Read Online Silver Christmas by Helen Scott Taylor - Free Book Online Page B

got him
under control before walking on to the corner of the store
dedicated to Christmas. Gleaming displays of decorations lined the
aisles, with numerous tiny lights in festive shapes flashing all
around.
    They exited through sliding glass doors to an
outside yard full of Christmas trees, sectioned off according to
height.
    "Seven feet is tall enough, I think." Owen
lifted a tree from the rack and shook out the branches before
standing it upright. "What do you think, cocoa puff?"
    "That one's got a bent branch." Chloe checked
through the other trees of the same height, rejecting most of them
for imperfections.
    "Why doesn't Mum help you choose? Maybe she
isn't as fussy." Owen gave Jennifer a crooked smile, obviously
enjoying the tree-selection process despite his words.
    Jennifer ran her hand down a fragrant green
pine branch, remembering the times she'd done this with her father,
which felt like a lifetime ago. She hadn't celebrated Christmas
with a traditional tree since she was fifteen. After that, her dad
walked out and left her mother so bitter and vindictive, the only
thing that interested her was making her ex-husband's life hell.
Jennifer was just another thing for them to fight over, and they
made her life miserable.
    At college, Christmas celebrations consisted
of parties and lots of alcohol to hold back her guilt and sorrow
over leaving her baby. In Africa, Christmas had passed almost
unnoticed. She'd had no reason to return to the UK for the holiday
season, and the people she worked with weren't Christians.
    Now Chloe's enthusiasm infected Jennifer,
reviving her happy memories of the time before her dad left. She
lifted a tree, surprised by how heavy it was. Owen reached over her
shoulder to grip the top of the trunk with a large, capable hand,
lifting the thing as though it were as light as a feather.
    "So, does this one pass inspection?" he
asked.
    "Look how bushy it is." Jennifer tried to
encourage Chloe to agree, and Owen gave her a conspiratorial
smile.
    Chloe circled the tree with a frown of
concentration on her face, checking all the branches were the right
length and none were stunted or broken.
    "It's a shame you're not as fussy about
keeping your bedroom tidy," Owen said.
    Chloe ignored the dig and rested a hand on
Jennifer's arm. "If Mum likes it, then I do too. This Christmas has
to be extra special because it's the first one you're here with us,
Mum."
    Jennifer put her arms around Chloe, her chest
so tight with emotion she could barely breathe. She blinked against
the prick of tears and had to swallow a few times before she could
answer. "You are the sweetest girl. I'm so lucky."
    "I'm lucky 'cause I have my dad and mum
together at last. And Dad's lucky 'cause he has both of his girls
with him at Christmas."
    Jennifer hugged her daughter more tightly.
The thought of all the Christmases with Chloe she'd missed nearly
undid her. She closed her eyes and kissed her daughter's hair,
wondering if Owen really did think he was lucky to have her here.
Or was that only wishful thinking?
    When they
arrived home, Jennifer made a pot of tea for everyone and stood to one side, cradling
a hot cup between her chilly hands while Owen wrestled the
Christmas tree beneath the low door frame into the sitting room. He
carried the tree in its bucket of soil across the room and set it
in the far corner near the huge old fireplace.
    Thundering
footsteps on the stairs heralded Chloe and Paddy. A moment later,
the girl struggled in with a box of decorations.
    " Whoa." Owen
grabbed the box from her and deposited it on the floor beside the
tree. "I thought you were going to wait for me to carry that
downstairs for you."
    " You can bring
down the other two boxes, Dad."
    Owen
chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, ma'am."
    " Do you want a
hand?" Jennifer put down her tea mug and made to follow
Owen.
    " Stay with me,
Mum. I want you to help me decorate the tree."
    At
Chloe's words, Jennifer glanced at Owen, who nodded with a