Read Online Merry Kisses (Riverbend Romance 5) by Valerie Comer - Free Book Online Page A

checked her watch. Kids whined and fidgeted. He didn’t really have time to take this child aside right now.
    “Listen, Bailey. I’ve got about an hour before I close down for today. Can you come back? I want to tell you that story.” And the story of Jesus, too, but he’d get to that in good time.
    She angled her head and looked at him. “Maybe.”
    “I hope you do. I’ll be watching for you. And ask that nice lady for one of those papers, okay? We usually tuck them in with the photos, but you don’t want a Santa photo, do you?”
    By the twitch of her chin, he’d guess not.
    “See you in an hour?”
    “I said maybe.” She stalked back toward Sonya, the only easy way out of the North Pole setup.
    Sonya glanced at him with a question in her eyes then bent to Bailey, offering her an invitation to the church children’s party in a couple of weeks. The little girl looked at it and shoved it in her pocket without folding it.
    Heath breathed a prayer for the child who hurt in ways Santa could never fix. Only Jesus could. He’d get the girl’s last name and address from Sonya — at least if Bailey didn’t come back — and hand that in to the ministerial association early. One of the pastors would make a home visit.
    He held his hands out in welcome to the toddler who came next, deposited in his lap by an eager young mom. “Hi there. I’m Santa. What’s your name?”

    * * *

    Sonya packed the camera away at the end of the hour then turned to the laptop where she’d recorded all the addresses for sending Santa photos.
    Heath slid his arm around her and she leaned into him for a moment, though the sight of the red velour arm and white glove still caught her off guard. “Just closing up. Do you think that little girl will come back?”
    “I don’t see her anywhere.” He sounded worried. “I want to wait around for her, though. Do you mind?”
    She looked up into his brown eyes, itching to remove the white whiskers so she could see his whole face. And maybe steal a kiss, though that might be quite inappropriate in public. With Santa, anyway. Her face flushed at the thought of her father seeing that.
    Heath didn’t seem to notice. He scanned the shoppers scurrying past, some heading toward the food court and others away.
    Sonya looked, too, but no child in jeans, blue shirt, and scraggly hair appeared. She reached to shut off the laptop.
    “Just a sec.” Heath put his hand on hers. “Can I get her last name and street address first? In case she doesn’t show?”
    “What was her name again?” Sonya scrolled through the list.
    “Bailey.” Heath watched over her shoulder, his warmth on her back making her want to lean into him.
    Something niggled at Sonya’s mind. “She didn’t want a photo with you...”
    “I know. I’ll get over it.” She heard the grin in his words.
    “No, you don’t understand. I only get that information to mail the pictures. Otherwise there’s no need.”
    Heath’s hands rested on her arms and turned her around. “We have no way to find her. That’s what you’re saying.”
    Sonya nodded, staring at the big black button on his chest. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”
    “You had no way to. And making her give it anyway would have been wrong under the circumstances.” Heath released her abruptly and strode away, out of the North Pole and into the stream of shoppers. He turned this way and that, obviously looking for the child.
    It had been a full hour since she left, though. If Bailey didn’t know how to tell time or her mom had taken her home, there wasn’t much they could do about it.
    God, I know Heath feels really bad about Bailey. I pray that you will take care of her and give him a chance to talk to her.
    Huh. Who would have known she’d ever pray for Santa Claus? A little grin poked at her cheeks as she finished packing up. She didn’t have a lot of choice whether to wait for Heath or not. He’d picked her up and given her a ride this afternoon, and home was