Free All I Want for Christmas: A Kinnison Legacy Holiday novella by Amanda McIntyre Page B

I don’t know much about this gift my Aunt Rebecca feels my daughter has. She says it comes from my great-grandmother—a full-blooded Crow shaman who had the gift of ‘sight’.”
    “The child was terrified, Angelique. What in God’s name did she see?”
    There was a slight pause. Enough to cause Liberty to sit up and listen carefully.
    “She described a room—she didn’t know where, only that it seemed small. There were four or five people, male or female, she couldn’t decipher,” Angelique explained.
    Thus far, it sounded more along the lines of the old, black-and-white scary movies that sometimes Em and her dad would watch together. Dalton was an avid fan of old horror movies, where most things looked staged and almost funny in comparison to modern horror films.
    Angelique cleared her throat. “She saw a lot of blood—on the floor, the walls, and on the people.”
    “Like a murder scene?” Liberty asked, horrified that such a vision would have to be seen by anyone, much less a child.
    “That upset her, yes, but what she screamed about was seeing Cody standing there. He, too, was covered in blood.”
    She dropped her feet to the floor and sat on the edge of the bed as Rein walked in the room. “Cody—was he?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word.
    “She just said that he was standing in the room, and was screaming for his daddy.”
    Liberty’s heart twisted. She felt bile rise in her throat.
    “Has Cody ever mentioned a father? Does Ellie know if there is one?” Angelique asked.
    Liberty shook her head, jarring loose the disturbing image planted in her brain. “Um…I, no, she’s never mentioned a father figure. You’d think if there was one that cared, he’d have shown up by now, wouldn’t you?”
    “Valid point,” Angelique said, and then sighed. “I am going to tell them both no scary movies for a while—I don’t care if Dalton calls them cheesy or not. I’m really sorry, Liberty, but we felt you ought to at least be aware of what Em saw.”
    “Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ll call Ellie tomorrow and see if I can find out anything more.” Her eyes rose to meet her husband’s steady gaze. He was the only one she knew of that Cody would call “daddy”.
    ***
    The next morning after Rein left to meet with Wyatt and Clay for breakfast at Betty’s, Liberty waded through a load of laundry and two cups of coffee, fed Cody his breakfast, and then settled him on the couch in the family room with his favorite soft blue afghan to watch his sing-a-long videos.
    She sat down, debating whether to call Ellie. Finally, she dialed her number.
    “Hey, Ellie, it’s Liberty. Got a minute?”
    “Sure, is everything okay?”
    Liberty hesitated, unsure of where to begin.
    “Did the Sunday dinner thing go okay?” Ellie asked.
    “It did… mostly. It was a relatively pleasant day. Cody picked at his food, stayed pretty quiet.”
    “Until?” Ellie prodded. “I can hear in your voice that something happened.”
    “You know Emilee Kinnison, my niece? Dalton’s oldest.”
    “Yes, I’ve been around her many times since moving here. Very mature for her age. A gifted child.”
    “That is true. And it seems her Grandma Rebecca feels that she may have the ability to ‘see’ things—visions, if you will. But they seem random at best. And it’s unclear if they’re past, present, or future.”
    “She did nail Sawyer’s gender, even before Angelique knew.”
    “True, and I’ve seen it occur a couple of other times, but nothing of this magnitude. This was very different.”
    “How so?” Ellie prodded.
    “Emilee was terrified and frankly, if I’d seen what she told her grandmother she saw, I’d be terrified, too.”
    “At the very least, concerned, I’d think.”
    “Exactly, and that’s why I called. To find out if Cody has a father in his life somewhere. Maybe a boyfriend of Rowena’s that he called ‘daddy’?”
    “No, not that I’m aware of. It was just the two of them