All I Want for Christmas: A Kinnison Legacy Holiday novella (7 page)

“So, what do you have planned for this shindig, bro?” Dalton asked as he calmly buttered the roll his brother had thrown at him.

Wyatt thought for a moment, and glanced at Aimee.

“Hey, as long as Betty and Rebecca bring the desserts and you guys handle the meat, I can provide the rest.”

“Are you having a sleigh ride?” Liberty asked, taking a small bite of her casserole.

“Oh, that’d be fun. We could offer them in shifts.”

“I could handle that,” Michael stated. “Emilee can help me. She’s good with the horses, like her mama.” He grinned at Angelique.

“And you’ve got to read the story. That’s tradition,” Rein offered.

Wyatt nodded. “Yeah, remind me to talk to you about that.” He pointed his fork at Rein.

The remainder of the meal was punctuated with laughter and stories and thoughts about where End of the Line was going as a growing community.

Liberty noted how Cody had picked at his meal, much as she had, but he’d been quiet, only speaking when spoken to and then offering only one-word responses.

After lunch, Liberty walked over to admire the beautiful live, eight-foot tree that Wyatt and Aimee had set up at the end of the great room. It stood in front of the majestic cathedral windows rebuilt to their former state, after the fire. In the daylight, they offered a spectacular view of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The tree was decorated with a few store-bought ornaments, but many were handmade by Aimee’s former students. Emilee had been in her second grade class two years before when a blizzard had blown up during an unorthodox field trip to the ranch just before Christmas—back when most of the community had dubbed the reclusive Wyatt Kinnison “the Grinch.” Still fighting the grief of losing her twin sister at the time, Aimee and Wyatt would fall in love in those few days they were stranded with children on the ranch.

Aimee walked up beside Liberty. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure.” She kept an eye on Cody who’d gone around to the other side of the tree.

“Do I look any different?” Aimee asked.

Liberty studied her. “Different? How?”

Aimee leaned in close and whispered. “I took a home pregnancy test. It came back positive.” She put her finger to her lips. “I’m not going to say anything to anyone else until I know for sure this time.” She glanced at Liberty. “You remember that you called it with Gracie. Before even I knew. I just wondered if you noticed anything.”

Liberty took Aimee’s hand and squeezed it. “Has Wyatt cooked any bacon lately?”

Aimee frowned as though in thought. “No, he hasn’t.”

“I remember you turned green as a gourd at the scent of frying bacon. I can’t say that it’d happen again, but that’s when I first noticed.”

A blood-curdling scream from the other side of the tree stopped Liberty’s heart. She and Aimee darted around the tree and found Emilee, her hand over Cody’s. Both were poised on a miniature John Deere tractor ornament.

Emilee’s gaze was fixed on their hands. She seemed in a trance, unable to break free from whatever the child was seeing in her mind. Her dark brown eyes were filled with terror.

“Emilee?” Angelique rushed to her daughter and knelt beside her. Rebecca followed close behind. Both women knew that it was the young girl’s gift as a ‘seer’ that produced these random events.

“She’s seeing something. Be gentle,” Rebecca cautioned.

Tears rolled down the little girl’s face. Her head moved slowly side to side as though she didn’t want to believe what she saw.

“Em, it’s Mama, darlin’. I’m here, sweetheart.”

Dalton also knelt next his daughter. “Em, dad’s here. Come on back to us, baby.”

Liberty had witnessed snippets of the young girl’s ability to ‘see’ things in the past, but they’d never before been this pronounced, or this emotional.

Dalton laid his hand carefully over Emilee’s, and, after a heartbeat, she looked up at him. Fat tears dropped from her eyes when she blinked. She grabbed Dalton around the neck and hugged him tight. Whatever she’d seen had clearly terrified her.

Cody stood still, his little chest heaving in and out with his labored breathing. If not calmed down, he’d most likely hyperventilate. Rein picked up the small boy and hugged him close, walking away as he whispered softly, trying to calm the child.

“I didn’t mean to see it,” Emilee sobbed into her father’s neck. “I didn’t mean to.”

Rein suggested that maybe they should get Cody home and they’d call later to discuss what happened. Liberty drove home, with Rein, leaning back to hold Cody’s hand the entire way.

Liberty wasn’t hungry, but suggested cold pizza or soup she had in the freezer for Rein and Cody. She wasn’t feeling well and decided to lie down, startled sometime later by the ringing of her cell phone. Angelique, calling to check on Cody.

Liberty glanced at the clock by their bed, and realized through her grogginess that she’d slept much longer than she’d anticipated. It was past Cody’s bath time and well into getting ready for bed. She blinked to clear her head.

“Are you okay? You sound as though you were sleeping.”

Liberty swallowed at the dryness in her throat. “I’m fine. Just a little tired. Cody’s fine, I think. He’s been with Rein since we got back home. How’s Em?”

“She’s better, but still pretty shaken up,” Angelique said. “Let me be honest in saying I don’t know much about this gift my Aunt Rebecca feels my daughter has. She says it comes from my great-grandmother—a full-blooded Crow shaman who had the gift of ‘sight’.”

“The child was terrified, Angelique. What in God’s name did she see?”

There was a slight pause. Enough to cause Liberty to sit up and listen carefully.

“She described a room—she didn’t know where, only that it seemed small. There were four or five people, male or female, she couldn’t decipher,” Angelique explained.

Thus far, it sounded more along the lines of the old, black-and-white scary movies that sometimes Em and her dad would watch together. Dalton was an avid fan of old horror movies, where most things looked staged and almost funny in comparison to modern horror films.

Angelique cleared her throat. “She saw a lot of blood—on the floor, the walls, and on the people.”

“Like a murder scene?” Liberty asked, horrified that such a vision would have to be seen by anyone, much less a child.

