Page 44 of Three Days of Holiday

“Don’t touch him,” I said and smacked away her hand as she reached for Will.

All my attention was on Diane when the large moving-size truck jiggled and wobbled as two additional players entered our makeshift movie. Hale and Haden both cleared the end of the truck in one quick jump. The same move that took Diane minutes to encompass—although they didn’t have my sister tugging on them.

Hale rushed at Diane and put her into a bear hug. His arms wrapped around her from behind, squeezing her hands to her sides. She kicked him with her feetstomping on the metal, making it ring out like a series of disjointed bells in the otherwise quiet evening.

“Hope, call 911,” Will directed by pointing at my sister, who was already pulling her cell phone from her back pocket.

Anyone who lived in Pelican Bay was well-versed in determining the appropriate time to call the police.

A few hours later—thepolice weren’t extremely effective at filling out reports and hauling people to jail—Hale and I sat at the kitchen table at my parents’ home.

My eyes were heavy as I stared at my twin, waiting for him to say whatever he needed to say so I could go to bed. The clock flashed 11:45 as Will took the seat next to me. The chair scratched against the hardwood floors as he pulled it out, and our eyes turned to the staircase, hoping we hadn’t woken anyone up. If our parents were tired enough to fall asleep after all the commotion then I didn’t see a chair scrape disrupting their sleep now.

We were so close to Christmas, and I wanted to roll into bed and sleep until it came. The farm shut down only one day a year so we could enjoy family time with my mom’s large pies and a great big turkey, which she’d bake all morning until it was time to eat in the early afternoon. Christmas was one holiday where most of the Halliday children actually got along with one another.

At least for a few hours.

It was normally the one gift my mother asked for every year, and we did our best to give it to her.

I ran my thumb over a particularly long scratch onWill’s face. I hadn’t seen Diane scratch him, but he said it happened right before my brother put her into his bear hold.

She apparently went from “please take me back” to “I want to kill you” in less than a nanosecond. Will grimaced as I hit a particularly nasty spot, and I pulled my hand back, only for him to grab it in his and settle it on his knee.

He turned, meeting the gaze of the man across the table. We were going to face off against Hale together.

My brother let out a deep sigh and shook his head, his gaze flitting between the two of us. “This is really who you want?”

His words were exasperated, as if he didn’t believe my choice, and it made me smile. I picked Will because I’d never met a better man, but it also gave me great pleasure knowing it would annoy my twin—something I’d been doing since we were in the womb.

“Yes,” I answered easily.

Hale gave Will his attention. “Did you really give up running the family business for her?”

Will’s smile was as easy and happy is mine. “Absolutely. She’s worth it.”

Hale continued to shake his head and then lifted his mug of hot cocoa and finished the last few swallows in one gulp. “I always knew God gave me more brain cells than you in the womb. I just didn’t realize it was such a large disparity.”

Will opened his mouth as if he was going to defend me, but I shook my head. It wouldn’t be a true sibling exchange if we didn’t antagonize each other at least once. I’d let him have that one as an early Christmas gift.

“Also,” Hale said, leveling his heavy gaze at Will once again. “If I find out that you lied or hurt her in any way, I will hunt you down.”

“Me too,” Haden said, coming from the kitchen where the back door swung closed and three dogs scampered into the room behind him.

Misfit, Ruffles, and Bacon found their way to the living room and stared up at us, waiting for their late-night treats. Excitement filled the air not only because of the night’s events, but because soon it would be Christmas morning.

Bacon was new to the fold, but these dogs were not dumb. They knew treats waited for them underneath both Christmas trees—the one here and more at the farm’s remodeled bed-and-breakfast.

“And me,” Holston said as he pulled his dog away from one of the wrapped gifts.

Man, I loved my brothers more than anything in the entire world. We grew up together, and in good times or bad, they would always be my closest friends. The people I wanted at my side when I went into a fight, but they were also the most annoying people I’d ever met in my entire life.

“Don’t forget me,” Hope said, carrying a platter of marshmallows to Hale. Her face fell in annoyance when she saw he’d finished the hot chocolate.

Most annoying brothers… and sister in the world.

The five of us sat at the table surrounding Will, and I thought he looked slightly terrified, but he hid it well, stealing a marshmallow from Hope’s platter and popping it in his mouth.

The front door opened as my mom dusted off hershoes from the light snow on the rug. “All of you are still up?” she asked, looking at us bewildered. “How will Santa come for Hope if you don’t go to bed?”

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