Read Online Close to You by Kara Isaac - Free Book Online

could still remember her angry red newborn face in the nursery, scrunched in protest as she attempted to free herself from a blanket.
    Picking up his computer, he positioned the camera so his face appeared on the screen. “Hey, Lacey Gracey.” He looked at his watch and calculated the time difference. Just after five in the morning in Iowa. “What are you doing up so early?”
    â€œMommy said I could call you in the morning. And it’smorning!”
    No doubt his sister and the rest of her family were still in bed, completely oblivious to their five-year-old’s predawn escapades.
    â€œWhere are you?” Her pink pajamas shimmied across the screen and back again.
    â€œI’m in New Zealand.”
    â€œIs that near New York?”
    He smiled. New York was the farthest from Iowa that Lacey could imagine. “A bit farther than that, I’m afraid.”
    This was so astounding that she even stopped bouncing for a few seconds. “Wow.”
    â€œI know. The plane that brought me here flew all night, and you know what else?”
    â€œWhat?” She was leaning so close to the camera all he could see were her eyes and nose.
    â€œWhen I left America, it was Tuesday, but when I got here it was Thursday!”
    She laughed and shook her head. “Uh-uh, Uncle Jackson. You’re just pickin’ on me.”
    Probably easier to roll with that than try and explain the international dateline to a five-year-old. Even a very smart one.
    â€œGramma and Granddad have some new kittens.”
    He’d learned long ago not to try and understand the logic behind the flow of a conversation with his niece and nephew. “Really? How many?”
    â€œFive.” Four little fingers got held up against the screen. “And Gramma’s sick.”
    Sick? How did he not know this? “Wh—”
    â€œLacey Elizabeth Sheldon, what are you doing up? Get right back into bed this instant!” His sister’s floral nightgown appeared in the frame, followed by her half-asleep face. “Jackson, is that you?”
    He saluted her across the miles. “The one and only.”
    â€œThat girl is going to send me to an early grave.” Beth’s consternation showed in her face.
    â€œI’m pretty sure Mom said the same thing about you more than once.”
    His sister shook her head, curls bouncing, and smiled. “Touché.”
    â€œSpeaking of which. Lacey said she’s sick. What’s up?”
    Across the world, he couldn’t tell if what flickered across his sister’s face was a slight technical delay or something else. “You know Mom. Always putting everyone else first. I think she’s just worn down. Got a cold she hasn’t been able to shake.”
    His shoulders sagged. Yet another reminder that if he’d done right when he had the chance, his parents could be taking it easy right now instead of working dawn to dusk trying to keep their heads above water. “That’s all?”
    His sister gave a small shrug. “As far as I know. I think the doctor was looking at whether it’s turned to bronchitis, but Mom would probably be six feet under before she’d admit to anything more than a bad cold. How’s the trip going?”
    â€œIt’s . . . interesting, but I’ll get there.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Any news from the bank?”
    She shook her head. “Not since the last letter. That they’ve told me, anyway.”
    â€œI’m going to fix this, Bette.” He wasn’t sure why he reverted to her childhood nickname. “Whatever it takes.”
    The big-sister finger-point was still effective across thousands of miles. “Jackson, this isn’t on you.”
    Except they both knew it was.

Six
    J ACKSON WANDERED INTO THE HOTEL’S dining room and struggled not to yawn. Yesterday, he’d thought he’d done okay managing to get his body into a new