"I thought so."

"I couldn't help it! Carter loves that dog, and Rusty loves him. The two of them are meant to be together."

"Not according to what you first said." Although she made it sound like a complaint, Mercy was actually delighted with her friend. In the past, Shirley had been a real stickler for protocol during their earthly visitations. The former guardian angel always took on the role of supervisor, policing Goodness and Mercy as if that was her right. She found it gratifying that, for once, Shirley had broken the rules herself.

"Just look at Carter and Rusty," Shirley urged. "How can anyone take that dog away from that little boy?"

Mercy gazed down at the sleeping figures. Rusty slept peacefully close to Carter and Mercy was moved almost to tears by their mutual devotion.

"What's going to happen now?" Mercy asked.

"I don't know." Shirley shook her head. "I pleaded Carter's case to Gabriel. That's all I can do."

"You did?" Many a time Mercy had done the same, but to no avail. She didn't think Shirley had gone to the Archangel even once to request assistance. Until now.

"What did he say?"

Shirley cleared her throat. "He said I'd already interfered where I shouldn't have. That God has everything under control."

"So he knew what you'd done." This shouldn't surprise Mercy. Gabriel always seemed to be aware of their every move.

"I'm to butt out." She sounded a little affronted, and Mercy couldn't blame her.

"Gabriel told you that?"

"In exactly those words, too. He warned me that I'm not to involve myself in any way from this point forward. He did ask me to stick around, though."

"I should hope so."

Shirley glanced down at the floor. "Gabriel wasn't happy with me."

Mercy shrugged, as if to imply that should be expected. "Don't worry about it. Gabriel knew what he was doing when he sent us back to Earth."

Shirley nodded morosely.

Seeing that her friend felt bad, Mercy decided to inject a bit of entertainment into their visit to Leavenworth. "Want to have some fun?"

As little as a week ago, Shirley would have sharply chastised Mercy for even suggesting such a thing. This time she simply gazed at her. "What do you have in mind?"

"Have you noticed the ornaments hanging from the streetlamps?" Actually, they were pretty hard to miss. The town council had hung large wreaths, candy canes and candles, interspersed with a few unrealistic-looking angels.

"I was thinking," Mercy went on, "of rearranging the ornaments, mixing things up a bit."

"We could make all the ornaments that aren't angels disappear," Shirley said tentatively, entering into the spirit of the enterprise.

"I like it," Mercy said excitedly.

"Let's contact Goodness and get started."

Tonight was December twenty-third, and they had one last day on Earth. Christmas Eve, they'd have to return to Heaven for the celebration. Only one day left, and Mercy intended to make the most of it.

Carter was tucked warmly in his bed when Rusty began to bark. The barking became louder and more frantic and it didn't stop. At first Carter ignored it, trying to sleep. But when he finally forced open his eyes, he couldn't see. The entire bedroom was filled with fog. There was a horrible smell. Like something burning.

The fog was so thick he couldn't even see his sister's bed. He choked. Taking a breath was painful.

Completely disoriented, he sat up.

"Bailey?"

His sister didn't answer.

"Bailey!" He tried again.

All at once, the bedroom door burst open and was shut with a bang. Out of the fog, his father emerged with his hand cupped over his nose and mouth.

"Dad? What's happening?"

"Fire," his father said tersely. It wasn't fog then, but smoke. Carter's dad swooped him off the bed and into his arms. He stumbled across the room, carrying Carter, then set him down and reached for Bailey. Jerking open the bedroom window, he gently dropped her, bare feet and all, into the snow.

"Get away from the house as fast as you can," he said. "Your mother's out front waiting for you."

Carter watched his sister race through the snow.

The smoke that was now pouring out of the bedroom window made Carter's eyes smart. He was next. His father lowered him carefully into the snow, then looked over his shoulder and leaped out himself.

Father and son ran hand in hand around the side of the house.

In the distance, Carter heard the wail of a fire engine, the alarm piercing the night.

His house was on fire.

His mother cried out with relief when she saw Carter and his father. Sobbing, she held out her arms. She swept Carter into her embrace and started kissing him. He hugged her tight and felt the tears on her cheeks.

The fire truck arrived and suddenly there were all kinds of people in front of the house. The paramedic put Carter and his family inside the aid car and checked their vital signs. His father had to breathe into an oxygen mask for a few minutes.

When Carter looked out the back of the aid car, he saw flames shooting up through the roof. The firefighters had the hoses going, and there seemed to be a dozen men and women at work.

"What woke you up?" The question came from the man who'd given his father the mask.

Carter answered. "Rusty." All of a sudden he realized he didn't know where his dog was. Bolting to his feet, Carter screamed, "Where's Rusty?" even though it hurt his throat to do that.

His father removed the mask. "My son's dog was barking," he said hoarsely. "If it hadn't been for Rusty, I would never have been able to get my family out of that house."

"Where's Rusty? Where's Rusty?" Carter cried, looking frantically in all directions. The thought of his dog still inside terrified him.

Then the sound of Rusty's bark cut through the night.