by Laura Acton
As he swallowed, Dan shook his head. “No, it is what happened as a result of visiting the farm. The last day of the camping trip I became violently ill. So sick Dad rushed me to a hospital. I still remember him rappelling down the cliff holding me and not being upset when I puked on him. He ran the entire trail back to the car carrying me. Then he laid me in his lap as he sped to the nearest hospital. He actually climbed into the hospital bed and held me close when I got scared he would leave.
“I ended up contracting Q fever. It is something cattle, and sheep get and can be found in their milk, bodily fluids, and feces. Plus, it can be airborne and inhaled. Jeff, Scott, Adam, and Uncle Mark all had to be tested. Luckily their tests were negative.
“I remember being sick for a long time … spent nearly a month confined indoors primarily to my bed. Ran fevers as high as one hundred five. The worst part was the severe headaches, fatigue, vomiting, and abdominal pain. When that finally abated it was another month before I felt like doing much of anything. I had my blood drawn and tested every six months for a two-year period because the doctor said the fever could come back.”
Dan’s eyes got a faraway look in them for a moment then refocused on Bram. “The only good to come out of being so ill was I got to spend a lot of time with my dad that summer. More time than I can remember ever. He built me a tree house and taught me chess while he was home on leave. When I recovered, he gifted me with my first real rifle. We went to the gun range together every Saturday, and he started teaching me how to shoot.”
Kellie smiled brightly. “Some of our best memories come about through adversity.”
Dan regarded Kellie’s words for a few moments. “Yeah, I guess they do.”
Retrieving a plate of snickerdoodles and oatmeal raisin walnut cookies for the guys, Kellie asked, “Would you two like a glass of warm milk?”
“No!” Bram and Dan both exclaimed loudly as their eyes met. Then they burst out laughing. Bram shared a small part of the call, being drenched in warm unpasteurized milk.
Kellie didn’t like the sound of that illness. “Should both of you be tested for this Q fever?”
Bram quirked his brow at Dan. Blood draws required needles. He doubted Dan would go for that. The slight shake of Dan’s head confirmed his belief.
“No. It’s extremely rare. I recall Jeff teasing me that only I would get a disease which was almost eradicated. So it’s highly unlikely.” Dan bit into a cookie and suppressed a cough. I damn well better not be infected again.
Anything for Allie
34
December 20
Bram’s Home – Guest Room – 6:00 a.m.
Dan woke with an awareness of soft breathing and a sense of eyes watching him intently. Without opening his eyes, he pulled the covers back. “Come on, Allie. It’s too cold for you to be standing there.”
Allie scrambled up on the bed and next to Uncle Danny. She snuggled close as he tugged the toasty, soft blanket over them. Her ice-cold feet tucked into his warm tummy.
“Yiiiips! Allie, your feet are freezing. How long were you waiting?” Dan didn’t expect a real number. Allie was still too young to tell time.
Allie burrowed her feet more. “Long ‘nuf for my feetsies to get cold.”
Dan glanced at the clock, zero six hundred. Kellie would be coming in soon for the concussion checks performed every two hours. He and Bram went to bed at midnight, dutifully she woke them at two and four, and since it was now six, he expected Kellie at any moment.
Allie flipped around and peered into Uncle Dan’s eyes. “Did you stay ‘cause of your head boo-boo?”
Realizing where his skull smacked the ground must be colorful if Allie noticed, he nodded. “Yeah.”
Hesitantly touching it, Allie asked, “Does it hurt?”
“Not much.”
“If I kiss your boo-boo, will it feel better? Mommy kisses mine and they get better faster.”
Dan grinned at her pure innocence. “You can kiss the boo-boo if you want.”
Allie squirmed up, placing her still cold feet on his side as she moved to reach the bump on his head. Dan instantly decided one more thing he would buy Allie for Christmas, a pair of warm fuzzy slipper socks. The four-year-old’s lips lightly brushed his lump.
Kellie stood in the doorway observing her youngest kiss Dan’s temple. As she entered the room, she said softly, “I see nurse Allie is taking superior care of you, Dan.”
Allie studied Dan with a serious face. “Does it hurt anymore?”
“Nope. Your kiss took all the pain away.”
