ON THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS- KANE AND ALTON SERIES BY D.K. HOOD

 

On the day before Christmas, snow surrounded Sheriff Jenna Alton’s ranch in a blanket of white. As if celebrating, nature had decorated the trees in white, their frozen limbs glistening with icicles.  Dave Kane’s cottage resembled a gingerbread house, snow covered the roof hanging over the gutters and filling the window ledges. The cottage stood empty for now but would become a haven for anyone who needed it.  As Jenna piled gifts under the tree, her mind went over the previous year. So many things had happened and as she held up the star for the top of the Christmas tree for Kane to attach, she silently prayed for Dave, Wolfe and his girls, Rowley and his family, Zac and his siblings, Jo, Carter, and Maggie to be safe for another year.

“You look serious.” Kane slipped an arm around her shoulder. “Does the tree bring back memories?”

Snuggling against him, Jenna allowed the memories of her family to slip past the barricade and into her mind. “Yeah, but not all are happy memories.”

“Well, come and sit with me in front of the fire, drink hot chocolate and tell me a story.” Kane led her to the sofa and sat down pulling her with him.  “We could make this a tradition. Telling a story from our childhood each year we’re together.”

Laughing Jenna scooped up her cat, Pumpkin and placed it on her lap. Beside her Kane had removed his boots and was rubbing the back of his bloodhound, Duke with his feet. “You first.”

“Let me think.” Kane rubbed his chin staring into space and then chuckled. “I’m going back, way back to when me and my sister were little. My pa had made a toboggan. Well, I assume he made it. I was too young to know for sure but I recall seeing it under the Christmas tree, tied with a red bow and both our names on it.” He paused a beat with a faraway look in his eyes. His mouth turned up at the corners. “We wanted to go out and try it, so bad we abandoned all our other gifts.”

Jenna listened, getting anything from Kane’s past was a gift in itself. “How old were you?”

“Oh, about seven and my sister was little.” He smiled at the memory. “She followed me around so close those days, if I stopped sudden, she’d bump into me.  Getting back to the story, my folks drove us through the snow to the nearest hillside. I recall being so bundled up I couldn’t move my arms.” He chuckled. “My sister was too scared to go down the hill alone and my pa was planning on going with her but I ran over and threw myself onto the toboggan behind her. It took off at full speed and we shot down the hillside. It was awesome but then we hit a fallen log and both of us flew into the air and did a summersault that would make a ten in the Olympics and ended up on out backsides neck deep in the snow.” He grinned at her. “That was my first adventure with speed and danger and I loved it. My mom took a photograph of us neck deep in the snow with our bright red knitted hats with pompoms on top and grinning like baboons. It sat on our mantle until they died. It was also the first and last time my pa let me get away with disobeying a direct order. So, it was a turning point in my life.”

Laughing, Jenna squeezed his arm. “You weren’t afraid at all, even flying through the air?”

“Nope. I wanted to climb back on and do it all again…especially hitting the log. The flying through the air was magical.” Kane grinned at her. “Now you. Did you have a turning point in your life.”

Self-consciousness filled Jenna, she had so many memories but most life changing ones had happened later in her life. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I guess but mine is a bit lame. I must have been three or four and I had an imaginary friend. Well, my mom told me it was imaginary but I swear to this day, I could see a monkey.”

“A monkey?” Kane grinned at her. “As in gorilla, orangutan? —I need a visual.”

Jenna pulled on her bottom lip. “More like a chimpanzee, wearing a pink tutu.” She poked him in the ribs. “Stop laughing. It was my friend.”

“Uh-huh an only child often has imaginary friends.” Kane was obviously finding it difficult to stop laughing. “So how does this relate to Christmas?”

Jenna frowned. “I’m not going to tell you if you laugh at me.”

“Stop tickling me and I’ll try.” He grabbed her hands. “What was the monkey’s name?”

Relenting, Jenna leaned back in the chair. “Her name was Monkey. I was very literal as a child. My teddy bear’s name was Teddy Bear. Anyway, I came down Christmas morning to open my presents. I tore off the paper and found a toy. It was a chimpanzee in a pink tutu.” She looked at Kane and sighed. “I asked my mom if she could see the monkey, and she could. That was a turning point in my life. I never saw the monkey again.”

“That’s kinda sad.” Kane hugged her. “Did it become your favorite toy?”

Shaking her head, Jenna shrugged. “Nope, I never went near it. I only had one special toy and that was Teddy Bear.” She turned to look at him. “My folks were kind but must have thought my imagination was on the edge of insanity or something. One thing’s for sure, if one of my kids has an imaginary friend, I’m going along with it.”  She swallowed hard. “Let’s make some happy memories. Can I give you one of your gifts now?”

“Sure.” Kane’s expression went soft. “I’d like that.”

Heat rose in Jenna’s cheeks as she took a small box from the gifts spilling over the coffee table and handed it to him. Dave was a hard man to buy anything for and she usually stuck to clothes, warm hats or leather gloves but this time, she’d wanted to give him something to remember. Her heart thumped as he removed the paper, and his eyes lifted to hers as he cradled the ring box in his large palm. “Go on open it, before I die of embarrassment.”

“A pinky ring— I love it! Thank you.” Kane ran his finger over the horseshoe on the front and examined it, reading the inscription inside. He met her gaze and reached to touch her face. “Nulli secundus.” He slipped the ring onto his finger and admired it.

Jenna swallowed hard. “Do you know what that means?”

“I do and I’m honored.” Kane leaned forward and kissed her. “Second to none. You don’t know how much this means to me, Jenna.” He pulled back. “Now yours. I’m intrigued by snowflakes.” He plucked a small gift from his top pocket and handed it to her. “Each snowflake is unique and original. All of them so beautiful as if given to us as a special gift each Christmas. You are my special gift, Jenna.”

Fumbling with the ribbon, Jenna folded back the paper and found a small box, inside she gasped at the gold and diamond snowflake on a gold chain. “Oh, Dave this is exquisite.”

“Merry Christmas.” He pulled her into his arms.

Jenna sighed. “Merry Christmas. This is one  happy memory I’ll never forget.”

The end.

 ©D.K. Hood 2021