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As little as a week ago, Shirley would have sharply chastised Mercy for even suggesting such a thing This tiazed at her "What do you have infrom the streetlamps?" Actually, they were pretty hard to e wreaths, candy canes and candles, interspersed with a few unrealistic-looking angels

"I was thinking," Mercy went on, "of rearranging the ornas up a bit"

"We could els 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 war became louder and nored it, trying to sleep But when he finally forced open his eyes, he couldn’t see The entire bedroo There was a horrible s 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 bedroo, his father eed with his hand cupped over his nose and ?"

"Fire," his father said tersely It wasn’t fog then, but smoke Carter’s dad swooped him off the bed and into his ar Carter, then set hi open the bedrooently dropped her, bare feet and all, into the snow

"Get away from the house as fast as you can," he said "Yourfor you"

Carter watched his sister race through the snow

The s out of the bedroommade 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 alarht

His house was on fire

His mother cried out with relief when she saw Carter and his father Sobbing, she held out her ar hiht 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 fans 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 flahters had the hoses going, and there seemed to be a dozen men and women at work

"What woke you up?" The question caiven his father the mask

Carter answered "Rusty" All of a sudden he realized he didn’t knohere his dog was Bolting to his feet, Carter screah it hurt his throat to do that

His father re," 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 hih the night

"Rusty!" Carter juhbor’s yard toward hi down on one knee in the snow, Carter wrapped his ared hiain

His father joined Carter and knelt down next to hi

"Well, boy," David said and his voice was shaking "We still can’t afford a dog, but you’ve earned your way into our home for the rest of your life"

"Do you mean it, Dad?"

"Every word"

"Rusty," Carter choked out Rusty was his dog, just the way he’d always hoped, just the way he wanted Tears fell from his eyes and Rusty repeatedly licked his face

"All I can say," the hty lucky you had that dog"

"It wasn’t luck," Carter insisted "Rusty’s the dog God sent ot all the proof you need of that"

Twenty-One

Lorraine and her husband, Kenny, had arrived early on Christmas Eve Noo o’clock, and Rosalie was busy in the kitchen with her daughters, getting everything ready for dinner that evening Richard and Ken sat with Harry in the faarandchildren would come later that afternoon

This was all the Christrandchildren close, he was at peace

Rising from his chair was difficult, and eroped for the walker

"You need any help with that, Dad?" Richard asked