Twelve Days of Christmas Chaos

by Wendy Knight

  There were couches and beds at the sanctuary because often volunteers would stay overnight with injured or terrified animals who needed more attention than normal. But not enough for all of them at once.

  Red raked a hand through her still-soaked hair. “I’ll go find dry clothes for everyone.” They kept spare sweats they had in the sanctuary because, honestly, it was a dirty job and extra clothes were always handy.

  Grey noticed Cleo’s violent shivering and left the doorway to start a fire. Kayne brought in firewood and everyone else huddled together, exhausted and freezing until Red came back and handed out unattractive grey sweatpants and sweatshirts for everyone. Cleo’s were about three sizes too big but least they were warm and dry.

  She hurried back to one of the offices and shut the door.

  And then remembered her dress had a thousand tiny beaded buttons up the back. There was literally no way she could get out of it on her own.

  Sighing, she went back out and wandered up and down the halls, but there was no one in sight. Cleo was trapped, stuck in her beautiful dress that was probably ruined. Now that everyone was safe, Cleo was kicking herself for not changing when she’d had the chance. She’d thought, at the time, that every second counted and that changing out of that huge dress would take too long. But the bottom two feet, probably, of tulle were ruined, mud-splattered and torn. The top half had been protected by her heavy coat and was fine. Maybe she could message Kate and see if there was a way to fix it.

  “Why aren’t you changed?” Kayne asked, coming out of the room she’d stopped in front of, somehow inexplicably gorgeous even in ugly grey sweats. His dark hair was still damp and attractively messy like he’d tried to finger-comb it into submission and failed. She stared up at him for several long seconds before she could remember to respond.

  “I was trying to find Red. Or Mrs. Stradley. I can’t get out of my dress.” She turned helplessly in a circle, lifting her mass of wet, tangled hair so he could see all the buttons. “But they’re MIA.”

  “Red went to check on the cats,” Kayne said. “I think Mrs. Stradley is with Glacier. Here—” he gently pushed the strands of hair she’d missed out of the way and his icy fingers slid across the back of her neck. “—I can handle a few buttons.”

  Cleo froze as delicious shivers slid down her spine. Her hair slipped from her startled hands and Kayne twisted it out of the way, sliding it across her shoulder. “Like silk,” he murmured, and Cleo didn’t know if he meant the dress, which was not silk, or her hair, which was a tangled mess of pins and knots.

  Air hit her skin as her upper back was exposed, and she felt goosebumps ripple across her shoulders. “Cold,” she breathed, because that was as eloquent as she could manage.

  Kayne’s fingers stilled and he stood behind her, knuckles against her skin, for several long seconds before he drew a ragged breath and stepped back. “All done, I think. At least you’ll be able to get out now.”

  “Thank you.” She twisted to look up at him, her cheeks flaming even though she had nothing exposed that a tank top wouldn’t have covered. Still, the moment felt intimate and although she was freezing and must have looked a hot mess, Cleo was loath to leave him. “I—I’ll go change.”

  Kayne nodded, but Cleo could feel his gaze on her the entire way down the hall. She escaped into the office and shut the door behind her, leaning against it and breathing hard. She had to stop getting her hopes up. Kayne was going to break her heart and not even know it. Why did he have to be so kind and so gorgeous and so annoying and so strong? Why couldn’t he be ridiculously arrogant or have a black, psychotic heart? That would have solved the entire dilemma.

  She’d tamped these feelings down all through elementary and junior high and high school. She’d been hiding from the truth for years. She could do it for another week and a half until he went back to school.

  Sure she could.

  Except that every single minute she spent with him just made things worse, breaking down her defenses a little more. Walls that she’d spent years constructing being torn down brick by brick without him even realizing what he did to her.

  Sighing again, but much more dramatically this time, she shoved away from the door and wriggled out of the dress, trying to smooth it and protect it as much as possible. She really hoped Kate could come up with a way to save it.

