Read All I Want for Christmas Is You for Free Online Page A

line.
     
    He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd as Santa Claus arrived on the back of a bright red fire engine. The truck drove around the common with lights flashing as Christmas carols blared on the loud speaker and scattered people lost in the crowd sang along to Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Lauren breathed a heavy sigh of relief for the distraction. She hadn't spoken a word of her guilt to anyone since the day she left the hospital with Kristen all those years ago. She'd be damned if she started now.
     
    # # #
     
    Chapter Three
     
    The flash of fear in Lauren's eyes startled Kyle. Her eyes were wide and luminous, like a deer shocked by the headlights of an oncoming car. It was many years ago, but he'd seen that same brand of fear before in Chas. Although a lot had changed since those rebel days, the memory of his friend's pain was etched in his brain forever.
     
    And now he was seeing it again in Lauren. His first reaction was to reach out to her, hold her. Anything to erase that pain. But when he reached out to take her hand, she did something completely unexpected.
     
    She laughed and shouted, "Come on!" Pulling both Kristen and Kyle deep into the crowd of people already joyfully caroling, she began singing at the top of her lungs. Kristen sang in between giggles and jumping up and down with glee.
     
    A rush of excitement mixed with bewilderment consumed him. Was this the same woman who bluffed so miserably last night? Just when he thought he knew what to expect, she did a one hundred and eighty degree turn on him and raced in the other direction.
     
    "You better watch out," she sang. "What's wrong? Join in," she urged.
     
    They sang and laughed as Santa rode around the common before making his way through the crowd of people. With the music still blaring over the loud speakers, she shouted teasingly, "It's a good thing they don't discriminate for singing out of tune."
     
    His eyebrows furrowed. "Why's that?"
     
    "Because you would have been kicked out of the choir long ago. You can't carry a tune to save your life." When she laughed, her voice was rich and pure and her face was brighter than the midday sun.
     
    His breath caught in his throat. "Hey, it's the enthusiasm behind the song that counts."
     
    She nudged him. "If you say so."
     
    As Santa Claus made his way through the cheering crowd, the town Christmas tree was set ablaze. A chorus of oh's and ah's filtered through the town square along with cheering.
     
    Kyle gazed down at Lauren's face and was transfixed by the awe he saw there. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were as wide with wonder. Along with Kristen, she stared up at the Christmas tree as if she'd never seen anything like it before. In fact, both mother and daughter looked as if they had just walked into Santa's winter wonderland with the golden key.
     
    God, she was beautiful. He wanted to touch her, but didn't want to break the spell that had come over her.
     
    They waited in line to see Santa, toes and noses frozen in the dipping temperature, watching the mist from their breath, without any real conversation. Despite the laughter they'd shared earlier, Kyle knew that there was something Lauren was holding back. She'd acted weird, to say the least, when she met his mom and he mentioned that he was adopted. Suddenly, he needed to know the reason why. Given the right moment, he fully intended to get to the bottom of what made Lauren Alexander tick.
     
    "Look, the line has died down for sleigh rides. Why don't we take advantage of our luck?" Kyle said, gently tugging Lauren by the hand. It felt so natural holding her hand that when he realized he was doing it, he just held on and savored the toasty feeling it gave him.
     
    "I really should get Kristen home," Lauren said. "She's been out late two nights in a row."
     
    "It's not a school night. Surely, she doesn't have to be in bed so early," he challenged, hoping he could gain a little