Those Christmas Angels (Angels Everywhere #5)(118)

Bailey didn’t answer, and Carter suspected she felt as sad as he did. Even if Rusty belonged to him, he was willing to share his dog with Bailey. Not every day; just some of the time—once a week or so.

Except that Rusty wouldn’t be his to share. His friend would be with him for only a few more hours. The realization was crushing.

“Go to sleep,” he repeated and hugged Rusty closer.

“This is a fine mess you’ve gotten yourself into,” Mercy muttered, glaring at Shirley. They were both inside the children’s bedroom. Shirley sat on the foot of the bed, where Rusty lay tightly curled up next to Carter’s feet.

“Me?” Shirley wore a look of innocence as she continued to pet the dog.

“Yes, you.” Mercy pointed an accusing finger at her fellow Prayer Ambassador. Then she crossed her arms as she surveyed the sleeping children, lost in their dreams.

“How could you have let this happen?” Mercy asked.

Shirley straightened defensively.

Mercy wasn’t fooled. “You’re the one who stopped by the animal shelter and conveniently opened the cage and set Rusty free.”

“Ah…”

“That wasn’t the only door you opened, either.” Mercy was on to her friend’s antics and she wasn’t going to let Shirley squirm out of this one.

“Well…” Shirley shifted uncomfortably. As though aware of their presence, Rusty lifted his head and looked around.

“It’s all right, boy,” Shirley whispered, reassuring the dog.

Rusty put his head down on his paws and closed his eyes once more.

“Don’t bother to deny that you’re the one who set him free,” Mercy said in a stern voice.

“All right,” Shirley confessed. “That was me—”

“I thought so.”

“I couldn’t help it! Carter loves that dog, and Rusty loves him. The two of them are meant to be together.”

“Not according to what you first said.” Although she made it sound like a complaint, Mercy was actually delighted with her friend. In the past, Shirley had been a real stickler for protocol during their earthly visitations. The former guardian angel always took on the role of supervisor, policing Goodness and Mercy as if that was her right. She found it gratifying that, for once, Shirley had broken the rules herself.

“Just look at Carter and Rusty,” Shirley urged. “How can anyone take that dog away from that little boy?”

Mercy gazed down at the sleeping figures. Rusty slept peacefully close to Carter and Mercy was moved almost to tears by their mutual devotion.

“What’s going to happen now?” Mercy asked.

“I don’t know.” Shirley shook her head. “I pleaded Carter’s case to Gabriel. That’s all I can do.”

“You did?” Many a time Mercy had done the same, but to no avail. She didn’t think Shirley had gone to the Archangel even once to request assistance. Until now.

“What did he say?”

Shirley cleared her throat. “He said I’d already interfered where I shouldn’t have. That God has everything under control.”

“So he knew what you’d done.” This shouldn’t surprise Mercy. Gabriel always seemed to be aware of their every move.

“I’m to butt out.” She sounded a little affronted, and Mercy couldn’t blame her.

“Gabriel told you that?”

“In exactly those words, too. He warned me that I’m not to involve myself in any way from this point forward. He did ask me to stick around, though.”

“I should hope so.”

Shirley glanced down at the floor. “Gabriel wasn’t happy with me.”

Mercy shrugged, as if to imply that should be expected. “Don’t worry about it. Gabriel knew what he was doing when he sent us back to Earth.”

Shirley nodded morosely.

Seeing that her friend felt bad, Mercy decided to inject a bit of entertainment into their visit to Leavenworth. “Want to have some fun?”

As little as a week ago, Shirley would have sharply chastised Mercy for even suggesting such a thing. This time she simply gazed at her. “What do you have in mind?”

“Have you noticed the ornaments hanging from the streetlamps?” Actually, they were pretty hard to miss. The town council had hung large wreaths, candy canes and candles, interspersed with a few unrealistic-looking angels.

“I was thinking,” Mercy went on, “of rearranging the ornaments, mixing things up a bit.”

“We could make all the ornaments that aren’t angels disappear,” Shirley said tentatively, entering into the spirit of the enterprise.

“I like it,” Mercy said excitedly.

“Let’s contact Goodness and get started.”

Tonight was December twenty-third, and they had one last day on Earth. Christmas Eve, they’d have to return to Heaven for the celebration. Only one day left, and Mercy intended to make the most of it.

Carter was tucked warmly in his bed when Rusty began to bark. The barking became louder and more frantic and it didn’t stop. At first Carter ignored it, trying to sleep. But when he finally forced open his eyes, he couldn’t see. The entire bedroom was filled with fog. There was a horrible smell. Like something burning.