A Fairytale Christmas by Susan Meier Read Free Book Online Page A

and basements. Maybe she’d find some decorations there?
    She went upstairs and found a virtual treasure trove. Sealed from the dust and grime of the attic in airtight boxes, the ornaments, lights, tinsel, stockings and Christmas tree star she found were like new. She carted them downstairs, but before she set about decorating she knew she had to put Claire down for a nap.
    In the kitchen, making Claire’s bottle, she saw the milk in the fridge and another idea struck her. She’d worried all morning about Drew and Brody, and it was only eleven o’clock. They’d be out there at least another hour before she’d get to see how they’d gotten along without Max. But if she took hotcocoa out to them she could not only give them a break, she could also see if they were fighting.
    She fed Claire, put her down for her nap, made the chocolate and, as casually as she could, took a Thermos of hot cocoa and paper cups outside. Not seeing Drew or Brody anywhere, she peeked into the shed and there they were—standing over some boards so old they were black.
    “I think we should carry these boards outside and rebuild the shed out there, rather than rebuild it in here and have to lug it outside.”
    Brody leaned negligently against a beam. “Whatever.”
    “Come on, Brody. We open tomorrow. We don’t have time for this.”
    Deciding that this was a great moment to interrupt them, Gwen stepped into the shed. “Hey! How’s it going? I brought hot chocolate.”
    Brody glanced gratefully in her direction. Drew slid off his gloves before he took the Thermos from her hands. “Great. I’m dying of thirst.”
    “Yeah, and it’s not like the house isn’t thirty feet away and we could stop for water or anything.”
    “If you’re thirsty, all you have to do is go in the house and get a drink—”
    “And get the third degree about why I’m leaving?”
    Knowing that a real argument was about to ensue, Gwen pointed at the old steel-runner sled hanging on the wall and quickly said, “Hey, look! It’s an old sled.”
    Her comment was just confusing enough to stop the men. Both glanced in the direction she pointed.
    Drew smiled. “I haven’t seen one of those in ages.”
    Gwen turned to Brody. “Do you sled-ride?”
    “I snowboard and ski.”
    “You would love an old-fashioned sled ride,” she said, thenfaced Drew. “Why don’t you two take ten minutes and see if that old thing still works?”
    Drew looked at Brody. Brody looked at Drew.
    Drew shrugged. “We have to get this shed put together, but we could do that this afternoon, before we go out into the field with Max to cut the last of the trees we’ll need for tomorrow.”
    Brody’s eyes lit. “Really? We’re going to take a break?”
    “Until this afternoon when Max gets here.” He pointed at the sled. “Pull that down. We’ll see if it works.”
    Brody lifted the sled from the rack on the wall.
    Drew opened the door for him as he carried it outside. “My dad told me stories about a hill behind the house where he rode a sled—probably this one. Let’s walk back there and see if we can test it out.”
    Gwen merrily followed them. Baby monitor in her pocket, she knew she’d hear Claire if she awoke. Plus, they weren’t going too far from the house. She could watch Brody and Drew sled-ride for a few minutes before she had to get back inside to start lunch.
    They walked only twenty feet or so past the house before Brody stopped suddenly. “Whoa!”
    Drew stopped, too. His laugh echoed down the mountain. “That’s a hill!”
    Brody grabbed the sled. “Me first.”
    “Absolutely,” Drew said. “You be the guinea pig.”
    Brody laughed, threw the sled down and landed on top of it, sending it careening down the slope. His laughter echoed up to Gwen and Drew, who stood side-by-side at the top of the hill.
    When Brody reached the bottom and began carrying the sled back Drew turned to Gwen. “Give me the baby monitor and you can go next.”
    She stepped back.