An Angel for Christmas Read Online Free Page B

“Hey, it’s all right. You’re all right. We’re the MacDougal family. We found you outside in the snow. Do you know who you are? Do you know what you’re doing up here? You’re hurt.”
    â€œMorwenna,” Shayne said. “One question at a time for the poor man.”
    The stranger struggled to sit up and winced. Shayne pressed him back down by the shoulders. “Don’t try to get up yet. Let’s see how you do. Someone hit you good.”
    He eased back for a minute, closing his eyes again. “Yeah, someone hit me good. Um…my name is Gabe.”
    They all looked around at one another. “I’m Gabe,” he repeated. “Gabe Lange.” He winced, and opened his eyes again. “Could I possibly have some water, please?”
    â€œWater, of course,” Stacy said, and turned toward the kitchen.
    â€œMove slowly, and when the water comes, take your first drink slowly,” Shayne instructed.
    Stacy returned quickly with the water. Morwenna thought that actually, it must have been pretty scary for him to open his eyes, to find all of them looking down at him as if he were an unknown wounded creature they had dragged in.
    But, then again, he was.
    She glanced at Bobby, who seemed to be a step ahead of her. “Hey, urchins!” he said to Connor and Genevieve. “Let’s give your dad the doc some space. I need some help upstairs with presents.”
    â€œBut…is that guy going to be okay?” Connor asked.
    Genevieve’s little lips were trembling. Morwenna turned toward her niece. “Yes, of course, my darling. Go on up with Uncle Bobby. The nice man just needs some rest.” She glanced at Shayne. Was that all he needed?
    â€œCome on, Lady Niece, Lord Nephew!” Bobby said.
    The kids followed him up the stairs.
    Morwenna suddenly found herself thinking allkinds of horrible thoughts. He wasn’t all right; he was bleeding internally, and he was going to die on her mother’s sofa on Christmas.
    She lowered her head quickly. What a horrible concept! A man’s life could be in the balance, and she was thinking that his death might affect their Christmas!
    The stranger’s gaze was on her when she raised her head again. A small smile tugged at his lips as if he had read her thoughts. “I’m strong, really. I’m feeling better already.”
    â€œWell, lie still until I’ve gotten that wound cleaned up,” Shayne said firmly.
    Gabe winced when Shayne laced the wound with disinfectant, but he didn’t let out a sound. “The thing is, you probably do have a concussion,” Shayne told him. “You’ll need to be careful.”
    â€œOne of us can stay with him and keep an eye on him,” Stacy said.
    â€œI’m going to call an ambulance,” Mike told her, speaking up. “Any objections?” he asked. He wasn’t speaking to the stranger; he was looking at his wife, daughter and son.
    â€œNot to an ambulance,” Shayne assured his father. “What the heck happened to you?”
    â€œObviously, he got into a fight!” Mike jumped in, his voice harsh.
    â€œI’m with the Virginia State Police,” Gabe said. “I was after a man. He eluded me.”
    â€œGabe Lange, with the Virginia State Police?” Mike demanded. Her father sounded as if he was interrogating a prisoner of war. Maybe, in his mind, he was.
    â€œThere’s nothing to worry about,” Gabe assured them. He looked at Morwenna and grimaced. “I was an idiot. I let him get away. But I crawled up here before I passed out. I’m sure that he’s long gone. In fact, I’m afraid that he’s long gone.”
    â€œI’ll call that ambulance,” Mike said, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He stared at Gabe while he dialed. Nothing happened, and he frowned at his phone: “3G, 4G—10G! I don’t care how many Gs you have, the damned