“Excellent work, Allie, but just like Daddy, we need to let Uncle Dan sleep a little longer.” Kellie scooped Allie up and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “He’s staying the day with us so you can talk to him later.”
Allie squealed loudly, and both Dan and Kellie grimaced when subjected to the high-pitched volume.
“Sorry,” Kellie said then asked, “Any signs of a headache, nausea, or light sensitivity before the air-raid siren?”
Dan shook his head. “I’m alright. How’s Bram?”
“Same as you. I think you two got lucky.” Kellie shifted Allie her arms.
Kellie doesn’t know how accurate her statement is. Bram didn’t tell her the true extent of our perilous situation at the dairy. Bram professed on the way home last night that it was over and he had no desire to worry her unduly. Dan wouldn’t cause her concern either. “Yeah, no concussions. That’s lucky.”
Leslie bounded into the room and up onto the bed and hugged Dan before she turned to her mom. “Daddy said he and Uncle Danny don’t have to work today. Can they come with us to the Nutcracker?”
Kellie glanced at Dan to gauge his reaction to Leslie’s request. Both men needed rest so she said, “They might not be up to coming, and I’m not sure if there are more tickets available, but we can talk about that later. For now, we need to let your uncle rest. Let’s go round up some breakfast.”
She set Allie down and guided her girls out of the room and closed the door. Hopefully, the girls would play quietly enough so Bram and Dan could sleep longer. Perhaps it would be the right time to have them watch a Christmas movie—that should keep them quiet for at least a couple of hours.
Dan sighed and shut his eyes as he burrowed down in the comfortable bed, pulling the covers over his head. A few more hours of sleep sounded perfect at the moment. In very short order, Dan slipped into dreamland.
TRF HQ – Dispatch Desk – 7:00 a.m.
Nick ambled into headquarters carrying two trays of coffees and two bags of timbits. He liked Jon’s suggestion of bringing Tia a special coffee and her favorite timbits to make amends for his words yesterday.
He set the trays down on the counter and took one out. “Morning. Chocolate caramel latte. And a little something sweet too.”
Tia peered up at Nick. “Thanks. You know you didn’t have to.”
“But I did. Tia, we depend on you. I wanted to show my appreciation for all your hard work. The myriad of things you do makes our jobs a bit easier. So, thank you, Tia Walsh, you are indispensable and a much-admired member of our family.” The sincerity of Nick’s words shone in his warm hazel eyes and the lift of the corners of his mouth.
Tia smiled and opened the timbits. “Mmmm, my favorites.”
“Lucky guess then,” Nick said with a twinkle in his eyes as he picked up the coffee trays and headed into the briefing room.
Watching Sergeant Pastore stride away, Tia thought, no luck about it. You always know things about people that sometimes even they are not aware of. She popped a timbit as a sense of warmth filled her recalling his words. He said I’m part of the Alpha Team family. What a splendid start to my day!
TRF HQ – Briefing Room – 7:05 a.m.
Entering the room Nick spied Dan’s and Bram’s replacements for today—Rob Tanger and Trevor McBride. He dropped the timbits by Loki and began handing out coffees to the guys as he welcomed them. “Rob, I’m happy you are back with us. Didn’
t think it would be so soon.”
Accepting a coffee, Rob smiled. “Pleasure is all mine. Thanks for the recommendation to Foxtrot Team. I start with them next week.”
Loki pumped a fist. “Woohoo! Welcome to TRF officially.” Then he high-fived Rob. Dan’s temporary replacement was a great guy and fantastic shot. He fit well into TRF.
Passing a coffee to Trevor, Nick said, “Trevor, first time with Alpha Team, welcome. Glad to have you onboard today. Not sure how you take your coffee, so I went with black and brought cream and sugar.”
After opening the bag of timbits, Loki took a few out then handed it to Ray who took one and passed it on—everyone enjoyed the sweet treat.
Trevor accepted his coffee and opened two packets of sugar. “Happy to help, exceedingly happy, though I hope Dan and Bram weren’t creamed too bad. You all faced an udderly amazing call at the diary.”
Loki snickered at Trevor’s puns. “You seem a little too cheerful today. I mean it’s your day off, and you’re here instead of at home with your family.”
