A Very Merry Christmas: WITH "Do You Hear What I Hear" AND "Bah Humbug, Ba by Lori Foster, Janice Maynard, Gemma Bruce Read Free Book Online Page B

limited.
    A crooked road indicator came into view. “There it is.” Marci pointed, and Osbourne pulled down a narrower gravel drive.
    The van stayed behind them, but held back when they drove down a dirt road leading to an old, stately farmhouse fenced in and surrounded by towering trees. Osbourne parked in front but left the truck running.
    Back in SWAT mode, he ordered, “Wait here.”
    Orders had never gone over big with her. “Why should I?”
    “I don’t know these people, and I don’t like taking chances with you.”
    Well, the order sounded much nicer put that way.
    “Lock the doors and I’ll be right back.”
    “Okay.”
    Her quick agreement earned her a double take. Osbourne’s gaze was fraught with suspicion, but he said nothing.
    Marci watched as he trod through the now ankle-deep snow, up the hidden walk to the front porch. He knocked on the door and seconds later a middle-aged woman, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, answered. As she dried her hands on a kitchen towel, Osbourne spoke, gestured toward the truck, and the woman screamed.
    Even through the thick sleet and snow, Marci could see that he jumped.
    The woman shoved Osbourne aside and went slipping and sliding down the walkway to the truck. Shocked, Osbourne hurried after her. The woman was still yelling excitedly, which brought a tall, portly man charging out the doorway to join her at the truck.
    Over the truck’s idling engine and the blasting defroster, their words were indecipherable. But their expressions were clear enough: naked, tearful, overwhelming joy.
    Grinning ear to ear, Marci opened her door and stepped shin-deep into the drifting snow and ice.
    Struggling against the surging wind, she reached the back of the truck just as Osbourne lowered the hatch. There was a single moment of speechless expectation, then the donkey brayed, the man and woman gave a robust shout, and within seconds, the truck bed was filled.
    The man, overcome with joy, cried, “Magnus! Finally, you’re home!”
    The woman threw herself around the donkey and hugged him tight.
    Wide-eyed and mute with incredulity, Osbourne looked at Marci. Grinning through her tears, she mouthed the words “Thank you.”
    And slowly, Osbourne’s smile came in return.
     
     
    An hour later, Osbourne continued to smile, and said again, “I can’t believe it.”
    Marci sipped the hot chocolate that River and Chloe Parson had insisted on fixing for them. They’d also tried to give them a hefty reward, but Osbourne and Marci had refused the money at almost the same time.
    Osbourne told the Parsons that seeing their happiness, especially at Christmas, was more than enough reward.
    It thrilled Marci that he looked at their efforts the same way she did: as simply the right thing to do, not something done for financial gain. After their repeated refusals, the Parson couple gave up.
    After a time, she and Osbourne got on their way with warm hugs, hot chocolate, and a lot of gratitude.
    “It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?” Marci asked him.
    “Yeah. That donkey is like a member of their family.”
    “Magnus is a fine creature. I can see why they love him so much.”
    Osbourne laughed. “Yeah, I figured you would feel that way.”
    Toying with the lid on her cup, Marci asked, “So now do you believe me?”
    “That we’re being followed? Damn right.” They’d just reached the gravel road and there sat the van, nearly snowed in, but with the engine running. As they passed, it pulled out behind them.
    Well, shoot. That wasn’t what she’d meant at all, but Marci really didn’t feel like having her ability with animals questioned yet again. Osbourne would either believe her or not, and she wouldn’t try to convince him.
    “Hang on to that cup,” Osbourne told her.
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m going to find out what the hell he wants.” And with that, Osbourne turned the truck sharply, stopping it crossways in the road, blocking both narrow lanes.
    Face set and