7. Abigail

7

Abigail

J asper didn’t say anything else about her looking downcast, which was both good, and made her feel even guiltier. What would she have said to him, anyway? I thought you were stressing out over Christmas too much, so I roped my friends into stealing away all your Christmas fun, and that only made you seem MORE stressed, and I’m the one who’s going to ruin Christmas because underneath it all, it turns out I’m a grinch who doesn’t want anyone to be happy?

She bit her lip.

It was Christmas Eve. That evening, they were heading to the skating rink a short distance out of town. The lake was a popular swimming and boating spot in summer, but over winter it became something truly magical. A field of glittering ice surrounded by a snowy forest, looking out over the mountainside with the stars blazing overhead.

There was a little island in the middle of the lake. In summer, people swam out to it. In winter, the few trees that grew on it were a last-ditch refuge for skaters who needed something to cling onto if they got unsteady out on the ice.

So far as she knew, there were no special events planned there for this Christmas Eve. Just a quiet evening, and a chance to let Ruby wear herself out so she might get to sleep before midnight.

Jasper kneeled to help Ruby with her skates. “Remember, if you feel unsteady, or think you’re going too fast, just aim at me. I’ll catch you.” His eyes flicked up to focus on Abigail’s, and fire stirred in their gemstone-colored depths. “The same goes for you.”

“I like to think I’m slightly better at skating these days,” she said with a wince.

“But if you do…” His voice trailed off, and he opened his arms invitingly as he stood up. Her wince turned into a smile that was far more suggestive than she meant it to be.

“I’ll wait until we’re in a dark corner and then trip you up?” She stood on tip-toe to whisper as close to his ear as she could reach, and his pupils darkened. “Sounds perfect.”

“No you can’t, Daddy, because you’ll be busy!” Ruby piped up. “With the surprise!”

Jasper’s eyes widened. Abigail’s heart thudded.

“Surprise?” she asked.

Jasper bit the inside of his cheek. She stared at him. It was almost as though he’d forgotten whatever he had planned. Like he’d been so into the idea of just going skating as a family that whatever big surprise he had up his sleeve had slipped his mind, and it was a surprise for himself, as well?

No, that didn’t make any sense.

“Right,” he said, laughing weakly. “I guess I won’t be able to play safety mat if I’m busy with the, uh, surprise.”

“Abigail, Jasper, there you are!” Sheena waved as she walked over to them, Fleance and a few other members of the hellhound pack in tow. “Happy Christmas Eve! Any plans for it?”

“We’re here for skating, hot cocoa, and a few photos under the trees, that’s the whole plan. Because we’ve gotta be back home and in bed early for Santa, right?” Jasper winked at Ruby.

“Yeah!” Ruby agreed, and then looked suddenly worried. “Daddy, if we’re home too late does that mean Santa won’t come?”

“Certainly not,” Jasper reassured her. But there was a slightly distant look in his eye that made Abigail… concerned.

“Mommy, can I play with Cole and the others before we go skating?” Ruby tugged at her sleeve, and Abigail looked across to where her tweenaged nephew, Cole, was clearly tallying up all the extra allowance he was going to bargain for in exchange for hanging out with a hoard of small children. They were hanging out near the hot drinks stand, throwing snowballs at him.

“Olly and Meaghan are watching them too,” Sheena pointed out, and Abigail told Ruby she could go.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Cole. The poor kid had two solid years of quelling Ruby’s schemes on his resume. But one not-yet-teenaged boy watching three shifter kids who all had innate fire magic felt like bad odds.

Jasper sighed and picked up Ruby’s abandoned skates. Abigail nudged him. “It’s better than her getting frustrated with how slow skating is and deciding she wants to fly around the ice instead, isn’t it?”

“Good point.” He gave a wry smile. “If the others are happy watching her, maybe we could—”

“Hey Jasper, Fleance and Caine were looking for you before. Something about… a scheme?” Sheena suggested with an innocent grin.

Panic flashed across Jasper’s face. He kissed Abigail and left. Quickly.

The moment Jasper was gone, Sheena sat down next to Abigail and leaned to whisper in her ear, “That was not the face of a man who has no secret plans up his sleeve.”

Abigail groaned. “You saw it too?”

“Don’t worry. We got the guys on board. Fleance and Caine have it covered. But what about you? What happened to your plan?” At Abigail’s confused stare, she elbowed her. “Come on! How many chances have we given you to slope off with Jasper and get some you-time in, and you keep just… How do I put this…” She raised both hands to shape quotes in the air. “‘Taking part in fun Christmas activities’? ‘Enjoying quality family time’?”

“I don’t hate Christmas,” Abigail said hurriedly.

“Sure, but that’s what you were after… wasn’t it? So, what’s the problem? Because my plan here was to boot Jasper over to the guys so they could get his latest scheme out of him and send him back here, while Meaghan and I keep your super-cute kid out of the way so that you two can quietly disappear by yourselves…?” She trailed off, one eyebrow raised suggestively, and then frowned. “But why do I get the feeling that isn’t going to happen? Come on, Abigail. It’s Christmas Eve. This is your last chance to get away before the big day.”

“You got the guys on board, too?” Abigail asked helplessly.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I personally am not so sneaky that Fleance didn’t immediately notice how sneaky I was being. Delphine can’t lie to Hardwick without him getting a headache about it. Plus, it turns out that Jasper had already asked them all for help making this the best Christmas ever anyway, so—”

“Wait, Jasper asked for their help?” Abigail’s eyes flew across the square to where her husband was chatting with his friends. “He’s been scheming, too?”

“…Yes? But it means they were already on board with turning things up to eleven, so…”

“Oh no.”

Sheena frowned. “Oh no ?”

“All this extra Christmas isn’t just business as usual? It’s part of something he’s planning deliberately?”

And the more she meddled, the more extra Jasper got.

The more unhappy she felt about it, the harder he tried.

To make this the biggest, best Christmas ever.

“I got this all wrong,” she gasped. “I have to talk to him.”