Sun-Kissed Christmas (Summer) Read Online Free PDF Page A

four-hour-a-day job.”
    “I volunteer at the Dolphin Interactive Therapy Institute.”
    “I know. And you’re great with those kids. But you get to leave them after a couple of hours. You couldn’t leave Sarah.” Marquez lowered her voice. “Look, I don’t want to call social services any more than youdo. It sucks. But I don’t see any other choice.”
    Diana chewed silently on a thumbnail.
    “Besides,” Marquez added, “even if we did keep her, which we can’t, how would we ever find Jennie?”
    “She knows where we live, more or less. She asked because she’s planning on coming back. She left a
note,
Marquez. She said ‘till I get back.’”
    “So what if she comes back and accuses you of kidnapping?” Marquez demanded. “Maybe she’s just after your mom’s money.”
    “I have the note as proof.”
    Marquez rolled her eyes.
    “It’s Christmas, Marquez.”
    “I’d expect that argument from Summer. But you?”
    “Just because I didn’t want to drape the house in tinsel doesn’t mean I don’t have Christmas spirit. It’s just … subdued. Like in high school, where I sort of vaguely wanted our team to win, but I still cut out on the pep rallies.” Diana took a deep breath, waiting patiently. She knew Marquez was coming around. It was just a matter of time.
    “I definitely get to say ‘I told you so,’ right?”
    “You’ve never asked my permission before.”
    “But this is big. This is the I-told-you-so to end all I-told-you-so’s,” Marquez muttered. “This is majorly stupid. This is stupid cubed.”
    “I know. You going to help me or not?”
    Marquez peeked inside the bathroom and smiled at Sarah. She sighed heavily as she let the door close. “I’m going to regret this.”
    “Thanks, Marquez.”
    Diana went back inside. Sarah was talking to her lamb.
    “Hey,” Diana said, kneeling down. “Here’s the deal. You mom had to … to run an errand. And she asked me if I would keep an eye on you till she gets back. Would that be okay with you?”
    Sarah considered. “What’s an errand?”
    “An important thing you have to do.”
    This required some time to digest. Sarah stared at her lamb as if they were having some kind of private, telepathic consultation.
    “You know, there was this one Christmas I remember where my mom had to run an errand,” Diana said. “I missed her a lot. But I had a nice time with my au pair.”
    “A pear?”
    “An au pair. She’s the person who hangs out with you while your mom runs her errands.”
    “Did she give you presents?”
    “Gretchen? Oh, sure. Lots.” Carefully wrapped by a gift-wrapping service. Carefully selected by a gift-buying service.
    Diana remembered the doll she’d wanted that year, Li’l Baby Angel. The doll came with wings, a halo,and a hair extension that went all the way to her li’l baby feet. Very much in demand. Parents were starting small riots trying to get their hands on her. Diana had had a name all picked out for her: Veronica, a character in one of her mother’s books. She’d told her mother about it a hundred times.
    The personal shopper had come through for Mallory. Diana always got everything on her wish list. The card—in block print, not her mother’s illegible scrawl—had read,
Here she is, honey! Your new baby, Tabitha
.
    Diana had carried the rechristened doll around with her for a year. Tabitha had lost her wings to a teething beagle. She’d lost her wiry hair to Diana’s enthusiastic combing and washing efforts. And finally, one day at the mall, Tabitha had been lost altogether.
    But Diana still had that card.
    “Come on,” Diana said. She held out her hand. The sight of Sarah’s tiny hand in hers was startling. “I think maybe we’re too late for Santa. Sorry. Maybe we can catch up with him later.”
    Sarah just shrugged. “He forgetted to come last Christmas,” she reported again. “So I know he’s not real.”
    “I know how that goes,” Diana said softly. “Sometimes the old guy