A Simple Christmas Wish by Melody Carlson Read Free Book Online Page A

Curtis had seemed to pursue her with more determination.
    Although recently married, Miri had still been working for the airline when Rachel and Curtis first started dating. In the beginning, Miri seemed to approve of Curtis. She even talked about the possibility of another wedding in the family, but something seemed to change in the next year as Curtis andRachel continued their relationship. Suddenly Miri began making claims that Curtis was untrustworthy and no-good, saying that Rachel should break up with him. Rachel simply attributed her sister-in-law’s paranoia to Miri’s somewhat unwanted and unexpected pregnancy. Naturally, when Rachel suggested this, it only irked Miri more, and she insisted Michael should intervene on Rachel’s behalf. Michael, playing the part of overprotective big brother and caring husband, tried to straighten Rachel out. Unfortunately, that only made things worse.
    Shortly before Holly’s birth, Rachel was not speaking to either Michael or Miri, and they seemed to have written her off completely. They didn’t even invite her to join them for the holidays. She had decided if she had to choose between the man she loved and her judgmental family, she would go with the man she loved. After all, Michael had Miri now, and they were soon to have a baby. What did they need of her? As a result, she completely missed the birth of her niece, as well as some other memorable moments during Holly’s first year of life.
    Just thinking of this now made her unbearably sad. If she’d just known how limited her time with Michael and Miri would be—and now perhaps even losing Holly—she would’ve handled things differently. It was shortly before Holly’s first birthday that Rachel had begun to see the signs, furtive glances exchanged between Curtis and other flight attendants followed by some unbelievable explanations. She knew it was the proverbial writing on the wall. Yet it wasn’t until she found Curtis in a very compromising position with one of her roommates that it all hit the fan.

    It still burned to realize she’d ignored her only niece for almost a year—all for a selfish, deceitful man who had ultimately broken her heart. The memory of having to confess to Miri and Michael that they were absolutely right about Curtis being a complete jerk still humbled her. At least they had welcomed her back into their tiny fold with open arms. They’d even asked her to be Holly’s godmother, which they celebrated on Holly’s first birthday. And they very graciously never spoke Curtis’s name around her again. They never said, “We told you so.” It was because of that unfortunate relationship, however, that she’d been written out of the will. It felt like adding insult to injury to realize that Michael had never remembered to change that important detail in their will. She hoped it was not too late.

5
    The good weather continued until after they’d stopped for lunch in Angola. As they were leaving Indiana, it became obvious, by the thick bank of gray clouds gathering in the east, that the weather was changing. Rachel hadn’t really considered the possibility of severe winter weather, and she knew this Karmann Ghia wouldn’t be the most reliable vehicle if they ran into serious snow. In a worst-case scenario, she could use some of her free air miles to allow them to fly back to O’Hare if they got snowed in during their visit to Holmes County.
    With Bunny in her arms, Holly drifted off to sleep as the car pressed on into Ohio. Rachel turned off the radio and decided to just enjoy the quiet sound of the wheels on the road, taking in the scenery around her. She’d printed out directions from the computer, and after an hour in Ohio, she found herself on a lovely country road.
    “Are we almost there?” Holly blurted out as she sat up straight in her seat.

    “We’re definitely getting closer.” Rachel pointed out the window. “Look at this pretty countryside.”
    To entertain themselves,