Somebody's Santa by Annie Jones

Author:Annie Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2008-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

…This will be the first Christmas in a very long time that I won’t feel utterly alone in the world.

Dora’s words had kept coming back to him as they ate their meal, cleaned up afterwards, then all hurried off to the heart of Mt. Knott to join with the community to welcome in the coming season of goodwill.

“You know if it hadn’t warmed up the way it has, I’d say drag out the old sleigh and ride into town,” Jason announced, as they all headed for their cars outside their family home.

“Oh, I wish we could have.” Carol turned to Cody, clapping her hands. “I only got to ride in it that one time. Of course, I’ll never forget what happened that night.”

“What happened that night?” Dora leaned in to whisper to Burke. “Did they get in an accident?”

Jason, who was passing by them at that very moment, barked out a laugh and promptly broke into the chorus of “Jingle Bells.”

“Worse.” Burke tried to maintain a proper scowl as he swung open the passenger door of his truck for his guest.

Dora put one hand on the door but did not climb up and into the cab right away, instead stopping to challenge him. He found that awfully charming, her fearlessness to stand up to him about the smallest things, even as a joke. “Worse?”

She clucked her tongue, shook her head and acted shocked to even imagine what could be worse.

“They got engaged,” Burke answered, adding a jerk of his head to prod her to get into the car so they could get going and put this conversation behind them. He was not looking forward to having to spend his evening with the entire town of Mt. Knott, including a whole lot of people he had personally had to lay off from the Crumble. All of them acting as cheerful as possible. Trying to make it through the best they could. With him feeling guilty, both that he would be snooping around to decide which of them had the most pitiful circumstances, and that he could not simply help them all.

“Getting engaged is worse than getting into an accident?” she asked as he hurried her along.

“Doing anything that showy, like proposing in a sleigh, is worse because if you don’t get it right or she turns you down, you will never hear the end of it.”

“I can see that, especially in a small town like this where people are liable to talk,” she agreed, joining in his jest.

“What do you two plan to get up to, to get people talking?” Cody asked, using his very most serious look of keeping an eye out for trouble, as any good preacher should.

“Nothing. Honest.” Burke held his hands up like a kid who had been caught rattling the lid to the cookie jar. Then, for good measure, he gave Dora a quick wink. “We’re on our best behavior.”

“That’s too bad,” Conner grumbled, as he made his way slowly down the steps of the house, too proud to allow anyone to help him.

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