Horatio & Josie: Happy Christmas
Chapter 6
December 24 – Christmas Eve Afternoon
"Hey Uncle Jasper! Auntie, Auntie Jo, Uncle Jasper is here!" Kieran and Liam raced toward the gate excitedly, dogs barking as they followed at their heels.
"Jasper? Oh my gosh! Jasper!" As her brother materialized out of the swirling snow, the snowball Jo had been packing for Roxie fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers. The latch clanked as the tall man in fatigues carefully made his way through the gate, bending down to hug his nephews while keeping the four-legged part of the welcoming committee securely in the yard. A second figure followed him into the yard, someone a little shorter and with red hair glinting through the snowflakes.
"Watch out for the spotted one! She's a mitten stealer!" Jasper called out laughingly, moving into the yard, nephews still hugging him fiercely, when Roxie, who it seemed actually did remember who her owner was, arrived and wanted in on the hugs too. As Jo watched they all went down in a ball, arms, legs, tail and paws everywhere, squealing with laughter amid the excited yaps of a dog welcoming her human home.
Jo moved toward her nephews and brother, as the second man looked up from latching the gate, stepping into the twinkling light of the tall pine tree. Blue eyes sparkled, meeting the gaze of the young woman beside her. Anne let out a cry of joy, her mittened hands going to her face in surprise.
"OMG! Kyle? Kyle!" Jo smiled as the young woman slipped and slid her way across the yard, dogs, kids and snowmen forgotten for the moment. A huge smile lit up the young man's face before it was hidden in Anne's dark, wavy hair as she launched herself into his arms in a welcoming hug. "Kyle, Kyle! I can't believe it! I asked Santa to bring you to me for Christmas!" Jo smiled and reached down to help her brother up off the ground as Anne took Kyle's face in her hands and kissed the young soldier solidly on the mouth. She wasn't sure if it was her neighbor's warm welcome or the cold that was turning Kyle's cheeks bright red.
'He looks so like his father when he smiles.' Jo thought. She couldn't deny she'd been hoping to hear that Horatio would be able to spend Christmas with her and the twins. But, he was a busy man with an important job and he'd spent more than enough of his time helping her with all the details of her aunt's estate in the last few months, she told herself sternly. 'It would be nice if he could visit with his son, though,' she reflected, reaching down to rub the ears of the dark shepherd who had removed herself from the fray and sidled up to her mistress.
"Hey Josie! Merry Christmas Sis!" As her brother wrapped her in a bear hug, Jo closed her eyes, blinking back the tears that appeared on her lashes as she hugged him. For some moments neither brother nor sister said a word.
'It's the answer to a Christmas wish,' Josie thought, a little dizzily. 'It was Christmas Eve, her brother was safe at home. Only one person was missing,' she reflected, looking around the small circle of humans and canines.
"It's so good to see you Jas! What a wonderful surprise!" Her voice broke and she stepped away from him, wiping her eyes with her snowy mitten. She succeeded only in getting more snow stuck to her already wet lashes. "Why didn't you call or let me know you were coming?" She punched him playfully on the arm, taking a deep breath to get her emotions under control. Kyle and Anne walked up then, holding hands, smiling as they stepped over Jingle who was doing his best to be underfoot.
"Merry Christmas Uncle Jasper!" Liam bounced into the group of adults. "Hey can you help us with our snowman? Anne and Aunt Jo aren't quite" he held up a snow-covered mittened hand with thumb and fingers indicating a small distance, "tall enough to get that last snowball on top."
Jasper looked from his nephew to the snowman head laying forlornly on the ground beside it's body. "It's a good thing Harmon and I arrived when we did, hmm Liam? We can't have a headless snowman on Christmas Eve! It might scare away Santa!" He eyed his nephew carefully, "I think you might be just tall enough, if Harmon and I hold you on our shoulders. Are you strong enough to hoist that big snowball on top?" At an enthusiastic nod from the youngster, they soon had the snowman's head where it belonged.
Everyone was admiring the snowman when Kieran walked up holding Jingle. "Auntie Jo, I think we need to get the doxies in the house. Poor Jingle is shivering." He carefully opened his arms to show the little doxie huddled against his snowjacket, tail tucked between his legs, as his small body shook with cold. "I don't know where Belle went. Jingle was over by the steps."
