Chapter 12
"Caro, Merry Christmas."
The cracked female voice that had once kept her safe now jarred her awake. Caro crushed her eyes closed and wished she could block out the sound and any light that might come next. A second later, her bedroom light shone in the darkness, and she felt the glow under her eyelids. She pressed her lips together and hoped if she stayed still, then her mother would get the hint.
Instead her mother said, "Caro, the presents are waiting for you."
Her nose wrinkled. This wasn't about presents or Christmas morning. She wasn't ten years old anymore, but the thought that Luke would be here soon cheered her spirits. She relaxed her face and squinted her eyes. Her mother's brown hair and eyes stared at her.
Caro's shoulders released the tension as she sat and ope
