Special Delivery by Ann M. Martin Read Free Book Online Page A

their houses. Do you know where Paulie lives, Mae?”
    She nodded. “Near school.”
    â€œWhat if these people are at home?” asked Tobias. “You want to deliver the baskets in secret, don’t you?”
    â€œLike elves,” replied Mae.
    â€œIf anyone’s at home …” Nikki started to say. “Well, hmm. I don’t know. We’ll play that by ear.”
    â€œOkay,” said Tobias. “Everyone grab two baskets and let’s get going.”
    They started with Mrs. Bradley.
    â€œThis one will be easy,” said Nikki as they parked outside of her house. “Not to be callous, but seriously, it will take her so long to answer the door that we could ring her bell, run back to the car, and be gone before she’s even on her feet. We have to ring the bell,” she added, “because otherwise she might never find the basket.”
    â€œI’ll sit here with the engine running,” said Tobias. “You guys run as fast as you can — and just hope she doesn’t see you out the window.”
    Laughing, Nikki and Mae rushed to Mrs. Bradley’s door. Nikki rang the bell and then whispered, “Run!” She and Mae sped back to the car and Tobias drove away.
    â€œI wanted to watch her find the basket!” cried Mae.
    â€œNope. Too risky,” said Nikki. “That might spoil the surprise.”
    â€œElves wouldn’t stick around to watch,” added Tobias.
    Mrs. DuVane’s house was next. It was large, lights were on inside, and three cars were parked in the circular drive in front. Tobias came to a slow stop on the road. “What do you think?” he asked Nikki.
    â€œWe could come back,” she said.
    â€œNo. We’d better leave the basket now.”
    â€œI could tiptoe up to her front door with it,” said Mae, “and just leave it. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”
    In the end, that was what they decided to do. And it worked. Mae flew triumphantly back to the car, minus the basket, and said, “Floor it!” to Tobias, who left in a hurry but did not floor it. “I don’t think anyone saw me,” Mae added.
    The next two houses — Willow Hamilton’s and Mary’s — were easy because Nikki knew no one would be at home. The baskets were left on the front doorsteps to be discovered later in the afternoon.
    â€œMiss Drew is next!” exclaimed Mae as Tobias pulled away from Mary’s house. “Oh, she is going to be
so
surprised. For days and days she’ll wonder who mysteriously left a Thanksgiving basket at her door.”
    â€œAre you sure you’re going to be able to keep the secret?” asked Nikki suspiciously.
    Mae nodded solemnly. “Elves don’t tell.”
    Tobias drove across Camden Falls to the small house that Mae swore belonged to her teacher.
    â€œLooks like no one is home here, either,” said Nikki. “There’s no car in the driveway.”
    â€œWell, just in case,” said Tobias, “Mae, you duck down and hide, and Nikki, you run the basket to the door. That way even if Miss Drew sees you, she won’t know who you are.”
    â€œBut she does know me,” said Nikki. “You go, Tobias.”
    â€œMe? No way! I have to drive the getaway car.”
    In the end it was decided that Nikki should take the basket after all, and she hustled it to the front door, feeling the same anticipation and excitement she’d felt when she ran to Mrs. Bradley’s house. Being the keeper of a secret, the bearer of a gift, sparked a warmth in her, a rare kind of joy that she had experienced only a few times in her life. She returned, grinning, to the car.
    â€œOne last basket,” said Tobias.
    â€œPaulie’s,” said Mae. She directed her brother to Paulie’s house.
    â€œWe might not be able to deliver this one in secret,” remarked Tobias as he parked the car. “Look.”
    Several people