Read Online Brenda's Christmas Desire by Sharon Kleve - Free Book Online
Authors: Sharon Kleve
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Chapter One
December 2013
The weather forecast for the Western Washington area and specifically North Seattle, predicted a good five-to-six inches of snow. Brenda Skinner watched the flakes float like cotton balls from the sky as she dipped a tortilla chip into a bowl of thick and chunky salsa and popped the spicy mixture into her mouth.
Her boss, Corny Myers, tapped her pencil on Brenda’s reception desk and hummed to the beat of The Little Drummer Boy , which streamed from the Green Hornet Investigations’s Bose speakers.
“Hey, Brenda. I know that I have bad eating habits, but I’ve never started the day with chips and salsa. What’s up?” Corny asked.
“You know how I feel about all the holiday hoopla. I’d rather stick my head in the sand and pull it back out in January.”
“Do you really think Mexican food will make you feel better?”
“Probably not, but a couple margaritas might help.”
“True,” Corny agreed, while she sipped her morning peppermint and white chocolate mocha. “Hey, where’s your Santa hat?”
“Oh come on. Don’t make me wear the silly hat. The fabric doesn’t breathe and by the end of the day the hair on my head is shaped like a fruit bowl.”
“Too bad, because Green Hornet Investigations doesn’t employ scrooges. Now, put your hat on or I’ll make you to sing Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer with me,” Corny said with a big smile on her face.
“Ugh,” she shook her head. Because she loved Corny like a sister, she gave in and smiled. “Okay fine. I’ll put the furry thing on.”
Brenda reached down and opened her desk drawer and found Pete, Corny’s ferret, curled up in a circle in the red-velvet hat. You couldn’t tell where his head started or ended because his cream and brown fur blended together. “I don’t want to disturb Pete. I’ll put the hat on later,” she said as she stroked his soft fur.
Corny reached down and gently removed Pete from his resting place and held him against her chest. “Pete has plenty of places he can sleep. But he seems to like unusual hidey holes so I have to search for him.”
“Well, that’s what you do best—find missing animals. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me when you find a lost or stolen pet, theirs owners eagerly write out a hefty—well-deserved I might add—check to Green Hornet Investigations. And on every occasion I expect them to ask how you were able to find their beloved pet when nobody else could, but they don’t,” Brenda dipped another chip into the salsa. “Why is that?”
“I guess as long as they get their pet safely back home they don’t care. I’d be the same way,” Corny admitted. “You know, if you ask my parents, they’ll tell you that my unique psychic ability to communicate with animals is a curse, not a blessing.”
“I love your parents but there are hundreds of happy pet owners who think otherwise.”
Corny raised her eyebrow at her and pointedly looked down in the drawer. Brenda played along and grabbed the hat and yanked down on the fake white trim with both hands. She’d yanked a little too hard and the fur covered her eyes. “There. Are you happy now?”
“Yes, very.”
They both laughed. Corny gave her a one-armed hug, and kissed her on the head.
“Now if I could get you to keep that smile on your face all day, I’d be happy.”
“Corny, I can’t help myself. The holidays stress me out. December fifteenth is looming like an axe over my head. Once I get past that date I’ll be fine—maybe not normal, but fine,” she joked trying to make light of her fear.
“I thought this year would be different, because you have John in your life.”
“John knows my Aunt Carol raised me but I haven’t told him about the accident. You’d think after all these years the pain would lesson and I’d be able to talk about what happened.”
“You will when you’re ready, Brenda.”
“I hope so. John keeps asking me when we’re going to get a tree and I keep
December 2013
The weather forecast for the Western Washington area and specifically North Seattle, predicted a good five-to-six inches of snow. Brenda Skinner watched the flakes float like cotton balls from the sky as she dipped a tortilla chip into a bowl of thick and chunky salsa and popped the spicy mixture into her mouth.
Her boss, Corny Myers, tapped her pencil on Brenda’s reception desk and hummed to the beat of The Little Drummer Boy , which streamed from the Green Hornet Investigations’s Bose speakers.
“Hey, Brenda. I know that I have bad eating habits, but I’ve never started the day with chips and salsa. What’s up?” Corny asked.
“You know how I feel about all the holiday hoopla. I’d rather stick my head in the sand and pull it back out in January.”
“Do you really think Mexican food will make you feel better?”
“Probably not, but a couple margaritas might help.”
“True,” Corny agreed, while she sipped her morning peppermint and white chocolate mocha. “Hey, where’s your Santa hat?”
“Oh come on. Don’t make me wear the silly hat. The fabric doesn’t breathe and by the end of the day the hair on my head is shaped like a fruit bowl.”
“Too bad, because Green Hornet Investigations doesn’t employ scrooges. Now, put your hat on or I’ll make you to sing Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer with me,” Corny said with a big smile on her face.
“Ugh,” she shook her head. Because she loved Corny like a sister, she gave in and smiled. “Okay fine. I’ll put the furry thing on.”
Brenda reached down and opened her desk drawer and found Pete, Corny’s ferret, curled up in a circle in the red-velvet hat. You couldn’t tell where his head started or ended because his cream and brown fur blended together. “I don’t want to disturb Pete. I’ll put the hat on later,” she said as she stroked his soft fur.
Corny reached down and gently removed Pete from his resting place and held him against her chest. “Pete has plenty of places he can sleep. But he seems to like unusual hidey holes so I have to search for him.”
“Well, that’s what you do best—find missing animals. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me when you find a lost or stolen pet, theirs owners eagerly write out a hefty—well-deserved I might add—check to Green Hornet Investigations. And on every occasion I expect them to ask how you were able to find their beloved pet when nobody else could, but they don’t,” Brenda dipped another chip into the salsa. “Why is that?”
“I guess as long as they get their pet safely back home they don’t care. I’d be the same way,” Corny admitted. “You know, if you ask my parents, they’ll tell you that my unique psychic ability to communicate with animals is a curse, not a blessing.”
“I love your parents but there are hundreds of happy pet owners who think otherwise.”
Corny raised her eyebrow at her and pointedly looked down in the drawer. Brenda played along and grabbed the hat and yanked down on the fake white trim with both hands. She’d yanked a little too hard and the fur covered her eyes. “There. Are you happy now?”
“Yes, very.”
They both laughed. Corny gave her a one-armed hug, and kissed her on the head.
“Now if I could get you to keep that smile on your face all day, I’d be happy.”
“Corny, I can’t help myself. The holidays stress me out. December fifteenth is looming like an axe over my head. Once I get past that date I’ll be fine—maybe not normal, but fine,” she joked trying to make light of her fear.
“I thought this year would be different, because you have John in your life.”
“John knows my Aunt Carol raised me but I haven’t told him about the accident. You’d think after all these years the pain would lesson and I’d be able to talk about what happened.”
“You will when you’re ready, Brenda.”
“I hope so. John keeps asking me when we’re going to get a tree and I keep
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