Christmas at Stony Creek by Stephanie Greene

Author:Stephanie Greene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2007-08-24T04:00:00+00:00

chapter 8

“I’ll Go Tonight”

It was Christmas Eve. The house was filled with the smell of pine. Pip and Kit had dragged home all the pine branches they could find. They draped them over the fireplace. They hung them from the doorways. They spread them, soft and thick as a carpet, along the hall.

The tallest bough, they declared, would be their tree.

Nan and Nibs were decorating it now. They hung ornaments, oohing at their beauty. They tossed tinsel, giggling when it missed. They chattered back and forth while they worked, their tiny eyes sparkling with excitement.

Finny stood in her playpen and laughed.

Mama had saved a bit of flour and some raisins. While the little girls took their naps, she baked a Christmas cake and hid it in the cupboard. It was smaller than any cake they ever had before, but still, it was a cake.

“What will we have for Christmas dinner?” Nan said, jumping up and down. “Will we have cakes and puddings and sweets?”

“Will this be the best Christmas ever?” cried Nibs. “Will it, Mama? Will it?”

“Hush, you sillies.” Mama laughed and swept them up in her arms. “It’s a surprise, you know that.”

“But what if Papa isn’t here?” asked Nan, suddenly serious.

“We can’t have Christmas without Papa,” said Nibs.

Pip felt the sudden sting of tears. She draped her last bough over the mantel. She wiped her eyes.

“I’ll go call Will for dinner,” she told her mother quickly. She let herself out of the house and ran down the path to Stony Creek.

Will was coming toward her as fast as he could, dragging his leg behind him.

“Great news, Pip!” he called. “The people are gone! They’re not there!”

He was out of breath when he reached her side. “I was talking to Squirrel, you know Squirrel, he knows everything. He told me the people have gone away for Christmas. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“But there won’t be any food if they’re not there,” said Pip.

“Sure there will,” Will scoffed. “People leave it all over the place. They never clean it up. There will be plenty of food. And no Cat.” He said the words slowly, saving the best for last.

“No Cat?”

“Squirrel said the people sent him to a place where he’ll be taken care of while they’re gone. Big bully can’t even take care of himself.”

“Oh, Will, that means it’s safe!” cried Pip.

“As long as you don’t touch the trap,” Will warned. “But you’d better get up there soon, before the word gets out.”

“I’ll go tonight.”

“Promise me you won’t go near the trap.”

“I promise.”

“No matter what?”

Pip looked back at him with shining eyes. “No matter what.”

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