3 Madness in Christmas River Read Online Free

rested her head in her hands.
    “ Jesus , what a nightmare that woman is,” she said. “I mean, I’m not crazy, right? You saw how she was yesterday at dinner. And let me tell you, she was on her best behavior there. She probably had plenty more to say about that fig pie of yours that she was holding back. I could see it in her beady little eyes. It was just eating away at her.”
    I laughed.
    “Yeah, she seems like a real pain, all right,” I said. “I don’t envy you.”
    “It’s just not fair,” she said. “John and I aren’t even married yet, and I’m having to deal with this—”
    I raised my eyebrow.
    “ Yet ?” I said. “Does that mean…?”
    She waved her hands at me.
    “No, no, nothing of the kind,” she said. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure if that were the case, that witch of a woman would do everything she could to keep us apart. She hates me.”
    “I’m sure that’s not true,” I said.
    “No, it is true. You know how I know?” she said. “Because she hates everyone . Everyone but John.”
    “Well, at least she has that going for her. She believes in equal opportunity.”
    “Yeah, she’s practically a saint,” she said sarcastically. “But seriously, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’m at my limit with that woman, Cin. And I don’t know what to do.”
    “Well, what about a vacation?” I said. “Why don’t you and John take off to somewhere sunny and tropical?”
    She shook her head.
    “Too much going on. I just reopened the ornament shop. I can’t leave now during the busiest season of the year. Plus, John’s swamped with referrals before the beginning of the New Year.”
    “What about sending her on a vacation?” I said. “Call it a Christmas present. To yourself.”
    Kara’s face brightened.
    “Now there’s a thought,” she said.
    “Send her some place far for a while,” I said.
    “Like Singapore.”
    “South America.,” I said.
    “Better yet, Siberia.”  
    We both started laughing.
    “I’ll suggest it to John when I see him later,” she said.
    Her phone on the table lit up and started vibrating. She grabbed it, glanced at it, and then set it back down.
    “So are you guys coming out to the tree lighting later?” she said.
    “Wouldn’t miss it,” I said. “Warren and Marie are coming too. Plus, Daniel will be there.”
    “So… uh, how’re you feeling about Daniel taking off for a week with the wedding so soon?”
    I shrugged.
    “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” I said, echoing what he had said earlier that morning, like if I said it, it would make it true.
    She raised her eyebrows in a doubtful expression.
    She could always tell when I was lying.
    “All right, fine,” I said, giving in. “To tell you the truth, it’s not ideal. But it’s necessary. They need his help. And there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t like it, but that’s the way it has to be.”
    “I don’t blame you,” Kara said. “A week is a whole lotta time for thinking.”
    “Well, it’s not like I won’t have plenty to do,” I said. “I’ve got the planning and work, and we’ve got gingerbread to make, remember? Are we still on for starting this weekend on the house?”
    “I’m your man,” she said, nodding.
    Usually at this time of year, Kara and I entered in the annual Gingerbread Junction, the gingerbread house competition known throughout the Northwest for its fierce competitiveness. But this year, given everything that was going on in my life, I thought it would be a good idea to sit this one out.
    But Kara and I were still planning on putting a house together. I thought it would only be fitting, given how the gingerbread competition had brought Daniel and me together, that we have a little memento of it at the wedding.
    Kara’s phone buzzed again. She stood up, grabbed her puffy down coat and pulled it on. She wrapped her elegant, golden-threaded scarf around her neck, running her hand under her long blond hair and bringing