Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

coordinated plan to move Danny, knowing once they pul ed him from under the pile of rocks it would set off an avalanche. Matt stayed beside his brother, joking, keeping Danny’s spirits up. The men cleared as many of the rocks from Danny as they could without triggering the landslide. It was only the soft damp dirt that saved Danny from terrible injury or death. His body was pressed deep into the muck. They dug around him with painstaking slowness, careful not to disturb the precarious balance of boulders poised over their heads.
    “Ready, Danny boy?” It was Matt who locked arms with his brother.
    “More than ready.” There was fear in Danny’s eyes, but he winked at his older brother and managed a weak smile.
    Matt didn’t wait. They had cleared as much of the ground as possible out of the way of the landslide path so that Matt had a clear trail on the steep embankment to drag Danny quickly out of harm’s way. He exerted his great strength, pul ing his brother out from under the rocks, moving as fast as humanly possible. The rocks immediately crashed into the river, starting the avalanche. The boulders above, with nothing to hold them, rol ed down, taking most of the embankment with it. Matt covered Danny’s body a second time, waiting until the debris had cleared.
    Danny tried to stand, but his brother held him down. “You made me come down here and play mud-cakes with you, you can just get on the stretcher and let the medics carry your butt to the hospital and check you out.”
    “I’m fine,” Danny protested, as they strapped him into a litter. “I feel like an idiot,” he said.
    “That’s good, Danny. You are an idiot.” Matt took up a position at the head of the stretcher to help carry him up the steep bank. They were stil cautious, worried about the unstable conditions, but managed to get him to the top without incident.

    Danny protested more when they put him in the ambulance, but no one paid him any attention. Matt jumped in beside him, keeping one hand on his brother’s shoulder. It wasn’t until the doctors pronounced Danny bruised, but fine that Matt left him to go check on Jackson and the teens.
    By the time he returned to the cliff house, he was tired and only wanting to hold Kate to him. The Drake sisters were sprawled in every chair of the living room, pale and drawn, al greeting him with their bril iant smiles.
    Matt gathered Kate to him, holding her close. Al he wanted to do was take her home with him where she belonged. She looked exhausted and in need of a hot meal and two or three days of sleep. Kate clung to him, turning her face up for his kiss, burrowing against him.
    “I heard there was an accident on the river wal ,” she greeted.
    “Everyone’s fine. Shook up, but fine. Did Jonas stop by?”
    She shook her head. “Inez cal ed to make certain we were al right. She knew we must have cleared out the fog and that we would be exhausted.
    She told us what happened. Jackson’s in the hospital, but the two boys were treated and released. She said Jackson’s going to be fine.” Her smile was slow coming but bright. “I have a feeling he’l make a terrible patient.”
    “Somehow I think you’re right. Danny was treated and released also. He’s bruised from head to toe, but he didn’t have a single major injury.” There was elation in Matt’s voice. “He’s hoping Inez wil upgrade his part next year in the pageant due to his, quote, ‘heroism.’ It was pretty dicey, Kate. Thanks for al you did.”
    “We al did it. I could never have managed without my sisters. I’m so glad your brother is fine. The pageant just wouldn’t be the same without him in his annual role as the shepherd. Speaking of the pageant—” She broke off as her sisters burst out laughing.
    Matt’s head went up suspiciously. He was beginning to know the Drake sisters, and their laughter heralded trouble for him. He was certain of it.
    “Inez sent over a costume she made for the third wise man. A king,” Kate said brightly. “She asked if you would be wil ing to fil the role at the last minute and of course, with Inez being so distressed, we said we were certain you’d want to help out.”
    He stiffened. “I’d rather be boiled in oil.”
    “Acting runs in your family,” she pointed out.
    He held up his hand. “You can’t look at me with those eyes while you’re weak and tired, it’s unfair tactics.”
    “I know, Matthew,” she said. “I’m trying not to, but Inez is such a