Layne’s forehead creased. “Addy had a bad dream about him last night.”
A shadow fell over my Christmas glow. Addy had been having dreams more and more lately that mirrored true events happening in my freak-filled world. Doc and I weren’t sure if she was exhibiting signs of being able to see the future, the past, or both. There was also the distinct possibility that she was eavesdropping on our adult conversations and suffering from the side effects of a wild imagination. Of the two, I preferred the latter by far.
I looked at my daughter, who was twirling in the middle of the room, singing some song about taking a road trip with her chicken someday. She didn’t seem to be bothered by her nightmare at the moment.
“Addy, what was your dream about?”
She stopped spinning and grabbed the bunk bed ladder to steady herself. Her head wobbling slightly, she told me in a breathless voice, “The monster’s pets were attacking Doc and I couldn’t save him.”
I sat on that for a couple of breaths. “What monster?”
She scrunched up her face in thought. “It was hard to see it in the dark, but I remember it had orange eyes.”
Orange eyes? A rush of panic flooded me. I clutched the railing next to Layne’s legs. I knew a monster with orange eyes. He haunted me in the darkness, too.
“Addy, was the monster stinky?” I pressed. Did it have little horns on its head? Pustules covering its jet-black skin?
“I don’t remember it stinking.”
Lucky her. I could still smell the sulfur odor if I thought too much about it.
“I mostly remember its pets,” she continued. “At first I thought they were wolves, but then I realized they were bigger, more like ugly bears, with long teeth and claws.”
Long teeth and claws? I’d also run into a couple of troublesome creatures that fit that description.
“Oh,” she added, holding up her index finger. “They could also stand up on their three back legs. That made them really, really tall. They made Doc look like a kid.”
“Three legs?” That was new.
“Yeah. One leg might have been a thick tail, though.”
“How could you see these things so well in the dark?”
She shrugged. “Doc gave me his candle so I could find my way home.”
A chill raced through me. I’d recently used a candle in my version of “the dark.” Actually, I’d used Doc’s candle in there, too. Was Addy tapping into my thoughts somehow?
“It was after he gave me his candle that the pets attacked Doc and started biting him.”
“What bit me?” Doc asked, standing in the doorway with Elvis’s crate in his hand. His expression sobered when he looked from Addy to me. His eyebrows rose.
I shook my head. I’d fill him in after the kids went to bed. Or maybe even after Christmas was over and life returned to its normal bizarre status quo.
Addy cried out and raced to Doc, hugging him around the waist. She beamed up at him. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was afraid you’d miss Santa’s visit.”
Doc tugged playfully on a strand of hair next to her ear. “Not even a blizzard could keep your mom and me away tonight.”
Addy detached herself, taking Elvis from Doc and freeing the chicken from the cage.
“Hey, Layne.” Doc held out his fist toward Layne, who bumped it back with his own. “Have you been taking care of your sister?”
“Mostly. But she gets bossy. You know how girls are.”
“Yeah, they’re the worst,” Doc joked, draping his arm around my neck. “Aren’t you two kids supposed to be all snug in your beds by now and dreaming about dancing mice or something like that?”
“Dancing sugarplums,” Addy corrected him.
“Right, dancing sugarplums.” Doc winked at me. “One of my favorite sights.”
“Well, well, well,” said a sultry voice, dumping a bucket of ice water on our reunion. “Isn’t this a cozy family scene?”
My shoulders tightened so fast that something cracked in my neck. I turned toward the door, my gunslinger glare cocked and loaded.
Susan leaned against the doorframe in a short red velvet robe with plenty of leg showing for this cold winter night. She set her sights above my head. “Finally, I get to meet the real Doc Nyce.”
Chapter Eleven
Christmas … Just After Midnight
“Violet, quit pacing and come to bed.” Doc patted the spot next to him on the queen-sized bed in my old bedroom.
I huffed once more, and then stepped out of the flannel pajama pants I’d thrown on earlier after we’d settled Cooper, Reid, Harvey, and Cornelius over at the Morgan house next door. Natalie had decided to sleep on the couch in my parents’ living room. I had a feeling it was to put even more distance between her and a certain law dog, but she told me and my kids that she wanted to keep an eye out for Santa. Layne had given me a knowing look before scampering back to his top bunk bed. He’d recently informed me that he knew all about “Santa,” but had promised not to ruin the fun for Addy.
After the kids had fallen asleep, Doc and I slipped the presents under the tree. Natalie, my parents, and Aunt Zoe watched, drinking hot buttered rum and sharing stories of Christmas past.
Thankfully, Susan hadn’t come up from the basement to share a drink with everyone.
Since moving back home, she was staying in the same room I’d used while living off and on with my parents before relocating up to Deadwood with Aunt Zoe. My dad’s man cave was down there, too, with a big-screen television and stereo to keep her entertained.
Susan also hadn’t hit on Doc earlier in the kids’ room.
She hadn’t eaten him up with her eyes.
She hadn’t slithered in close and tried to touch him.
She hadn’t even flapped her long eyelashes at him.
All she’d done was smile and say, “It’s
