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“More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by name: now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen.” He flashed Sarah a grin, but Uncle Vince was frowning.
“That’s not it, I’m afraid.” He turned to Sarah. “That means if you two can answer, you’re this year’s winners.”
Sarah shrugged, at a loss. “I thought he was right.”
“He was, almost,” said Tad. “But Santa’s original reindeer were Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem.”
“By George, he’s got it!” Uncle Vince pumped his fist. Will cursed out loud. Tad pulled Sarah to her feet and spun her around. She shrieked, delighted—she’d won! They’d won! A wave of dizziness swept through her, and she grabbed Tad for balance. He caught her deftly and whirled her off her feet. By the time he set her down, she was gasping with laughter. She laid her head on his shoulder, catching her breath.
“How’d you even know that?”
“My dad had a book with the original version.” Tad pushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. “You okay? You’re flushed.”
“Just dizzy. And happy. I can’t believe we just won.”
“But you did,” said Will. He shook Sarah’s hand, then Tad’s. “Well-played, the both of you. You gave us a run for our money. But me and my girls, weownkaraoke.”
“And the French used to own the ground we’re standing on.” Tad winked. “Things change.”
Will’s brows shot up. Sarah could hear his wheels spinning as he prepared his retort. If she didn’t put an end to it, they’d be at it all night.
“If you boys are quite through…” She looped her arm through Tad’s. “Tonight’s our night, and I want to dance.”
5
“Can you ride a dog?”
Tad snorted. “What? Of course not.”
West kicked a stone and sent it flying. “I didn’t think so. But Beth said you could. And then Ann got this saddle, and we put it on Lucky. It fit him, and everything, but then Uncle Will came, and he said we were—”
“You call him Uncle Will?”
“I told you, everyone does.” West looked up. “Should I not?”
“Well, he isn’t your uncle.”
West’s face fell. He kicked at the ground again, harder this time.
“I’m sorry. I just meant…” Tad frowned. Whathadhe meant? The Carsons were good folk, the kind of family a kid would be lucky to have. But they weren’t West’s family. He’d only known them two months. “You’ve got to know who your family are,” he said. “That’s where you come from. It’s…who you are.”
“Okay, Dad.” West was dragging his feet, all his pep drained away. Tad let out a sigh.
“If Will says it’s okay, you can call him uncle. As long as you remember I’m still your dad.”
“Of course I do, Dad.”
“And no riding dogs.”
“No dogs, okay. I’ll just ride—Aunt Sarah!” West took off down the hill at a dead sprint. Tad squinted after him, surprised. Sure enough, there was Sarah, showing one of West’s classmates how to saddle a pony. She spotted him and waved, and he ambled down to join her, by which time West was conferring with his friends.
“Hey, Sarah. What happened?” Tad asked. He was still getting used to the idea that she wasAunt Sarahto his son.
“Hmm?”
“I thought Vern ran the kids’ class. What’s this, a hostile takeover?”
“That’d be the day.” Sarah let out a snort. “Uncle Vern’s at the airport, picking up his mother-in-law. Someone had to fill in, so—hey!Hey!No pushing.” She caught two kids by their collars and pulled them apart. “You’ve got to be nice around the animals, or they’ll get upset. And what happens when they’re upset?”
