Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) Read Online Free Page B

few days without the dragon lady, so you’ll have to stay away longer.”
    She wrinkled her nose, making certain none of her frustration showed. “Dragon lady? Thanks a bunch. Is it too late for me to cancel a few Christmas bonuses?”
    He chuckled. “Way too late.”
    Shannon kept things light through lunch, working to get her mother, brother and sister-in-law laughing. But it was a relief when she pulled out of her mother’s driveway, escaping their watchful gazes. She drove for a long time, up into the hills, finally swinging by Neil’s house.
    She frowned as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and gazed at the modern log structure. She would have sworn that Neil, of all her brothers, would never get married and live outside the city, but he’d fallen for Libby like a ton of bricks. Two tons.
    Sighing, Shannon headed home, deciding not to call Neil and his wife.
    A winter sunset burned pink and gold on the western horizon as she finally pulled into her driveway, but she didn’t have time to appreciate it before Jeremy flew across the yard, waving madly with one arm, the other clutching Mr. Tibbles.
    An involuntary smile curved her mouth.
    “Hey, Jeremy,” she said, opening the car door.
    “Hey, Shannon.”
    They had exchanged a few hellos and good-byes over the past few days, with Alex then hustling his son away with insulting speed. Of course, the speed might have been due to Washington’s beastly winter weather, but it was still a little insulting.
    “What have you been up to?” she asked as she got out.
    “Daddy ’n’ me are putting up Christmas lights,” Jeremy said solemnly.
    She noticed an expandable ladder leaning against the McKenzies’ condo. “That’s nice.”
    “But he got hurted and said a bad word.”
    Alex had followed his son across the yard, and Shannon glanced at him, trying not to laugh at his chagrined expression. She guessed his injury was relatively minor since there wasn’t any visible blood and no bones were sticking out.
    “He did?”
    “Uh-huh. He said—”
    “Jeremy,” Alex interrupted hastily, “I was wrong to say that in the first place, and it certainly isn’t something to repeat in front of a lady.”
    The youngster quieted and clutched Mr. Tibbles even tighter, mumbling an apology, so Shannon smiled and ruffled his hair.
    “That’s okay. I’m lucky, I have five brothers to help put up my Christmas lights.” Five brothers with the same sort of old-fashioned views about a “lady’s” delicate ears and sensibilities—all part of the O’Rourke Code they’d been taught by their father. The “Code” was sacred to the male members of the family, much to the frequent frustration of the female members.
    “I wish I had a brother,” Jeremy said, sounding wistful.
    Oh dear.
    Wasn’t wishing he had a brother just one step away from talking about getting a new mommy? Presuming he understood the relationship between the two events.
    “I also have three sisters,” Shannon said quickly. “Miranda, Kelly and Kathleen. Miranda and Kelly are twins.”
    “Do they like dodgeball?”
    Dodgeball? She searched through her memory andvaguely recalled kids standing in a circle, with others in the middle dodging a large red ball.
    “Uh, they haven’t played for a while. They’re all grown up.”
    Jeremy sighed. “I wanna play dodgeball, but the big kids say I’m too small.”
    “That’s too bad, but they probably want to be sure you don’t get hurt accidentally.”
    Alex stuck his throbbing thumb in his pocket and watched Shannon O’Rourke charm his son all over again. Jeremy’s gaze was fixed on her adoringly, and he was talking like a normal little boy, rather than a traumatized child.
    He’d asked around and learned a great deal about the O’Rourkes since meeting Shannon. People in all walks of life counted them as friends. They were highly respected, were active in church and charity work, and gave generously of both their time and their money.