moose Falls.

Everyone said so. He missed her something fierce.

And with Christmas coming up, he knew that he would miss every single thing about Alaska.

Landon hadn’t told anyone what he had written to Santa. He’d sent the letter to the North Pole address at the post office and borrowed a few stamps from his grandfather. So, if his wish was ignored, he would know that Santa was as real as Bigfoot.

Christmas morning, he raced downstairs with Xavier and Caleb at his heels.

Their mother came down behind them, yawning with every step she took.

Daisy watched as Landon and his brothers ripped through their presents.

Every time he opened one, Landon held his breath in anticipation. Please please please, Santa.

When he ripped open the last present, he let out a loud squeal of excitement.

A telescope. The one thing he’d truly wanted from Santa.

His mother looked over at him and smiled.

He jumped up and began dancing around the living room while his family looked on.

His grandpa reached his hand out and high-fived him.

And in that moment Landon knew two things: Santa Claus was 100 percent real. And he was going to miss living in Moose Falls for the rest of his life.