Christmas in the Air by Irene Brand Read Free Book Online

difficult time for them to find food.”
    The frigid wind and the swirling snow hastened their outdoor stay. The church was empty when they returned, except for Eric, who was kneeling in prayer on the platform. The women huddled around the stove, holding out their hands for some heat.
    Livia took her cell phone out of her pocket, but still no service was available. “I’ll step outside and see if that will help,” she said to the others.
    She walked a few feet away from the church but couldn’t use the phone. She waved to Sean and Quinn who were shoveling nearby. She hurried back to the semiwarm church and shook her head to Marie’s questioning look.
    â€œLivia, had you known Quinn before last night?” Marie asked, speaking quietly so as not to disturb her husband. “I sensed some sort of a spark between the two of you.”
    â€œIt must have been a bright spark to last for three years,” Livia tried to joke. “We met several years ago when both of us were on the staff of a 4-H camp. I hadn’t seen or heard from him again until last night. It was a surprise to see him.”
    â€œEven if we have been singing together for over a year,” Roxanne said, “we know so little about each other. I didn’t know until last night that you were a farm girl.”
    Laughing lightly, Marie said, “I have a feeling that we’ll know a lot about each other before we’re rescued.”
    â€œMaybe even things we’d rather not know,” her mother agreed.
    â€œLet’s try to prepare some breakfast,” Livia said. “My stomach is in the habit of having food three times a day.”
    His devotions finished, Eric joined them near the stove. He kissed Marie and said to Livia, “It’s a habit you may have to break if we’re here very long.”
    â€œWhere are the rest of the men?” his wife asked.
    â€œAllen and Les went to the truck to see if they could find some instant coffee. Les insists he can’t function until he has his morning cup.”
    â€œSo that’s the reason for the pan of water on the stove,” Livia said.
    â€œYes,” Eric said. “Where he unearthed that old pot, I don’t know, but he scrubbed it with snow until it was clean enough. He poured a couple of bottles of water in it.”
    â€œGood,” Roxanne said. “I could use some coffee, too.”
    â€œIt would be nice to have some hot water for washing,” Marie said hopefully. “I don’t want to wash my hands in snow.”
    Eric pointed to a carton of antibacterial hand wipes that Allen had brought in last night. “We’ll have to make do with those. We can’t risk using our bottled water for washing.”
    â€œWhat’s Sean doing?” Roxanne asked.
    â€œQuinn is teaching him how to shovel snow,” Eric said with a lopsided grin. “They’re cleaning off the steps and the porch. He’s doing quite well for a guy from Southern California.”
    As if on cue, the door opened and Sean entered.
    â€œI don’t know how you people have survived over the years in this kind of weather,” he said as he stomped his feet to remove the snow. “No wonder my family left the Midwest and moved to California. But why did my dad, who’s an alumni of OSU, insist that I follow in his footsteps?”
    Although Sean spoke in a light tone, Livia sympathized with him. He was suffering with the low temperatures more than the rest of them.
    â€œWhere’s Quinn?” she asked.
    â€œHe went to his truck, while Allen and Les are down there. He and Les are very insistent that none of us should leave this building alone.”
    â€œCan you see the vehicles from here?” Marie asked.
    â€œNo. The visibility is less than ten feet. It isn’t snowing right now, but the wind is whipping the feathery flakes until it looks like we’re having another blizzard.”
    A smile graced