Phoenix Feather (21 page)

“We haven’t gotten the tree yet,” Phoebe replied.

“About that,” Trent interrupted.

“Oh yes,” Aidan exclaimed, and plopped down on the couch. “Trent has a proposition.”

“My grandparents have a cabin in the mountains,” he began. “They’re not using it this year, if you’d all like to spend next week up there.”

Phoebe’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

Trent nodded. “Five bedrooms, huge kitchen, fireplace. We can go out and cut down our own tree too.”

“Oh, now that idea I like,” Chris chimed in.

“So that’s a yes?” Trent asked, and looked at Aidan hopefully.

She grinned. The idea was excellent, like they had won the lottery. It was just what they needed, the perfect gift in itself. “When do we leave?” she asked.

“Sunday, if you like.”

Phoebe whined. “Not tomorrow?”

Chris waved a hand at her. “With the way you pack? Besides, is your Christmas shopping done?”

Phoebe’s eyes bulged and she gasped. “Aidan, we need to go shopping now!”

Aidan laughed and shook her head in amusement. “And here I thought was the beginning of my period of rest.”

“Looks like it’s been postponed,” Chris said.

“Aren’t you coming?” Phoebe asked as she scrambled around for her purse.

Chris folded his hands behind his head and leaned back with a smile. “I’m all done.”

Phoebe gave him a dirty look and he shrugged.

“I’ve had a lot of time on my hands,” he quipped.

Aidan sighed and lifted her hand. Trent took it at her prompting and pulled her up off the couch. “Want to come?” she asked.

“I don’t need anything, but I’ll keep you company, if you like.”

Phoebe made a strangled noise from the kitchen. “No!”

Chris burst out laughing. “I guess we know who she’s shopping for.”

Trent grinned, and so did Aidan. She had succeeded in finding the gift she was looking for. It was in her closet at home and only needed to be wrapped. Hmm, she needed to buy wrapping paper. She rolled her eyes at herself. Sometimes she could forget the most obvious details. It was probably because she had so many distractions. Wonderful, heart melting, bubbly distractions.

“If you don’t mind parting with him for a couple hours,” Chris said to Aidan, “I’d like some company while you girls are out shopping.”

“Of course,” she replied, and gave Trent a quick kiss. “Although, I find it some type of paradigm shift that the two men have finished their Christmas shopping before the women.”

Chris threw his hands up. “The world is ending.”

Aidan laughed. That was a morbid anticipation of hers. When the world ended, so would she, and thus would come the chance that perhaps she’d be reunited with all those souls she cherished. It was a silly fantasy she insisted on entertaining, like a parent telling stories of Santa Claus.

Phoebe came out, coat on, and grabbed Aidan’s arm. “Have fun!”

Aidan waved goodbye and let Phoebe drag her out the door.

***

Trent settled on the couch and looked at Chris. It was hard not to evaluate every shadow under his eyes or notice every wince and yawn. It wasn’t fair, Trent knew, but he couldn’t help it. Chris was kind enough not to let them know he noticed their scrutiny.

“Trent,” Chris said. “I love the cabin idea. But it sort of creates a problem with my gift for Phoebe.”

“How so?”

“How to get it there without her knowing.”

“It’s big?”

Chris grinned. “Breathing.”

Trent digested that. “A pet?”

“Puppy.”

He shook his head in amusement. “I can see how that wouldn’t be inconspicuous. What was your original plan?”

Chris cast him a guilty smile. “Well, I was gonna call on you for that anyway. See if you could pick it up Christmas Eve and hide it at your place until the next morning.”

Trent chuckled. “So you’ve picked it out already?”

“Yeah. She’s at the pet store in the Highland Mall. I paid for her and everything, and asked them to hold her for a week before I could pick her up.”

Trent mulled the situation over in his mind. How could they get the puppy up to the cabin without ruining the surprise before Christmas Day?

“I suppose I could make it an early present,” Chris said.

