Sun-Kissed Christmas (Summer) Read Online Free Page A

feet. She pulled open the sliding glass doors and caught the phone on the fourth ring. “Hello?”
    “Get the tree home safe and sound?”
    Summer felt her breath catch. She hadn’t heard Austin’s voice over the phone in a long time. “Yes,” Summer said, trying to even out her breathing. She surveyed the overdecorated, feeble-looking stick in the corner. “In fact, it’s wearing a string of lights, some tinsel, and a few candy canes. It looks regal. Sort of.”
    She tried to ignore the long silence that followed. Austin had called her, after all. It wasn’t her duty to make it less awkward. Besides, she couldn’t think of anything to say.
    “Look, I was thinking about that project of yours,” Austin said. “The history thing? I really think my great-uncle Harris might be just what you’re looking for. Get him started on war stories and he can go on for days. That’s what you need, right? Like an oral-history kind of thing?”
    “Yeah,” Summer said cautiously. “But I think I’ve sort of got somebody lined up.”
    “Oh.”
    “That Vietnam vet at the Dairy Queen. He was supposed to call me this morning to set something up.”
    “I don’t know, Summer. Every time I go in there, he tries to show me his scars.”
    “Yeah, he tried that on me too. I guess that could be a drawback.”
    “Harris lives in Cape Heron. It’s about an hour’s drive from here. I could give you his number.”
    “Okay. Just in case the Dairy Queen guy turns out to be too weird.”
    Austin paused. Summer heard him whispering something, then the sound of a girl’s muffled voice.
    “Listen, the thing is, I’ve been meaning to see Harris, anyway. So I could give you a lift over. You know, if you wanted.”
    Summer cleared her throat. “Don’t you think it could be … kind of awkward?”
    “Awkward why?”
    “You know. Esme.”
    “Oh, she’s fine with it.”
    Summer hesitated. “You’re sure?”
    “Absolutely.”
    Okay, then,” Summer agreed. “When’s good for you?”
    “I’ve got the afternoon off. Let me give Harris a call and see how things look, then I’ll firm up the timewith you.” He paused. “It’ll be fun. Harris is a great guy. And you and I can talk over old times.”
    “Thanks, Austin.”
    “No problem.”
    Summer hung up the phone. Her pulse hummed in her throat. Her palms were damp.
    No problem at all.

4
    Santa’s Little Helpers
    Diana sat next to Sarah on the couch. Sarah looked at her with wide, questioning eyes. She had impossibly long lashes. Her T-shirt was too big for her tiny frame. The laces of her dusty tennis shoes were untied.
    “Want me to tie those?”
    She gave a small nod, watching intently as Diana tied each shoe. “Do you know where your mommy went, Sarah?” Diana asked casually.
    The little girl shook her head.
    “What did she say when she left?”
    Sarah studied the loops in her laces. “She loves me.”
    “That’s all she said?”
    Sarah gazed pensively at the door. Suddenly it popped open, revealing a breathless Marquez, her reindeer head tucked under her arm.
    “Hey, Rudy. Come here, quick.”
    “Be right back, Sarah.”
    Diana slipped out into the hallway. “Well?”
    “I can’t find Jennie anywhere. But one of the elves saw a blond girl hightailing it out of the parking lot in a blue Chevy just now. Also, Santa’s really p.o.’ed that his senior reindeer is missing in action. I told him you flushed your nose down the toilet by accident.”
    Diana groaned. “This is not good. This is definitely not good. She left a note.”
    “What did it say?”
    “Let me put it this way. Do you prefer to be called Mommy or Mom?”
    “Oh,
man.
” Marquez let out her breath. “So what do we do? Call somebody, like social services or something?” she demanded.
    “How should I know what we do? I don’t have a clue.”
    Marquez leaned against the wall. Children’s laughter floated on the air, followed by a loud “ho-ho-ho.” “Where’s the real Santa when you