Read Online Mist on the Meadow by Karla Brandenburg - Free Book Online Page A

Even when she was in high
school. She’d never grown into that “too cool” phase. She’d never
had the chance.
    Another tear slid down his face, unchecked.
He missed his mother’s sweet smile, her generous heart. He missed
the way his father cheered at his baseball games. I’m proud of
you , he’d say, but you need something to fall back on. He’d always intended for Wolf to take his place at Harper
Electronics.
    “The company’s on the disabled list,” he
whispered. Wolf shook his head. “I won’t let him destroy everything
you built.”
     

Chapter 9
    Somewhere down the hall, a radio played
Christmas carols. Christmas Eve at Harper Electronics.
    Most people took Christmas week off, and the
board of directors had not been happy when Wolf scheduled a meeting
for the day after Christmas. He’d insisted, with reminders of the
upcoming year-end audit and allusions to dismal business
results.
    They didn’t know about the fraud audit.
    Wolf walked away from his computer and stared
out the window overlooking Chicago’s Magnificent Mile where
shoppers searched out last-minute gifts.
    He didn’t have anyone to buy for this year,
unless you counted Ralph, and it had been difficult enough to get
Ralph to accept the gifts Wolf’s grandmother had wanted him to
have.
    He should probably bring something with him
to the Maitlands. If he decided to go.
    Wolf shook his head. Hadn’t he already talked
himself out of the invitation? Dinner’s at five. He looked
at the clock on his desk. Five minutes past three. It wouldn’t hurt
to pick something up. Just in case. A bottle of wine? A dessert?
No, Marissa had desserts at the café. There would probably be an
abundance of desserts. And eggnog? he wondered.
    Wolf hated to shop, and Christmas was the
worst. He could send one of the secretaries out, if one was still
there. A glance through his open door showed him a ghost town.
    Three-ten. In order to ensure he’d make it to
Blue Lake by five, he’d have to leave the city now. Traffic was
unpredictable, and if the snow started, it would be even
slower.
    What’s it going to be, Harper?
    “I’m not sitting alone in that empty house on
Christmas Eve,” he said out loud. Decision made. Wolf grabbed his
coat and breezed out of the office. In the elevator, he slipped
into his coat, the last button fastened as the doors opened to the
lobby.
    “Merry Christmas, Mr. Harper,” the guard at
the security station called after him.
    Wolf nodded in response and pushed through
the revolving doors.
    Lights twinkled along the wide streets and
music blared through loud speakers attached to light poles. The
gray sky held the promise of more snow. The roads would be a
nightmare once the weather changed. Wolf hesitated. He could buy
his host a gift closer to Blue Lake and beat the snow. With a
resigned sigh, he decided. Ten minutes wouldn’t make much
difference, and there was no guarantee the stores would still be
open when he got to Blue Lake. Better to stop now.
    He walked the two blocks and shouldered his
way into the crowded wine shop. Traditional Christmas dinner.
Turkey? Ham? Wolf picked up a bottle of Liebfraumlich, then
considered a Zinfandel. No, he’d stick with his gut instinct.
    Wolf picked up a second bottle of
Liebfraumilch and headed for the cash register.
    Even as he steered onto the expressway ten
minutes later, he wondered how he’d talked himself into Christmas
dinner with strangers. Marissa’s business partner had said they
made room for strays. Hard to think of himself as a stray, but he
would be in similar company.
    Christmas dinner with family, even someone
else’s, sparked memories of all the happy years. Before. His
grandmother’s table filled with food. Hanging out with his older
cousin, Chuck, when he still though Chuck was cool, before Chuck
turned into a blimp. Singing Christmas carols around the piano. And
when the presents had been opened, Uncle Pete would brew the glogg
and dramatically light a match to