Chapter 4

four

PAUL

Later that evening, when everyone else was enjoying Corey's party, a sense of dread made me shiver. I didn't know what was wrong with me. For the last couple of days, I'd had the feeling someone was watching me. It didn't matter where I was or how many people were around me, something was making me nervous.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the uneasy feeling. "I'll be okay. I must have been standing in a draft."

Sarah looked behind her and frowned. "Maybe you need a drink. Corey's mom brought alcohol-free eggnog with her. Why don't you have a cup?"

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll find Amy and see if she'd like something to drink, too."

"She'll be okay. I saw her a couple of minutes ago with one of my sister's nieces. They were playing on the landing with their dolls."

I looked across the room at the staircase .

"Don't fret," Sarah said as she wrapped her arm around my waist. "She'll be okay."

"I know she will. It's just that I?—"

"Worry too much. Let her be a little girl. She needs to learn how to be independent."

"But she's only five years old."

Sarah nudged me across the room. "Before you know it she'll be nineteen and going away to college. She'll be all right."

I knew I was overprotective but, after my sister and parents died, I wasn't taking any chances with Amy.

"I know that look," Sarah said with a sigh. "Come on. We'll check on her before we find the eggnog. Does that sound better?"

"Much better." I didn't know when I'd stop worrying about Amy, but I guessed ‘never' would probably cover everything.

We wound our way through the crowd of people, finally making our way up the staircase. Amy wasn't there. I frowned at the two young girls who were playing with their dolls. "Have you seen Amy?"

"She went to look at the stars," one of the girls said.

My heart raced. The temperature had plummeted. If Amy had gone outside, she could get hypothermia or?—

Sarah's hand landed on my arm, but her attention was focused on the little girl who'd spoken. "Where did Amy go, Marianne?"

The little girl pointed to one of the bedrooms. "That way. She said that was the best room for looking at the stars."

"Thank you," I said as I hurried down the hallway. I opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Amy was curled in a ball, sound asleep on the window seat .

Sarah must have seen the look on my face. "I told you so," she whispered. "Amy's okay."

"This time she was okay," I whispered back. "I shouldn't have let her out of my sight."

With a smile, Sarah handed me a fluffy blanket. "Wrap this around her. When you're ready, come downstairs. I'll have your glass of eggnog waiting."

"I won't be long." I opened the blanket and gently placed it over Amy. With a heavy heart, I sat on the edge of the window seat and watched her as she slept.

Amy had her mom's cute button nose and the same big, blue, mischievous eyes that could light up a room. Sometimes, she was so much like Christine that it made me cry.

I glanced at the floor and picked up a sheet of paper.

Amy turned over and sent me a sleepy smile. "That's my Christmas wish."

I angled the picture toward the light. Two puppies were playing in a field of flowers. The sun shone down from a clear blue sky, and a star twinkled overhead.

"I want a puppy for Christmas," Amy whispered. "You said if I was good, I could ask Santa for anything."

For the last few months, all Amy had talked about was getting a puppy. But with everything that was happening in our lives, it wouldn't work. "Santa has lots of other wonderful things in his workshop."

"I want a puppy." Amy snuggled under the blanket and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

I didn't know whether she wanted a puppy because she was lonely or if she just wanted a new friend to play with. Maybe she thought a puppy would bring some happiness back into our lives after everything we'd been through. Or perhaps she remembered the stories Christine used to tell her about the puppy she had when she was little .

With a sigh, I brushed a strand of hair off Amy's cheek. Whatever her reasons, I wished I could make her dream come true.