On Christmas Hill by Nichole Chase Read Free Book Online

the place a real Mom
and Pop feel. The little man that owned the place talked with Nate
for a few minutes, asking about the reindeer. When he realized I
was Gertie’s niece, he walked around the corner and hugged me until
I looked at Nate for help.
    When we were finally able to extricate
ourselves from the shop, we dropped off the supplies at the truck
and made a mad dash into the grocery store to grab food for
Christmas dinner. I’d been worried about bringing Remy but Nate
assured me it would be fine. As we stood in line, Nate ran off for
something. He came back holding a package of hotdogs over his head
in victory.
    “ Almost forgot!”
    He set the packages on the belt and I
felt my heart melt a little. Standing on my tiptoes I grabbed the
collar of his shirt and pulled his head down to mine. I meant for
it to be a sweet kiss, but Nate had other plans. Pulling me against
him, his lips teased mine open and I lost track of things like,
time and location. When the clerk cleared her throat to get our
attention, I realized that we had given everyone quite a
show.
    “ I will have to stock up on
hot dogs if that’s your response to them.” Nate laughed.
    Someone behind us whistled and I fought
the urge to hide my face Nate’s shirt. The clerk was smiling as she
rang up our items and I bit my lips in embarrassment. As we left
the store, I even heard someone sigh and whisper.
    “ Ready to go back?” Nate
pulled me under his arm as we walked back to the truck. “Or do you
have anything else you need to get while we’re in town?”
    “ No, I’ve got everything.” I
had grabbed the things I’d needed in the grocery store. “I want to
make sure none of the reindeer hurt themselves. They have a big
night tonight.”
    “ Good plan.” He looked up at
the sky and frowned. “Looks like more snow soon.”
    When we got back to the long drive way
for Christmas Hill, Nate pulled over just outside of the gate. We
hadn’t talked much, but I’d caught Nate looking at me from time to
time. I watched him curiously as he walked around the truck and
pulled open my door. He took my hand and helped me out of the
truck.
    “ What are we
doing?”
    “ I told you I had something
to show you.” Nate smiled and pulled me off the driveway. We walked
for a few minutes, deeper into the woods. It was beautiful, the
snow pristine and glistening. After a while the trees started to
thin a little. “When I was seventeen, I ran away from my foster
home. The family was… not so great and I knew they were counting
down the days until the State stopped sending my check and they
could kick me out.”
    “ Nate,” I said his name
quietly. No one deserved to be treated that way.
    “ I’m not telling you to make
you feel bad for me, but so you’ll understand. Here we are.” He
lifted a low hanging branch out of my way. “I came to Silver Town
on accident. I’d hitch-hiked with a trucker carrying Christmas
decorations.” He snorted. “It was Christmas Eve and there were
people everywhere. Last minute shoppers, families out spending time
together, Christmas lights, and carolers. Real-life
carolers.”
    “ I don’t think I’ve ever
seen real-life carolers.” I squeezed his fingers, my heart hurting
for the younger him.
    “ Don’t let anyone hear you
say that, or they’ll be up here serenading you before you can
blink.” Nate smiled at me. He pulled me up onto a large rock that
was in the clearing. “When I was running, I worried cops might be
looking for me, so stayed off the roads as much as possible. I
didn’t know where I was going or what I was going to do. I was just
going.”
    He looked out over the trees and I
realized you could see the lights of Silver Town in the distance.
Turning around I looked at the clearing. When my eyes landed on the
roof of Aunt Gertie’s house, I stopped. The snow sparkled along the
edges and there seemed to be a soft glow coming from that
direction. Almost like the Aurora Borealis.
    “ You see it,