Free All I Want for Christmas Is You by Lisa Mondello

"Or I'll take Max and hunt you down."
     
    Kyle chuckled and looked across the table at Lauren. She shifted nervously in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable with the conversation. He wondered if she was thinking of herself at that age. Of her own parents' disapproval. Hard as he tried, he couldn't imagine her dating someone even remotely like Bruce.
     
    A scuffling noise erupted from the kitchen that sounded like scratching paws on the tile floor. He heard the familiar bark. "Oh, no," Kyle groaned as he bolted to a stand.
     
    "Whoa! Incoming!" Zoey called from the other room.
     
    "Kyle Preston!" Judy screamed.
     
    As if on cue, Will dove to the center of the table and grabbed the cheesecake tray just as Max pounced into the dining room. Kyle chased the dog around the table unsuccessfully until the animal lunged on top of the table, sniffing and slobbering for tidbits. Lauren jumped from her seat and stepped away from the table, her hand to her chest.
     
    "I got him, Ma," Kyle said to Judy when she appeared in the doorway, hands on hips and scowling. To Lauren he said, "In case you were still wondering, this is what happened on Thanksgiving."
     
    Judy's lips were tight. "Except that time this...this..."
     
    "Max," Kyle offered.
     
    "This animal got away with the turkey and dragged it through my house." Her nostrils flared with anger.
     
    Will cleared his throat and eyed Kyle in a message that said he'd better take care of Max before the woman of the house blew her lid.
     
    "Come on, boy." Kyle clutched the dog by the chewed leash and yanked, while Max continued to sniff for leftovers on the floor. When he got to the doorway, Judy glared at him and stepped back to let them pass. Kyle shrugged and said quietly, "Sorry, Ma."
     
    "Oh, go. I swear, Kyle Preston, you get worse as you get older. You don't have to take in every stray that wags its tail on your doorstep," he heard his mother say as the kitchen door slammed shut.
     
    As he crossed the driveway, he saw the red taillights of a car exiting the driveway. "I hope she knows what she is doing, Max," he said to the dog. Max whined, pulling away until Kyle ground his feet in to keep standing.
     
    He let the dog pull him to the back of the carriage house and noticed the frayed end of the leash where Max had broken free. "Looks like I'm going shopping first thing in the morning for a strong chain," he muttered to himself.
     
    He deposited the dog in his apartment, saying a silent prayer that his home would remain in relative order while he was gone.
     
    Pushing the kitchen door of his parents' home closed, he heard the sound of laughter spilling from the dining-room. Lauren's laughter. God, what a beautiful sound. "He was a lot of trouble? I can't imagine it." Lauren's wide eyes twinkled with delight as she watched him sink into the dining room chair.
     
    "Don't let him fool you. Kyle wrote the book on trouble." Judy handed him a plate full of cheesecake. But given the current topic of conversation, he didn't feel much like eating. "Kyle and Chas, I should say. The two of them were notorious for getting into everything."
     
    "Really?" Lauren stared at Kyle in disbelief. Well, he never meant to paint himself as anything other than what he was, but he didn't go broadcasting his youthful indiscretions.
     
    "There was the time you and Chas rolled that gigantic tractor tire down Main Street and wedged it in front of the Town Hall doors. I still can't believe no one saw you two do that," Will said, shaking his head.
     
    "Or," Judy eyed Kyle, this time with affection, "the time you two borrowed Mr. Marsh's horse and strung it up on the water tower for the whole town to see."
     
    Lauren's eyes flew open. "You put a horse on a tower?" she gasped.
     
    Kyle shrugged uneasily. "It was a life-size plastic horse from the dairy over on Mill Brook Road. You know the one displayed at the front gate?"
     
    Lauren nodded. "Oh, my word. How did you get that thing up the