A Family for Christmas (Contemporary Romance Novella) by Helen Scott Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

the hairy chair in front of the stove and held the bottle with both hands as Pickle latched on and suckled eagerly. "Gosh, he's strong. And hungry." Even in the two days she'd been here, he seemed to have grown. She laughed as the lamb nearly pulled the bottle out of her hands.
    Tom frowned at Eve's blackened toast before dumping it in the trash and making some more. He poured her a cup of tea and put it on the stove at her side along with toast and marmalade. "Eat up. We need to get away as soon as possible to give ourselves plenty of time."
    While Tom carried her bags to the pickup, Eve put on her borrowed coat, boots, hat, and gloves.
    Polly clung to Eve's hand as they went out. "I want to come, Daddy."
    "No, sweetheart. You need to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Undy where I know you're safe. I'll be home later."
    "Can we go to church first? I want to show Eve the Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus that my class made."
    Tom crouched in front of his daughter and tucked stray wisps of blonde hair behind her ears. "I promise we'll go to church on Christmas Eve. You can show me the nativity scene then. Today I've got to take Eve to Plymouth so she doesn't miss her important meeting tomorrow."
    "But Eve won't get to see the baby Jesus I made." The poor little girl was coming up with any reason she could think of to delay Eve's departure.
    Lines of tension framed Tom's mouth. His patience was obviously wearing thin.
    "Take a photo of the nativity scene, Polly. You can send it to me," Eve suggested.
    The little girl gave a resigned nod and Tom stood. "Right. You hop in, Eve. I'll be right back."
    "Goodbye, Polly." Eve crouched, not caring that the knees of her sweatpants sank in the snow, and hugged the child tightly.
    Polly sobbed softly into her hair. "Don't go."
    "Come on, pumpkin." Tom took his daughter's hand and disentangled her from Eve. Tears ran down the little girl's face. She dragged her feet as her father led her across the yard and around the corner to where the Undys obviously had their cottage.
    Eve's chest tightened painfully. She pulled out a tissue and wiped away her own tears, not wanting Tom to know how upset she was. She glanced around one final time, her gaze lingering on her damaged car. How mixed up her feelings had become since she was stranded.

Chapter Five

    At the sound of Tom's footsteps returning, Eve climbed in the passenger's seat of the pickup and buckled up.
    Tom locked the door of his house and joined her. "I've packed shovels, blankets, sandwiches, and a flask of coffee. Just in case we're stranded."
    "You expect us to get stuck?" Eve wanted to return to civilization and put Tom behind her, not spend a night trapped in a pickup with him.
    "It pays to plan for the worst."
    The worst . "Right."
    Tom pulled away and Eve reached for the grab handle as the vehicle bumped and lurched over the mounds of snow that had been compacted beneath his tractor's tires. When they hit the narrow moorland road, Tom turned right. "It's normally forty minutes from here to Plymouth. My bet is it'll take us three or four times that long today."
    A tractor or other large-wheeled vehicle had already passed along the road, so Tom followed in the tire tracks. After a couple of miles they met their first obstacle, a deep snow drift across the road. The vehicle that had gone before them had driven over the moorland to avoid the drift. Tom pulled up and scratched his chin. "I can't risk following those tire tracks off road. Rocks or ditches might be hidden under the snow."
    They jumped out. Tom climbed on top of his vehicle and stood with his arms akimbo, a frown on his face. "The snow's only drifted for about six feet where a wall borders the road. Let's dig it away. It shouldn't take long."
    "Okay." She hoped he was right. The route looked impassable to her. Eve accepted a shovel and they set to work. The snow was deep but not tightly packed. Where it had frozen overnight, it came away in large, ice-crusted lumps. After an hour, her