Operation Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

would never take Christ out of Christmas and this tin proved they stood behind that personal vow. Her mom said customers commented with appreciation every day. It had become a best seller this Christmas season.
    To think, if Danny had survived, he’d be home for good this Christmas, done with his service to God and country. He’d be here, in her arms, more empty today than yesterday. They would have started a family and traditions of their own.
    Pain ripped through her chest with a dull ache. She felt stagnated in some unhappy place that held her hostage. Harsh self-assessment made her acknowledge she had become more comfortable being sad than happy, bringing those around her down.
    It needed to stop. But, how when each step forward took her further from the memory of Danny?

Chapter Four
    Jess lifted the receiver off his phone and swiveled in his chair. Outside his office window Madeleine stepped from a Mini Cooper. Ah, the check. He’d seen her Saturday and here it was Monday noon. How very prompt of her. Not that he doubted she would return with the money. He thought she’d drop it in the mail, all the while hoping she would deliver it in person. Maybe with a new start there would be a better ending. He hurried around his desk to meet her at the lobby door. “Hi. Come to help ship cookies?”
    “Uh, sure.”
    “I’m teasing,” he said, seeing color spread across her cheeks as her gaze darted around the busy front office filled with curious females. He gave her a knowing look. “Let’s step into my office a sec.”
    Letting him know she only had a few minutes due to being on her lunch hour, she settled into the only visitor chair in his office. He followed her gaze as her eyes took in steel parts here and there, piles of papers and crammed file trays. He resisted the urge to apologize for the mess. Her dismay at the organized bedlam he worked in with comfort amused him. Did she assume him a slob at home as well?
    “How many employees do you have?” she asked, when he remained silent.
    “Eight girls. A finance guy. Two engineers. Fifteen machinists out back. One shipping clerk. And a partridge in a pear tree.” She laughed at his joke. He eyed the check she set on his desk, her wedding band. “Why? You want a job?”
    She shrugged. “No. Just curious. I work in the same industrial park but never noticed this place before.”
    “Where?”
    “Computers That Run. It’s a computer repair place.”
    “What do you do?”
    “Accounting. I guess I’m the finance guy. But we’re small compared to this place.”
    He dipped his head in acknowledgement though his thoughts weren’t on work. The same feminine fragrance he’d noticed as she ducked under his arm at the bakery followed him into his office. Now his mind scrambled to find a way to spend more time with her. Too bad she didn’t want a job. His receptionist intended to leave and care for an ailing mother at the end of the year. Besides, if Madeleine channeled any of the perfectionist traits of his accountant, she’d prefer order. He glanced at her perfectly groomed nails with a clear pink blush.
    Best he concentrate on getting a date, not hiring her. Surely, she’d feel sorry for a one-armed vet and say yes to anything he offered. That is if she didn’t resent him being alive. “Have you had lunch yet? I’ll take you for a bite to eat in thanks for this.” He held up the check with the artificial hand. Damn. Why must he bait her into showing revulsion toward the gesture? He had a real hand in which to hold the check. That one horrible dating experience made him push for a reaction before he made any overtures for a real date, that’s why. See if any shock remained after observing the hand last Saturday. Madeleine’s poker face made her a hard read.
    “Thank you, but I’ve got to get back. I usually eat at my desk.” Again, she dug into her cavern of a purse and pulled out ten addressed white envelopes paper clipped to ornaments from his tree.