Quinn's Christmas Wish (12 page)

“Jazira?” she asked quietly.

“Lost Lake took her back,” he responded sadly.

She choked back a sob. “I don’t think Quinn will be okay.”

He held her tight. “We’ll do our best to help with that.” After fetching her a coffee and a biscuit he said, “I think we should decorate the tree. And there’s a turkey thawing in the sink.”

Together they placed bows and ribbons on the tree. To Amanda’s surprise, Samuel went to the entryway and grabbed some wrapped packages.

“What? When did you get gifts?” she asked.

“I did go back to the cabin, and I did make it to the city…before I got ambushed.” The door opened and Quinn stepped out.

He approached Samuel. “Is she gone?”

He knelt to Quinn’s level. “She’s back with her parents,” he said. “Back where she asked to be.”

Quinn hung his head and stared at the tree. “She didn’t know what Christmas was. She liked the tree.”

The day came and went slowly. Darkness descended and the town folk went caroling. The large tree in Ellis Park stood decorated, while people sang Christmas carols. Quinn asked to stay home despite Amanda’s pleading. She and Samuel went off alone.

Flakes of Christmas snow fluttered to the ground, sparkling in the dim light from the windows of the surrounding homes.

Quinn walked to the tree by the window, staring up at it. He couldn’t believe there were any tears left within him, but one escaped and trickled down his cheek. Then he noticed it. The present he made for Jazira. He bent and picked it up from under the boughs. The dark leather formed a collar that came to a “V”, and at the bottom of the “V” he’d hung the golden nugget. He had stitched all the edges and inscribed her name on it. The back bore the inscription,
Merry Christmas
.

No star shone from the top of the tree, so Quinn stood on a chair and draped the collar over the top. The gold nugget shone brightly.

He stepped off the chair and put it away before returning to the tree. The fire glowed in the fireplace, and he could hear the Christmas carolers singing softly in the distant park.

Quinn bent in front of the tree, hung his head and said a prayer.

God, please let Jazira be okay. Don’t let her be alone, and tell her that we loved her very much. She stood up for me and was always brave. Tomorrow is Christmas, but I’ve already had my Christmas gift, and that was Jazira. Thank you for that gift. Thank you for Jazira. I wish I could have shared Christmas with her. Please don’t let the evil in Lost Lake take her soul. Amen.

Amanda and Samuel came home and the three enjoyed eggnog and short bread cookies. He even laughed a couple times, but soon it was time for bed. He lay awake for quite some time thinking of Christmases past. He said another prayer for his father and drifted off to sleep.

Quinn had no idea what time it was, but he woke to a strange sound.

He pulled back his covers and walked into the sitting room. It was early, five a.m. to be exact. He listened carefully and waited.

Sure enough the noise came again. He peeked out the window but couldn’t see anything. With hesitation, he moved to the door. His heart thundered in his chest. He could barely breathe. He held his ear to the door and stood quiet.

When no noise came, he slid down the doorframe and sat. A quiet whine sounded through the wood. Unable to stop himself, he cried and sprang to his feet, yanking the door open.

There stood Jazira in full wolf form. She sprang forward, knocking him inside the doorway, straddling him with her large body. He laughed and hugged her tightly.

The bedroom door flung open. Samuel burst out, followed by Amanda.

“What the…Jazira?” Samuel asked.

She leapt off Quinn and pounced his way, standing up on her hind legs to hug him. “Yes, it’s me. It’s me.” She jumped off Samuel and found Amanda, winding around her legs in a circle. “I’m back!” Jazira said. “I’m back!”

Quinn ran to her and placed his arms around her.

“How many times can you die?” he asked. “No wait. Don’t answer that. Please don’t ever die again.”

“I’ll try not to, I promise.”

It was the best Christmas morning ever. They all gathered around the tree and Quinn asked Samuel to reach the collar. Quinn took it and slowly extended it toward her.

“I made this for you, Jazira.”

She sniffed at it and stuck her nose out. Carefully he placed it around her large neck. The gold nugget brightly shone against her black fur. “It’s beautiful, Quinn. I’ll always wear it. I’ll never take it off.”

