The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series (14 page)

“Okay.” Shauna rubbed her hands together. “I’ll start out easy to get you warmed up, but pay attention because I won’t necessarily start at the beginning of the song. When you know the answer, shout it out. First team to ten wins.” With that, she started the first song.

A couple of notes in, Sam was on her feet, her hand in the air. “It’s
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer!”

“Right! That’s one for the girls.” Shauna smirked at her brothers.

Karen waved an arm in Sam’s direction. “No one said anything about jumping to our feet when we know the answer. I can’t do that. No way.”

“It’s not a rule. Apparently Sam just got a little excited,” Shauna said.

“Yeah, I got a little excited,” Sam said, then gave Jake a friendly punch in the shoulder when he laughed at her.

“Next song,” Shauna announced.

The men were leaning forward in their seats, eyes focused on the iPod speaker, but this time it was Anna who shouted, “
Joy To The World!”

“Good job, Mom, that’s another for the girls.”

Some mumbling started on the sofa where Frank, Jake, and Riley were seated. “You should have gotten that one,” Riley grumbled at Frank. “Remember how he used to walk around the house shouting ‘Joy to the World’ at the top of his lungs all December long?”

“I remember,” Jake said. “Annoying. Now pay attention, we’re losing.”

“Ready?” Shauna asked before starting the next song.

When Susan got
O Christmas Tree
out just a moment before Joe, there were some unpleasant looks exchanged on the men’s team.

“You guys are getting your butts kicked,” Shauna singsonged.

“Just play the next one,” Frank grumbled.

A few notes into the song, Riley bellowed, “
Chris—Christmas Vacation!
That’s
Christmas Vacation!
”

“Calm down, you only get one point regardless of how many times you shout the answer,” Shauna admonished.

There were high fives and fist bumps all around as the men celebrated Riley’s point.

“Don’t get too excited, you’re still down three to one,” Sam cautioned.

“Getting nervous, are you?” Jake asked.

“Not at all, right ladies?” Susan said. They all chimed in.

“Right.”

“It’s probably the only one they’ll get all night.”

“Look at them, acting like they won the game.”

“Moving on,” Shauna said over the din.

It took Susan only a moment to recognize
O Holy Night
. “Hah! Guess you guys aren’t so smart after all,” she needled.

Sean just shook his head. “I don’t know how you’re answering so fast. I don’t even have a chance to hear the song before one of you is belting out the answer.”

To Sam and Susan Anna said, “Sean prefers games that don’t require such quick answers. He’s a whiz at trivia games provided it’s not a race to answer first.”

“Sounds like Granddad,” Susan reminisced. “Remember, Sam? Remember how much he hated it when we’d play one of the dozens of board games with timers?”

“But he always played along…except when we asked him to play that game that was like charades. That one he only played once.”

“He was a good sport. I miss him.”

“I do too,” Sam said and laid a hand over Susan’s.

Before they could let themselves get too swept away in their memories, Shauna was starting yet another song.

This time, it took everyone a while. Anna was humming along, frustrated at not being able to come up with the title. Jake was mouthing the words, trying to sing ahead of the music to get to the title before someone else. Finally, it was Karen who announced, “
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
.”

“Darn it!” Jake pounded his fist of the arm of the sofa. “I was just going to say that.”

“Well, you should have been quicker,” Shauna chided. “You guys ready to give up?”

“We don’t give up,” Riley growled at his sister. “Just play the next one.” He turned and scowled at his teammates. “Pay attention.”

The women got the next three before Jake got
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
making the score eight to two.

“I’ve never liked that song,” Anna frowned. “Why would anyone think it’s funny that Grandma got run over by a reindeer on Christmas Eve? Christmas songs are supposed to be happy.”

“How about that horrible Christmas shoes song? Why do we need to hear it on the radio ten times a day, I have to wonder? A song about a little boy buying shoes for his dying mom? It’s awful.” Karen’s voice caught, her eyes started to fill, and Joe was on his feet and at her side in a flash.

“It’s okay, honey,” Joe soothed as he stroked her back. “I’m sure Shauna won’t play that song.” He glared at Shauna as if daring her to contradict him.

Shauna held her hands up in defense. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to play it. I don’t like it anyway.”

Karen took a deep breath and seemed embarrassed by her behavior. “I’m sorry, sometimes these crazy hormones make me a little emotional,” she muttered.

“A little?” Riley mumbled and earned a sharp elbow in the ribs from Jake.

