A desperate whimper sounded from below. He squatted down and shoveled the snow aside with his hands, revealing a wet, shivering puppy curled up in a ball.
“Don’t you belong to some chubby-cheeked little boy with a scooter?” He sighed, a cloudy breath thickening between them. “Well, don’t just sit there freezing to death. Don’t you have survival instincts?” He lifted the scrapper and held him against his chest. When Simon stood up, the little puppy licked his chin.
For pity’s sake.
Simon unzipped his jacket and tucked the shivering puppy inside before zipping it back up again. “Now don’t you go nibbling on my piercing. And try not to pee on me.”
He headed toward the car and sat in the driver’s seat. The heater generated more noise than warmth. Ella removed the T-shirt from her head and used it to soak up the water on her thick stockings.
Simon tapped her shoulder. “Brought you something.”
Her eyes brightened when he unzipped his jacket and the puppy tumbled out.
“Oh my goodness!” She collected the wiggling furball, his tail wagging excitedly and his tongue cleaning her face. “Where did you find him?”
“A jolly fat man in a red suit.”
Chapter 11
Silver
Before dawn, I dragged myself away from Logan’s warm embrace and got ready. Since I had a busy day ahead of me, I ditched the fancy dress and put on a comfy pair of jeans and a red shirt.
Hours later, I’d found my groove. I had a turkey going in Levi’s oven as well as ours, and I’d prepared everything for the cornbread dressing and side dishes. Homemade mashed potatoes seemed like too much work, so I decided to use the instant stuff in the box instead. A lot of things just required heating up, such as the peas, canned corn, and the rice I’d cooked the night before.
After buzzing Sunny and her kids into the building, Logan and I headed downstairs to greet them. Logan carried a bundle of small blankets in his arms in case the children were cold and wanted to snuggle up by the fire. Before my shower, I had snuck downstairs and put a few extra gifts under the tree and in the stockings, although by the look of things, Santa Justus had already paid a visit.
When I made it to the family room downstairs to greet Sunny, my eyes widened.
Levi and Lucian were setting breakfast on the table.
“You did all this?” I asked, ready to tackle them in a bear hug.
Lunch and dinner had been my sole purpose, so I’d failed to consider that our guests might be hungry at breakfast time.
Levi planted a big smooch on my cheek. “We’ve got your back. You do lunch and we’ll take care of breakfast. I’m ready for this eat-a-thon.”
Sunny, wearing a purple scarf and matching hat, followed Logan into the room. She gave me a tight hug. “Hey, sis.”
“Merry Christmas, Sunshine.”
She backed up a step and looked around. “Geez, it looksamazingin here. When did you have time to do this?”
“All credit goes to the boys,” I said. “Rose should be down in a little bit.”
“Hi, Aunt Silver!” Zoë said, peeking around her mother.
I crouched down and opened my arms. “Come give me a squeeze.”
She giggled and wrapped her arms around my neck. Zoë was the spitting image of Sunny with her sparkling blue eyes and rosy cheeks. Both had blond hair, but Sunny’s natural wave couldn’t compete with Zoë’s pretty curls.
And then there was Knox.
“Bang!” He fired his finger at me, and I collapsed on my back. Knox snickered and peered down at me. “You’re silly.”
I opened one eye. “Are you strong enough to help me up?”
His lips pressed tight, and with a look of determination, Knox grabbed my arm and pulled as hard as a three-year-old could. When I finally stood up, I bent down and kissed his forehead. As usual, his ears turned bright red, and he dashed across the room to check out the stockings at the fireplace.