“No.” Trent held his hand up. “Let’s think about this.” The idea came like a cartoon light bulb flashing on. It was perfect, if he could make it happen. “I have an idea,” he said slowly, still trying to figure out the details. He turned and grinned at Chris. “It would be the perfect excuse to get my brother to join us on Christmas.”

Chris edged forward on the couch. “You think he’d do it?”

Trent made a tsking noise. “I don’t know, but I will do my best to coerce him. He’s working, so I knew it’d be too much to invite him to come the week with us. Actually, the cabin was his idea. Convincing him to come Christmas morning should only take an inch short of a miracle.” Trent tapped his fingers on the coffee table. “If he had the dog with him, he’d pretty much have little choice but to come, unless he wanted to puppy-sit it at the station.”

Chris nodded. “Talk to him then. If he can’t do it, I’d like to know before we go so I can give her the dog early.”

“Absolutely. I’ll go over there as soon as the girls get back. Face-to-face is probably the best way to work this one.” He grinned fiendishly.

“You can take off now if you want.”

Trent gave him a dubious look. “What happened to keeping you company?”

He shrugged. “That was just a cover for the scheming.”

“The girls will get on my case for that.”

“I’ll tell them you went out to get us food.”

Trent rolled his eyes, but only out of amusement. “What’s on the menu?”

Chris thought about it. “Chinese?”

“Okay.” Trent got up to leave and looked at the clock. “Maybe I’ll even make it back before them.”

Chris grabbed the TV remote and waved it at him. “Call me with the verdict in case you don’t.”

Trent raised his hand in goodbye and went down to his car. The station wasn’t very far, but it was Friday afternoon and traffic was beginning to thicken. He felt as though he were in a race against the girls. How long could Phoebe spend shopping? How long could Aidan tolerate it? Interesting questions, and part of him wished he could have gone with them just to satisfy his curiosity.

Bryan and Jess weren’t at their desks when he walked into the bullpen, and Trent wondered if they had gone out on the job, but another officer pointed him toward the conference room. He could see the stacks of papers and folders, the evidence boards and mind maps scribbled on white boards attempting to make sense of the puzzle pieces.

Trent tapped on the glass door and nodded to Bryan. He didn’t want to barge in on them working. Bryan came out to meet him, and closed the door so they wouldn’t overhear the discussion going on inside.

“Did that lead turn out better after all?” Trent asked.

“Different one.” Bryan turned to get water out of the cooler.

Trent nodded. He knew Bryan couldn’t discuss details of the case. Trent recalculated his plan in his head. This much work could prevent Bryan from leaving at all next week. On the other hand, it was possible work could spare him for a couple hours.

“So what’s up?” Bryan asked.

“I wanted to let you know the cabin idea went over great.” Trent decided to work up to it.

Bryan’s mouth twitched in a smile, but he erased it. “That’s good,” he said in a rather strained voice. “When do you leave?” He sounded very interested, even though his body language suggested casualness. Trent didn’t understand it.

“Sunday.”

“You guys will have fun.”

“I also have a major favor to ask.” Okay, he sort of worked up to it. “You can join us for Christmas morning, can’t you? I understand if you can’t stay the whole day, but part of it?”

Bryan shook his head and shifted his weight. “I don’t know. I’m not trying to be difficult. It’s just that there’s a lot of work to be done right now.”

“I get that,” Trent said, trying not to sound overly pushy. “But I sort of need help transporting a gift that morning.”

Bryan raised an eyebrow. “You can’t pack it when you go?”

“Not without giving it away.”

Bryan sighed and crumpled the empty paper cup in his hand. “So what is it?”

“A puppy.”

“A puppy?” Bryan shook his head, but smiled slightly. “You got Aidan a puppy?”

Trent smirked. “No. Chris got Phoebe a puppy. I was hoping you could pick it up Christmas Eve from the pet shop, watch over it for just one night, and drive it up Christmas morning as a surprise. Then you can stay for a few hours, enjoy the company, and then head back to the city.”

