Claire Dane’s POV
December twenty-third is the worst possible day to go gift shopping, and yet here we are.
The mall is a living organism. Noise pulses through with children screaming, laughing, and crying. Music blares from every direction, all bells and cheer that feel just a little too sharp after everything we’ve been through. People pack the corridors shoulder to shoulder, arms full of bags, faces flushed and frantic like time itself is chasing them.
Everyone is happy, including Daniel. I guess he’s overly so because for the past weeks he had been in a cabin with only his father and… me. He’s bouncing beside Jeremy, eyes wide, tugging at his father’s hand every time he spots something red or glittering. “Dad, look! That one has reindeer antlers!” He cranes his neck toward the cente