After a couple of minutes Shauna asked, “How about one more song? There’s no way the boys are going to catch up, but there’s one more I want to play.”

They agreed and Shauna started the music. There were some curious glances as no one could place the tune. Suddenly Sean announced, “
Christmas In Killarney
,” his face beaming as he looked proudly around the room.

“Way to go, Dad!” Shauna congratulated him. “I knew you’d get it.”

“Good choice, Shauna, this Christmas needed a little Irish,” Sean said in the thickest brogue he could muster.

Anna checked the time. “We really need to start thinking about getting ready if we’re going to make midnight mass.”

“Midnight mass at ten o’clock, you mean.  I wonder how many midnight masses I slept through as a kid? Ten o’clock is probably a smart decision,” Joe said on a yawn.

They started gathering plates and glasses, searching for coats and purses, and gradually made their way to the cars. “Go ahead,” Susan said to Sam when Jake announced he had the car warmed up. “I’ll lock up here and be right behind you.”

When it was just the two of them, Riley called Susan over to the Christmas tree and handed her two brightly wrapped gifts. “I didn’t feel like doing this in front of everyone.”

“But we need to get going, we shouldn’t be late.”

“We have time. Mom always thinks we need to be the first ones there. Sit down for a minute.”

“Well, okay.”

“Here, open this one first.”

Susan took a moment to admire the Christmas tree. Susan and Sam had added their names to the McCabe family gift exchange drawing so they’d all be opening gifts together on Christmas Day, but she had always preferred Christmas Eve. Opening packages in the glow of the Christmas tree made it more magical.

She began tearing the paper on the first box. When she opened it and saw a Minnesota Wild jersey and a pair of tickets to a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, she had to laugh.

“Oh, Riley, I don’t know if I can wear this. It’s asking a lot.”

“Trust me, you’ll be happy you did. It’s no fun sitting in an arena wearing the opposing jersey when your team loses.”

“And if my team wins?”

“Still no fun. Everyone around you will heckle you.”

“I’ll go to the game, it sounds like fun, but I’m not committing to wearing the jersey just yet.”

“Fair enough. The game’s not until the end of January, you’ll change your mind by then. Now open the other one.”

“Why are there two? It seems excessive.”

Riley huffed out an exasperated breath. “Just open it, Red.”

“Okay, okay.” She tore away at the candy cane striped paper, opened the box, and found layers of tissue covering whatever was inside the heavy package. Curious, she carefully pulled back the paper and caught her breath. Staring up at her was a dramatic photograph of the Northern Lights, just as she could still see the display in her mind.

Reverently, she ran a hand over the glass. The varying shades of green seemed to swirl before her eyes. Unable to speak, she picked up the frame and below found a second photo, as stunning as the first. This one was taken from a slightly different angle and the light seemed to dance on the frozen, snowy surface of the lake.

The photos had been expertly framed and matted and they were perfect—absolutely perfect—for her Northern Lights room. And Riley had known.

“Did Frank take them?”

“Yep. Turns out that while we were watching from the window, he was racing around the lake trying to find the perfect vantage point.”

“Riley, I don’t know what to say…I, I don’t know how to thank you. These are incredible, beautiful, exactly what I wanted for the room without even knowing it. But you did, you knew, and you did this for me and it’s so sweet and it’s so thoughtful and…and…”

She felt her throat start to tighten and she couldn’t go on. She didn’t have the words and even if she had, she didn’t think she’d be able to get them out. She carefully set the box aside then, putting her hands on Riley’s face, kissed him.

“I guess I figured you’d like them but I didn’t expect this. I hope Frank doesn’t get the same kind of thank you.”

Susan choked out a half-laugh, half-sob and put her head on his shoulder. “No, not quite the same. He did take some amazing pictures, though. How did you get these done so quickly?” She picked one up again to admire it.

“I really wasn’t sure I’d be able to but Frank has connections.”

“Hmmm, I might have to rethink my thank you for him.”

“Very funny.” He played with her hair, delighted with the way the curls coiled around this fingers, while she continued to study the pictures. “We probably should get going now or we will wind up late for mass.”

Susan glanced at the clock on the wall. “They’ll save a seat for us,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Riley and kissed him again.

16

The boy rubbed his eyes and sat up. It was still dark in the room, but he thought it was probably morning. Christmas morning. Nervously, he looked around, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. His mom was still sleeping next to him in the hard, lumpy bed. The room was small, but even so, he couldn’t quite see all the way to the corner…the corner where he had finally convinced his mom to put a tiny Christmas tree.

