Read Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift for Free Online Page B

from the main group, Daniel close behind him.
    Cameron went out into the dark, away from the teeming stable yard. The musty scent of horses came to him on the wind, the cold of the night stealing his breath.
    The wind cut out on the leeward side of the stables, the relative warmth a waft of relief. Faint and faraway, Cameron heard the loud arf arf of the one dog that wasn't there.
    He stopped, and Daniel almost ran into him, lantern swinging. They both froze, listening.
    It came again, the frantic barking of a dog trying with all its might to get their attention.
    Cameron walked swiftly toward the sound, down the length of the back of the stables, its long stone wall rising high beside him.
    "There!" Daniel said, pointing.
    At the end of the wall, boards had been nailed over a hole to protect the crumbling foundation. From behind it was the unmistakable barking of Achilles--starting low and ending high, in almost a squeak. The more excited Achilles became, the squeakier he sounded.
    The high-pitched barking escalated, accompanied by the noise of paws scrabbling on wood. Cameron and Daniel dropped to their knees, lanterns clanking on the ground, both men reaching at the same time for the gray pieces of board. Two pairs of gloved hands, one huge, the other thinner and more wiry, yanked wood away from the hole.
    Achilles' snuffling nose came into view, his body squirming as his tail wagged deep inside the hole. Daniel got his hands around the dog and started pulling him out. Cameron didn't let himself think about the fact that Achilles might have become stuck down here by himself, nothing to do with Gavina.
    Daniel fell back, his arms full of the dark-furred Achilles. Achilles, panting in happiness, licked Daniel's face, then went right back into the hole.
     
    * * * * *

Chapter Five
     
    "Damn you, dog!" Daniel shouted and grabbed for him again.
    Achilles filled the hole for a brief instant, then he squeezed on inside, his hindquarters writhing with his wagging tail.
    Cameron's lantern fell on a confusion of objects behind the dog, some small and squirming, little peeping noises issuing from the dark. Cameron saw the wide reflective eyes of a cat, and beyond that, a flash of pink.
    Somewhere in the back of his whirling thoughts, Cameron remembered Angelo, his groom, friend, and valet, telling him that cats always instinctively sought the warmest places to sleep. If you seek warmth, find a cat.
    Cameron yanked loose another board and started to put his head inside the hole. Daniel seized him by the shoulder.
    "Let me, Dad. You'll get stuck."
    Cameron, the largest Mackenzie, had to concede. He moved out of the way but stayed on his hands and knees while Daniel got himself on his stomach and slithered inside.
    Cam heard a low miaow then Daniel's voice as he spoke to dog and cat. Daniel inched his way back, his kilt catching on the icy stones and exposing his thighs, but he didn't release the bundle he carried with him.
    In a new pink dress her Aunt Eleanor had given her, topped with the tiniest rabbit fur coat Cameron had ever seen, Gavina was just opening her gray eyes, her face flushed with sleep. Achilles scrambled out behind her and ran to greet the other dogs coming up with the rest of the men, led by Ian and Hart.
    Daniel sat back, lifted Gavina to his lap, and blew out his breath. "She's lovely warm. Probably stayed warmer than any of us tonight."
    Gavina blinked sleepy eyes at her stepbrother and father, then lifted her arms. "Dabby," she said.
    "I'm here, sweetie." Cameron scooped up Gavina with his giant hands and cradled her against his chest, brushing the top of her head with his shaking lips. Her body was indeed warm, her breath milk sweet as turned her face up to kiss his cheek.
    "She was talking to me," Daniel said beside him. "She said Danny ."
    Cameron shook his head. "No, she said Daddy. "
    Father and son shared a stubborn look. Gavina pulled away from Cameron and reached for Daniel, her little hands opening and