Read Online The Christmas Child by Linda Goodnight - Free Book Online

kind of superhero complex. He could carry the weight. He could save the world.
    Right. He snorted derisively. Tell that in the back alleys of Chicago.
    When the phone in his hand suddenly rang, he almost dropped it. A quick glance told him Sophie had gotten the message.
    â€œHey,” he said. “Sorry I woke you.”
    â€œYou didn’t. I was in the shower.”
    He carefully avoided going there. He was, after all, a man. “The police chief called.”
    â€œDavey?” Concern laced the word. Kade hated hearing it, hated knowing he’d put the worry there.
    â€œHe’s run away from the Cunninghams.”
    She sucked in a gasp. “Oh, no.”
    â€œI’m headed out there now to help with the search. Thought you’d want to know.”
    â€œI’m coming. I’ll meet you there.”
    â€œGet ready. I’ll pick you up.” He hadn’t meant to offer, but he liked the idea of Sophie’s soothing presence in his car. “You know the way?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œGood. I don’t.”
    He’d started to hang up when Sophie said quietly, “It’s really cold this morning.”
    He understood her meaning. Davey was out there.
    â€œYeah.” The chill in Ida June’s house had kicked on the wheezing furnace numerous times during the night. “We’ll find him, Sophie. Don’t worry.”
    â€œPromise?” Her teasing words warmed him. He could hear her moving around, getting ready as they talked. He should hang up, but he was reluctant to let her go.
    â€œNo promises. Just action.”
    â€œI like the sound of that. Action and prayer work every time, and I’m already praying. God knows where Davey is.”
    â€œYou let me know if He tells you.”
    He expected her to go all defensive on him, but instead she laughed. “I will. Have you had breakfast yet?”
    Weird question. “No.”
    â€œI have coffee ready in the pot and yogurt in the fridge.”
    He made a face at the yogurt. “Bring me coffee and I’m your slave forever.”
    That warm, throaty chuckle filled his head. “I’m going to remember that.”
    They had a runaway kid to find and he was flirting with a schoolteacher. No wonder he’d lost his edge. Try as he might, he couldn’t resist. And he didn’t try too hard.
    â€œKade?”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œI’m joking around to keep from being afraid.” Her admission softened him. If he wasn’t careful he’d never get his edge back. “It’s cold and dark and the Cunninghams live several miles out in the country.” He heard her swallow. “Davey has to be scared.”
    â€œWe’ll find him.”
    Phone against his ear, he made his way through the kitchen toward the garage. He flipped the exterior light switch and started down the two steps toward his car.
    â€œWell.” He stopped dead still.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œI don’t think we’re going to find him.”
    A pause hummed anxiously over the distance. “Why?”
    Curled in the corner on Sheba’s fluffy bed, with the big dog wrapped around him protectively, Davey lay fast asleep, his book clasped to his skinny chest. He wore the zippered jacket Sophie had given him.
    â€œHe found us first.”
    Â 
    Sophie didn’t consider anything odd about rushing over to Ida June’s house at six in the morning. She pulled into the short concrete drive before the streetlights went out and the first streaks of sun broke the horizon.
    Looking lethally male beneath the golden glow of porch light, Kade let her in. A kick of attraction hit Sophie in the empty stomach. Now that she knew Davey was safely in Kade’s care, she took the time to explore the feeling. She hadn’t been attracted this way in a long time, and considering Kade’s dark broodiness, she was a little concerned by her judgment.
    He hadn’t shaved yet,