Read Miss Kane's Christmas for Free Online Page B

donated his tall ladder and had meant to replace it, but hadn’t gotten around to it. He swore under his breath.
    “How did Patrick get up there?” Carol asked.
    “He pretended he was a monkey, just like you said.”
    Ben shot an accusing look in Carol’s direction but she didn’t look at him. She looked up at Patrick.
    “Patrick,” she called out, “what are you doing up there?”
    The little boy gulped. “I wanted to lay some lights on the roof for Santa. He needs a landing strip so he can land his sleigh.”
    “Damn.” Ben clenched his good hand into a fist. “Do you see what you’ve done, Miss Kane?” he demanded. “All of this Santa nonsense is confusing the children.”
    He watched as Carol slowly turned to look at him. “It would seem that if you are comfortable enough to insult me and accuse me of bogus charges, then you should be comfortable enough to call me Carol.” She turned away from him before he could respond.
    “Patrick,” she called, “I think that is a wonderful idea. I’m coming up to help you finish it and then we’ll come down together, okay?”
    The little boy nodded. “Can you hurry, Miss Kane? I’m afraid.”
    “I’ll be right there, sweetie. Just hold on.” She turned to Ben. “Talk to him until I get up there. Do your best to reassure him.”
    Before he could ask just how she planned to get up on the roof, Carol ran into the house. He and Hillary had barely begun to reassure Patrick before he saw Carol come around the other side of the chimney. He blinked in surprise.
    He watched as Carol knelt down to hug Patrick. She must have said something to him that he couldn’t hear because Ben saw his son nod in agreement.
    “Look, Daddy,” Hillary beamed. “Isn’t Miss Kane clever? She’s going to help Patrick make a landing spot for Santa.” She grinned at her father. “Isn’t she something special?”
    “Oh, yes, she’s something all right.” How on earth had she gotten up there? As annoyed as he still was with her, Ben had to give her credit for saving the moment. She’d allowed Patrick to salvage his pride by finishing what he’d gone up on the roof to do. To a little boy, being able to save face was no small thing.
    “We’re done,” Carol called down. She pulled a small camera from her pocket and snapped a photo of a now proud looking Patrick standing in front of his design. She then returned to the edge. “Hillary, please stand under the tree and talk to Patrick as he comes down. He’s going to demonstrate that at heart, he truly is a monkey.”
    Ben watched with pride as Patrick stepped forward, took a deep breath and reached out for the branch. He joined Hillary in distracting Patrick as he slowly made his way down. As soon as his son’s feet touched the ground Ben pulled his son close and hugged him.
    “We have to help Miss Kane get down now,” Hillary reminded them.
    Ben glanced up. Carol wasn’t anywhere in sight. “Where did she go?”
    Patrick shrugged. “Around the back of the chimney, the same way she came up.”
    They all three turned when they heard the front door close. Carol, now wearing her red wool coat and matching beret, locked the front door and came to stand beside them. Ben saw that she had his down jacket over her arm.
    She handed it to him. “Are we ready?”
    Ben was almost afraid to ask. “For what?”
    “We’re going to the mall.”
    Obviously not the least bit traumatized by the roof escapade, Hillary and Patrick let out a shout of joy and ran toward the SUV. Ben didn’t budge.
    “Why on earth would you want to go to the mall?” he demanded.
    “To show you just how wrong you are.” She lifted an eyebrow in challenge. “Santa is real and I can prove it."
    He stared at her. The woman was insane, or at least teetering on the edge of insanity.
    Or perhaps he was the one who was insane for allowing her to live in the same house with his children. Except that she was wonderful with them. He’d never seen his son or