He squinted through the shadows, hoping he would see a gift under the tree, but at the same time, prepared to find the spot empty. His mom had assured him Santa would find him in the motel. She said Santa always found good boys and girls, but he wasn’t so sure. He should be home at Aunt Jenny’s, that’s where Santa would look for him. What if Santa had a present for him but left it under Aunt Jenny’s tree? His mom said they might not go back there. Sad and with the tears that always seemed to be close to the surface threatening again, he summoned his courage and carefully snuck out of the bed.

The rickety table that held the little tree was pushed tight into the corner of the room. The boy was pretty sure that when he’d gone to bed the table had been empty except for the tree. As he tiptoed closer, he thought he could make out other shapes on the table. Holding his breath and moving as fast as he dared, he kept his eyes locked on those shapes.

Easing the curtain back a little from the window, light from the parking lot spilled over the table. There was no colorful wrapping paper but he didn’t care, Santa had found him. Spread out on the table he spotted a bright blue monster truck, some crayons, markers, and paper, and a Spider-Man action figure. Tucked under Spider-Man’s arm he found a candy cane.

Unable to hold his excitement inside, he bounced on his toes and squeaked, “Mommy! Mommy! Santa was here! Santa was here!”

Groaning and pulling the blanket up over her head, the woman whispered, “Shhh, Mommy’s sleeping.”

“But look, Mommy, Santa was here and I got toys.” He scrambled back to the bed, his presents all gathered tightly in his arms, and waited for her to look.

Slowly, she pulled the blanket back, washed a hand over her face, and squinted at the boy. “Whatcha got there?” she managed.

“Look! Some crayons and markers and stuff, and a monster truck, and look, Spidey! Isn’t it cool, Mommy, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s cool.” She smiled and reached over to smooth her hand over his wavy, chestnut hair. Scooting back on the bed, she patted the mattress and he climbed up next to her, excitedly showing her one treasure at a time. When he got to the candy cane he decided to try his luck since his mom seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

“Santa left a candy cane, too. Do you think I could have it now?”

“It’s too early in the morning for candy, you haven’t even had any cereal yet.”

“I know, but it’s Christmas and Santa gave it to me…”

“Save it for this afternoon. We have to drive again today, you can have it in the car.”

“Where are we going?”

Good question, she thought to herself. They had been in the dumpy motel close to Denver for nearly three weeks, but the money was running out. Quickly. The few bucks she’d made when they had stayed with Billy outside of Vegas were almost gone. She had to find work but without knowing anyone, didn’t know what she’d do with the boy. She’d been thinking for days, trying to come up with a solution besides the one she dreaded. And the other one she wasn’t sure she had the nerve to try.

She knew there’d be work in Omaha, just as there had been years ago. She’d have to beg, she knew he’d make her, but she’d do it.

She watched the boy plowing the truck over mountains made by pillows and blankets and hoped the cheap toys—all she’d been able to afford—would hold up, at least for a while. She should have left him in California. He was happy with Jenny and Jenny would have taken care of him like he was her own. But he was hers, the only thing she had left. She wanted to take care of him, wanted to be a good mother, but it was so hard. Jenny made it seem so easy, flitting from school conferences to soccer games to the gym. Well, Jenny’s life was easy, hers wasn’t. She was tired of being compared to Jenny, tired of the expectations, just tired.

“Watch, Mommy, Spidey’s gonna rescue the truck cuz it’s crashing.” He staged a fantastic crash, complete with appropriate sound effects, into the pillow pressed up tight against the headboard.

“Okay, baby, just a minute, Mommy’s head hurts. I’ll be right back.”

She watched his hands still and his face fall. She knew her headaches bothered him, knew her mood swings were hard on him, but didn’t know how to stop them.

“Maybe we can call Aunt Jenny later and wish her Merry Christmas.” She wanted to sound cheerful, wanted to put a smile back on his face.

“Really?”

“Sure, baby.”

She grabbed her purse, pulled a ratty robe around her shoulders, and headed for the bathroom. Once inside, she dug through her purse with trembling hands. The fancy cell phone Jenny had given her when they’d left California, telling her she’d cover the monthly payments because she wanted to stay in touch, seemed to mock her and she shoved it aside. When her fingers tightened around the small vial, she relaxed. Shaking pills out into her hand, she filled a glass with water and washed them down. She leaned her head against the bathroom door and closed her eyes. She’d feel better soon. And then she’d start for Omaha because she had no choice.