Coming Home for Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

them.”
    â€œSo I’ve heard,” Keith replied, an extremely tight, polite smile underscoring the words.
    Observing him, Kenzie could see that he was holding himself in check. Keith was probably afraid that if he allowed his guard to go down, he’d fall apart.
    Sympathy flooded through her.
    It intensified as she drew closer.
    Ushering Mrs. Anderson out of the house, Keith closed the door firmly behind the talkative woman. He stood there for a moment, looking at the closed door, his entire body a testimony to rigidly controlled grief.
    Or so it seemed to Kenzie.
    There were men who wanted only to be left alone when they were dealing with their darkest hour. However, she had never learned how to accommodate them, because everything within her cried out to offer a grieving person as much comfort as she could render.
    And besides, this was Keith. There was no way she could stand on ceremony.
    Coming up behind him, she placed her hand on his rigid shoulder, trying to convey her availability to comfort him in his grief. She said with a great deal of sincerity, “I’m so sorry.”
    Keith almost jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He’d forgotten all about her. How long had she been standing there? She was supposed to be upstairs, taking inventory, not down here, eavesdropping.
    He swung around to look at her. “You can’t sell any of it?” Keith asked, assuming that her apology referred to the things she’d found in the upstairs bedrooms.
    â€œWhat?” It took Kenzie a minute to untangle his reaction. And then she understood. They were talking about two entirely different things.
    â€œOh, no, I’m not apologizing about anything that has to do with your estate. I just wanted to tell you how very sorry I am about your loss.” And then Kenzie frowned, shaking her head. “The words are trite,” she was quick to admit, “but that doesn’t make the sentiment any less genuine.”
    â€œI’m sure it is,” he said crisply, cutting the young woman off in case she had more to say on the subject.
    This whole thing was much too private, and he didn’t want to talk about it. However, he could see that she felt she had to say something. He shrugged away any obligation she might have thought she had in this case.
    â€œEveryone’s got to die sometime, right?” He needed to get out—and he actually did have somewhere else to be. “I have to leave for a while. Go on with your tour. Let me know if you think you can sell these things and what they might go for.”
    â€œAbsolutely,” she promised, then asked, “Where are you going?”
    He wasn’t prepared to be questioned, so he didn’t have a lie on tap. Which was how the simple truth wound up coming out. “I’ve got to go see about making funeral arrangements.”
    Now there was something she’d find oppressive if she had to face it on her own. “Are you going alone?”
    Again, she’d caught him off guard. And there was that weird feeling again, as if he knew her from somewhere. But that wasn’t possible, was it?
    Either way, Keith thought that was an odd question for her to be asking him. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
    â€œI just thought you might want some company. You know, someone to talk to. This isn’t exactly a run-of-the-mill errand you’re about to undertake,” she pointed out.
    He turned the tables on her by saying, “If you need to talk to me, we can meet later.”
    With that, and a mumbled “See you later,” he walked out before Kenzie had a chance to say that she thought he was the one who needed to talk, not her.
    Instead of going back to her work—she had yet to inventory the first floor—Kenzie went to the front window, moved aside the curtain and stood in silence as Keith walked down the driveway to his car.
    Here was someone who was either oblivious to, or more likely in