Jazira looked at Amanda. Amanda motioned to the tree and Jazira’s tail wagged. She picked up the package with her mouth and handed it to him.

“For me?” he asked.

She nodded. Quinn giggled with laughter and opened his gift. He put his mitts on and proceeded to tickle her and chase her around the small home.

“Okay, you two. You’re going to tear the walls down.” Amanda laughed at their antics.

It was then Samuel handed the small package to his Mom. Quinn and Jazira stopped and watched her open the box to reveal a gold band. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re getting married today. The minister has been booked.”

Quinn clapped and Jazira jumped up and down.

“Wait!” Jazira said, full of excitement. “I have a gift to share with all of you. There was a large fight in Lost Lake. It’s very evil down there, but there is also a good creature. I don’t know what it is, but it saved me this time, not because I was a child, but because I would give my life for all of you. Because I did that, I was allowed to live and I can do something else.” She ran to Quinn’s bedroom. “Just give me a minute or two, and don’t come in.”

Quinn stared at his mom and Samuel.

Minutes went by before slowly the door opened. Through the dark opening stepped Jazira. Not in wolf form, but as the twelve-year old girl she really was. Long black hair fell to her waist and her skin was darker than his. Her eyes were the color of the golden nugget hanging around her neck in the collar he’d made for her.

She was the most beautiful creature Quinn had ever seen. She was also standing before them in a tiny blanket, barely big enough to cover her.

Quinn and Samuel spun around.

Amanda ran to her side, hugged her and laughed. “You’re beautiful, Jazira, but I think we’ll have to find you some clothes.”

“Oh!” she said. “Of course.”

Quinn’s stomach did somersaults. His heart would be forever lost to the she-wolf named Jazira and his Christmas wish that brought her back to him.

I loved writing QUINN’S CHRISTMAS WISH and fell in love with Jazira and Quinn. I’m considering writing another novella with the pair as adults on an adventure, where hidden dangers, and choices made, threaten to destroy the young couples happiness.

If you would love to see a continuation please let me know. Stop by and leave me a comment.
www.lawnamackie.ca

About the Author:

I have always believed in fairy tales and when I got tired of the old ones I made up my own. Each story would have a hero and heroine, but they were anything but typical.

I devoured my first romance novel when I was a teenager. I couldn’t read them fast enough. Years later I stumbled across my first paranormal romance…an injustice would be done if I tried to explain my joy when I found this genre of romance. My passion was finally in print.

Now, with the help of my bizarre dreams and crazy imagination, I have started to write and intend to share my stories with you. I hope you’ll love them as much as I do.

I am truly blessed. My husband and my animals are my inspiration. We live on a small acreage in Didsbury, Alberta, with our most beloved companions, Dozer, Daisy and Mandarin.

Happy reading everyone, I sure would love to hear from you.
www.lawnamackie.ca

∗ ∗ ∗

Quinn’s Christmas Wish – December 1, 2011 available through Amazon and Smashwords.

IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD – December 19, 2011 released through Liquid Silver Books
http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com

ENCHANTMENT – January 13, 2012 released through Muse It Up Publishing
http://museituppublishing.com

by

C. J. Carmichael

Copyright 2011 Carla Daum

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to
Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CHAPTER ONE

Amy Gold didn’t know how local rancher and part-time deputy Gray Cassidy had ended up as her boyfriend. A couple of fun dates had somehow morphed into a real relationship. She had to put a stop to it. And soon.

She’d tried to do it a month ago, after the Thanksgiving dinner she’d made for him. But he’d gone and told her that hers was the first turkey dinner--with all the fixings--he’d ever had. The crusty old grandfather who’d raised him hadn’t believed in celebrating holidays.

“What about Christmas?” she’d asked. Gray’s answer had shocked her. He’d never had a Christmas Tree, never sung a carol, never exchanged gifts...

She hadn’t been able to resist. She’d promised him that this year was going to be different. This year he’d have a proper Christmas.

