“All right, then. Let me know if you want me to help.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Katherine returned to the shopfront and opened the hatbox. Taking out a piece of tissue paper, she picked up the shepherd from the nativity set and wound the tissue paper around him. Reaching for another piece, she suddenly stopped.

“Captain?”

“Yes, Katherine?” Captain Braddock looked up from the ornaments he was carefully removing from the tree in the window.

“The angel… it’s here! Wherever did you find it?”

“Serena brought it when she came to visit last year. Said she kept it with her when she moved away as sort of a tie to the Harborside. She figured it would always give her a reason to come back.”

“I suppose that explains why we couldn’t find it last year.”

They worked on in silence for a while, then Katherine ventured, “I was just wondering as I walked here this morning, do you know who owns the rest of the warehouses on this block?”

“I think the Braddocks originally sold to a friend who ran some sort of shipping company, but I’ve never heard about anyone selling it more recently, so it’s probably still his, or his descendants, more likely. Not that they’ve done anything with it.” Captain Braddock’s brow furrowed up as he turned back to the box of ornaments.

“Here’s the box!” Tommy triumphantly burst into the shop with the exuberance of a small boy who has just done something the grownups thought he couldn’t.

The three worked cheerfully on. With Tommy’s help, Captain Braddock got the ornaments put away and the tree taken out to the dumpster. Katherine took a few of the boxes down to the storeroom while the other two worked to take down the garlands from the windows.

As Katherine turned to start up the stairs, she heard a crash, a sickening thud, then a soft moan and a panicked yelp from Tommy. Heart racing, Katherine ran up the stairs and rounded the corner.

Captain Braddock lay motionless on the floor, bits of broken glass and pottery around him. A chair lay on its side nearby, and Tommy stood trembling by the door, eyes wide and pleading as he looked up at Katherine. Recognizing that he needed something to do, Katherine forced calmness into her tone and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Tommy, I need you to get a glass of water from the kitchen in case we need it.”

Tommy nodded and dashed away.

“Captain?” Katherine knelt next to his motionless form and laid a hand on his chest. Relief flooded through her—he was still breathing.

“Is he…” Tommy asked from the doorway, glass of water spilling in his trembling hand.

“No, but I think he’s hurt. Can you bring my bag from the coatrack?”

Tommy did, and Katherine rummaged for her phone, thankful for the unnatural calm that had settled over her in the wake of the initial shock. “Tommy, I’m going to call for help. I want you to go find the broom and dustpan and have them ready so we can clean up the broken glass and sharp things from the floor by him.”

While they waited for the paramedics to arrive, Katherine and Tommy carefully cleared the broken shards and scattered tea leaves away from the floor where the captain still lay unconscious.

“Can’t we put something under his head? It isn’t nice to lie on the floor like that.” Tommy's voice wavered, and tears filled his eyes.

“No, Tommy. We mustn’t move him. I know it seems wrong to just leave him on the floor, but we don’t know what’s wrong. If we move him, we might hurt him more without realizing.”

Tommy nodded, and a tear trickled down one cheek.

Katherine held out an arm. “Come sit by me. I’m sure help is almost here.”

The boy sat next to her and buried his head in her shoulder. Katherine felt sobs shake his little body as she wrapped him in a hug, trying to stay strong for him. After a few minutes, the sobs subsided and Katherine broke the silence.

“Tommy, there is one thing we can do for the captain while we wait.”

The boy lifted his tear-stained face, alert and ready for action. “What’s that?”

“We can pray,” Katherine said simply.

“I don’t know how,” Tommy dropped his head again.

“Then I’ll pray out loud,” Katherine said. Tommy clasped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Lord, help Captain Braddock. Help him to wake up and help his injuries to heal. Help us to stay calm and be of whatever use we can. Show us how we can help him.” Her voice broke and she had to pause for a while before finally whispering, “Please, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

“Amen,” Tommy echoed in a whisper, and the two clung tightly, eyes glued to the captain’s face.

After several minutes, Katherine heard sirens in the distance. At the same moment, Captain Braddock’s lips parted and a low moan escaped.

“Captain?” Katherine said, gently putting Tommy to one side to free her arms. “Captain, can you hear me?”

“What…” the word was mumbled and barely recognizable. “Katherine…”

“Well, at least you know me.” Katherine said, with an encouraging smile for Tommy.

“That…noise…”

“It’s the paramedics, Captain. You’ve had a fall, and they’ve come to help.” She squeezed his hand then turned to Tommy. “Go open the door and wave at them so they know where to go.”

Tommy ran to the door and flung it open, the bell jingling raucously.

“Hang on, Captain. Help is here. You’ll be all right.” She gave the captain’s hand another squeeze. Lord, please let him be all right!

* * * *

Katherine sat listening to the dull beep of the monitors and the soft hum of the nurses in the hallway outside. She had called Tommy’s mom, who came to pick him up just after the captain was loaded into the ambulance. Since then, she sat by the captain’s side while they ran tests and spoke in hushed tones, asking her what happened and how she was related to him.

They had called Serena, who had given the doctors permission to talk to Katherine about her brother’s medical condition until she could get there. The captain himself drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, but now was soundly sleeping.

The doctors said he was suffering from a concussion, and would need to rest as much as possible. Their scans had also shown a broken bone in his ankle that required a splint for now, and a sturdier cast later on. Katherine felt she couldn’t leave him there alone, especially since the doctors told her he was likely to experience some confusion and temporary issues with his memory as his brain healed from the concussion.

“Katherine?”

“I’m here. How are you feeling?” Katherine squeezed the captain’s hand and leaned forward so he could see her better.

“I don’t…what happened?”