Marry Me at Christmas (Fool's Gold) by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page A

car pulled into the driveway. Her mother clapped and her father headed to the front door.
    “Right on time,” Madeline said, just as excited to see the rest of her family.
    The next few minutes passed in a blur of greetings and hugs as Robbie and Jasmine were welcomed into the house. Flights were discussed and the cardinal salt and pepper shakers were cooed over.
    By the time all that was done, Madeline found herself in the kitchen with her niece. Jasmine pulled up a bar stool and scooped batter onto waiting cookie sheets.
    “I don’t know, Maddie,” the twenty-one-year-old admitted. “Dad doesn’t say anything, but I can feel the pressure.”
    “Your dad wants you to be happy.”
    “He wants me to be a pediatrician.”
    “Probably, but he’ll settle for you being happy.”
    Because while Jasmine had said she was interested in medicine, her decision to focus on radiology was different than her initial plan to follow in her father’s footsteps. Jasmine’s mother had died of breast cancer.
    Her death had changed them all. Jasmine especially. She’d decided to focus her sadness in a productive way. Something Robbie would have already guessed.
    “He loves you,” Madeline pointed out. “He’ll be fine.”
    Jasmine, a blue-eyed blonde like the rest of the Krug women, wrinkled her nose. “Maybe you could talk to him.”
    “Maybe you could talk to him yourself.”
    “Why do I have to act like an adult?”
    “It builds character and you might want to have the skill later, so it’s good to practice.”
    Jasmine laughed. “If you insist.”
    “I do.”
    Robbie walked into the kitchen. He was nearly six feet, with light brown hair that was going gray at the temples. He smiled when he spotted them talking.
    “How are my two favorite girls?”
    “Good,” Madeline said. “I think it’s going to snow.”
    “I hope so. It’s so fun here when it snows.”
    Madeline grinned at her brother. “I would think you’d get enough snow at home.”
    Robbie snagged one of the cooling cookies and took a bite. “It’s different here.”
    “Magical,” his daughter said.
    “I don’t think I’d go that far, but close.” He turned to Madeline. “You okay with the holiday plans? You can come with Jasmine and me if you want.”
    Madeline appreciated the concern for what would be her first Christmas without her family. “I’ll be fine. I’ve already talked to Mom. I have friends and plenty to keep me busy. Don’t worry.”
    “Grandma Pat said it was okay,” Jasmine added. “Just so you know.”
    Grandma Pat was Robbie’s mother-in-law and Jasmine’s maternal grandmother. “Tell her thank you, but I’m staying in Fool’s Gold.” She had work and a wedding to plan. There was also the slight chance she might be caught under some mistletoe with a very handsome Jonny Blaze.
    * * *
    Around noon on Thanksgiving, Jonny drove into town for the parade. He was curious to see the festivities, not to mention cheer on his car. He wasn’t sure Mayor Marsha was a 1956 El Dorado kind of gal, but who was he to judge?
    He was surprised by the number of people already lining the streets. It took him a while to find parking and then he had to walk nearly a mile back to the parade route. He passed lots of families. Parents with kids in strollers and even parents with teenagers. He would have expected the older kids to head off to be with their friends, but from what he could see, they were pretty willing to stay with the old folks. A few people smiled and called out a greeting. He had a feeling that was about the day and not him, which he liked.
    The temperature was brisk—probably the midthirties. Cold but not unbearable. The sky was clear, but he would swear he could smell the promise of snow. On the corner, Brew-haha had set up a kiosk with mugs of cocoa and coffee. Next to that was a food cart that sold all kinds of Thanksgiving-shaped cookies. Turkeys and pumpkins and Pilgrim hats. He got a coffee and a couple of cookies,