Page 44 of A Little Christmas Wish

She winced. “Sorry, I just needed a bit of cold air.”

“Understandable. But what should you have done first?”

“Um. Put a jacket on?” she guessed.

“That too,” he grumbled. “What else?”

“Told you where I was going,” she said.

“Yes. Exactly. And when we don’t have a house full of our kids, you’ll be getting the punishment you deserve for that.”

“I didn’t go any further than the porch.”

“Betsy, Leon could have been out here, waiting and watching.”

“Hey! You just heard the Fox! He’s taken care of.”

“But you didn’t know that when you stepped out here,” Ink said.

“Semantics,” she muttered.

“Not semantics,” he said. “It’s the truth.” He lightly smacked her ass. “You’ll be getting yourself a butt warming.”

She sighed. “I’ve had a hard night, Daddy.”

“I know, Button. I know. Me too. But she’s home now and hopefully she understands how much we care about her.”

Betsy nodded and rested her face against his chest. She really hoped so.

“I wish she was ours for good,” she told him.

“I know, Brown eyes. That’s what I wish, too.”

Turning her head, she glanced up into the sky. Wonder filled her as she saw a shooting star. She quickly made a wish.

Then Ink leaned down to whisper in her ear. “So why don’t we see if we can make that happen.”

12

“Where do you think you’re going, Button?” Ink asked as Betsy grabbed a step stool from the storage area. She let out a small cry and let it go.

“I . . . um . . . well, I was . . . um . . .”

“Yes?” he questioned.

She turned to find him standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He raised his eyebrow as he stared down at her.

“Oh, hi, Daddy! I didn’t know you were back.” He’d been helping the twins load the toboggans into his truck. She thought it would take longer than this. “Are the kids okay?”

“The kids are fine. You, on the other hand, are in trouble.”

“Why, Daddy? I wasn’t doing anything.”

“No? What were you planning to do with that step stool?” he asked.

“The step stool . . . the step stool . . . what was I going to do with the step stool?” she muttered.

She knew better than to tell him the truth. Which was that she’d been going to adjust the Christmas decorations at the top of the Christmas tree as she didn’t quite like their placement.

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