One Snowy Night Before Christmas by Pamela Fryer Read Free Book Online

he’d ever
given me.”
    Tom sat back on the floor and rested his arms on his knees.
“I’m sorry, Jessie.”
    “That was the year I really gave up on Christmas. I think it
was also the year my mother did as well. If people could be that rotten to each
other, to go so far as to steal a family’s Christmas, then there truly is no
spirit of ‘giving.’ That locket was just about the most important thing in the
world to me. Out of everything I’ve lost, that’s the only thing I ever wanted
back.”
    “The police never caught them?”
    She shook her head, then seemed to visibly shake the misery
away. Jessie sat up taller and smiled. “Now I’ve made you sad. Remember, you
won the bet.  My Christmases haven’t all been bad. When I was sixteen, the
neighbor’s tree caught fire and burned down their house and both houses on
either side. We only rented ours, but my mother got enough from the insurance
settlement to put a down payment on this place.”
    “Blessings come in strange packages.”
    She laughed. “They sure do.” She pushed herself from the
chair, and Tom followed her into the kitchen.
    “Then there was the year I broke my leg and had to miss a
youth ski trip I’d saved six months to pay for. The bus broke down and all the
kids were stuck in Utah for a week. Nobody got to ski, and we all got our money
back.”
    “There you go. Another blessing.”
    She tossed a quirk of a smile over her shoulder as she set
the empty plate in the sink. Already Tom adored the way she did that.
    “And of course there was last year with Mike, another
Christmas tragedy hiding a blessing. So there you have it, my life story.” He
sat at the tiny table and let her refresh his cocoa from the saucepan.
    “The worst part about Christmas is that people just won’t
let me not celebrate it. I really just want to be left alone, but people
won’t stop pestering me. They make such a big deal over it they drive me crazy.
It’s like they have to change my mind about it. Maybe to make themselves feel
good for reforming me, I don’t know.”
    Tom swallowed a hot lump of emotion. “Guilty.”
    Jessie sat across from him and put her hand over his. The
tender gesture made his insides dance. “I know your heart is in the right
place, Tom, but I really do know what’s best for me. Because it’s such a big
collection of bad memories I only want to put it out of my mind, but it’s such
an overwhelming holiday that’s just impossible.”
    “You’re not alone, you know. Christmas is too much for a lot
of people.”
    She laughed and leaned back in her chair. Her hand slipped
away, leaving his cold. She took a sip of cocoa and rubbed a tiny spot on the
cup with her fingernail.
    “It’s not that I want to be alone on Christmas, but it’s
just so uncomfortable to get dragged along to someone else’s Christmas. It’s
really a family thing, and I don’t have any family anymore.”
    “Well this year isn’t so bad,” Tom risked, trying to change
the subject. “You met me and Amy.” He groaned inwardly. He never could flirt.
    “This year I killed Christmas for all kids. I ran over
Santa!”
    “Santa should learn to stay out of the road,” he tossed
back. “The accident wasn’t your fault. I’ll attest to that. I know I was in the
vehicle with you, but the police can’t claim I’m an associated witness because
we really don’t know each other.”
    In the back of his mind he hoped she’d say that there was
something between them, even if it was just that they were merely friends.
    “I’m willing to take full responsibility,” she said instead,
shaking her head. “The poor old guy is probably homeless. He’ll have no way to
pay his hospital bill.”
    “You’re a good person, Jessie. But don’t let him take you to
the cleaners.” He grinned. “I can recommend a good lawyer.”
    Jessie smothered a yawn as her Felix the Cat clock on the
wall softly chimed twice.
    He stood and reached for the mugs. “I’m sorry for