Rachel Van Dyken by The Parting Gift

Author:The Parting Gift
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The unexpected uh-ooga of the Model A’s horn made Mara jump. It had been awhile since she’d been honked at like that. She had never been out with anyone other than Michael – not that she believed this was a date. Her stomach flip-flopped at the thought. Pull yourself together. A couple sentimental moments, and you’re turning into mush.

“It should only be two or three hours. We’re going to cut a Christmas tree. Brighten up the place a bit. I think it will bolster Mr. Graham’s spirits,” she explained to Mrs. Smith, trying to cover her response to the sound of the horn.

The older woman raised an eyebrow at her. “I haven’t known Mr. Graham to celebrate Christmas since his wife’s passing. Are you sure about this, my dear?”

“I’m sure. It’s time. Are you okay to stay until we get back?”

“Yes. Though I may have to leave for a short time to pick up the groceries before the market closes. I’ll wait as long as I can.”

Mara buttoned her coat and hurried out the door. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. He should be asleep for another hour or so. I have lasagna in the oven. He’ll be ready to eat when he wakes up. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

****

Stepping into the house and shaking the snow out of his hat, Blaine faced her.

“Ready?” He shook out his winter coat. Mara couldn’t keep the smile from her face as he held out her hat and gloves for her to put on. Anticipating the rough weather, she had already put her winter gloves and hat on the nearest counter top. It had been years since she’d gone Christmas tree hunting; she wasn’t sure how bundled up she needed to be.

Shyly, she took the gloves and hat, taking extra care to put them on so the bitter cold wouldn’t seep through. She wasn’t used to the cold winters just yet. Blaine’s boyish grin was infectious as he opened the door to let her out into the chilly mid-afternoon air. They stopped briefly at the shed for a saw. It was difficult for Mara not to read into Blaine’s kind gesture, but she told herself he was merely being kind, wanting to provide her and his father with a happy Christmas.

“Follow me.” He held out his free hand. Taking it, she shivered as the warmth from his fingers spread up her arm, slamming hard into her chest. He opened the door to the truck and helped her in.

“How far is it?”

Blaine gave her a teasing look. “How far do you want it to be? It’s entirely up to you. We could always cut down that tree.” He pointed to a tiny, needle-less and poor excuse for a tree standing at the edge of the driveway.

Mara couldn’t hold back her laughter. “No, that has to be the most depressing tree I’ve ever laid eyes on! We can’t cut that down, it would be…”

“Criminal,” Blaine finished nodding his head. “So shall we venture

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.