  Kayne leaned against the wall when she came out, arms crossed over his broad chest and staring pensively at the floor. “Hey,” he said when she emerged. “I snagged us the front office. Just a couple of couches but at least we get the fireplace and you can’t hear the cats all howling.”

  The cats were not thrilled that they were locked inside at night, but there were too many predators in the foothills. Not to mention the snow currently trying to bury them all. “Oh, thank you.”

  “Plus, you’re the only one small enough to fit on the loveseat,” Jayden said as he jogged past, carrying a bag of ferret food. He winked, jogging backward, and then turned and disappeared down the hall.

  The sanctuary had heat, of course, but the fireplace was cozy and with the lights in the office turned off, it gave the room a warm, romantic glow. The Christmas tree stood in the corner with lots of presents for the animals under it, just waiting for Christmas day. It was a tradition for the volunteers to come pass out gifts after the morning festivities with their own families were done.

  Cleo would have no such festivities. She could come early and sneak a few extra presents in while no one was looking.

  That would help soothe the ragged Christmas-sized hole in her heart.

  “You okay?” Kayne watched her, the firelight flickering across his cheekbones.

  “How are you so attractive when the rest of us look like drowned rats?” Cleo blurted, and then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she said through her fingers as blood rushed to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” At least her awkwardness had saved her from having to answer his question.

  Kayne grinned, his eyes sparkling. “You think I’m attractive?”

  Cleo rolled her eyes, sinking onto the loveseat and tucking her feet underneath her. Kayne grabbed a blanket from the stack Red had dropped off and draped it around her shoulders and instead of taking his own couch, sat down next to her. “You’re still freezing.”

  Cleo nodded. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get warm,” she half-joked. Her feet and hands felt like ice cubes, although they’d started to itch as the feeling returned.

  Kayne slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Share body heat. We’ll get warm faster.”

  Cleo laughed, or at least tried to, but it came out rather strangled. She rearranged the blanket so it covered both of them and leaned against his shoulder. Kayne stretched his long legs out in front of him and laid his head against the cushions and they sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts while they listened to the wind howl and Mozzie’s soft snores. Despite the way her entire body tingled at his nearness, Cleo couldn’t keep her eyes open. It was warm and she was exhausted and Kayne was strong and safe, his arm circled around her shoulders. She nestled closer and let her eyes fall shut.

  “The storm stopped about one,” Cleo heard Jayden whisper. She tried to force her eyes open, but they felt swollen shut, and she was so warm. Moving seemed like the worst idea ever, so she stayed where she was. “And the roads are cleared. We can go home whenever you’re ready. You can’t be comfortable.”

  Slowly, Cleo remembered where she was and jerked upright, rubbing her eyes. Kayne still sat in the exact awkward position he’d been in when she fell asleep, and he looked exhausted. But he smiled when Cleo met his eyes. “Merry Christmas Eve.”

  “Same to you both.” Cleo felt suddenly shy. She stood, stretching and giving Kayne room to move. “What time is it?”

  “Just after seven,” Jayden said.

  Kayne groaned, rolling his neck on his shoulders, and Cleo felt awful. He was probably a mess of kinks and knots now.

/>   Much like her hair, actually.

  “I can probably get us home in my jeep.” Cleo rubbed her hands on her arms, trying to warm herself up. The fire had died and the room was chilly now. “I just have to unbury it.”

  Kayne yawned. “We don’t have to go now.”

  Cleo ruffled his hair without thinking, trying unsuccessfully to make it as messy as her own. It fell back to place with annoying perfection. “Got a great night’s sleep right there, did ya?”

  Kayne smirked as Jayden pulled him up. “My mom said you could stay for breakfast, Cleo. She’s making pancakes.”

  As delicious as pancakes sounded, Cleo was a mess and needed to get home. And probably give Kayne some space. She’d spent the whole night sleeping on him like some kind of inconsiderate twit. “That’s so sweet, but my bed is calling. And my shower.” She pulled a face, trying to finger-comb her hair and failing. So many tangles.

  “Are you sure? My mom adores you.” Kayne went to the window, pulling back the curtains to peer outside. “Lots of snow.”

