Read Online Three Nights before Christmas by Kat Latham - Free Book Online Page B

the parts have started to come back, but it took longer than I expected so most of my volunteers are busy with their own stuff right now. What do you think our chances are of putting her back together quickly?”
    “ Quickly ?” She couldn’t suppress her cringe as she stepped carefully over the locomotive’s remains, scattered across the concrete floor. “How about we talk about putting her back together at all . What parts are ready to go back on? I see her chimney over there, only one set of driving wheels… Where are her other driving wheels? Her boiler? Holy shit, she’s been completely dismembered.”
    “That’s a little strong, don’t you think? I mean, speaking as someone who’s had to investigate actual dismemberments—”
    She jerked her arm toward the poor, naked locomotive. “ This is an actual dismemberment, Officer. She might not be alive to feel it, but she’s a grand lady who deserved better treatment than this.”
    Picking up a piece of the locomotive’s flue from the floor, he murmured, “I was trying to fix her.”
    “Here’s a life lesson for you. Sometimes when you try to fix someone, you just make them worse. And it looks like that’s happening here. Do you have a plan for putting her back together? Equipment? A team?”
    “No. Just you.” He concentrated on turning the piece over and over in his big hands.
    She’d never seen him off-balance before, not even a little. He was embarrassed. She’d embarrassed him. Power washed through her in a sickening surge. She didn’t want to be more powerful than him—or anyone, for that matter. Equality was all she asked. The ability to stand her own ground, live her own life, take care of her herself. She didn’t want to berate or humiliate anyone. She’d been on the receiving end of that kind of treatment enough to know how gut-twistingly awful it felt.
    Rubbing at the tiny muscle twitching painfully between her eyebrows, she fought for peace. When her roiling emotions had slowed to a simmer, she said, “This is your first train?”
    “First and last,” he replied gruffly.
    She nodded in understanding and stepped over some rubble that separated them. Don’t get too close. Don’t. But her feet ignored her, stopping when he was close enough to touch. Don’t touch. Don’t.
    She clasped her hands behind her back, just in case. “When does she need to be operational by?”
    “Ten days from now, so we can make sure it passes safety tests and Gabriel has some time to practice driving it with a guy we know from the Historical Society.” His face brightened. “Maybe you’d want to drive—”
    She shook her head. “I was never certified on steam trains. They’re a completely different beast than what I drove. Besides, I lost my certification and there’s no point trying to get it back since no railroad will hire me with a criminal record, especially with the crime I was convicted of.”
    His throat flexed. “I thought it might give you something to look forward to.”
    “What do you care if I have something to look forward to?”
    His gaze steady and his voice gruff, he said, “I’m not sure I do.”
    She smiled. “Thanks for your honesty. Appreciate it.”
    “Anytime. Now, about my dismembered train…”
    “I’ll help on one condition. No, wait. Make that two conditions.”
    He crossed his arms, the movement stretching the soft-looking flannel of his shirt across his wide shoulders and thick biceps. “Which are?”
    “First, don’t call me Ms. Gallagher anymore.”
    His brows jerked up in obvious surprise. Maybe he’d been expecting a bigger request, a favor he couldn’t fulfill without risking his job. But she didn’t want any big favors from him. Just a couple of little ones to make her life more livable.
    “When you call me Ms. Gallagher, it makes me feel like I’m still a defendant,” she explained.
    “Got it. Likewise, don’t call me officer unless I’m in uniform and talking to you under