Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 29741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“Did you have fun, though?” he asked.
“So much fun! It was the best!”
“Good. Then it’s worth having a house filled with glitter.”
Well. She was glad he thought that. She squirmed on his lap, trying to get off.
“What are you doing? We’ve only got a few minutes before the kids get home. I thought we could snuggle on the couch and watch a movie.”
“We can. But I have something for you.”
He let her get up and she grabbed the small gift she’d made for him.
“Thanks, Button,” he said as he unwrapped it. “You didn’t have to get anything for me. It’s not even Christmas yet.”
Poof! Glitter. Everywhere.
So. Much. Glitter.
More than she’d expected, if she was honest. Betsy gaped at Ink for a long moment.
Which was time that she really should have spent running.
Finally, as he got out of the chair, his face filled with thunder, she let out a squeal and took off.
“Button!” he yelled. “Get back here!”
“No!” she cried out, running through the dining room, then out onto the porch. She giggled as she ran.
Oh. She was in so much trouble.
“Come back here!” he yelled.
She ran back inside the house, coming to a stop as she saw Baron, Royal, and Zippy staring at her in shock.
“Betsy! You’re in big trouble!” Ink said as he barrelled inside.
Suddenly, a small girl appeared between them. Betsy took up a protective stance in front of Zippy, her legs and arms wide apart.
As though she was trying to ward Ink off.
But why?
“Don’t you hurt Betsy!” Zippy declared.
Oh God.
Betsy should have realized why she had gotten between them. Now that they’d learned about what life had been like for Zippy with Leon . . . they should have understood that things like this could happen.
But Zippy had never acted like this before . . . maybe talking about it had brought it all up.
Or perhaps this was the first time she’d been concerned that Ink might hurt Betsy.
“Zippy, Ink wasn’t going to hurt me,” she explained gently.
“He was yelling at you. Chasing you.”
“Yes, but it was a game. See . . . I glitter-bombed him.”
Zippy turned to give her a skeptical look. “You glitter-bombed him?”
“Uh-huh. See the mess?” Betsy waved her hand over the living room.
Zippy’s eyes widened. “Whoa. That’s a lot of glitter.”
“And there’s even more on Ink,” Baron said with a grin.
Royal shook his head. “You’re going to be finding glitter for weeks to come. In places you probably thought you’d never have glitter.”
“Or want it,” Baron said with a grin.
“Oh. He wasn’t . . . he wasn’t going to hurt you?” Zippy asked.
Betsy walked over to the small girl, crouching down so they were eye-level. “No. Ink would never hurt me. I promise. And I’m really thankful that you were going to try to protect me, but you don’t have to do that, okay? It’s my job to protect you.”
“That’s not what Royal and Baron say,” Zippy told her. “We have to protect you. And I agree.”
Betsy shot Baron and Royal a look. They just gave her innocent looks back. The ratbags.
She glanced up at Ink for some help, but he just grinned. “I agree with the kids. We have to protect you.”
Betsy sighed, shaking her head. “You’re all terrible.”
Zippy crossed her arms over her chest. “You said that’s what a family does. They protect each other. No matter what.”
“Yes, but I don’t think you’re all meant to gang up on me!” Betsy exclaimed, standing straight.
“It’s not ganging up on you, Ma,” Baron said, walking over to wrap his arm around her. “It’s called loving you.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I love all of you as well. This is going to be the best Christmas ever, because I have all of you here.”
14
“Zippy, do you want to help me put some carrots out for the reindeer?” Betsy asked. “And some cookies and milk for Santa?”
It was Christmas Eve, a day after Zippy had tried to defend her from Ink.
She’d had another talk with Zippy about how she didn’t have to worry that anyone would hurt Betsy. That Ink was a good guy. And that she didn’t have to protect Betsy.
Betsy wasn’t sure how much of that had sunk in. But she knew that it was a process. Everything that Zippy had gone through couldn’t be erased in a few months.
Zippy gave her a cynical look, but she nodded and got up to help Betsy lay out the cookies and milk on a plate. Then, after telling Ink where they were going, they put their jackets on and went outside to lay out some carrots.
“Betsy?” Zippy asked.
“Yes?”
“You really like this Christmas stuff, huh?”
“Yes. But it’s not really about the gifts. It’s about the magic. It’s about spending time with my family. Like Ink, Baron, Royal, and you.”
Zippy frowned as she glanced up at the sky. “But I’m not really a part of the family. I’m just here for a short while. I could have to leave at any time.”