Chapter 82

Taren couldn't stop thinking of Kiki for the rest of the day as he prepared to celebrate Christmas with his family and her later that night. Even though he hadn't been away from her for long, he already felt her absence and couldn't wait to see her again.

Later that afternoon, he brought in the last of the wood he'd chopped and dropped it into the wood box beside the fireplace.

"Careful there," his mother teased. "You don't want to break it."

Taren laughed. "After all these years, I don't think anything could break that thing." Then he had an idea, something he had been thinking of while chopping wood and looked at his watch. It would be tight, but he could do it.

"Going somewhere?" Evelyn wiped her hands on a Christmas dish towel, threw it across her shoulder, and straightened an ornament on the tree as she spoke to him. Then she stood back to admire her handiwork. "I'll be taking down the tree before long. It's really a shame. It's my favorite time of year."

"But don't take it d