“That upset her, yes, but what she screamed about was seeing Cody standing there. He, too, was covered in blood.”

She dropped her feet to the floor and sat on the edge of the bed as Rein walked in the room. “Cody—was he?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

“She just said that he was standing in the room, and was screaming for his daddy.”

Liberty’s heart twisted. She felt bile rise in her throat.

“Has Cody ever mentioned a father? Does Ellie know if there is one?” Angelique asked.

Liberty shook her head, jarring loose the disturbing image planted in her brain. “Um…I, no, she’s never mentioned a father figure. You’d think if there was one that cared, he’d have shown up by now, wouldn’t you?”

“Valid point,” Angelique said, and then sighed. “I am going to tell them both no scary movies for a while—I don’t care if Dalton calls them cheesy or not. I’m really sorry, Liberty, but we felt you ought to at least be aware of what Em saw.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ll call Ellie tomorrow and see if I can find out anything more.” Her eyes rose to meet her husband’s steady gaze. He was the only one she knew of that Cody would call “daddy”.

***

The next morning after Rein left to meet with Wyatt and Clay for breakfast at Betty’s, Liberty waded through a load of laundry and two cups of coffee, fed Cody his breakfast, and then settled him on the couch in the family room with his favorite soft blue afghan to watch his sing-a-long videos.

She sat down, debating whether to call Ellie. Finally, she dialed her number.

“Hey, Ellie, it’s Liberty. Got a minute?”

“Sure, is everything okay?”

Liberty hesitated, unsure of where to begin.

“Did the Sunday dinner thing go okay?” Ellie asked.

“It did… mostly. It was a relatively pleasant day. Cody picked at his food, stayed pretty quiet.”

“Until?” Ellie prodded. “I can hear in your voice that something happened.”

“You know Emilee Kinnison, my niece? Dalton’s oldest.”

“Yes, I’ve been around her many times since moving here. Very mature for her age. A gifted child.”

“That is true. And it seems her Grandma Rebecca feels that she may have the ability to ‘see’ things—visions, if you will. But they seem random at best. And it’s unclear if they’re past, present, or future.”

“She did nail Sawyer’s gender, even before Angelique knew.”

“True, and I’ve seen it occur a couple of other times, but nothing of this magnitude. This was very different.”

“How so?” Ellie prodded.

“Emilee was terrified and frankly, if I’d seen what she told her grandmother she saw, I’d be terrified, too.”

“At the very least, concerned, I’d think.”

“Exactly, and that’s why I called. To find out if Cody has a father in his life somewhere. Maybe a boyfriend of Rowena’s that he called ‘daddy’?”

“No, not that I’m aware of. It was just the two of them when they came to us. She said they’d been traveling north from New Orleans, living pretty much from place-to-place, making their way to relatives in Canada. She had Cody’s birth records with her and it didn’t indicate a father. But as you know, many women who come through our doors are seeking safety from an abusive relationship. Has Cody been asking to see his dad?” Ellie asked.

“No,” Liberty replied.

“What did Emilee say that she saw?”

“What she described sounded like a horrible accident, perhaps…there was a lot of blood.” She paused to take a breath and glanced at Cody, seemingly unscathed by the incident and content as could be, enraptured by the video. “I’m not sure I understand this notion of seeing visions.”

“Why don’t you tell me the rest. What makes you ask about his father?”

“Angelique said that Emilee saw Cody standing over these bodies. He was covered in blood and he was screaming out for his daddy,” she finished, resting her palm to her forehead. “I don’t know what to think.”

There was a long pause. “Well, to my knowledge, Rowena has never been involved in anything even close to that type of incident. And I would hazard a guess that if she had been, Cody’s behavior would be showing obvious signs of seeing something that traumatic.”

Reason. “You’re right, that makes sense.”

Ellie cleared her throat. “Though that isn’t going to make what I have to tell you any easier. In fact, I was just picking up the phone to call you when you rang through.”

Liberty stilled. “What is it?”

“Rowena agreed to the deal. She gave them some names. The judge instructed her to do three hundred hours of community service and she received a one-year probation, as it was her first offense. She gets released later today.”

“And Cody?” She could barely get out the question, knowing already the answer was one she’d effectively been sweeping under the rug for days now.

“He awarded Cody back to his mom.”

Her brain went on shut down. How was this possible? Couldn’t the judge see how unwise it was to send this little boy back into such uncertainty?

“Liberty?”

“Isn’t there anything you can do?” Liberty asked, trying to keep her emotions on an even keel. “Do you feel this is the right thing—the best for Cody?”

“Listen, I know how hard this is. You and Rein are good people. But the fact is that our system is designed to keep mothers and children together if at all possible.”

Liberty felt as though her heart had been ripped from her chest.

“She agreed to the terms I set. At least they’ll be living here--that’s some comfort, I hope.”

“So, the probation means she cannot move out of state, correct?” Liberty asked.

“That’s true. However, she can still decide who Cody has contact with. Right now, that’s a short list which includes me, the social worker, and one other staff member.” Ellie released a sigh. “It’s not ideal. Admittedly, I share your concern. But we’ve got to give her a chance to make things right by her son. And hopefully, she may agree to allow you some visitation.”

“But his Christmas presents—Rein built him a little barn to go with his farm set.” Liberty searched her mind, trying to remember where she’d hidden all the little gifts for him.

“You can wrap them and give them to me if you like. I’ll see that he gets them.”

Her eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip and breathed in deeply to keep from falling apart.

“I know what you’re feeling, Liberty. I do. I’ve wanted to hang on to so many of the kids whom I’ve seen over the years. That’s part of what we do, show love and family to kids who really need it. Sometimes, those kids are lucky enough to stay in those good homes, and other times their visits are short.”

Tears began to roll down Liberty’s cheeks.