by Sheila Kell
“Do you like to investigate stuff?”
His eyes lit up, and she got excited waiting for his answer. “You bet I do. In fact, I’ve been following the man at that table when I could. He looks shifty.”
“Which one?” Being competitive, she wanted to be the better agent. If he was following the same man, they should’ve run into each other—unless he was much stealthier.
“The one in the ugly Christmas sweater.”
She wanted to jump for joy. “I’ve been following the man sitting with him. He’s also been acting shifty.”
“I think it’s odd they aren’t with family for Christmas.” Brandon stirred his mashed potatoes with his fork but didn’t take a bite.
“Maybe they don’t have families,” Amber said without looking at them and shoving a big spoonful of mac and cheese in her mouth.
He scrunched his brow like her Uncle Devon did sometimes when thinking really hard. Brandon nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Making sure Amber was taking care of her sister, Leslie, Reagan leaned toward him and asked, “What if we work together?”
“Deal.” Reagan put her hand out for a handshake, and Brandon gave her a strong one without hurting her hand. Dad always said you could tell a lot about a man by his handshake. She didn’t know how but shook anyway. “Do you have a cell phone to take pics or tape something suspicious?”
“Sure, but my dad took it for dinner.”
Disappointed, Reagan’s shoulders sagged. “Mine too.” Their parents were definitely related.
“Think your dad’ll give it to you now?” Brandon looked hopeful.
Shaking her head, she frowned. “Nope. It’s locked in his room. You?”
With a shake of his head, Brandon answered, “Nope.”
Their equal disappointment must’ve been observed by the adults leaving the table and collecting their messy kids. Her dad and Cousin Lee stopped by then. After putting an arm on her shoulder, her dad asked, “You two getting to know each other?”
She and Brandon exchanged a conspiratorial grin before she answered. “We are.” Then deciding to take the plunge since her dad taught her it never harmed to ask unless you couldn’t handle the answer, she smiled as brightly as she could. Her dad watched her through those thinly open eyes, but she didn’t care. “Dad, may I have my phone now?”
Brandon added, “Me too?”
Her dad shook his head.
Thwarting any protest, she hurried to say, “We’d like to see each other’s pics and music. We won’t be texting.” That last part might not be true. They may find a need to text each other.
The two fathers looked as if deciding without saying a word. Her dad really must have some psychic power or something. She sat on pins and needles waiting for the answer. At least it hadn’t been an immediate no.
Cousin Lee nodded. “As long as you’re not sitting alone in a corner texting with your friends. That happens, the phone is locked up for the rest of the trip.”
Nervous, she turned to her dad who usually was the first to speak. “Same goes, pumpkin.” He pulled something from his pocket and held it out to her. She smiled. Yes! “Here’s the key to our room. Go up and get it now, then bring the key back to me.”
She and Brandon raced for the stairs until she heard her dad’s booming voice. “No running.” They just walked really fast.
Phone collected, she rushed back down the stairs and saw her dad watching her. She gave him an innocent smile while eager to catch the man doing suspicious stuff.
She glanced over to Jason who held tightly onto his new name sign and fear walked up her spine. Would she not be allowed to come in the future since she didn’t have a room? Mom and Dad’s room only had one bed. She’d hate to miss this trip each year.
Braving it, she walked over to her brother and parents. Seeing how happy Jason was, she thought it all worth it. “Congrats, big brother,” she said, and meant it.
Before he could say anything, Reagan turned to her dad and mom. “Where do I sleep? I didn’t get one.”
Jason stepped forward and slid his arm over her shoulder. “Don’t you know I couldn’t ask for a better roommate?”
“Are you sure I can stay with you in that room? All the time?”
“You bet, squirt.”
That worked for her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tight. She always loved when he called her that. A couple of her uncles called her that, but coming from Jason it always made her heart swell. He was the best brother ever, and she didn’t look forward to when he went to college.
“What about when you bring a girl here? Will I have to wait outside the room until you say I can enter?”
Kissing her on top of the head, he chuckled. “No, that’s not how it is between brother and sister. She may sleep in the room in my bed, but your bed is always yours.”
Pulling back, she scrunched up her nose. “Be careful, because when Mom and Dad sleep in the same bed, something happens where there’s lots of grunts, shouts, and moans. It can’t be good for you.” She knew it was something to do with sex, but for the life of her, she had no real idea what that was.
His chuckle sounded deep and touched her nose with a finger. “They haven’t given you the talk yet. Have they?”
Peering around to make everyone was out of earshot, she crossed her arms again and huffed. “No. Dad said I’m not old enough.” Then she dropped her arms, and her face brightened with hope. “Have you had the talk? Maybe you can tell me.”
“Oh, squirt. Even if I’d had the talk, I couldn’t tell you since Dad says you’re not ready.”
He didn’t answer her question, and she wasn’t fooled. “So have they?”
Wow. His face got really red. Whatever he’d learned had to be good for him to be embarrassed. It really sucked being ten sometimes. “They did.”
“Yes. They have. But that’s because I’m old enough.”
She fisted her hands at her sides to keep from crying out how unfair things were at her age. She’d thought the adults would take her seriously now that she was ten, but they didn’t.
