A Simple Christmas Wish by Melody Carlson Read Free Book Online

pack too much.” She selected a few bags and set them in Holly’s room. “Let’s stick with these.”

    To Rachel’s relief, the sky was sunny and clear as they headed out the following morning. Michael’s 1967 fire-engine red Karmann Ghia started up on the first try. Although Rachel didn’t drive much, it all came back to her as she put the car into gear. The car seemed to be in good shape, but then Michael had spent many years and lots of dollars having it completely restored. Miri had wanted him to get rid of it after Holly was born, claiming it wasn’t suitable for a family, but since he had unlimited access to a company car, he insisted they hold on to this classic. It was his “baby.”
    With every space of the compact convertible filled with Holly’s toys, clothes, and their Christmas presents, which Holly had insisted they bring in case they stayed until Christmas, there was just enough room for Rachel’s one small overnight bag. She hoped that was all she would need. The more Rachel considered the whole situation, the more confident she felt that Lydia was going to see her side and agree to let Holly return to Chicago after spending a day or two in thecountry. They would bring their Christmas presents back to the apartment, and after celebrating Holly’s birthday on Christmas Eve, they would open them on Christmas morning, using that time to remember Michael and Miri—and looking forward to their future together.
    “What a perfect day for a drive,” she told Holly after she’d topped off the gas tank and was heading out onto the freeway. “Nothing but sunshine for as far as I can see.”
    “Can we take the top down?”
    Rachel laughed. “It’s not that nice. The wind would freeze us into ice cubes.”
    “Oh, that wouldn’t be good.” Holly grinned up at her. Because there were no rear seat belts, she was seated in the passenger seat in front. Not ideal, but at least it would afford her a good view of the countryside once they got out of town.
    “Daddy used to take the top down when it was warm outside,” Holly told her.
    “Did you go in the car with him a lot?” Rachel asked.
    “Uh-huh. Mommy never went. But I did. I was never scared to ride in the car.”
    Rachel smiled. “I’ll bet you and your daddy had some fun rides.”
    “Yeah. We did.”
    The car got quiet, so Rachel turned on the radio to a station playing cheerful Christmas songs, and the two of them attempted to sing along. Before long, the gloom seemed to evaporate. Wasn’t this just what they needed, Rachel thought as the city faded away behind them—a road trip to forget all their troubles?
    Oh, she was fully aware she could be driving straight intoeven more troubles, but she didn’t think so. For some reason she expected Miri’s older sister to be a reasonable woman. Why else would Miri have granted her custody of her only child?
    Of course, this only reminded Rachel of why she hadn’t been listed in that important section of Michael and Miri’s will. And a painful reminder it was—something she usually tried to block out of her mind. Now, however, as they drove and Holly attempted to sing along to “Frosty the Snowman,” it all came rushing back at her.
    About nine years ago, Curtis Garmin had stepped into her life in a big and flamboyant way. By then she’d been working for the airline long enough to know that pilots were risky at best, but something about this tall, handsome guy—his sparkling blue eyes and sandy brown curls—had pulled her right in.
    Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only flight attendant who’d gotten pulled in by his charming good looks, but as far as she could see, she was the only one who’d caught his eye. Perhaps that was only because she’d been holding him at arm’s length, an attempt to respect the airline’s no-dating-coworkers policy, even though she knew her fellow workers usually ignored it, secretly dating pilots as they liked. As a result of Rachel’s prim resistance,