Christmas Surprises Read Online Free Page A

pointing to the large wet spot on his shirt.
     
    "Oh, no," Rachel murmured.  "Well, that's to be expected, right?  A puppy and all."
     
    "She peed a lot," Micah confirmed.  "Taylor, let me help you get all that stuff hidden so the girls won't see it when they wake up.  Then, I'll get you something dry to wear."
     
    But Taylor was still focused on the issue of the pee.  "And she peed on the truck seat, too."
     
    Uh-oh.  The drive was only a ten minute drive.  Did this puppy have a bladder that huge?
     
    "Really?," Rachel asked.
     
    "Yeah, Joy's cleaning it up," Taylor sighed, handing off things to Micah.  "That dog kept going and going and going --"
     
    "And going," Joy added as she came through the door, too, her hands full of paper towels.  "It was a mess."
     
    "But the puppy is cute, right?," Rachel asked, holding the dog up to her face. 
     
    "No," Joy frowned.  "She bites, and --"
     
    And sure enough, she did, licking Rachel's cheek right before she clamped her little puppy teeth down on her lip.
     
    "Ow!," Rachel cried.  "You little --"
     
    "Just a puppy thing," Micah said, coming in and taking the puppy into his arms.  "I think we should suggest the name Sugar to the girls.  Because she's white like Sugar, obviously --"
     
    "But she's not all that sweet," Taylor said.  "Look, Micah.  Rachel's lip is bleeding."
     
    Sure enough, Rachel could taste the blood.  The dog probably could, too.
     
    Well, good grief.  They'd adopted a miniature vampire dog.  For Christmas! 
     
    Happy birthday, Jesus.  Look at what we got our children -- a tiny minion of Satan!
     
    Rachel scowled at the dog and looked at the blood on the tips of her fingers.
     
    "Yeah, that's an abrasion, not a puncture," Micah murmured, his thumb brushing against her lips.  "You'll live."
     
    "Maybe I need a second opinion," Rachel muttered, "from an actual doctor."
     
    "It's your mouth," he said.  "And a dog's teeth did it.  Both my areas of expertise.  Lips and teeth.  You'd be selling yourself short if you saw anyone but a dentist for those problems."
     
    "Thank you, Dr. Johnson," she said, moving to the sink to wash her hands.  "But it --"
     
    Before she could finish, all four adults heard the sound of a bed creaking and shrieking laughter, likely Mia joining Zoe in her bed, which meant if this was like every other day, both girls would be rushing out of their bedroom in five, four, three...
     
    "Hide the dog!  Hide the dog!," Micah whispered, holding onto the little blood sucker and looking for some place to conceal her, pacing the kitchen frantically as Taylor and Joy followed him.
     
    "Micah, have Taylor and Joy take her to their room!," Rachel whispered.
     
    "She'll pee on our bed!," Joy hissed.
     
    "Take the puppy pads!," Micah hissed back, shoving the dog into Taylor's arms and grabbing one of the pet store bags to thrust into Joy's arms.  "Go, go, go!"
     
    "We'll come relieve you in a bit!  No pun intended!," Rachel called after them, just as Taylor and Joy disappeared down their hallway and Zoe and Mia appeared from theirs.
     
    "Merry Christmas Eve!," Micah shouted, rushing to the two girls, doing his best to distract them from the noise their aunt and uncle were making even as they climbed the stairs to their room.
     
    As Rachel watched Micah pick their squealing daughters up into his arms and twirl them around, she smiled again.
     
    This really was going to be the best Christmas ever.
     
     
     
    Natalie
     
     
     
    It was probably going to be the worst Christmas ever.
     
    She was likely making a mistake, bringing him to dinner like this without an explanation beforehand, but as he reached across the seat so as to hold her hand in his as he drove, she concluded that she didn't care if it was a mistake.
     
    Because she couldn't imagine spending Christmas without him. 
     
    Oh, who was she kidding?  It was already the best Christmas ever.
     
    "You're being so quiet," he noted, even as he