“There you are, kid. I've been looking for you all day. I should have known you would have come to see Santa. I hope you haven’t been getting into mischief,” Lucky said loudly, forcing his way through the crowd.
“No, he hasn’t. He has been a great help. Who are you?” Santa asked, his tone as cold as the weather outside.
“I’m his brother. Our ma is going to leather the both of us for being out so long. Come on, Kenny, let’s get you home.”
Kenny shrank back from Lucky’s arm, causing the lad to give him a hard stare. He inched closer to Santa and Kathleen. Kathleen pushed her way in front of Kenny, glaring at Lucky.
“I don’t know who you are, mister, but you aren’t anything to do with this child.”
“Says who? He’s my brother, and we need to go home. Now!” Lucky made a grab for Kenny but missed, due to the man who had kissed Kathleen putting his hands on Lucky and dragging him back a few steps.
“You nearly knocked my fiancée there. You need to calm down,” Richard insisted.
“Get your hands off me. Kenny’s my brother, and I am telling ya now, we are off.”
“Kenny is not your brother. He grew up beside me, and I knew his sister and his parents. The only brother he had was a babe who died before his first birthday. My name is Kathleen Collins, a friend of Inspector Griffin, and I have been searching for Kenny for days. I am taking him home with me.”
Lucky glared at her for a few moments. Kenny thought he would wet himself, he was so scared.
“Over my dead body, missus,” Lucky said. “You keep your beak out of things, if you know what’s good for you.”
“How dare you threaten a decent, young woman, you despicable young man!” a man who was waiting to see Santa with his two young children said disgustedly.
Kenny almost grinned, as Lucky realized there were more than a few adults glaring at him. He hoped it meant the man would leave. But then he would go home. To Jack. He would hurt his dog. Kenny couldn’t let that happen.
“Lucky has been looking after me, miss. I best get home with him, or his ma will kill both of us. Thank you for your kindness, Santa.”
Kenny moved toward Lucky, who grasped his shoulder in a painful vice-like grip. He tried not to make a sound, as he figured Lucky would make him pay for it later.
But he hadn’t reckoned on Kathleen.
“Let go of that child immediately. You call the police,” Kathleen ordered a member of the staff, who had been watching the scene unfold. “Kenny Clark, you are coming home with me. Inspector Griffin is very worried about you, him being an old and dear friend of your mother.”
Ma didn’t know Inspector Griffin, least he didn’t think she did. Miss Collins was telling lies. Why?
“Kenny, we are going now to get Jack. He will be upset if you don’t come home with me,” Lucky countered.
Kenny couldn’t let anything happen to Jack. He looked at Kathleen and then turned to leave with Lucky.
“The dog will run away, you’ll see. Kenny, don’t leave with him,” Kathleen begged.
“Nobody is leaving. The police will be here shortly.”
Kenny stared at the man who had asked Kathleen to marry him. He looked very angry, but he was looking at Lucky, not him. Was Kathleen, right? Would Jack run away, if he didn’t come back with Lucky?
“Keep him then,” Lucky shouted, as he pushed Kenny into Kathleen and her friend before bolting. Kenny watched, as a couple of men tried to stop Lucky, but he slipped past them easily. It was all over in seconds.
“Kenny, you are safe now. You’ll come home with us,” Kathleen said. “Come along children. We will come back to see Santa another day.”
“Why don’t I come to the sanctuary to see you, miss?” Santa suggested. “I could do with catching up with Lily, I haven’t seen her in some time.”
“Thank you, Santa. We would love to see you. Perhaps you can help us finish decorating our tree,” Kathleen answered, holding her hand out to Kenny.
Kenny hugged Santa. “Thank you for helping me,” he whispered, as the red-suited man hugged him back.
“Be good, Kenny, and may all your dreams come true.”
Kathleen couldn’t believe the afternoon. Between Richard proposing and finding and, just as quickly, almost losing Kenny again, it was very memorable. Thankfully, the other children were very understanding about Santa. The fact he was coming specially to see them at the sanctuary helped, but, with the exception of George, the other children had lived on the streets. They knew the danger. They might not understand what Lucky wanted with Kenny, she wasn’t sure of that herself, but they knew enough to know he was in danger. Richard hailed a couple of cabs to take them home. He rode in one with the younger children, while Kathleen rode in the other with the older ones and Kenny, who wouldn’t let go of her hand.
“Do you think Jack will be all right?” the boy asked her.
“Yes, Kenny, I do. I think he will come looking for you. He will go to Granny Belbin. We can send word to her to tell her where you are. For now, I want to get you to safety.”
“What did Lucky want with me?”
“I am not sure, Kenny. Perhaps Inspector Griffin will be able to tell us. But you can take that worried look off your face. You are safe with us. I promise.”
Kenny looked at her with such trust. She promised nothing would hurt him again, not while she was around.