Queenie Baby: Pass the Eggnog by Christina A. Burke

of the oversized sled and positioned Max on his lap. Max put his paws on the curled up plastic edge in front of him. Tiffany climbed on next with Justin giving the sled a push as he jumped on last.
    And they were off! Flying down the hill. Max looked like the captain at the front of a ship with his paws braced against the ledge. His long ears and hair were flying out behind him; his curled upper lip made him look like he was wearing a big crooked grin.
    "Now I've seen everything," Ashley remarked.
    They reached the bottom with a splash of snow and all toppled off. Jason leapt off the sled and raced to the door.
    Ashley walked over and opened the kitchen door. "Did you see that Mom?" he shouted. "Max can ride a sled!"
    "I saw. Really cool," Ashley responded in her mom voice. "Are you guys getting too cold?"
    "No way!"
    I pulled on a pair of boots next to the door and grabbed my cell phone. "Jason, see if Max will do it again, and I'll get a video." There was YouTube gold in them there hills!
    "Will do, Aunt Di." He raced back outside and rounded up the troops. They started the climb back up the hill with Max following happily behind.
    When I came back in from filming two trips down the hill, I found an audience huddled around the bay window.
    "That's some dog ya got there," Granddaddy Hacker said. "Seems like he's done it before."
    Granddad nodded in agreement. "Where'd he learn to sled?'
    I shrugged. "No idea. I got him from the SPCA a couple of years ago. He was a stray."
    "Bet that dog used to be in the pictures," Aunt Pearl said. "Got that look about him."
    Everyone murmured their agreement. I guess that's an upgrade from circus dog.
    A half hour later the gang came in looking for hot chocolate and cookies. Max got a treat and good rub down with a towel. And I was off to practice the "Sisters" act in full costume with Ashley. Ugh!
    I was feeling pretty good about my routine with Ashley after an hour of surprisingly fun sister-togetherness. We might not be Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, but we weren't too shabby either.
    I was still dressed in my costume when the doorbell rang. The final dress rehearsal was in fifteen minutes, and I was in charge of rounding up Grands while Ashley and Dan put the finishing touches on the stage.
    I opened the door to find a tall, handsome man dressed in a dark suit custom tailored to fit his large frame. My first thought was, Wow, now we're talkin' ! But then I recognized the twinkling blue eyes.
    "Kyle?"
    He laughed. "I knew you wouldn't recognize me without the beard. And judging from the look on your face, it's a good thing I didn't look like this the first time you opened the door or I'da had a hard time explainin' things to Lindsey."
    He was probably right, but I wasn't going to let on. "You clean up nice," was all I said.
    Ashley clapped her hands in excitement when we walked into the living room. "OMG! You look fantastic! I was so worried you wouldn't make it over." Ashley rushed over and gave him a hug.
    Kyle leaned down to return it, saying, "Wouldn't have missed it. Lindsey will be here for the play too." His broad smile said more than any words could.
    "I'm so glad it worked out." I patted his arm.
    "I've got you to thank," he said turning towards me. "If it wasn't for her bein' jealous, she might still be pouting in Philly, waiting for me to get a clue and come get her." He shook his head at the fickleness of women.
    Â On this point, I had to agree. Lindsey was one of the more stubborn examples of womankind I'd seen.
    "I'm just glad you're happy."
    Kyle glanced around the room and whistled. "Nice. Who did all this?"
    "Elves," I replied.
    "You don't say?" he looked around in wonder.
    Talk about gullible. "It wasn't actually elves. It was Ashley's husband Dan." Which, come to think of it, was more amazing than elves.
    "Didn't really think so, but you never know around this place. Things have been pretty strange around here." Kyle raised his eyes to the ceiling and pointed up.
    I