“Thought it through, have you?”

Trent tried to contain a sigh. “Can they spare you for a couple hours?” Bryan didn’t say anything. “It’s important,” Trent said. “Chris wants this Christmas to be special. It’s…he won’t get another one.”

Bryan met Trent’s eyes then, and looked as though he was seriously considering it.

“Okay,” he said finally. “I can do that.”

It was the answer Trent had been hoping for, yet it still surprised him. He had gotten used to Bryan always saying no, always making excuses, and even though he had made changes recently, Trent still wasn’t accustomed to it.

“You sure?” he asked.

Bryan nodded. “Give me the info. I’ll take care of it.”

Trent grinned in relief. “Thanks, man, really.” He pulled out his cell phone to call Chris. “I’ll let you get back to work. Good luck.”

“Are you packing dog supplies when you leave this weekend?” Bryan asked.

Trent stopped.

Bryan rolled his eyes. “I guess you didn’t think everything through after all. Dog food?”

“Ah, right. I’ll get that stuff and leave it at your place.”

Bryan nodded and raised his hand in farewell. Trent made his way back through the bullpen and to the elevators. That had worked out perfectly. He grinned to himself. This Christmas was going to be full of delightful surprises.

Chapter Twenty

Aidan climbed out of the car, crunching snow beneath her feet. The cabin was gorgeous, a two-story log home with a covered porch in front lined with a black rail fence. She could see a large chimney behind the point of the slanted roof, and another peak behind that. She wondered just how big the place was. They went around to the back of the SUV Trent had borrowed and started pulling out their suitcases.

“This is so great,” Phoebe said.

Aidan nodded in agreement. She came to the mountains every hundred years or so, but never for relaxation, unless one considered death or birth peaceful. This would be a new experience, where the only fire would be the one in the hearth.

“Shall we take a look?” Trent said with a grin.

They each filled their arms with what they could carry and followed Trent up the stairs and through the entryway. Surprise stopped Aidan, Phoebe, and Chris in their tracks. The place was huge. With the lights on, the polished hardwood floors glowed. Tiny rainbows flitted along the walls from prism drawstrings in the windows. The walls were decorated with huge tapestries and paintings of Native American origin, and a huge brick column stood in the middle of the room.

“Is that the fireplace?” Phoebe gasped.

Trent grinned. “Yep. To the right there is the master bedroom. Kitchen’s to the left and so is the laundry room. Stairs right here.” He tapped the wall on his left. “To the other bedrooms.”

“It’s beautiful.” Aidan’s mouth parted in awe as her eyes swept over everything. “It seems like it should be dustier.”

“There’s a caretaker who lives nearby. He takes care of several cabins in the area when the owners are away,” Trent explained.

“Trent,” Phoebe said. “I know you mentioned being wealthy before, but this was so not what I was expecting.”

Chris knocked against her shoulder. “Stop drooling. Let’s unpack so we can get straight to the fun. How’s the terrain for a snowball fight?”

“Great,” Trent replied. “Plenty of mounds and trees for cover.”

“Excellent,” Phoebe said, her competitive side showing itself in her voice.

Aidan laughed. It wouldn’t be her first battle. Snowballs were an interesting choice of weapon though…

They finished unloading the car and at least unpacking the clothes they’d need to go frolicking around in the snow before they got distracted and began exploring the rest of the cabin. The bedrooms had hardwood floors underneath gigantic rugs as elaborate as the tapestries downstairs. There was a huge, partially covered deck in the back, with a view of the mountains to the east spanning almost 180 degrees. The kitchen had marble counter tops the same goldenrod shade as the wood flooring, and the cupboards were well stocked with cooking utensils and dry goods. They had brought fresh food of their own to cook during the week. The great room was furnished with large chocolate-brown sofas, and floor tree lamps with bronze-leaf fixtures. The place was exquisite.