Home in Time for Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

throat.
    There was something about his expression that seemed so pained and nostalgic that it was almost…real. She wondered if he wasn’t suffering some kind of tormented dementia. Maybe he really believed that he had been a Revolutionary War soldier. He had fallen out of a time warp in the sky and landed on an ice-covered road more than two and a half centuries later.
    She let out a sigh. She honestly didn’t think he was homicidal, and she had been the one to strike him down on the road. She needed to practice patience.
    â€œJake,” she said softly.
    He looked at her, startled, then nodded and followed her. They walked up the stairs together, and turned. “This is your brother’s room?” he asked, stopping at the door where Melody pointed. “Yes.”
    They went in. She left him standing by Keith’s bed, staring at the posters of her brother’s favorites, Axl Roseand the Killers. There was also a large poster of Keira Knightley dressed up for her role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
    â€œBeautiful,” Jake said.
    â€œKeira Knightley? My brother thinks she’s the most beautiful woman alive,” Melody said.
    â€œI mean—the art. Amazing.”
    â€œIt’s a poster from a photograph.”
    He started to repeat the word, but didn’t. Melody smiled broadly. “Okay, photograph. It’s from an invention that captures the image of…well, just about anything. Cameras capture the stars now, through telescopes. Oh, a telescope—”
    â€œI’ve seen telescopes,” he said. “Just not…a photograph. Or a camera. But it sounds like an exceedingly wonderful creation. To capture images without charcoal or paints.”
    â€œRight. There are movie cameras, too. They capture—movement. Anyway…”
    â€œDoes your brother still live here?” he asked.
    â€œMy brother is still in college. But he comes home often,” she said.
    She dug into Keith’s wardrobe, grateful that her brother was a lot like her mother—he never minded in the least if anyone else made use of his things.
    She found a pair of jeans and an Armani Exchange sweater and handed them to Jake, then hesitated, found a pair of Keith’s briefs, socks and sneakers. She had no idea how to judge foot size, but Jake and Keith were about the same height. Maybe Keith’s feet would be a little bit bigger, but rather too big than too small.
    As she produced the sneakers, she found him playing with the zipper. “Ingenious!” he told her.
    â€œYeah, yeah, it’s a zipper. Figure it all out. You know the house. We’ll be in the family room,” she said dryly.
    â€œThe family room?”
    â€œNow it’s a family room, I don’t know what it might have been before. You know, when you owned it. Whatever. It’s just below us,” she said. She paused. He’d been drenched. Covered in snow and mud. “The shower is just next door.”
    â€œThe shower?”
    â€œOh, my God, did I pick up a parrot?” she demanded. Okay, play the game. She shook her head and sighed. “The bathroom.”
    â€œAn indoor washroom?” he asked, seriously trying to understand.
    She crooked a finger at him. He followed her.
    Leave it to her mom. It wasn’t all traditional New England decorating that she’d used—it was more New England meets Goth. Her folks loved pirates. The upstairs bathroom was done in early Blackbeard; the shower curtain boasted pirate flags, the decoration had ships—and the standing toilet paper holder was a silver-colored spyglass replica.
    She pointed to the toilet. “Indoor…necessary, I believe. Sink. Water comes on and off when you twist the faucets. The shower works just the same. Be careful—they have a mega water heater and when you turn on the hot, it gets hot.”
    He still stared.
    She pulled a towel from the rack.
    â€œShower. You turn on the