  She’d heard him say that a few times now—not just about his mother but others, too. It made her all warm and fuzzy and she cursed him again for breaking her walls and then going back to school to forget about her.

  “Yeah,” she said softly. Kayne and Jayden both looked over at her and she forced a smile. “Shower first. Functioning second.”

  Of course, they had to feed all the animals before they could go, but luckily, with all of them still at the shelter, the feeding went quickly and they were on their way.

  “It feels like the end of an epic adventure,” Jayden said sadly from the back seat where he was sandwiched between Glacier and Mozzie. He leaned forward so his head was between her and Kayne. “You know the part at the very end of adventure movies? This feels like that. I’m pretty sure you should come to our house for breakfast to keep the movie going.”

  Cleo laughed, shaking her head. She understood, though. Watching them get out of her jeep and go inside felt like part of her soul went with them. Christmas Eve, and she was spending it alone.

  She pulled into her drive, surprised to see Kayne’s car still sitting there until she remembered they had swapped it for her jeep in the storm the night before. She got out, unloading her dress and Mozzie and the duffle bag of wet towels and blankets she’d brought home to wash for Red. It was a juggling act, but she finally made it into the house.

  The big, silent empty house.

  “Merry Christmas Eve,” she said to no one.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kayne tugged his v-neck sweater over his head and shoved a hat on. He’d helped his mom bake and decorate all day long, but now that the roads were clear and he was done with the ten thousand Christmas chores, he told his mom he would take her to get the car. They had family coming from out of town the next day and his mother liked to go big on her Christmas fun.

  But she needed a car first.

  He sent Cleo a quick text, but she’d been pretty despondent all day and hadn’t been particularly full of conversation. “Okay to come grab the car now?”

  “You are not allowed to come back home until you’ve invited that girl over for Christmas tomorrow,” Amaya said as she buckled into Kayne’s truck. “And maybe tell her how you feel tonight.”

  Kayne sighed, backing out of their long driveway. “She’s been acting weird all day. I think I offended her or something last night. I don’t know. I thought—” he hesitated, reliving the entire night they’d spent together. He’d hardly slept, but it had been worth it to feel her head on his chest and listen to her soft sighs as she dreamed. To feel the weight of her in his arms. “I thought we made progress, but it seems we went backward instead.”

  “Enough of these games,” Amaya snapped. She’d always been a fiery woman, which was why Kayne’s father had to be so laid-back. They fit together perfectly. “Just tell her already. If not, it will be too late. I can feel it in my bones.”

  Kayne hid a smile. His mother could always “feel it in her bones” when she wanted to get her way. “I’m just picking up the car, Mom. I don’t even have an excuse to stay. I don’t know if she’ll even let me in. Or come outside.”

  Cleo hadn’t answered his text, so he wasn’t sure if she was even home.

  Her jeep was parked in the driveway when he pulled in, covered in a light dusting of snow from the off-and-on flurries they’d had throughout the day. His car had been shoveled out at some point, the shovel still leaning against the garage door with her mittens and hat on the ground next to it. “She’s such a sweet girl,” Amaya said, jumping out of the truck like a woman half her age and scurrying over to the car. Cleo had even scraped off the windshield, but not recently given the flakes that had blown across it again.

  Kayne nodded. “That she is.”

  “Kayne?” Cleo yelled.

  He turned toward the house but her front door was closed and there was no sign of her.

  “Kayne, is that you?”

  “Yes?” Kayne yelled back, uncertain where he was yelling to.

  “Can you come inside? I need help!” Her voice was tinged with panic, and all sorts of horrible situations flashed through Kayne’s head.

  Many of them revolved around birds.

  Kayne slammed his truck door and jogged up the sidewalk to the house, Amaya on his heels. The front door was unlocked, which wasn’t wise even in such a quaint community as Huckleberry Falls. Heart in his throat, Kayne hurried inside. “Where are you?”

  “Laundry room! Just off the kitchen,” she yelled back. He could hear the scuffling of movement and raced through the house to the laundry room.

