All I Want for Christmas Is You Read Online Free PDF Page A

disheartened. "Good," she said, turning her gaze from his face.
     
    "Would that be such a bad thing?" he asked, hoping to get some insight into that flicker of disappointment he saw flash across her face.
     
    She pulled at the car door gently as a hint for him to move aside. "It's cold and I really do have to get Kristen home. Thank you again, Kyle."
     
    "My pleasure."
     
    He watched her drive away, the red tail lights of her late model car blurring into a cloud of falling snow. She's just another woman, he told himself. A beautiful woman with eyes like the full moon and full lips made for stealing a sweet kiss. It had been a long time since he'd thought along those lines. Pulling his fingers through his ice laden hair, he decided it had been way too long.
     
    * * *
     
    Kyle walked through the crowd of chatting locals gathered for the annual tree lighting ceremony, no doubt gossiping about their own neighbors or whoever was up for selectman at the next election. Bringing the town together brought out the good and bad in everyone. Kyle liked to think that it was mostly the best. He groaned inwardly remembering the mischief that came out of him in his youth when everyone was congregated here for the Christmas festivities.
     
    Well, that was then, he mused. It had been a long time since he acted so irresponsibly. Coming of age had a way of bringing you to your senses. Facing a jail sentence had a way of doing it, too. He was lucky it never got to that point, thanks to his parents and some hard lessons learned. He only wished he had been the only one to pay for those lessons learned.
     
    He drew in a frosty breath that chilled his lungs. Deep down he knew that everything he did was somehow connected to Chas and that fateful night. It had been a turning point for both of them. Unfortunately for Chas, Kyle had been the one to get the better end of the deal. If only they'd stayed put twelve years ago, Chas wouldn't have paid for his mistake.
     
    Kyle grabbed a piece of fried dough from the concession stand and spied a St. Bernard leashed to a barrel marked "Non-perishable Food Donation." Immediately he thought of his dog, Max, lounging at home in front of the wood stove. At least, he hoped the dog was still lounging in front of the stove. After the Thanksgiving fiasco, both he and Max would be in the dog house if he wasn't. He didn't feel comfortable taking his dog to such a public affair. But giving it another thought, he wasn't sure leaving all one hundred and fifteen pounds of dog home alone with unprotected upholstery was a better alternative.
     
    He patted the dog on the head and tossed a piece of fried dough, which the dog swallowed with one gulp.
     
    The weather had been kinder tonight, rising a full ten degrees above what it had been hovering at for the last week. The sun had been out all day giving way to a beautiful star filled sky as a backdrop for the lighting of the sixty foot high Norwegian Pine tree in the center of the town common. He walked around. Looking. Searching.
     
    He groaned inwardly. The Lauren Alexander thing was a dead issue. He'd thought about her all day and hoped she would come. He'd been through this crowd at least twice and still hadn't caught a glimpse of her and Kristen when he finally decided to head back to the concession stand for a cup of hot chocolate.
     
    What was wrong with him? So she'd decided not to come, he fumed, jamming his free hand in his jacket pocket. It's not like she said she would. In fact, she flat out said she wouldn't. Still, he'd found himself hoping that she would change her mind.
     
    * * *
     
    Lauren walked the slippery sidewalk clutching Kristen's small mittened hand in hers. Her apartment was only a few short blocks from the town common.
     
    Although the day had been warm and sunny, the temperature had dipped just below freezing after sunset creating a slick sheet of ice on the walkway. "Careful, Krissy," Lauren cautioned when she saw Kristen's feet