Come Home For Christmas Read Online Free Page B

are,” Ethan said pulling into the crowded parking lot. It looked as if half the town was shopping.
    “I can stay here and wait with Leah,” she offered, praying no one would recognize her and come over to the truck.
    “No,” Leah cried indignantly. “I want to see the angel and make my wish. You have to make one too, Daddy. You promised.”
    Ethan shrugged his shoulders. “If you want to stay, I can leave the truck running…”
    Leah turned to her, suspicion on her little face. “You like candy and Christmas, don’t you? You’re not a Grinch like Grandpa was?”
    “Leah, don’t be rude,” Ethan said.
    “Well, he was a Grinch, and his heart never got bigger no matter how much I sang and prayed.”
    Krista shook her head, coming to the child’s defense. “It’s okay. She didn’t mean to be rude. No, I’m not a Grinch,” she said unfastening her seatbelt, although Christmas hadn’t meant much over the years. No trees, no gifts, no church services. To try and please her ex-husband, she’d given away most of her soul, and had gotten nothing in return but pain. It would be nice to celebrate Christmas again the way she had as a child.
    Ethan turned off the engine, helped Leah out of the truck, and did the same for her. While she was expecting his touch this time, the sensation was no less intense.
    “I take it we’ll be looking at the Nativity scene in the corner and putting a coin in the angel’s pouch.”
    He nodded. “Not everything had to change, Krista. Some things were good. You used to love doing this when you were a kid.”
    “Well, you might’ve been five years older than I was, but you enjoyed it, too.”
    “I liked the fudge.”
    “The fudge was to die for,” she said, remembering the creamy butterscotch confection.
    “It still is,” he agreed, picking up Leah to trudge through the snow and slush to the doors. “This shouldn’t take too long.”
    They entered the crowded grocery store, and one person after another greeted Ethan. It seemed he knew everyone. While she recalled a few faces, she knew the wig’s shorter, dark hair confused them, and that was good. She was confounded enough for all of them.
    “Krista? Krista Jacobs,” a voice she would’ve recognized anywhere called loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “Liebling, you’ve finally come home.”
    The gray-haired woman dressed to look like Mrs. Claus was exactly as she remembered her.
    “Hello, Mama Schneider,” she said fighting to keep the tears back, as the woman grabbed her, folded her into her arms, and held her there tenderly. When was the last time anyone had shown her that level of affection?
    “Let me look at you,” Mama said taking her by the shoulders and pushing her back a bit. “You look just like your mama with your hair like that, but I miss your red curls.”
    “It’s just a temporary change,” Krista said, trying to swallow her emotions. The last thing she needed was to breakdown in public.
    “Some men are fools,” she shrugged, “and Russian hockey players? Spoiled brats.”
    Krista chuckled. Leave it to Mama to peg Theo for what he was.
    “Come have some cider and a piece of my fudge,” Mama continued. “You loved that fudge. You’re so thin, have two pieces. You’re home for good now, yah?”
    Krista shook her head. “I’m staying for five days,” she said. “There are some things to iron out in Uncle Charles’s will.”
    The woman frowned. “There are?”
    Ethan interrupted. “Hey, Mama. How’s Franz? You can tell him we got all the lights up and the dent in the tree hardly shows.”
    “What happened to Papa?” Krista asked.
    “He’s fine, driving me crazy, but he’s good.” She turned back to her. “That old fool fell off the ladder putting up the lights in the tree. Fell right into it. He has a few bumps and bruises, but you’d think it was the end of the world.”
    “Well, he’s lucky,” Ethan continued. “It’s time he let younger people take care of things