Grinning, Trevor responded, “Yeah, well, about that. I got out of going to the Nutcracker. I love doing things with the family, but I’m not a fan of ballet. Besides, my wife’s sister flew in yesterday unexpectedly to surprise us for Christmas. She was thrilled to go to the ballet with them. My boys, however, glared at me like I was deserting them.”
Jon chuckled. “I’m right there with you, Trevor. I’d take a day suited up facing bad guys over ballet any day. Damn glad I have only boys.”
Lexa chimed in. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy it. They might even see Kellie and Bram’s girls. Christiana arranged tickets for them.”
Trevor nodded and took a sip of his coffee. He liked Echo Team, but some days he wished he was a member of this team. They were tighter knit than all the other teams—a family of sorts.
Tia walked in with a piece of paper in her hands. “Boss, the warrant arrived.” She handed it over to him and returned to her desk.
Jon cocked an eye at Nick. “Warrant?”
Nick flipped open the paper. “Yeah, Inspector Pope received a break in a case last evening. We have a warrant to serve on one Kristopher Kringle.”
Loki’s eyes shot wide open. “Holy smokes, we’re arresting Santa Claus!”
“Yeah, for serial break-ins into people’s homes,” Jon quipped.
The team chuckled and then got down to business. The man possessed Santa’s name, but he was no Santa. In fact, Jon was not too far off in his joke. Kringle was wanted in connection with multiple armed break-ins at several high-level parliament member’s homes. Aware of the rash of burglaries one homeowner feared he would be targeted and proactively installed a hidden camera yesterday afternoon. An image captured at the scene of his latest robbery identified Kringle as the culprit.
Grand Palace Theater – 10:00 a.m.
Prop Manager, Achbor King, finished with the last tiara. Setting the crown down a satisfied smile covered his face once he realized his shrewd plans were coming to fruition. Timing would be the most critical part of today—it was every day, but today it was extra crucial because of the matinee performance. During the Christmas season, the theater owner, Mr. Stahlbaum, held a matinee specifically for children and families at reduced ticket prices.
Everyone thought the owner was a generous man, but Achbor knew Stahlbaum was a tightwad. Not only had Achbor been denied a raise again this year, he had even been passed over for the backstage manager’s position. Starting as a gaffer at sixteen, he gave thirty-nine years to this theater, Achbor worked hard and became an indispensable jack-of-all-trades.
His seniority and loyalty alone should’ve netted him the coveted position and wage increase. By his reckoning, Christiana Andersen received what should have been his. Well, if Stahlbaum wouldn’t give the pay raise to him, there were other ways to get it. Today would be the day.
Achbor picked up one of the tiara’s and polished the fake gems again making them sparkle. He must ensure everything looked just right. He took pride in his work, even if he didn’t get paid what he deserved. “No room for sloppiness. The ballerinas must be beautiful even for a simple matinee.”
Dan’s Apartment – 11:00 a.m.
Finishing shaving, Dan rinsed his face and dried it. As he brushed his teeth, Dan examined the side of his head. Not too bad. The swelling was nearly gone and the bruising—not too noticeable. Luckily his coughing and sneezing disappeared. His eyes roamed lower, his chest where the crowbar hit, was another story altogether—angry deep purple, almost black bruising and tender to the touch.
After rinsing, Dan reached for the stronger pain pills Jim obtained for him from Dr. Fraser almost a week ago. He popped two in his mouth, cupped his hands under the running water, and took a drink to wash them down. His need to take pain meds he kept to himself, not wanting to worry either Bram or Kellie. They might’ve insisted he stay home to rest, and Dan couldn’t risk disappointing the girls.
All three girls had begged, their eyes bright and pleading, for him and Bram to say yes and go to the Nutcracker performance with them. He was not thrilled about going, but Bram, well, that was a different story. Bram was one hundred percent onboard for anything to do with his girls. Faced with three sets of hopeful innocent eyes, Dan acquiesced. Really, what else could he answer?
Although, yes had been contingent on whether tickets could be obtained. Dan’s ears still rang from their squeals of glee after Kellie told them Christiana arranged two additional passes. Their unfeigned joy in having him here made sitting through the performance worth any misery he might feel.
