Read Online The Doctor's Christmas by Marta Perry - Free Book Online Page A

asked lightly.
    â€œNot exactly.” He shrugged, looking a bit surprised at himself. “Oddly enough, I’m not as impatient to be finished as I thought I would be. Maybe I’m actually learning something from this experience.”
    â€œCan I have that in writing? Maybe we can use your endorsement to recruit future volunteers.”
    Future volunteers. For an instant her smile faltered. Grant would leave, and someone else would come. That was the way things were.
    He didn’t seem to notice her momentary lapse. “Sure, I’ll give the program an endorsement. How about—”
    He stopped when the door at the back of the office opened. For an instant her heart seemed to stop, too, when Joey poked his head in.
    â€œMaggie, can I have—” He sniffed. “Hey, you got pie in here?”
    Grant waved his fork. “Come on in. You can help us eat this.”
    Maggie fought to control the tension that galloped along her nerves. What was Joey doing out of the house when she’d told him to stay put? And how long would it take Grant to realize the boy should be in school?
    â€œHe needs to have lunch first.” She caught the boy’s shoulders and turned him toward the door. “You go on back to the kitchen. I’ll bet Aunt Elly has lunch ready.”
    â€œBut, Maggie—”
    â€œGo on, now.”
    Grant slid a piece of pie onto a paper plate. “The woman’s a slave driver, Joey. Here, have this after lunch.”
    Joey turned back to take the pie.
    Get him out of here, her mind shouted. Get him out fast, before Grant realizes he shouldn’t be here.
    â€œOkay, off you go.” She shepherded Joey and the pie to the door, then closed it behind him.
    She could breathe again. Grant hadn’t caught on.
    She turned back to him, planting a smile on her lips. And found him looking at her with raised brows.
    â€œNice job, Maggie. You want to tell me why Joey isn’t in school today?”
    She’d relaxed too soon. And she didn’t have a plausible story ready to offer him.
    Grant folded his arms, waiting. “You’re not going to tell me he’s sick. The kid’s the picture of health.”
    â€œNo.” She tried to force her limp brain to work. “I’m not going to tell you that.”
    â€œWell?” He shoved himself away from the desk, taking the two strides that covered the space between them. “What’s the story, Maggie?”
    This might have been easier if he’d stayed where he was. But he didn’t want to make it easy, did he?
    When she didn’t speak, his gaze probed her face. “Something’s wrong. What? You can tell me.”
    Could she? She wanted to. It would be such a relief to trust him.
    But then Joey’s face formed in her mind. For a moment it seemed her own face flashed before her, back when she’d been lost and alone.
    No. She didn’t know Grant well enough to trust him with a secret like this one. She never would.
    She took a deep breath. “It’s nothing that serious. Joey’s just been…a little upset, that’s all.”
    Upset. That was putting it mildly. His world was turned upside down, but he was still managing to smile.
    â€œUpset about what?”
    â€œAbout his mother being away.” That part was true enough. The rest of the story held the difficulty.
    â€œNatural enough. That doesn’t explain why he isn’t in school.”
    Grant certainly wouldn’t make this easy.
    â€œI talked with his teacher.” Also true. “With hisfather’s death only last month and his mother away, it’s been hard on him.”
    She might as well stop rationalizing. The words were true enough, but all of the things she left out turned them into one big falsehood.
    â€œWe decided it might be better to keep him out of school for a few days. His mother will be back soon, and he’ll settle down then. It’s almost time