Read Online The Gift of Christmas Present by Melody Carlson - Free Book Online Page A

hallway.
    â€œCashmere,” Mrs. Daniels said. “Imported from France.”
    Suddenly Christine felt terrible. “Oh, I’m sorry. You should’ve told me. I can’t keep this, I’ll go—”
    â€œNo. Like I said, the color does nothing for me. My late husband got that for me for Christmas one year when rust was all the rage.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œPositive.”
    Mrs. Daniels stopped by the large coat closet by the door. “And while we’re at it, there’s a coat in there that you might like to have too. As I recall it went nicely with the sweater. Go ahead and open it. It’s a suede jacket in a brownish gold tone that looks awful on me.”
    Christine looked in the mostly empty coat closet, then spied a caramel-colored suede jacket behind a hooded rain parka. She pulled it out. “Is this it?”
    â€œYes. I’ve been meaning to give it away. Can’t stand how it makes me look. Go ahead, try it on.”
    Christine slipped on the jacket. The suede was so smooth that it felt like butter. And she suspected by the luxurious satin lining and fancy label that it must’ve been very expensive. “It’s beautiful.”
    â€œIt’s yours.” She looked at her watch. “We better go. Doesn’t do to keep Felicity waiting.”
    Christine almost felt like a princess as she drove Mrs. Daniels’s Jaguar, dressed in the cashmere sweater and suede jacket. She wondered what Brianna, or even her dad, would think of her right now.
    â€œThat’s the housing development,” Mrs. Daniels said. “Aspen Grove.”
    Christine didn’t say anything, but she was surprised. This didn’t seem like a very impressive neighborhood for the way her grandmother had described Felicity. It was nice, of course, and probably much more expensive than the neighborhood Christine had grown up in. But even in the night, with only the streetlights to illuminate, all the houses appeared to look alike, and they were so close together it seemed like neighbors could reach out their windows and hold hands. Of course, she didn’t mention this.
    â€œYou’re here,” said a tall man as he opened the door wider. “Come on in, Mom. Is that your caregiver with you?”
    â€œHousekeeper,” Mrs. Daniels corrected him in a stern voice.
    â€œLet me help you,” he said as he tried to usher her inside.
    â€œNo, you just stay back, Jimmy. I can do this better on my own.”
    â€œGetting pretty feisty with those crutches, aren’t you?” He turned and winked at Christine. “She’s a handful, isn’t she?”
    Christine wasn’t quite sure how to respond. So she stuck out her hand and said, “Hi, I’m Christine Bradley.” She stopped herself from saying, Lenore’s long lost daughter .
    â€œWell, welcome to our humble abode, Christine. I’m Jimmy. I hear that you’ve already met my wife, Felicity, and—”
    â€œWho’s that?” asked a little boy peering out from behind his dad. He had curly red hair and was eyeing the large gift in Christine’s hands.
    â€œThis is Christine,” Jimmy said. “And this is the birthday boy, Jamie.”
    She smiled. “Hello, Jamie. Happy birthday. Kind of a bummer having a birthday so close to Christmas, isn’t it?”
    He grinned to reveal a missing tooth. “Yeah. Some people give you only one present and say that it’s for both.”
    â€œWell, this is for you from your grandma,” Christine said as she handed him the large box.
    His eyes grew wide. “Cool.”
    Soon she met the other child, a little girl named Casey. And despite their grandmother’s less than favorable description, Christine thought they were sweet kids, even if they were fairly rambunctious. Casey had blond hair and blue eyes like her mother, while Jamie resembled his dad. And both children insisted on showing