They decided to stop at his place on the way to the theater so he could change clothes to save time. As he dressed, tons of giggling drifted into his bedroom from his common room. He wondered what they were up to as he slipped his feet into his dress shoes, grateful to find them sufficiently dried from Friday’s dunking in the pool. He stood and went to his closet to retrieve a white dress shirt and glanced at his black jacket, relieved he originally purchased two suits as the navy one now needed to go to the cleaners.
Frowning at the plastic bag near the hamper, Dan wondered if his navy suit could be salvaged. He hoped so because he liked that one better than this one. He shrugged into his shirt, wincing at the movement, then strode to the bureau as he buttoned up and tucked in the shirt. He opened a drawer and selected a red tie. As he knotted the tie, he peered in the mirror over his dresser to make sure it looked alright. He made three attempts before giving up. Good enough.
His eye caught the three by five frame on the dresser. It brought a smile to his face as he took a moment to gaze at the photo of him, Scott, Adam, Jeff, Sara, Vicky, and Ashley standing in the snow. A picture of them on his sixth Christmas. His mother snuck this photo into his bag when he spent time with her after the interviews. Thanks, Mom.
Dan glanced upwards, his voice soft and a touch wistful. “Brody, I wish you were here. This is the Christmas I wanted for so many years. I still miss you every day. Thank you for being my family when I felt all alone.”
As he took his suit jacket off the hanger, he could’ve sworn he heard Brody say, “You were never alone, and I’m here. I will never leave you, brother.” He turned in circles searching for Brody, knowing he couldn’t really be here. Dan halted and stared at the empty space from which he thought the voice came.
Brody spread his wings, and a beautiful smile graced his face observing Dan staring right at him. Danny heard me. His ethereal figure shone with joy before Brody faded.
Shaking off the sensation, Dan opened his bedroom door. Three of Bram’s girls squealed and ran to him grabbing his hands and urging him forward. He noted Bram and Kellie still seated on his couch.
Leslie tugged at his hand and started pulling him towards his tree as she said, “Uncle Dan, come see.”
Dan stopped at his desk. “Wow! Beautiful. Did you decorate it yourselves?”
Emilie’s head bobbed up and down rapidly. “I put the tinsel on.”
> “I strung the lights with Dad’s help,” Leslie said with pride.
Allie beamed. “Mommy helped me sprinkle the snow stuff on.”
My sad little tree, which started out with only three ornaments, is now the most beautiful tree I’ve ever had. It meant a lot to him that the girls would do this.
Allie turned pleading eyes to her mom. “Can we give Uncle Danny his present now?”
“I thought this was my present. It is a beautiful gift.”
After withdrawing a small package from her purse, Kellie handed it to Allie when she raced over.
Allie ran back to Dan holding the small box out to him. “This is from Leslie, Emilie, Sharlie, and me. We all helped.”
Dan crouched so he was eye level with Allie, Emilie, and Leslie after laying his jacket over the chair. He unwrapped the gift and said, “What do we have here?” He opened the box and smiled. Another ornament, but this one was a painted ceramic photo frame. The square frame was decorated in a patchwork of red, green, yellow, and purple. The photo inside was one of all four girls.
Leslie explained, “We went to this fun place that lets you paint things last week. We worked together to paint it. I helped Sharlie hold the brush. We picked it up yesterday while Daddy was at work. When we got home, Mom took our picture, printed it out, and put it in the frame.”
“I love it. Thank you, girls!” Dan pulled all three in for a hug. He stood and hung the beautiful ornament on his tree. Dan dug into his pocket for his phone. “My mom will be so thrilled to see how you decorated my Christmas tree. Bunch up together in front of the tree.”
The girls scooted together, putting their arms around each other. “What about Sharlie?” Emilie asked. “She helped too.”
Kellie said, “Dan can show his mom Sharlie in the ornament photo. She won’t mind. Sharlie is having fun with Nana and Papa today.”
Leslie, Emilie, and Allie gave Uncle Dan their biggest, brightest smiles as he took their picture then they raced over wanting to see. Leslie said, “Can you take one of us with you?”