right… I’ll try again tomorrow,” he agreed.
He forced a smile for Hanna’s benefit, and then motioned for everyone to return to the living room. By then, the air around them had grown quite cozy, the deepening chill from outside banished by the fire’s warmth. It made it easier for them all to ignore what had just happened and resume their Christmas Eve celebration.
Evelyn suggested they play a board game together, and Hanna retrieved the latest version of Scrabble from John’s bedroom closet. A birthday gift to him from her the previous August, tonight presented the first opportunity to play it together. They played two rounds while sipping whiskey-spiked eggnog and listening to a collection of country Christmas carols that he purchased the week before. He retired first, around eleven, after thanking his granddaughters for the nice jacket and telling them he looked forward to spending Christmas day with them. Evelyn came next, winning the rights to sleep in the guestroom by virtue of a coin flip.
That left Hanna and Shawn alone in the living room. After transforming the couch into her bed for the night, she turned off the remaining lights still on throughout the main floor, leaving only the outside security lights and a small nightlight in the kitchen.
A few minutes past midnight when she finally laid down on the couch, Shawn curled up on the floor beneath her. Following a busy Christmas Eve and aided by the whiskey in her eggnog, she soon fell asleep. A faint smile on her face, barely visible in the glow from the cooling embers in the fireplace, the quiet sizzle from the hickory coals obscured the soft rustle approaching the secluded cabin from the west.
Chapter Eleven
While John and his granddaughters lay sleeping in Gatlinburg, David wrapped his arms around Miriam’s waist from behind and nibbled gently on the back of her ear. They stood near the kitchen sink, where a load of dishes waited to be rinsed from dinner.
“ Merry Christmas, darlin’.”
She hadn’t expected his loving advance, even though things were returning to normal for them. David was as pleasantly surprised as she that the hostile presence hadn’t returned. He even called ahead to make room reservations at the local Residence Inn at the Tech Center, down the road from their Littleton home, just in case. Luckily, they didn’t need the reservations and he canceled them that afternoon.
“ Merry Christmas to you, too, my love,” she whispered back, and then turned to face him.
Her smile carried only a hint of worry. David returned her smile with a confident grin, knowing she needed to see this from him. No one in the household wanted to consider the reality of being forced to flee their home at a moment’s notice if the entity returned.
They embraced tightly and shared a passionate kiss, longer than any they’d shared during the past week and a half. The hectic pace in getting ready for Christmas and Ruth’s visit seemed like a blur, and it left them without opportunities for intimacy.
“ Maybe later we can finish what we’ve started here…are you interested?” he said, gently kissing her cheek, chin, and then down her neck.
“ Stop, David!” she scolded, her tone playful but with enough seriousness to remind him that the kids and his aunt were in the other room.
Janice hadn’t left yet either, despite the fact ten o’clock fast approached. Christopher and Jillian would be in bed soon.
The promise of a visit from Santa Claus was usually the only thing necessary to get the younger kids in bed on Christmas Eve. But this year different, David openly wondered earlier that evening if it would be the time when they came clean with Christopher about the true identity of Santa. Jillian already knew, as of two years ago, and Tyler had known for the past six years that his parents put the presents under the tree during the wee hours of Christmas Day. Granted, they both enjoyed the surprises awaiting them at
He forced a smile for Hanna’s benefit, and then motioned for everyone to return to the living room. By then, the air around them had grown quite cozy, the deepening chill from outside banished by the fire’s warmth. It made it easier for them all to ignore what had just happened and resume their Christmas Eve celebration.
Evelyn suggested they play a board game together, and Hanna retrieved the latest version of Scrabble from John’s bedroom closet. A birthday gift to him from her the previous August, tonight presented the first opportunity to play it together. They played two rounds while sipping whiskey-spiked eggnog and listening to a collection of country Christmas carols that he purchased the week before. He retired first, around eleven, after thanking his granddaughters for the nice jacket and telling them he looked forward to spending Christmas day with them. Evelyn came next, winning the rights to sleep in the guestroom by virtue of a coin flip.
That left Hanna and Shawn alone in the living room. After transforming the couch into her bed for the night, she turned off the remaining lights still on throughout the main floor, leaving only the outside security lights and a small nightlight in the kitchen.
A few minutes past midnight when she finally laid down on the couch, Shawn curled up on the floor beneath her. Following a busy Christmas Eve and aided by the whiskey in her eggnog, she soon fell asleep. A faint smile on her face, barely visible in the glow from the cooling embers in the fireplace, the quiet sizzle from the hickory coals obscured the soft rustle approaching the secluded cabin from the west.
Chapter Eleven
While John and his granddaughters lay sleeping in Gatlinburg, David wrapped his arms around Miriam’s waist from behind and nibbled gently on the back of her ear. They stood near the kitchen sink, where a load of dishes waited to be rinsed from dinner.
“ Merry Christmas, darlin’.”
She hadn’t expected his loving advance, even though things were returning to normal for them. David was as pleasantly surprised as she that the hostile presence hadn’t returned. He even called ahead to make room reservations at the local Residence Inn at the Tech Center, down the road from their Littleton home, just in case. Luckily, they didn’t need the reservations and he canceled them that afternoon.
“ Merry Christmas to you, too, my love,” she whispered back, and then turned to face him.
Her smile carried only a hint of worry. David returned her smile with a confident grin, knowing she needed to see this from him. No one in the household wanted to consider the reality of being forced to flee their home at a moment’s notice if the entity returned.
They embraced tightly and shared a passionate kiss, longer than any they’d shared during the past week and a half. The hectic pace in getting ready for Christmas and Ruth’s visit seemed like a blur, and it left them without opportunities for intimacy.
“ Maybe later we can finish what we’ve started here…are you interested?” he said, gently kissing her cheek, chin, and then down her neck.
“ Stop, David!” she scolded, her tone playful but with enough seriousness to remind him that the kids and his aunt were in the other room.
Janice hadn’t left yet either, despite the fact ten o’clock fast approached. Christopher and Jillian would be in bed soon.
The promise of a visit from Santa Claus was usually the only thing necessary to get the younger kids in bed on Christmas Eve. But this year different, David openly wondered earlier that evening if it would be the time when they came clean with Christopher about the true identity of Santa. Jillian already knew, as of two years ago, and Tyler had known for the past six years that his parents put the presents under the tree during the wee hours of Christmas Day. Granted, they both enjoyed the surprises awaiting them at
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