his hopes of what they might be here. With Hannah, he was smitten from the moment they met, or at least shortly after he’d gotten over the shock of her arrival.
He reached to turn off the lamp on the nightstand, and Hannah’s eyes snapped open. Backing away from the light, he gave her a look of mock disapproval and said, “Are you trying to fake me out? Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I wasn’t pretending to sleep. I was letting you look at me, like you always do when you think I’m asleep,” she said.
“I like to make faces at you when your eyes are closed,” he said. “In the future, when I’m older, do I make faces at you when you are sleeping?”
She pushed his arm. “No, silly. You watch over me, like you did just now.”
“I see.” He pulled up her blanket a little. “So you’re saying I watch like that when I’m a grown-up dad too?”
“You’re the same dad, silly, just older,” she said. “You know, I am going back soon.”
Sam cocked his head. “You mean, back to sleep?”
She swatted at him playfully and said, “No, back home with you and Mom and our new brother that’s coming.”
His heart raced at the thought of a whole family. “Nana told me that you said you wouldn’t be here for Christmas, that you would be gone before then.” He paused for a minute to swallow and make sure his voice didn’t crack. “I’m going to be really sad when you leave.”
“You don’t need to be sad. I will see you when I get back.”
“I know, but it will be years before I see you again.”
She reached out and rubbed his cheek. “You will have time to get bristly.” She giggled, and he blushed, while blinking his eyes dry.
“All this time-travel stuff doesn’t really faze you at all, does it?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing.” He placed the book on the nightstand and stood up. “Are you going to go to sleep now?”
She shook her head. “Mar-ree said she would come say good-night to me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were waiting for Mara earlier?”
“You didn’t ask me.”
“I’ll go get her, but I think you’re just using technicalities to drag this out, so you don’t have to go to sleep. I bet your old man doesn’t let you get away with this when he has a beard.” He left the room and headed down the stairs.
Behind him, Hannah called, “Do too! And I’m not dragging it out, I’m just not sleepy!”
Diana stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up at Sam, shaking her head as he descended. “You are a complete pushover. Why is she still awake?”
He squeezed past his mother and stepped toward the kitchen. “What am I supposed to do, spank her? She wants Mara to come up and say good-night. Apparently promises were made that I was not made aware of until the last minute.”
Diana pointed through the living room toward the front of the house. “She’s not in there. I believe she’s on the front porch standing guard, waiting to see if the dragon shows up.”
Sam spun on a heel and reversed course in the kitchen doorway. As he walked past the stairs into the living room, he said, “Of course she is, always looking for the brighter side of life.” He snagged a jacket from the coat tree, opened the front door and stepped onto the front porch, where he found Mara huddled on the steps, looking up into the dark sky. When the cold air hit him, he stomped back and forth in place, as he slipped on the jacket. “Sheesh, it’s cold out here. Any signs of Ping up in the sky?”
“Not so far,” Mara said without looking back at him.
“Hannah says you owe her a good-night, and she refuses to sleep until she collects. If you like, I can keep an eye on things out here, until you get back,” he said.
“Oh, right. I wanted to ask her something, before she went to bed,” Mara said, as she stood up. “I don’t think there is much point in hanging around out here. It doesn’t look like the dragon will be making an appearance tonight.”
“You’re probably right. It only went after Mom that one time. There were a few other times it manifested itself, and it just circled around Mount Hood and stuff. For all we know, Ping might be himself again and resting comfortably at home.”
Mara crossed the porch and opened