A Christmas for Katie Read Online Free

the desk drawers were locked, then paused at the door to the offices.
    “The back door is this way,” she said.
    “Lead on.”
    Walking down the narrow hall with him felt strangely intimate. And when she stepped through the back door, waited for him, and then locked the door behind him, she felt even more aware of an unspoken familiarity.
    He had her pause as he walked around her car, then nodded, signaling for her to get in.
    Then suddenly, he was sitting beside her, and the cold, dark car was filled with his scent.
    “My vehicle’s on the street.”
    “Oh. Sure.”
    In no time at all, she was at his truck.
    “Wait a sec and I’ll follow you home,” he said before exiting the car, slamming the door shut.
    She waited, and felt his reassuring presence the whole drive home. When he pulled into her driveway behind her, he left his truck running as he walked to her window. “Are you sure that you’re going to be okay?”
    “Positive,” she said, echoing what he’d said earlier. Jayne almost smiled, trying her best to look calmer than she felt.
    “All right, goodbye then.”
    “Thanks, Connor. And, uh, Connor? Hope you enjoy the books.”
    He laughed. “Thanks. Night, Jayne. See you soon.”
    She only hoped that was a promise of good things to come . . . not a warning that things could soon be getting much worse. And maybe even more dangerous.

 
    Chapter Four
    “ K ATIE W EAVER, CARE to tell me why you are sitting in bed, reading the Bible?” her mother asked when she entered her bedroom long after Katie was supposed to be asleep.
    Katie gulped. Katie knew all too well that her mother only said her first and last name when she was upset with her.
    Which happened to be fairly often.
    Hands on her hips, her mother raised a brow. “Katie?”
    “Yes, Mamm.” Shoving the big, heavy book off her lap, Katie bit her lip. “I’ve got a gut reason. I mean, I do. Kind of,” she mumbled. Raising her chin, she prepared to get yet another talking to.
    But instead of chastising her for being up so late, her mother sat on the side of her bed. “Care to tell me why you are reading your father’s Bible?”
    “I didn’t hurt it. I was real careful.”
    “So I see.” Lifting the special book off the mattress, her mamm put it on the bedside table. “But I’m asking because I know we’ve given you some children’s books filled with Bible stories. They would be much easier to read, Katie.”
    “You did, and I like them fine. But I’m looking for something mighty important.”
    Her mother blinked. “You are? And what that might be?”
    “I want to know everyone who was in the stable with Jesus.”
    “In Bethlehem when He was born?”
    “Uh huh.” She braced herself for another round of questions.
    But instead of asking her why she was so interested, her mother retrieved the book and set it in her lap. Biting her lip, she flipped the thin, fragile pages to the Book of Luke. Then pointed to the second chapter. “It says here Mary and Joseph were in a stable. And an angel comes to visit the shepherds.”
    “Is there a donkey? What about a cow? And does it talk about sheep? Were there sheep?”
    “Well, the shepherds were in the field. One can only assume they had sheep. But as for what animals were there in the stable . . .” she said slowly. “I have to say I’m not rightly sure.” After skimming the text again, she leaned back against the headboard. “Katie, why are you so interested?”
    “Because there’s a nativity in front of the library, Mamm.”
    “Ah, yes. Ella did mention that you were interested in finding real people to fill the spots.”
    Glad that her mother was finally catching on, Katie nodded. “For Christmas Eve.”
    “Katie, we Amish don’t usually honor nativities. You know this, right? That’s why we don’t have one in our haus . All we really need is this book,” she said, pointing to the Bible.
    “I know . . . but I can’t help it, Mamm. I like the nativity at the