A Christmas Prayer: An Autistic Child, a Father's Love, a Woman's Heart (Christmas Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

placement with you. Instinct tells me Gib might do very well with you.”
    * * *
    Alexis stuffed the soaked silk blouse into her bag, smoothed the wrinkles from the Oxford shirt, then retraced her steps back to the den. She took out her tape recorder as Ethan Jacobs stashed his cell in his pants pocket, his gaze seemingly far away.
    “Anything wrong?”
    She recognized the stare, one emanating from a secret just beneath the surface that the bearer so desperately wanted to share. What closet door did Ethan Jacobs want Alexis Jennings to open?
    “No, nothing’s wrong. Since your brother is a huge fan, I’d like to take you and Gib to dinner tomorrow night?”
    “And my friend, Jasmine? She adores you.”
    “And your friend, Jasmine, if she’d like.”
    “Gib will only eat fried chicken or pizza.”
    “My favorites.”
    “We haven’t done the interview yet.”
    “Let’s do it.”
    “I already have your press kit with your bio, etc. so I’ll start with some of the lesser known human interest tidbits. Is it true you are the illegitimate son of an Onondaga Chief?”
    Ethan’s snide laugh surprised her. “My mother was white. As to my father’s ethnicity, I don’t really know. My mother said he was part Native American, but he was not a chief in the tribal sense.”
    Ethan walked over to the fireplace and picked up a small wooden flute. “This was the only gift I ever received from my father before he died. Chief was his nickname. He worked with casino organizers.”
    Mob connection?
    “My mother said his absence was for our protection. I rebelled and sowed my wild oats, eventually heading as far away from Jasper Falls as I could.”
    “There are also rumors of recent large financial contributions to the Gideon Foundation, much of those earmarked specifically for the center here in Jasper Falls. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you so generous to a town you despised?”
    Ethan turned, his face taut with sincerity. “I became very good at stealing until I got caught six months before high school graduation.”
    “Then what happened?”
    “The judge felt sorry for me. I made a plea deal for probation with the condition I finish high school. The day after I received my diploma, I took off. I joined a band in Nashville and the rest is history. Music saved me from a life of crime.”
    Alexis’s thoughts went to Gib. Was there anything that would save him from graduating to crimes far worse than his “borrowing?”
    “Unfortunately,” Ethan continued, “it took a lot longer to finally kick alcohol. I wished there’d been an organization like Gideon Foundation when I was a kid. They not only teach at-risk kids art and music, they also have a remarkable drug prevention and rehabilitation program. Their success rate is amazing. I believe your brother is one of their clients.”
    Alexis stiffened. “How do you know about Gib’s troubles? He doesn’t do drugs.”
    “Like I said. Max does a thorough background check, and I asked Kyle.”
    “You went to school with Kyle and his brother didn’t you?”
    “Afraid they knew me when I used to put holes in the walls every time a grownup ticked me off.”
    “Do you still put holes in the walls?”
    “I try not to. Maybe why I’m always playing the guitar—something else to do with my hands.”
    Ethan’s laugh could chase a cloud from New York to California. Egad. Sounded like another song scooting around in her head. “My parents said my brother was named after the guitar brand. Apparently his biological father was musical.”
    Ethan sat in his recliner and stretched his long legs. “Probably. The area has as many bars as it does churches. Most guitarists drift toward honky-tonks or join a gospel group.”
    “Your newest release, A Christmas Prayer , is a huge hit. What’s the story behind it?”
    “Not much of a story, really.” He glanced toward his guitar. “A pop-artist influenced my career and I wrote the song as a result of his