“Well, I’m going to show them I’m old enough for all the stuff they don’t let me attend or do.”
His wary eyes reminded her of their dad. “What’re you up to, my little spitfire sister?”
“I’m going to solve a mystery.”
His heavy sigh didn’t bother her because her mind was made up. She and Brandon would figure out what those two men were up to.
“Reagan, there’s no mystery.”
She turned away and over her shoulder she tossed, “You just keep thinking that.” Her step almost faltered when she realized he might tell Dad and they could all be killed in their sleep. She’d read enough Nancy Drew books and listened to HIS to know the possibility was real.
No. She wouldn’t allow someone to kill them in their sleep. She’d protect her family.
THE EARLY DINNER complete, Blake watched his family enjoy themselves. Knowing work and spending holidays with daughters-in-law’s families could impact his desire for the family, he still hoped that as many as possible were able to make it each year—whether they decided for a Thanksgiving or Christmas family holiday. He didn’t think they realized that being together, they were happier and more relaxed. He liked those things for them.
Lee had been absorbed right into the midst of the family. As had Brandon. He’d observed him and Reagan whispering to each other. He frowned, not sure about Reagan leading Brandon around. She was a great kid but wanted to be an adult too badly, so she did things out of curiosity that Jesse and Kate would rather she didn’t. Her plan to run HIS in the future wouldn’t be as easy as she expected. While he could see her as a strong leader, unfortunately, she needed to open her eyes because Jason would be there, and he suspected Brandon, then Amber when she finished her required experience. Instead of the military, he suspected Amber would end up at an alphabet agency. Maybe IRS since she loved how her mom did all kinds of good things�
��her wording not his. While she’d be the first to go that route, he could see how Amber would eventually replace her mom finding money, embezzlement, hidden property, and more.
With his attention returned to the family, he easily located his wife as she turned to him. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe she’d felt his stare. Their gazes caught and his body ached for her, even at their advanced age. He scoffed at that. They were under sixty and he didn’t need those blue pills of shame. When she smiled and split off from the women, he thought she’d come to him. With a frustrated sigh, he watched her slip toward the kitchen area. Knowing she’d return soon, he scanned the room to print the memory of his family in his head to recall whenever he desired.
The smaller children played Twister, which brought a great deal of laughter, and his deep belly chuckle lit him up for this retreat. The kids weren’t tall enough to play the board, but they tried. Fell down, laughed, and tried again with a combination of parents supporting them.
Before he could move into the group, Elizabeth found him and informed him, “Hot chocolate is ready for the children and any adults who want it. And who wouldn’t? It’s chocolate, and that makes the holidays better.”
Glancing down at her cup, he leaned his head toward hers, and as he came close to her lips, he asked in a low, deep voice, “Do you have hot chocolate?”
“Of course.” Her sultry smile had him touching his lips to her soft ones, reluctant to pull back after a single kiss. He could kiss her 24/7 if the world allowed for that, but with his grandchildren there, he’d behave.
“Eww. My mom and dad won’t stop doing that, and it’s disgusting.”
Their eyes filled with merriment as they looked down at Amber. He guessed in her six-year-old mind that might be the case.
“Poppy, you and Grandma should stop because Mom and Dad did that a lot and she had my sister. I worry that we’re getting a brother since they keep doing it.”
Biting back laughter, Blake knelt down to her height with several cracking of bones in his knees. “What’re you doing? Why aren’t you playing games?”
She shook her head and huffed. Internally, he shook his head. He’d seen that movement on Reagan also.
“I’m looking for Reagan and Brandon. I think they took off without me to solve the mystery.”
He normally said kids had great imaginations, but Reagan was involved so he couldn’t say what she was doing. She and Brandon weren’t at the last spot he’d seen them. With a quick scan of the room, he confirmed they’d snuck out. “What mystery?”
She began to twirl her upper body. He felt for the teachers when she went to school. The child was almost never still. She leaned toward him and put up her hand to keep anyone from overhearing the big secret, then whispered loud enough for Elizabeth to hear. “There’s a man who she thinks is suspicious.” Her face went from excitement to serious thinking. “I think that’s what Reagan said. Earlier he avoided us. Reagan said he just disappeared.” She shook her head. “Even I’m smart enough to know people don’t disappear. Unless aliens take them.”
The soft sound behind him made it harder to keep from laughing. Elizabeth was about to lose her composure.
“Really?” His granddaughter best not be harassing a guest. That’s one adventure Jesse wouldn’t let slide.
“Uh-huh.”
“How about we sit over there—you, me, and your grandma?”
Amber considered the loveseat and chairs by the large cast iron fireplace. “Okay, but afterward, will you help me find my cousins?”
He’d have to speak with Reagan and remind her that while she had a new cousin closer to her age, from time to time, she needed to still include Amber.
Once settled, he pulled her attention from scanning the room. She turned to him. “What were you thinking about, Poppy? You looked serious.”
“Actually, I was thinking about you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise like she’d just been given the phone she wanted. “Was I good?”
Blake pushed hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “Of course you were.”
“Good, because Dad and Mom said I had to be good for Santa to visit.”
