Read Online Miracle on I-40 by Curtiss Ann Matlock - Free Book Online

once in a while when he slows down at a house.” Jon was getting into this very much.
    “The weather man sees him on radar.”
    “Yeah, radar can see him…but only sometimes.”
    “But what about when he stops at houses to put the stuff under the tree and eat his cookies?” Anna’s eyebrows came together.
    “Some people see him then, but he’s still pretty fast.”
    Lacey saw Cooper rising from his stool. He glanced over at them.
    “Come on, children.”
    Jon saw Cooper leaving and hurried after him, tossing over his shoulder to Lacey, “I’ll go see if I can help him with anything.”
    Digging into her purse for a tip for the waitress, Lacey started to call him back, but then shut her mouth. Her son needed an outlet for his boundless energy, which was just going to grow as the day went along.
    “Mama, why is Cooper so grumpy?” Anna asked.
    Lacey, buttoning her daughter’s coat, stopped and looked into her deep brown eyes. “I’m not certain, honey. A lot of times a person gets like that from sad things that have happened in their life.”
    “Maybe he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus because Santa doesn’t bring him anything—because he’s too grumpy all the time.”
    “Oh, sweetie, Santa brings everyone presents. Even grumpy people. He loves everyone...but maybe Cooper can’t see the presents, so he doesn’t accept them.” She took Anna’s hand.
    “That’s one of those things I’ll understand when I’m older, right?” Anna said very seriously.
    * * * *
    They had traveled thirty minutes down the road and the children were taking a nap, when Lacey finally worked up enough courage to tell Cooper that she intended for her and the children to make the return trip by bus. She would borrow the money from Beth. She could even borrow from her father, providing her father was speaking to them. She would do something, anything, but she could not ride back with him. She even toyed with the idea of having him let them off in Oklahoma City at the bus station. But this presented the problem of finding the bus station, and besides, she did not have any money for tickets.
    She had expected the announcement to give him relief, but he did not seem relieved.
    “Pate said the trip was both ways.” He was scowling.
    “I know, but Pate didn’t tell you about the children. I think us returning by bus will work out better.”
    H said, “Suit yourself,” and pushed the cigarette lighter in with a hard thump.
    It was nice to see that he was not happy about it.
    The seconds of silence that was louder even than it had been before ticked past. Lacey began to feel like a foolish child. Now she was so embarrassed, she really would have to get them back home on the bus. She had dug her own hole.
    * * * *
    The miles rolled along beneath the massive Kenworth wheels, and they pushed on across the miles of open Texas panhandle. Anna had just required her second rest stop in less than two hours, and Lacey was handing each of the children a juice drink she’d purchased from a machine when Cooper grab one of the cans right out of her hand, set it on the floor and got the other, too.
    “If we continue to make every rest stop between here and North Carolina, we won’t get there till Easter,” he said, definitely in a harsh tone.
    “When are we goin’ to get some lunch?” Jon asked. “I’m hungry.”
    “We don’t get lunch,” Cooper said. “We’ll eat dinner tonight when we stop.”
    Lacey retrieved the cans from the floor. “If you’re not plannin’ to stop for lunch, these children need something to drink.”
    She fixed her eyes on him and silently dared him to argue. He didn’t.
    Reminded ten minutes later by Jon about a growing boy’s hunger, Lacey produced homemade cookies from her tote bag. As she passed the sweets back to the children, she considered offering some to Cooper. But he was the one who’d refused to stop for lunch, she thought smartly. Let him smell the cookies and drool. Minutes later she