One Snowy Night Before Christmas Read Online Free Page B
Author: Pamela Fryer
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
it tonight.” She glanced at the little girl curled up on the waiting
room chairs. Amy still had her coat, but Jessie couldn’t bear asking for it
back.
It broke her heart to see such a small child feeling sad at
Christmas. No person deserved the misery she’d endured for so many years.
Jessie’s Christmases, too, had started to turn miserable in childhood. Poor
kid, Jessie hated to imagine that the adorable little pixie would be exactly
like her in twenty years.
She stiffened her spine and shook away her misgivings.
Christmas was nothing more than a rotten letdown capitalized upon by the
marketing departments of any organization that stood to make a buck, and the
sooner the kid learned that, the better.
Mike paced the floor while speaking into the radio
microphone hooked to his shoulder. Jessie groaned. She hadn’t been lying. This
holiday, like all others, had gone from bad to worse. She turned and started
away.
“Mrs. Dunham,” the nurse called. Jessie didn’t think
anything of it until the woman repeated it, louder.
“Oh, no, I’m not—”
“I’ll need a phone number. Your husband left it blank.”
“He’s not my husband.” Too late, she realized she should
have kept moving. The woman’s stern face had a paralyzing effect. Jessie
shuffled up to the counter and took the clipboard.
“I need here…” The nurse, Brenda her nametag read, ticked
off four lines with her red pen. “Here, here, and here.”
When her gaze rose to Nurse Brenda, the expression had grown
severe. “You checked him in, you have to check him out. Come back tomorrow at
ten for an update on his condition.”
Rather than debate the issue, Jessie started filling out the
missing fields. Her stomach tightened another notch as Mike sidled up beside
her at the counter.
“Jessie, don’t go away mad.”
“Who’s mad?” She stopped writing and faced him.
“Jessie, you have to understand. I wasn’t ready to get
married. I’m…maybe I’m still not.” He glanced nervously at Nurse Brenda. She
fixed her censorious stare on him. One eyebrow slid a notch up her forehead. He
waited, expecting privacy, but she didn’t move. Maybe Nurse Brenda wasn’t so
bad, after all.
Jessie could hardly believe what she was hearing. “You were
a coward. Sounds like you still are.”
Mike continued with a guilty voice. “The holidays were
coming and you were already starting to get upset about it. You have to admit,
you’re a bit fanatical about it.”
“Don’t try to blame it on me.” Jessie slid the clipboard
across the desk to Nurse Brenda. “You didn’t show up for Christmas dinner
because you were shacked up at Ellen’s.”
“Elaine’s.”
She grumbled and turned away.
“Jessie,” Mike pleaded in that annoyingly whiney voice. He stopped
her with a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You did me a favor.”
At the time, it had hurt—a deep cut all the way to the bone.
Now Jessie understood it hadn’t been so bad being dumped by him, just being
dumped in general.
She pulled free and turned all the way to face him. “Did you
have any other questions?”
Tom moved up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
It was a subtle acknowledgement from a total stranger who somehow understood
her pain. His presence brought her instant warmth, as though in their mutual
bad luck she and this stranded man possessed some sort of camaraderie. Misery
truly did love company.
“You were right, there isn’t a hotel room to be had in
town,” he said to the nurse. “There has to be some place I can stay. I can’t
let my little girl sleep on the waiting room chairs.”
“They turn the high school gymnasium into a homeless shelter
over the holidays.” Nurse Brenda took the clipboard and rummaged through a desk
tray for a flyer. “You can get a turkey dinner there with all the trimmings.
You might even find your John Doe joining you there tomorrow.”
“You can stay with me.” Jessie blurted
room chairs. Amy still had her coat, but Jessie couldn’t bear asking for it
back.
It broke her heart to see such a small child feeling sad at
Christmas. No person deserved the misery she’d endured for so many years.
Jessie’s Christmases, too, had started to turn miserable in childhood. Poor
kid, Jessie hated to imagine that the adorable little pixie would be exactly
like her in twenty years.
She stiffened her spine and shook away her misgivings.
Christmas was nothing more than a rotten letdown capitalized upon by the
marketing departments of any organization that stood to make a buck, and the
sooner the kid learned that, the better.
Mike paced the floor while speaking into the radio
microphone hooked to his shoulder. Jessie groaned. She hadn’t been lying. This
holiday, like all others, had gone from bad to worse. She turned and started
away.
“Mrs. Dunham,” the nurse called. Jessie didn’t think
anything of it until the woman repeated it, louder.
“Oh, no, I’m not—”
“I’ll need a phone number. Your husband left it blank.”
“He’s not my husband.” Too late, she realized she should
have kept moving. The woman’s stern face had a paralyzing effect. Jessie
shuffled up to the counter and took the clipboard.
“I need here…” The nurse, Brenda her nametag read, ticked
off four lines with her red pen. “Here, here, and here.”
When her gaze rose to Nurse Brenda, the expression had grown
severe. “You checked him in, you have to check him out. Come back tomorrow at
ten for an update on his condition.”
Rather than debate the issue, Jessie started filling out the
missing fields. Her stomach tightened another notch as Mike sidled up beside
her at the counter.
“Jessie, don’t go away mad.”
“Who’s mad?” She stopped writing and faced him.
“Jessie, you have to understand. I wasn’t ready to get
married. I’m…maybe I’m still not.” He glanced nervously at Nurse Brenda. She
fixed her censorious stare on him. One eyebrow slid a notch up her forehead. He
waited, expecting privacy, but she didn’t move. Maybe Nurse Brenda wasn’t so
bad, after all.
Jessie could hardly believe what she was hearing. “You were
a coward. Sounds like you still are.”
Mike continued with a guilty voice. “The holidays were
coming and you were already starting to get upset about it. You have to admit,
you’re a bit fanatical about it.”
“Don’t try to blame it on me.” Jessie slid the clipboard
across the desk to Nurse Brenda. “You didn’t show up for Christmas dinner
because you were shacked up at Ellen’s.”
“Elaine’s.”
She grumbled and turned away.
“Jessie,” Mike pleaded in that annoyingly whiney voice. He stopped
her with a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You did me a favor.”
At the time, it had hurt—a deep cut all the way to the bone.
Now Jessie understood it hadn’t been so bad being dumped by him, just being
dumped in general.
She pulled free and turned all the way to face him. “Did you
have any other questions?”
Tom moved up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
It was a subtle acknowledgement from a total stranger who somehow understood
her pain. His presence brought her instant warmth, as though in their mutual
bad luck she and this stranded man possessed some sort of camaraderie. Misery
truly did love company.
“You were right, there isn’t a hotel room to be had in
town,” he said to the nurse. “There has to be some place I can stay. I can’t
let my little girl sleep on the waiting room chairs.”
“They turn the high school gymnasium into a homeless shelter
over the holidays.” Nurse Brenda took the clipboard and rummaged through a desk
tray for a flyer. “You can get a turkey dinner there with all the trimmings.
You might even find your John Doe joining you there tomorrow.”
“You can stay with me.” Jessie blurted