  Cleo sat in the middle of the room on her knees next to one of the sanctuary’s oversized duffle bags. “Big Mama is in labor,” she said without looking up. “She’s had six kittens so far but this last one is struggling, and Big Mama is struggling, and I can’t help them both!” Her voice wobbled with fear and Kayne immediately left his mother’s side and dropped down next to Cleo.

  “I’ve got Big Mama. You take the baby.” He tugged his sweater off, glad he’d worn a t-shirt underneath. He tossed it out of the way and felt Big Mama’s stomach. “More kittens.”

  Cleo nodded, rubbing her thumb gently around on the tiny kitten’s tummy. “Come on, baby.”

  Most litters of kittens had one or two who didn’t make it, Kayne had learned over the years. Mostly, as rescuers they’d come to accept it; although, they did everything they could to save them.

  Except Cleo, who would not accept it. Not even a little bit.

  Big Mama was definitely in distress. Kayne worked to make her more comfortable, trying to position her to let gravity help, rubbing her back and her stomach. As another kitten crowned, Cleo looked up at him with an exhausted grin, blowing hair out of her face. “Thank you. I thought I was going to lose them both. But I think she’s okay now if you need to go.”

  Kayne’s mom, standing behind Cleo, waved her arms and shook her head frantically.

  Kayne again hid a smile. “I’m happy to help. Mom, can you drive home okay in the dark?”

  “I’m not old, kiddo. I’ll be fine,” Amaya snapped. “Can I do anything before I go? Get you water or clean towels or something?”

  Cleo brushed her hair away from her face with her shoulder. “Water would be great.”

  Amaya hustled into the kitchen, returning with two tall glasses of water. She disappeared without a word, bustling about in the kitchen, and before long Kayne could smell food. Cleo smiled but said nothing, bent over the kitten she refused to lose. A few minutes later, she came in with a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup “I’ll just set these here. It’s not the grand Christmas Eve dinner some of us will be having but it’s the only thing I could come up with on short notice.”

  Cleo looked up at her. “I haven’t had time to eat since breakfast. Thank you so much.”

  Amaya patted her on the shoulder. “Of course, dear. Call if you need anything else. I can s
end the boys over for the yucky stuff.”

  Cleo snickered under her breath.

  “Thanks, Mom. We will.”

  Amaya waved and disappeared, the door clicking shut behind her.

  “Your mom is a sweetheart.”

  “She’s a firecracker, is what she is,” Kayne laughed. It was almost eight when Cleo finally set the kitten down next to Big Mama and went to wash her hands so she could eat. Kayne followed, but they both returned to the laundry room so they could keep an eye on things.

  “I don’t know if she’s going to make it,” Cleo said quietly, watching the tiny, immobile kitten.

  “She’s fighting.” Kayne dusted off his hands and went back to the other kittens to make sure they were okay. “We should name her Diana.”

  “Diana?”

  “Wonder Woman.” Kayne stroked a finger along the baby’s back and she gave a weak little mew.

  Cleo smiled. “Perfect. You know what’s ridiculous? I thought this was my twelfth day of Christmas, but she only had eleven kittens.”

  “Well, if you count Big Mama, that’s twelve.”

  She nodded, popping the last bite of sandwich in her mouth. “That feels like cheating.”

  Kayne watched Big Mama cleaning the kittens one by one while the others nuzzled for milk. “You’re a good mama.”

  Cleo crawled over and sat next to him. “Diana isn’t nursing. I think we’ll have to bottle feed her.”

  Bottle feeding was a loose term, given that it was really a little tube stretched from a bottle of warm specialty milk.

  “Do you have kitten milk here? And a feeder?”

  Cleo nodded, scrambling to her feet. She hurried into another room and came back a minute later with her emergency bag from the sanctuary. Kayne watched her dig through it, her head almost disappearing inside. She’d showered and combed out her long blond waves so they shined in the light of the laundry room. He could remember the feel of it against his fingers the night before, the way it had smelled when she’d slept on his chest all night, and he longed to run his fingers through it again.