"Oh Kieran, thank you for noticing!" Jo felt terrible, and turned toward the house, her eyes searching the ground for the other cinnamon colored dog. Whistling for Jezebel, she sent Kieran inside with Jingle. "Set him in his basket near the heat vent. There should be one of Roxie's blankets in her bed, you can cover him up with that." The door slammed behind the boy as Jo continued to call for Belle. Soon she heard two soft barks behind the yew bushes growing in front of the house. Carefully making her way between them, she found Jezebel standing near the missing doxie. Belle was tucked under the bush, laying on her paws. "Oh, you poor baby," Jo cooed, squatting down to try to coax the pup within reach. "A little help here Jez," she muttered as her pet stood watching from the other side of the bush. "Come on Belle, scoot over to me just a little bit more and we'll get you in the toasty warm house." Jezebel nosed the bush, sending snow falling from the branches, right on the little doxie. It was all Jo needed as the dog jumped and she was able to scoop her up and snuggle her close to her jacket as she backed out from the bushes.
Something cold and wet hit her near the small of her back. "Ouch!" Jo yelped in surprise feeling the snow working it's way down her back. She turned quickly to see her brother's laughing face as he packed another snowball. "Jasper Dan don't you dare throw that snowball at me! At least until I get Belle in the house." She was met on the steps by Kieran, his doxie rescue mission complete. Behind her she could hear laughter and Kieran's shout of "Snowball fight!" Quickly stowing Belle in the basket next to her brother, Jo dropped her phone on the table by the sofa before heading out the door into the merry snowball fight going on in the swirling snow.
"Jo, I'm on my way to your house. Call me." Horatio set his phone down and waited for a break in the heavy holiday traffic. The snow was swirling around him and he wanted to get to Jo's house as quickly as possible, telling himself it was mostly due to the deteriorating weather conditions. As he drove, Christmas songs filtered through the SUV's sound system. The colored lights twinkling in the swirling snow brought memories from long ago clawing their way to the surface. In Miami he was able to keep them at bay, partly because Miami in December was a far cry from New York in December. The Lab kept him busy – crime didn't stop for the holidays, he often thought wryly, if nothing else, it boosted it. Now, in the snow, away from work, it was all coming back. Shaking his head as if to clear away the memory, he drove on, watching for the Central Avenue exit.
"This is payback Jasper!" Jo launched a snowball at her brother who turned away but not before it smacked him soundly in his leg. A shout of laughter behind her made her turn only to be hit in the leg from across the yard. Liam's "Gotcha Auntie" could be heard above Roxie's excited barking. 'Apparently that time spent with the pitching coach for Little League paid off,' Jo noted wryly, lobbing a light snowball at her nephew and another at Anne who was doing her best to stay behind Kyle in order to keep from getting hit. "Oh!" Another cold one landed on her neck and Jo turned to see her brother laughing as he ducked out of the way of an attack launched by Anne, Kieran and Liam.
"Harmon, help me out here!" Jasper shouted, ducking behind the massive snowman as he gathered more snow into several balls. Jo had three snowballs carefully held in her scarf and she was slowly making her way around the snowman, trying to stay out of the twinkling lights hanging from the maple trees. The swirling snow and low daylight made aiming difficult The merry group was so engrossed in the snowball fight that no one noticed the dark SUV pulling up in the driveway. Horatio sat inside for some seconds, not quite believing his eyes. Figures were darting in and out of the Christmas lights. Roxie and Jezebel were dark shadows moving in and out; snowballs zinging in all directions. The tall snowman in the center of the yard looked as if he was keeping watch over the game. One figure in fatigues, his red hair dotted with snowflakes, darted into view, before darting back into the shadows after launching a snowball at the petite woman near the fence. Kyle! Horatio could hardly believe his eyes and quickly stepped out of the SUV, heading for the gate.
"Kyle! I can't believe you threw that! Horatio's son or not, you are in big trouble!" Jo launched one of her snowballs and followed it up with two more. The first two whizzed past the young man, but she heard the third find its target with a solid thud. "Got you Kyle!" she shouted laughing. But when she looked up, Jo's eyes widened as she realized she had indeed hit a member of the Caine family with her snowball. Unfortunately it wasn't the young man who had arrived with her brother.
TBC