Page 45 of The Midnight Blizzard

Peggy grumbled and dragged her feet as slowly as possible toward the back room, but then she stopped, listening hard. The jingling of bells rang through the air. Daring to hope, I snuck a look out the window. A team of sled dogs, all harnessed together, was pulling to a stop. Out leapt Jack, hair just as white as Kodiak’s fur. He tucked a large box under one arm and kept his other hand cupped just beneath his ribs at an awkward angle.

I ran to the door, pulling it open just as Jack tried to knock, and he overbalanced, tumbling into the room in a whirl of snow. The box tumbled from Jack’s arms and skidded across the floor as Jack wrapped both arms protectively around his middle, resulting in his face crashing into my knees.

“Jack!” I shrieked, bending to help him up.

“Careful,” he warned as he stood, still a bit hunched with his arms cradling his suspiciously large jacket.

“By holly, if that’sanotherdog you want me to patch up—”Beryl began, his bearded face contorting into an irritable scowl as he went to shut the door against the blustering wind.

“It’s not hurt this time,” Jack protested, gently peeling back his topmost layer. A small, orange head popped out, sniffing curiously. The puppy’s eyes sparkled like amber and its tiny, pointed ears stuck straight up from its head. “I just found him.”

“He’s so cute!” Peggy squealed in delight and stroked his head.

“He is,” I agreed. “I think I’m in love.”

“Whoa, whoa, if you two are going to talk like that, I’m leaving,” Beryl snorted. “And Peggy, I told you to go to bed.”

Peggy wrinkled her nose. “She meant she loves the dog.”

“What, now she’s trying to hurt Jack’s feelings by picking a dog over him?” Beryl smirked. “He’ll be very jealous.”

“No, I won’t. I’d pick a dog over myself any day,” Jack said, joining me in scratching behind the puppy’s ears.

“Can I hold him?” Peggy asked eagerly, arms outstretched.

“Pegs, if I have to tell you to go to bed one more time—” Beryl began.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Peggy huffed, dropping her arms. As she plodded out of the room, she added under her breath, “I never get to do anything fun.”

Beryl closed the door behind her while I scooped the puppy out of Jack’s coat and cradled him against my chest. Instantly, the puppy turned his head back to try and gnaw on my hand, his sharp little baby teeth poking at my skin. “What a cute little pumpkin.”

Beryl rolled his eyes but then spoiled the effect by wagglinghis eyebrows at Jack. “If you’re going to give her a cute nickname in return, I recommend doing so quietly so I don’t lose my supper.”

“Oh, get out of here.”

“I live here!”

Jack widened his eyes at Beryl. “I would like to talk to Noelle, please.Alone.”

“Oooooh, it’sthatkind of talk, is it?”

“Yeah. So, unless you want to lose your supper…”

“Point taken, point taken. I should go tuck Peggy in, which will leave you two very alone so you can declare your secret confessions of lo?—”

“By holly,” Jack snorted, shoving his friend between the shoulder blades until Beryl was pushed into the back of the shop, then pivoted back to face me, shutting the door as he did so.

“Oh, you sweet pumpkin,” Beryl called from behind the door in a falsetto voice. “You are just too scrumptious.”

“Dad!” I heard Peggy call. “What are you talking about?”

The direction of Beryl’s voice shifted. “You’re supposed to be in bed!”

I laughed, still holding the small orange dog and digging my fingers through his fluffy fur as he continued to chew on anything he could get his jaws around.

“I’m sorry about Beryl,” Jack said with a small smile.

“No need for apologies about a friend with such an outstanding sense of humor,” I told him, eyes twinkling.

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