A Merry Little Christmas Read Online Free

counted them. One, two, three, four, five. Five people on his driveway looking at him with expectant faces, shining eyes, eager smiles—as though he were Santa Claus.
    “Oh, and they do have a dog,” Lara Crane said. “Wisdom and Justice found it in a garbage bin and brought it home. It’s just a puppy.”
    A dog. Jeremiah rubbed his temples. Suddenly he felt like a two-ton weight had dropped on his shoulders. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his sons. They wore the exact same expression as the Muraya family.
    Please, Dad, please. He could almost hear them pleading. It was like the time they just had to have a toy Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars collection. Or a trip to Six Flags amusement park. Or a basketball goal mounted on the side of the garage. The desire for any number of things had made his sons act as if their lives depended on getting whatever it was.
    But this was no toy or vacation trip. These were human beings. Five of them. And a dog.
    He looked at Lara Crane. This was her fault. She had somehow coerced Daniel. Jeremiah’s son—always a sucker for an appeal from a pretty woman—would give away his last dollar if he thought it might help a lady in need. Tall, attractive, with a mop of shoulder-length strawberry blonde curls, the program director looked too young to have an advanced degree. Probably only in her midthirties, the woman would have no realistic idea what she was asking of him. No doubt she had come into her position all starry-eyed and full of goodwill. She probably expected people to fall all over themselves with joy over the privilege of housing her international students.
    “I can’t have a dog on the property,” Jeremiah told her. “My landscaping was just redone this summer—”
    “With a new fence around the pool and another one around the backyard,” Benjamin spoke up. “It would be cool to have a dog.”
    “We’ve always wanted a dog,” Daniel said. The light of pleading in his blue eyes was growing stronger by the minute. “Dad, I didn’t realize there was a whole family when I brought it up to Dr. Crane. But why not?”
    “The cottage only has two bedrooms, for one thing.”
    “The Murayas have been living in a single motel room for three months.” Lara Crane was insidiously leading Jeremiah’s sons toward the family. “Two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom will feel like a mansion. I’m sure they’ll take good care of your property, Mr. Maddox.”
    Jeremiah couldn’t help but follow the group, tagging along behind, hoping he could somehow put a stop to the inevitable meeting. And then it was too late. Benjamin knelt and shook hands with the two little boys. Daniel lifted the baby out of his mother’s arms. Peter Muraya laughed with delight as his sons began to cavort happily around the group. Tabitha covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.
    “Dad, look at this baby!” Daniel said, swinging toward his lagging father. “He’s a chunk.”
    “Here, give me the cottage keys!” Benjamin swiped the ring from Jeremiah’s hand and beckoned. “Come on, everyone. It’s right back here. You’ll love it. There’s room for everyone, and more!”
    “Yeah,” Daniel said. “Here, Dad. Take this little guy.”
    Before Jeremiah could protest, Daniel lifted Tobias Muraya into his arms. The warm, slightly damp and unexpectedly heavy bundle emitted the fragrance of talcum powder and baby oil. With Jeremiah’s sons holding the hands of Wisdom and Justice, the young African couple hurried off down the driveway and around the garage.
    “The Murayas are from Kenya,” Lara Crane said, pausing long enough for the others to go on ahead.
    Jeremiah tried to think where Kenya was situated on the continent of Africa. Then he realized he didn’t care. “I appreciate your work,” he told the woman, “but I really can’t have a whole family living in the guest cottage.”
    “Peter Muraya is pursuing his doctorate in civil engineering. He hopes to return