Read One Snowy Night Before Christmas for Free Online

he
wanted more than ever to be both a parent and a protector to Amy.
    “Don’t hold yourself responsible for what other people do.”
    She said it so firmly he knew she was talking from
experience. And she was right. But that didn’t make it easier to accept. He’d
almost made a colossal mistake.
    “When I picked Amy up this morning, she didn’t remember me.”
    “That must have been tough.”
    “I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I saw her. And
how much of her I’d missed until she looked at me like I was a complete
stranger. She’s so grown up. My experience with kids is minimal, but I think
she’s more mature than most.” Her experiences were probably the reason. He was
thankful for the soothing cocoa as a frightening realization made his stomach
tighten. How could he have not realized his daughter needed him?
    Jessie opened her mouth, but changed her mind and stared
down into her cup. Without looking up, she brought it to her lips and drank.
    “Her mother could be in jail for as long as ten years,” he
volunteered. “By the time child services found me, they told me I had two days
to collect her or she’d be turned over to foster care.”
    “That’s awful for a kid her age.” Her eyes darkened, as
though she were sweeping away something in her mind. “So you jumped in your car
and headed straight for Sacramento?”
    “Of course. She’s my kid. But more than anything, I want to
do what’s right for Amy. Now that I’ve got her, I wonder if I’m the best person
to look after her. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
    Jessie surprised him by laughing. “Somebody forget to put
the manual in with her? Believe it or not, none of them come with one. Sooner
or later you just figure it out.”
    “Some sooner than others,” he said, chuckling with her.
    “You’ll be fine.” Jessie’s voice held a soft wistfulness.
“You want to do a good job, I can tell. The most important thing is that you’re
there for her.”
    “Tell that to her. This will go down in history as ‘The
Christmas Daddy ruined,’ as far as she’s concerned.”
    “There are worse things.” Her voice had dropped another
notch. “And remember who it was that ran over Santa Claus.”
    Tom’s heart leapt with his daring as he asked the question
he just couldn’t resist. “Do you hate Christmas just because you broke up with
your fiancé last year?”
    “He broke up with me. But no, it goes back a lot farther
than that.” She looked out the window into the blackness. That long, awkward
silence Tom so often found himself in stretched again.
    “There are a lot of reasons,” she finally said. “But it
wasn’t the year I sprained my ankle, or the year I had pneumonia.”
    “Lots of people get sick over the holidays,” he said,
digging that hole again. Shut up , he told himself, but himself wouldn’t
listen. “My Uncle Bob broke his collarbone trying to do a wheelie on a
motorcycle last year. Too much high octane eggnog.”
    She laughed, but looked out the window again as if talking
about it was just too painful. When she glanced back his way, she wore that
impish half smile bringing out her adorable dimple. God, she was gorgeous.
“You’re not going to let me alone on this, are you? Let me guess, you’re one of
those die-hard Christmas fanatics.”
    Tom smiled back. She’d let him off the hook easier than he
deserved. He knew if he wanted to earn points here, he’d best stop prying. But
the lawyer in him just wouldn’t let him stop talking. “In a way, I am. I have
two brothers and a sister. My parents love to spoil the grandkids.”
    “Aren’t they lucky,” she said with a sliver of sarcasm. “I
never had anyone to spoil me.”
    He opened his mouth but she brought up a hand, cutting him
off. “ Don’t tell me Christmas is about the ‘Spirit of Giving.’ I’ve had
people telling me that all my life. If I hear one more person tell me Christmas
is about the ‘Spirit of Giving,’ I’m going to