PROLOGUE
LANDON STONE WAS THEtype of kid who could typically figure things out on his own, but at the moment he was stumped. He couldn’t figure out how Santa Claus was going to find him this year, and it was really bothering him. He was smart. Everyone told him so. He was at the top of his class, and his teacher had already suggested promoting him to second grade from first grade. His mom had vetoed the suggestion to promote him since she was worried that his social life would suffer. Plus, his brother Caleb wouldn’t have liked them being in the same grade. And who would have blamed him? That would have been embarrassing for someone like Caleb, who cared a lot about the way things looked,especiallyhis own reflection staring back at him in the mirror.
Not that Landon had a huge amount of friends to begin with. Being the new kid in school was tricky. Everyonealready had a best friend, and he wasn’t exactly a great conversation starter. He’d messed up royally on his first day by asking a few of his classmates what their IQ was. They had looked at him as if he’d just landed from another planet. At this point he was beginning to think maybe he was from Mars.
His older brothers, Xavier and Caleb, seemed to be fitting in way more than he ever would. Xavier was athletic and sociable. Caleb was charming and hilarious. The girls all loved him. What did Landon have going for him other than his gigantic brain? So far most of his classmates didn’t seem very impressed with his intelligence. So what if he knew the exact order of planets in the solar system? They didn’t care that he owned a magnifying glass, a microscope, and a copy ofScience World Encyclopedia. Thankfully, he’d found a group of science geeks like himself to hang out with. They had all bonded over everything from Bunsen burners to asteroids. His own little tribe. It didn’t stop him from being homesick, but it helped.
Christmas in Arizona wasn’t shaping up to be anything like what he’d experienced in Moose Falls, his old hometown in Alaska. It was the best place ever, and every single day Landon wished he was back there. But his family had moved to Arizona due to the D word. Divorce! He had listened to the local meteorologist Marv Simmons, who’d said there was a zero chance of snow. ZERO! It was absolutely pathetic.
At least there was one thing he was really excited about. He had a new science teacher, Mr. Demmings, who was going to take students to the planetarium on Christmas Eve. The way he figured it, he could track Santa’s whereaboutsand maybe get a glimpse of him through a telescope as Santa made his rounds.
Landon was hanging out with his brothers and watching an old show calledStar Trek. He liked the way all the officers and crew were brainiacs. They used their smarts for space exploration. He thought it was pretty cool.
“Hey, guys. Let’s try to get Mom something nice for Christmas this year,” Xavier suggested. “Have you been saving up your allowance?”
Caleb made a face and shrugged. “I’ve spent most of mine. Comic books, candy, and going to the movies are expensive.” In response, Xavier rolled his eyes.
“What about you?” Xavier asked Landon.
Landon grinned. He was really good at saving his money. “I haven’t spent any of mine.” Landon puffed his chest out. He might be the youngest Stone brother, but he was fiscally responsible. He’d been listening to the NPR radio station, and that term had been used repeatedly by the host.
“Figures,” Caleb muttered. “You probably have the first dime you ever made.”
“And that’s a good thing,” Xavier said, flashing Landon a thumbs-up sign, “because Landon’s making up for the fact that you’re broke. Now we have a decent shot at getting Mom something special.” It wasn’t really Caleb’s fault that he couldn’t handle his money. If his brother asked him nicely, Landon would be willing to show him a thing or two.
“Let’s make a list of things she might like,” Xavier suggested. “Then we can narrow it down and pick something.”
Landon ran over to his desk and found a pen and pad of paper. He held them up. “Got it!”
Caleb quickly swung his head up. “Perfume. Or some of those bath salts she likes,” he suggested.
“That’s good,” Xavier said, sounding encouraging. “She would enjoy those.”
“She loves reading,” Landon said, thinking about all the times their mom had sat in the tub with a glass of wine and a romance novel. “We could get her something at the Bookworm.”
The Bookworm bookstore was Daisy Stone’s favorite store. It had been around since she was a girl, and she still liked going every week. This time of year, the front windows were filled with festive decorations—candy canes, twinkling lights, and a big fat Christmas tree. Although it was far from being in Alaska, it did fill him with a feeling of holiday cheer.
Landon beamed. It was a good thing to be useful. He cared a lot about what his brothers thought. When they were happy with him, Landon felt ten feet tall.
Xavier snapped his fingers. “What about some dangly earrings?” he asked.
For the next half hour or so they all threw out ideas, and Landon wrote them all down. The list was pretty long and included all of Daisy’s favorites.
“Are we getting a present for Dad?” Landon asked, looking back and forth between his brothers. Neither one of them was smiling. Caleb bit his lip. Xavier had a vein jumping around by his eyebrow.
“I don’t think so,” Xavier said, dragging out the words. “We won’t be seeing him anytime soon, I don’t think.”
“That’s what Mom said,” Caleb agreed, nodding. “Plus, he doesn’t deserve one.”
Landon jumped up from the bed and got in Caleb’s face, fists raised. “Take it back,” he shouted, fully prepared to sock his brother in the nose.
“I won’t either,” Caleb shouted. “You little twerp. Don’t you understand that the divorce is all his fault? Because of him Mom cries every day, and we’re stuck here in Arizona.”
Xavier stepped between them, facing Landon. “Hey! Put down those fists. That’s not how we solve things between the Three Musketeers. Is it?”
Landon put down his fists and nodded. “No, it’s not,” he mumbled. “But he—”
“He nothing,” Xavier said. “Caleb told you something that you didn’t want to hear, and that bothered you, right?”