Playing Santa Claus for the kids would top off this vacation for him. “I was wondering what you planned to do to when you join HIS. It might be too early for you to think about it.”
Without hesitation, that head of hers twisted back and forth. “I’m getting a degree in forensic accounting.” She paused and scrunched up her face in confusion or deep thought. “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but Mom got one.”
Kids normally changed their minds about what they would do as an adult many times over. With the way Amber worshiped her mother, she might stick with it. If she filled Emily’s position, assisting at first, she wouldn’t need anything but college and experience since she only did the inside work. “What do you plan to do after that?”
Moving around in excitement, she emphatically said, “I’m going to work at the IRS for a few years so I can do everything my mom can. Hopefully even more.”
“That’s a lot to decide this early. Are you sure?” Stupid question to ask. Of course she’d say she was. There was no need to push it.
“I am.” A single nod emphasized each word.
“Well, I think that’s great. Your mom and dad will be proud of what you bring to HIS.”
While rocking, she twirled her hair again. “Reagan thinks she’ll be the boss of me. And she won’t. Right, Poppy?”
No way would he allow himself to dig into that hole, so he changed the subject. “How’s school?”
With her legs not reaching the floor, she stopped rocking and swung them back and forth. With a half shrug, she tilted her head. Her teacher needed hazard pay. Only Devon matched her constant motion when he’d been her age, which surprised him when he’d taken a desk job. “School’s okay, except that David Brown keeps following me and tries to sit beside me in class and at lunch. I don’t know why he does that. He has cooties, so I told him to quit following me around. He picked a flower and gave it to me. The boys laughed at him, and the girls oohed and aahed like it was a big deal.”
Glancing at Elizabeth who’d been silent, he saw she also held in another laugh. His grandchildren always surprised him. Especially his granddaughters. Emily had been a sweetheart growing up. Amber and Reagan were on their way to being hellions.
When he had a hard time controlling a dry cough, Elizabeth quietly slipped from their cozy area. He managed to stop, yet his throat felt like a grater had been rubbed up and down it.
Amber shrugged as if there’d been no interference in their conversation. “Other than him bothering me, it’s okay. Except I heard that in a couple years we’d have to dissect a frog. I’m not doing that. No way.” She waved her hands across each other as if giving a referee sign. “I’m wishing they’d made me do Kindergarten again, but something about my birthday sent me to first grade. I don’t know what, but my mom spent a lot of time talking to school people.”
Spinning from side to side in her seat again, she asked, “Have you seen Reagan yet? She needs me to investigate.”
He had to keep her off that track. Since Brandon and Reagan went off without her, she’d be upset. “Hmm. What did you ask from Santa Claus for Christmas?”
“I’m worried he won’t find me, but Mom and Dad promised me he would.”
“He will. I promise. So tell your poppy what you asked for.”
Excitedly—more than she’d been which seemed nearly impossible—she reached in the pocket of her dress and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it and trying to carefully wipe the creases away.
“What’s that?”
She held it out to him. “It’s my wish list for Santa.”
Without looking down at the paper, he accepted it and asked, “Amber, why do you have the list? You were supposed to give it to your parents so they could send it to Santa.” Had Jake and Emily been flying blind shopping for her?
The exagge
ration of her head once again shaking from side to side made him worry she’d fall to the floor. “I put a copy in the Santa mailbox at the mall.”
He cleared his throat. “Why’d you do that instead of giving it to your dad or mom?”
“They’d lose it. Dad’s always looking for his wallet, and Mom’s always looking for the car keys. I mean, if they can’t hold onto those things, they’d surely lose my important letter.”
The laugh in his chest almost burst forth, but he held it because it might upset her. “What did you ask for?”
She squirmed, and he wanted to strap her in the seat. But it was all Amber, and he loved her. “Since Reagan has a phone, I asked for one. Mom and Dad wouldn’t buy me one because I wasn’t old enough. I figure Santa won’t care how old I am because I was a good girl this year.”
Jake slid in behind her where she couldn’t see. He took the slight nod meant he’d purchased her that. It could mean something else, but he wasn’t deciphering it any other way. If Jake or Emily hadn’t seen the list, it was too late now.
Elizabeth returned, handed him a mineral water with lime and then glided away. His eyes were glued to her retreating backside.
“I mean, don’t you agree, Poppy?”
Getting caught gawking by his granddaughter was embarrassing, and when he looked up, Jake wore an amused smile. Great. “I don’t know. I’ve never talked to Santa.”
“Didn’t you talk to him for Dad and Mom?”
Jake grinned at him, either at the questions or his nervousness of saying the wrong thing that would impact the girl’s loss of the belief of Santa. “Moms and Dads have a special address that only they mail the lists to. And it has to been done at least two weeks before Christmas so Santa can ensure the toys are built in time.”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “Do you mean it? I sent mine more than two weeks ago. Do you think he makes phones there? I don’t need any of those kids’ toys.”
Soon he’d be laughing so hard it’d hurt her feelings. He was holding it back, but it got harder to stifle. “That’s good then. I don’t know about the phones though, but if he brings them, then I guess so. What else did you ask for?”