Taren couldn't stop thinking of Kiki for the rest of the day as he prepared to celebrate Christmas with his family and her later that night. Even though he hadn't been away from her for long, he already felt her absence and couldn't wait to see her again.

Later that afternoon, he brought in the last of the wood he'd chopped and dropped it into the wood box beside the fireplace.

"Careful there," his mother teased. "You don't want to break it."

Taren laughed. ...