The twinkle lights sparkled more brightly, the candles on the mantel glowed so warmly, and joy glimmered and danced inside Harper.
This Christmas was the first in many years that she’d felt true happiness, something she hadn’t thought she’d feel again. Having this time with the Gallaghers was also feeding another part of her soul. Family. Parents. Not hers, not Jak’s, but a home she felt so welcomed into.
She was startled from her ambling thoughts when a boisterous group of three burst into the room, the woman who looked like a slightly younger version of Laurie talking exuberantly as two boys followed her, also talking excitedly. “It wasn’t supposed to snow today, and I could barely see out of the windshield driving here. I swear, those weather people should—" They all quieted as they caught sight of Harper and Jak sitting in the living room, but after a moment’s pause, they rushed over, introducing themselves. Jak and Harper stood and Pam gave them each a big hug, smothering them against her chest for a moment before letting go, and making Harper laugh in surprise at the enthusiastic show of affection.
The two boys—or rather, young men—Oliver and Benji, introduced themselves, grinning and then giving Jak curious glances as they moved aside. Oliver looked to be in his late teens, and Benji looked to be about eleven or twelve. They both had their mother’s blonde hair, and open smiles.
Mark got everyone drinks and then they chatted for several minutes, laughing and getting to know each other. Pam was as kind as Laurie, but with more of a boisterous, outgoing personality, and her boys were polite and friendly. The Gallaghers had obviously told them a little bit about Jak’s situation because they skirted around introductory questions that would have been awkward. But after they’d been chatting for a while, Benji obviously couldn’t help himself and blurted out, “Have you really lived in the woods all your life?”
There was a moment of silence as all eyes turned to Jak. Jak nodded, seeming slightly tense, but then Benji let out a laugh and said, “That’s so cool. Was it cool?”
Jak nodded very seriously before answering, “Yes, in the winters it was always very cool.”
Harper wanted to simultaneously laugh and shed a tear, and by the looks on the other adult’s faces, they felt the same way. Benji shook his head and looked slightly confused, although his eyes were still shining with interest. “But did you, like, make friends with wolves and stuff?”
A look that Harper couldn’t read passed over Jak’s face, but as quickly as she’d seen it, it was gone, before he answered. “Yes. My best friend was a wolf. His name was Pup.”
“Pup,” Benji repeated, a note of awe in his tone. “Will you tell me about Pup?”
Jak paused, seeming to struggle with the decision before finally answering, “Yes, I’ll tell you about Pup.” Benji grinned, and then Pam asked Harper a question, and her attention was drawn away from Jak.
When Laurie entered the room ten minutes later to tell everyone dinner was ready, Jak and Benji were still standing together, Jak speaking slow and seriously, and Benji gazing up at him with such a blatant expression of hero worship that Harper almost laughed. But with happiness.
They all helped bring dishes from the kitchen and place them on the large mahogany table in the dining room and then joined hands as Mark said a prayer. Harper swore his eyes got just a little misty as he held up his glass, wishing everyone Merry Christmas.
They all began conversing again as dishes were passed around, Harper helping herself to thick slices of turkey, fluffy mashed potatoes, rich gravy and—
She halted, a serving spoonful of stuffing suspended in mid-air as Laurie let out a sound of distress. She looked at Jak, whose fork was also frozen in front of him. And when she looked at his plate, her eyes widened as she tried to make sense of what he was eating, understanding dawning about the sound Laurie had made. On his plate were the half-eaten, raw turkey innards.
“I . . . I left those aside for the dogs,” Laurie said helplessly. Oh God, Harper realized, in the hubbub of the group effort of bringing the food from the kitchen to the dining room, Jak had brought the plate of uncooked meat.
Harper swallowed. The table grew quiet as they all sat frozen, staring at Jak. And then suddenly, a giggle erupted. Benji. Jak’s eyes flew to the boy and Harper saw Pam look sharply at him too. But then her own lip shook as she tried to hold back a laugh, and suddenly more laughter joined in, and it was all so ridiculous that Harper felt a giggle rising in her own chest. Jak looked around one more time and then his own lip quirked upward and he started laughing, softly at first, but then more loudly, his deep chuckle filling the room, warming Harper’s heart as they all collapsed in a fit of giggles.
“Well, what the hell?” Oliver said, breaking off a turkey leg. “If he can eat that, I’m taking the leg. No one’s telling me no this year.” And with that, he brought it to his mouth and took a huge bite, beaming at all of them, to which they only laughed harder.
Two hours later, after eating, and more laughing and talking, Pam and the boys left with hugs all around. Harper excused herself to use the bathroom before she and Jak left and as she was on her way back to the living room, she spotted a portrait hanging in the hall. She stopped, gazing at the beautiful blonde girl who looked so much like her mother.
“Abbi,” Laurie said, coming up behind her. Harper turned, slightly embarrassed though she wasn’t sure why. “She died of leukemia.”
“Yes.” Harper nodded. “Agent—Mark told us about your daughter. I’m so very sorry.”
Laurie looked surprised but then nodded. “Nothing is quite the same without her.”
Harper heard the small break in her voice and the words resonated with her. How often she’d had the same thought about her parents. Nothing, all her life, would ever be the same as it would have been had her parents still been with her.
“Mark was a little worried about having Jak here.” She shook her head. “Not because of the life he’s led, but because he was worried about how it might look as far as the case. We talked about it.” She paused for a moment and a happiness came into her eyes that made Harper wonder if she’d seen the conversation as a move back toward their connection as a couple. She remembered Mark saying how far they’d drifted, and she hoped very much she was right about it being a small step. “We decided it didn’t matter. Our hearts, our souls, would not and could not allow a person without any family to experience loneliness when we could prevent it.”
Harper’s heart warmed at the words. They’d saved her from loneliness too, when she’d felt alone so often in her life, and she was grateful. She once again gazed at Abbi’s picture, taking in the smile of the beautiful girl on the wall who was still so very, very loved.
“You might know, because of your husband’s work, that I lost my parents when I was seven.”
“Yes,” Laurie said, taking Harper’s hand in hers and squeezing it. “I’m so sorry.”
Harper gave her a sad smile, nodding. “I was just wondering if maybe . . .” She shook her head, suddenly feeling silly when she started to put her thought to words. Feeling like she might be stepping out of bounds to say what had entered her mind. Her heart.
“What, dear?” Laurie squeezed her hand again, spurring her on, looking at her with hopeful eyes.
“Well . . . I guess it sounds sort of fantastical, but do you think that if people meet here on earth, the people they’ve loved and lost meet too, because they’re watching over their loved ones? Does that make any sense?”