Read Home in Time for Christmas for Free Online Page B

entry and get Jake out the front door. A palestreak of winter’s day touched the sky; the snow had come down to just a few flurries.
    She thanked God for small favors.
    As they stood on the porch and she surveyed the muted light of the late-afternoon December sun, Mona popped out on the porch. Melody hoped that she didn’t physically cringe.
    â€œSkates!” Mona said, holding up two pairs of skates. “Keith’s shoes fit you all right, don’t they, Jake? If so, I’m sure his skates will do.”
    â€œI am more than comfortable and quite grateful, ma’am,” Jake said.
    â€œThanks, Mom.” Melody snatched the skates from her mother and hurried to the car. Jake followed her. She was already in the driver’s seat when Jake joined her.
    Mona called something from the porch.
    â€œWe have to stop, she’s speaking to us,” Jake said, sliding in beside her.
    â€œIt’s okay—she’s just telling you that I’m a klutz,” Melody said. Before he could ask her what a klutz was, she added, “I have no coordination. I’m horrible.”
    He smiled, looking ahead.
    â€œYou can skate. You’ve heard of skates, right?”
    â€œYes, I have.”
    She started to drive, glad then that her home was Massachusetts. They were darned good at snow. Plows were always out in a matter of minutes. The roads were decent.
    â€œYour parents are exceptionally kind,” Jake said.
    â€œThey’re—yes, they’re good people. A little crazy, but good people,” she told him.
    â€œHow do you see them as crazy?” he asked.
    She hazarded a glance his way. “Pirate-themed bathrooms? Sculpted ravens, skeleton art, fairies and ghosts and goblins all over—you’ll see. It’s so strange. I feel like I grew up with the Addams Family or as the normal child niece in the Munsters’ home.”
    â€œPardon?”
    â€œNever mind.” She looked at him again and groaned. “How on earth can I give you a crash course in pop culture? Don’t—don’t you dare copy me! Pop culture is…what’s popular now. Too bad it wasn’t my dad who ran into you. He was a professor. He’d have you up to speed in no time.”
    â€œUp to speed—”
    â€œOh, God!”
    â€œNo, no, I understand. I find it a charming expression.”
    â€œOf course you do,” she murmured.
    â€œIs that a problem?”
    â€œNo. It’s just that…oh, never mind. No. Are you always so…agreeable?”
    â€œYou wish me to be disagreeable?”
    â€œNo. I wish you to—snap out of it. And don’t repeat after me!”
    â€œAll right.” He was smiling, studying the scenery as they passed. “It’s so remarkable. We won the Revolution, and there have been many more wars. So many inventions. Remarkable.”
    They had reached the pond. There were a few skaters out, and a few children running around the outskirts, laughing, throwing snowballs at one another. The bar—aptly name the Pond Bar—was just opening. Melody parked and stepped out of the car. She wasn’t sure what to do. She had driven to the pond because she was afraidshe was already lying so much she’d start to confuse even herself.
    But now…
    â€œYou’ve forgotten the skates,” Jake called.
    â€œI suck.”
    â€œPardon?”
    â€œI wasn’t lying, I’m awful.”
    â€œWell, I’m a decent skater. Let’s give it a try, shall we?”
    Skate. Maybe while she was falling on her ass she’d figure out how she’d gotten into this mess.
    â€œAll right, all right, bring them.”
    There were benches by the pond. They sat down. The skates might have been somewhat modern compared to what he’d thought he had in the 1700s, but they were still basically skates. When they had both laced up, he stood, testing the way they fit, testing his own ability to walk in