Page 116 of Run, Run Rudolph
“Go eat your brunch before your mom turns into an ogre.”
We giggled and ended the call, my heart filled with gratitude that at least Char still remembered last night, and was willing to try to help me find a way to make Haden remember, too.
I hustled downstairs to find Mom and Dad bickering over where everyone was going to sit, even though it was just the four of us. In the end, we all sat in the living room, as always, because Oma made up a plate and went straight to her favourite armchair. Some things were irrefutable, immovable traditions that could never be changed. Thankfully.
We were just finishing the meal when the doorbell rang. I snapped to my feet, a feeling in my gut telling me that someone was here to see me.
“I’ll get it!”
I flung open the front door, sending Oma’s pine bough wreath flying from its hook. It rolled off the front step, and into the fresh snowdrifts lining the sidewalk.
“Merry Christmas Eve,” Haden said, stooping to collect the wreath for me. Moving a gift bag in his left hand, he hung the wreath on its brass hook behind me as clouds of warm air escaped the house.
“Haden,” I said, my voice embarrassingly breathless. “Merry—hi. What are you doing here?”
Was he here to kiss me? Sweep me into his arms, and tell me he remembered everything?
He looked tired, and like he’d been up all night with me. He hadn’t shaved yet, and his black toque was pulled down over his forehead, making his guarded eyes look even more closed than usual. In such a short time, I’d become accustomed to being able to see deep into his soul, the way I had last night. Seeing those familiar shuttered eyes made me miss him all the more.
I felt my heart drop its hope like a heavy burden, landing in my gut. Would I ever be able to see into his soul again? Would I be allowed past the barriers and gates that kept most people at bay?
He was one step lower than I was. Oma’s front step was only really big enough for one unless you wanted to stand toe-to-toe with your visitor. Which I kind of did—but in a friendly way.
Haden shifted uneasily, his eyes searching mine. He looked a little lost, and I wondered what Mrs. Claus had done to him when she’d sent him back to our world. I hoped she hadn’t scrambled that impressive brain of his.
“So Rudolph comes tonight, huh? I mean, Santa,” he said, his tone slightly gruff and uncertain. He scratched his brow and winced, as though cringing at himself.
It felt like there was a whisper of a memory begging to be recalled. Why else would he mention Rudolph and Santa? Sensing that it was a place to start, I scrambled to figure out where I could place my crowbar in order to open him up.
“Close the door!” my dad bellowed. “Heat ain’t free!”
I was starting to shiver in the cold anyway, so I stepped back into the house, waving Haden inside. “Come in,” I said, rubbing my arms.
His smile was shy. “I like your Christmas sweater. Same as your Oma’s?”
I nodded and gestured to the gift bag he was holding. “What have you got there?”
“Oh, yeah. I saw this.” He looked at the bag doubtfully, but didn’t offer it to me.
“Yeah?”
“I was helping Justin at the store this morning. Last-minute shoppers. And…” He stopped talking, fiddling with the bag’s handles. His cheeks had turned an endearing pink, and he looked like he wanted to run.
“That’s nice of you to help him. I thought maybe you’d be busy with emergencies.”
“Yeah, no. It’s been strangely quiet today.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket, waving it at me as if I’d get the reference he was making—that the single ladies of Eagle Ridge were too busy with family commitments to make up any animal emergencies for the town’s most-eligible bachelor. He frowned at his phone and put it back in his pocket.
“The HAGs are busy, eh?”
“Guess so.” The corner of his mouth quirked up in the most adorable, sheepish way.
Wait! He remembered what I called his fan group? Or was he just playing along, like he was following my form of crazy?
My breath caught in anticipation as he leaned back on his heels, his chest expanding as though bolstering himself. “So, yeah.” He handed me the bag. “For you. I think my brother has something for you, too, but he’s out having coffee with Jannifer.”
“He is? Wow. That’s great.” What other little extras had Estelle slipped into last night’s wish?
“It’s nothing much.” Haden pointed at the bag. “But it made me think of you for some reason.” I could tell he wanted to explain the gift away, but, to his credit, he owned it.