Which explained why she was out in the snow and the cold on Christmas Eve, struggling to hang fairy lights from her gutters and around the frame of her front picture window. The snow was pretty, but it didn’t make her job any easier, weighing down her eyelashes and making the rungs of the ladder dangerously slippery. But she was almost done now. The final touch was an angel, which she was placing in the center of her living room window. The angel had been formed out of white-coated wire, all of it glowing with a hundred tiny, silver lights.

Come dark it would look fantastic.

Amy fastened the last clip, then climbed down the ladder, and stepped back for a better view. Her tiny bungalow looked magical, if she did say so herself. Worth the two hours she’d spent outside, the numb fingers and toes.

She folded the ladder then carried it behind the house to store in her garage--not an easy job given all the stuff she had packed in here. She wove her way around the boxes of craft supplies for her kindergarten class, the mountain bike she used every summer, her toboggan, skis, snowshoes... hard to believe she’d accumulated so much stuff in the eight years she’d lived in Bandit Creek. Finally she found the nail in the wall where she hung the ladder. By the time she stepped outside again, the snow had stopped.

Well, didn’t that just figure. Now that she’d finished her work, the sky was clearing up.

Stomping her boots on the outside mat, she entered her house through the rear door, leaving her coat on the hook and her gloves spread over the heat register to dry. Aromas of cinnamon and cloves filled the air--testament to the baking she’d been doing today.

She’d gone all out.

Not like last Christmas, when she hadn’t even put up a tree. But then, last year she’d still been adjusting to her new reality. Even now she had days when it was hard to find her trademark, cheery smile. The sadness could come at any time, a bulldozer bearing down on a narrow country road.

Determined to keep her spirits light, Amy turned on a CD of high-spirited carols. “
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...
” she sang, as she placed slices of orange and lemon into her pot of mulled wine. No
Silent Night
for her. That had been her mother’s favorite and even after eight years facing Christmas without her was hard.

“
Had a very shiny nose..
.” she continued, with determination. Gray was coming over later, around nine, after he finished feeding the cattle. She just had to keep her spirits up until then. It was impossible to be sad when Gray was around. His great sense of humor was what had first attracted her to him--not to mention his sexy blue eyes.

Gray was new to Bandit Creek. He’d moved here six months ago, after inheriting a thousand acre ranch from his Uncle Bo. Gray had quickly made himself an important part of the Bandit Creek community, signing up as a part-time Deputy as well. That job was how she’d met him, when he’d come to speak to her kindergarten class in October.

They’d talked after school let out for the day and he’d asked her out for coffee. She’d figured it couldn’t hurt to say yes. He’d seemed like the sort of guy who was only out for fun--nothing serious. But coffee had led to an invitation to dinner and they’d spent hours after that walking through town and talking. When she got to know the real Gray, the hidden depths, she’d discovered qualities that were hard to resist. Honor, loyalty, and most winning of all, kindness.

Just last week he’d shared his plans with her about his future. He’d grown up an orphan, in a quiet, loveless home with his grandfather. He wanted something different for his future. A loving marriage. Lots of children, noise and laughter.

She’d known then she couldn’t put it off much longer. She’d give him the perfect Christmas she’d promised.

But the very next day she was going to break up with him.

“All I want for Christmas is...”

A child of my own.

Now where had that wish come from? Amy had been singing as she prepared the stuffing for tomorrow’s roast turkey dinner. Sipping mulled wine, swaying in time to the music--living in the moment the way her counselor had advised.

The song kept playing and when the chorus came around for the second time, Amy very purposefully and loudly sang:
“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!”

She added chopped hazelnuts to the dressing, then a dollop of brandy. Yum, this was going to be so good. She transferred the mixture from her frying pan into a bowl, then stuffed it into her fridge above the shelf that held the enormous twenty-pound turkey Gray had purchased from an organic farmer who lived down the road from him. She’d laughed when she’d first seen it. “Gray, there are only
two
of us for dinner!” But he’d pointed out they could donate the leftovers to Helping Hands, so nothing would be wasted.