A Callahan Carol Read Online Free

Gold Wing. Driven by a figure dressed in white leather trimmed in gold and wearing a golden helmet.
    Could he be dead, after all? Had Elvis come to drive him off to the Land of Jelly Donuts?
    The motor switched off and in the sudden silence, he’d have sworn he heard harp music. The figure heeled down the kickstand, dismounted, pulled off white leather gloves, then reached up to remove the helmet.
    Not Elvis, Branch thought as a face was revealed, but a woman. A woman of indefinite age.
    Her silver-gray hair suggested she was older, but her face remained unlined and her rosy complexion had a youthful glow.
    She moved her gently rounded body in a sprightly manner as she advanced toward him and smiled. “Hello, Branch Callahan.”
    Suddenly, he felt a tingling in his throat and tried to speak.
    His voice emerged raspy and weak, but he did have a voice. “Who are you? Where am I? What the hel-uh–heck is going on?”
    “My name is Celeste Blessing. I have been sent here on a special mission.”
    “Sent here by whom?”
    “A great and powerful force. A force that–if you allow it– can make an enormous positive impact upon your life. First, however, you must open your heart to it.”
    “A force?” he asked warily. “What kind of force?” She wasn’t carrying a pitchfork and he saw no signs of a pointy tail on her behind, but hey, the Trickster came by that nickname honestly.
    “Love. You must open your heart to love, Branch Callahan.”
    Branch scowled. “What sort of nonsense is this. I have plenty of love in my heart. I have so much love in my heart that it’s killing me.”
    “Ah. Do you? Or is something else dousing the flame of your love?”
    Her smile was beautiful and warm, and Branch could feel it deep within his bones. She held out her hand toward him. “Come with me, Branch Callahan. Let me show you the truth.”
    Suddenly, he was standing–without pain, without needing his walker. He glanced down and noticed he was wearing his own set of leathers, only his were black. Now that was keen.
    Celeste handed him a black motorcycle helmet, then climbed onto the motorcycle and motioned for Branch to take the passenger position. She started the engine, and they took off through the mist. Branch heard “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” piping through the helmet into his ears.
    Christmas. Okay, maybe he hadn’t drifted as long as he’d thought. Or, maybe this entire thing was a dream.
    The music segued into “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
    Branch frowned. Surely he wasn’t having a Jimmy Stewart It’s a Wonderful Life moment!
    Even as the thought formed, the Gold Wing emerged from the mists onto the street in front of Callahan House. The blasted Christmas Wonderland was still up on his lawn, lit up and blasting Christmas cheer all over town, but something about the scene was different. That something bothered him, nagged at him, but he couldn’t put his finger on the problem until the front door opened and four little boys burst from within, followed by their mother.
    That’s when he got it. The Christmas Wonderland was missing some of the newer displays and the trees and shrubs around the house were smaller.
    Branch swallowed hard. Oh, no. He was already haunted by enough things in life. He didn’t need this.
    This wasn’t a Jimmy Stewart moment. It wasn’t even a dream about the Grinch. He wasn’t dealing with Clarence the friendly angel or the Whos of Whoville. Gathering in his front yard were the Ghosts of Christmas Past.
    Branch’s stomach rolled. He was about to be Scrooged.
    #
    Two days before Christmas on the second day of the elementary school’s holiday break, Margaret Mary Callahan called to her sons. “All right, you little reindeer. If you’ve run off enough steam and are ready to settle down, the Christmas cookies are ready to be decorated.”
    “Hooray!” Matt Callahan replied.
    “Dibs on the red icing,” Mark said.
    “No fair,” Luke protested. “You got to be red last