Making Spirits Bright Read Online Free PDF Page A

would happen the minute I got comfortable?” Melanie asked her boon companions. As usual, Odie and Clovis answered her question by trailing behind her as she returned to the kitchen to answer the telephone.
    “Hello,” she said into the receiver.
    “Oh good, you’re there,” Stephanie said.
    Melanie smiled upon hearing her friend’s voice. “What’s up?”
    “I wasn’t sure I’d find you at home,” Stephanie explained.
    Melanie leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen. “Where else would I be?” She looked at the clock and realized she was usually in church at this time. Because of bad weather, Melanie had decided to stay home today. She said this to Stephanie.
    “Same here. Patrick and I both took the weekend off. We wanted to take the girls skiing again, but it’s really too cold. You’re never going to believe who’s coming to visit this afternoon.”
    “Why don’t you tell me?” Melanie teased.
    “Grace and Max are bringing baby Ella. The girls are so excited.”
    “Cool,” Melanie said without much emotion. She’d just seen Grace, Max, and Ella a couple of weeks ago.
    “Bryce is coming with them. Apparently, he’s taking a month off from teaching, and he’s planning to spend his time helping Grace and Max at Hope House,” Stephanie said.
    Melanie knew where this was leading. She had met Bryce, Grace’s younger brother, a few times. He was a professor of history at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He was a couple of years older than she, and very easy on the eyes. With his raven black hair, and sea green eyes identical to his older sister’s, Bryce Landry personified hunkiness if there was such a thing. If she’d met him without knowing his academic background, never in a million years would she have pegged him for a history professor. He looked more like the ski bums that hung out at the ski resorts. Melanie knew he was an avid skier; he’d been a big fan of Max’s when he won the Olympic gold medal. Grace told Melanie how excited Bryce had been when he discovered his older sister was dating such a legend in the ski world.
    “That’s nice,” was the only comment Melanie could come up with. She must sound like an idiot, she thought, as she eyed her pot of tea in the living room.
    “I’m having an impromptu Christmas party this afternoon. Do you think you can make it? I know it’s short notice,” Stephanie added.
    Melanie didn’t really have any plans other than reading and getting ready for tomorrow’s flight to Denver. Why not? Stephanie lived right down the road from her; it wasn’t like she had to travel on I-70, which was treacherous during the winter months. It would take her mind off the adoption and help pass the time.
    “Sounds like fun. What can I bring?” Melanie asked, looking around the kitchen for something to bring, a store-bought pie, anything that didn’t require cooking or baking. Seeing nothing, she remembered she had a frozen black forest cake in the freezer, courtesy of a happy client.
    “You don’t have to bring anything, just yourself,” Stephanie assured her.
    Melanie would bring the cake anyway; she could not eat the entire chocolate concoction herself. It would take hours of skiing to burn off the calories. “I’d love to see the girls. What time are the festivities?”
    “Any time after noon,” Stephanie said. “The girls are bursting with energy at the mere thought of a Christmas party,” Stephanie continued. “We’ve never hosted a Christmas party, so I figured the earlier, the better. Amanda is already mixing the ingredients for sugar cookies. If the kitchen’s a disaster when you get here, you’ll know why.”
    Just thinking of the visual, Melanie grinned. Stephanie was very neat and tidy, yet when it came to Amanda and Ashley, she was more than willing to allow whatever made them happy. Both girls loved to tinker in the kitchen, just like their mother. In time, they would learn how to clean up as they