Come Home For Christmas Read Online Free Page A

for this weather.”
    Fighting to hide her body’s reaction to his touch, a response she suppressed along with her bittersweet memories, she managed to sit on the seat. In spite of her trembling hands, which she hoped he’d put down to nerves, she fastened her seatbelt. He handed her the backpack before closing the door, as if nothing of any great importance had happened—nothing had shaken him to the core.
    “You’re short,” Leah said from the back seat, dragging her back to the moment. “Grandpa said my mommy was a pipsqueak. Daddy says that means she was small and precious. Are you a pipsqueak, too?”
    “I guess,” Krista agreed, although she was fairly certain the term was a derogatory one for someone considered insignificant and worthless. Since insults had been Theo’s forte, she was familiar with most of the ones that could be used in public under the guise of affection. His preference had been for Russian terms no one understood.
    Ethan got into the truck and started the engine . “I hope you don’t mind a quick stop on the way home. I need to pick up a few things to see us through. We can’t count on being able to get into town before Christmas Eve.”
    “I understand,” she said nervously. Snow was bad enough, but being snowed in would be even worse. She’d go crazy, caged in like a tiger. She hoped she’d get along with whoever else was staying in the house. The child would be an excellent buffer during the day, but she was probably in bed by eight. When she’d left Seven Oaks, there’d been a live-in housekeeper who spent the evenings with the family.
    Was Jonesy still there? She’d had an apartment on the main floor at the back of the house, and after Mom’s death, Krista had spent hours sitting there talking to her. Mrs. Jones had been away visiting her sister when Krista had been forced to leave.
    As they drove along, Leah chatted away, filling what would have been an awkward silence by describing the various Christmas events scheduled, talking about her role in the pageant, and pointing out the familiar landmarks. Here and there, a store had been renamed or had moved, but for the most part, Appleton was just the way she recalled it.
    “They’ll light the big Christmas tree tomorrow night, won’t they, Daddy?”
    “They will, if the snow lets up. If not, they’ll do it the next day. The rink will be ready then, although it’s going to need some serious work after this snow. Do you remember the first time we were there for the tree lighting?” he asked her. “You didn’t know how to skate and kept falling down.”
    “And you got me this bright orange pylon to push around the ice.”
    “I did that last year,” Leah added. “I’m a good skater now.”
    “I’ve improved, too,” Krista said, chuckling at the memory. That had been her first Christmas at Seven Oaks, and Ethan had been her hero—a persona he’d maintained until he’d turned his back on her. The thought dispelled the happy image.
    “I suppose you would be what with your marketing job with the team,” Ethan continued, obviously trying to make conversation, probably for the sake of the child. Kids had an uncanny knack of sensing underlying tension and emotions.
    Krista noted he hadn’t mentioned Theo and her marriage.
    “I skated whenever the team held a charity or community event,” she answered determined to be as pleasant as he was trying to be. “I used that pylon thing a few times when the team hosted a ‘Skate with the Players’ day. Last Christmas, we had a party for underprivileged children at the stadium. I fell and broke my ankle, and with what happened … I haven’t been up on skates since.”
    She swallowed the painful memory. She’d fallen because of the sudden pain in her abdomen. Not only had she broken her ankle, she’d lost the baby. Theo’s cruel words had been almost as devastating as the loss of the child, but after the scene at the hospital, he’d agreed to a divorce.
    “Here we