The Christmas Throwaway Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: RJ Scott
Stretch."
"Oh," Zach repeated. Again with the blushing , Ben thought. He encouraged Zach up the stairs after that, explaining that the town's idea of being on duty was making sure Ben had access to a phone and was in uniform.
37
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
"Doesn't mean I miss Christmas breakfast or present opening, but I do need to be up at six."
"Uh huh."
"You okay in this room on your own?" He cast a critical eye around his brother's old room, focusing on the worn furniture and the posters, the cups and trophies that Mom had kept, the boxes in the corner for Goodwill, and wondered what Zach felt when he saw this. "It isn't much,"
he began, but he didn't get any further as Zach interrupted his flow of conversation.
"It's awesome," Zach said, sounding eager and thankful. He wrapped his long arms around his body, hugging himself. "It's a bed."
Zach's excitement was infectious, like a child's
before Christmas morning. Ben smiled warmly. For the first time since he'd started his new job as a cop in his hometown, he felt like he was making a difference in someone's life. He didn't discount finding lost dogs and mediating neighborly disputes, but to have taken Zach in, this sparkly-eyed innocent who was lost to his family…
Well that made him feel very good.
"Sleep well." He started to leave, then on impulse turned back, taking a single step and pulling Zach in for a quick hug. He released him immediately and left the room, 38
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
throwing, "Merry Christmas, Zach," behind him as he closed the door.
Zach just stood. Immobile. He wrapped his arms
around himself, warm from Ben's touch, and suddenly grinned like an idiot. Leaving his clothes on, with the lessons in his head that he had learned on the street, he climbed under the soft quilt and snuggled down, his heart a thousand times lighter. This could be the biggest turnaround in Christmas history, from church bench to warm home and a family in the space of two hours. It didn't even matter that it was only for one night.
It was a Christmas miracle.
39
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
Chapter 3
Mark took the steps three at a time, landing with a thud on the wooden hall floor and skidding to a halt by the front door. It wasn't that he was in any particular hurry to answer the knock at six in the morning on Christmas Day, but that was how he did everything in life, always at full speed.
"Coming," he called, dodging Annabelle, who scurried through the foyer with a brightly-colored package in her hands, and pulled open the front door. He blinked at the man standing there, his best friend since he was two, in his uniform and looking both serious and very cold.
Quickly, Mark drew him inside, pushing the door shut behind him and watching as his friend stamped snow from his police-issue boots.
"Mark, do you have a minute?"
"Hey, Ben. Official visit?" It was the usual question from Mark, a standard joke whenever Ben arrived at their door in uniform. Now Mark was waiting for Ben's standard reply, usually something along the lines of crimes against short people. This was because Mark had towered over Ben since the famous growth spurt in his sixteenth year.
Instead, Ben just shook his head, and Mark paused.
40
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
His friend looked so damn serious, and something in him made him glance at his wife as she joined him, trying to hold their wriggling daughter for a Christmas hello to Uncle Ben.
"Do you need a lawyer at the station?" Mark asked carefully. He hadn't been called to the station in his official capacity before. He dealt with land issues and wills and there wasn't a lot of need for a criminal lawyer in Hill Valley. When his friend didn't immediately reply, he thought maybe it was his wife that Ben needed. Melanie had been the town doctor since her father retired four years before and was older than Mark; a fact Ben never let him forget. Maybe it was her help that Ben needed?
Ben
"Oh," Zach repeated. Again with the blushing , Ben thought. He encouraged Zach up the stairs after that, explaining that the town's idea of being on duty was making sure Ben had access to a phone and was in uniform.
37
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
"Doesn't mean I miss Christmas breakfast or present opening, but I do need to be up at six."
"Uh huh."
"You okay in this room on your own?" He cast a critical eye around his brother's old room, focusing on the worn furniture and the posters, the cups and trophies that Mom had kept, the boxes in the corner for Goodwill, and wondered what Zach felt when he saw this. "It isn't much,"
he began, but he didn't get any further as Zach interrupted his flow of conversation.
"It's awesome," Zach said, sounding eager and thankful. He wrapped his long arms around his body, hugging himself. "It's a bed."
Zach's excitement was infectious, like a child's
before Christmas morning. Ben smiled warmly. For the first time since he'd started his new job as a cop in his hometown, he felt like he was making a difference in someone's life. He didn't discount finding lost dogs and mediating neighborly disputes, but to have taken Zach in, this sparkly-eyed innocent who was lost to his family…
Well that made him feel very good.
"Sleep well." He started to leave, then on impulse turned back, taking a single step and pulling Zach in for a quick hug. He released him immediately and left the room, 38
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
throwing, "Merry Christmas, Zach," behind him as he closed the door.
Zach just stood. Immobile. He wrapped his arms
around himself, warm from Ben's touch, and suddenly grinned like an idiot. Leaving his clothes on, with the lessons in his head that he had learned on the street, he climbed under the soft quilt and snuggled down, his heart a thousand times lighter. This could be the biggest turnaround in Christmas history, from church bench to warm home and a family in the space of two hours. It didn't even matter that it was only for one night.
It was a Christmas miracle.
39
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
Chapter 3
Mark took the steps three at a time, landing with a thud on the wooden hall floor and skidding to a halt by the front door. It wasn't that he was in any particular hurry to answer the knock at six in the morning on Christmas Day, but that was how he did everything in life, always at full speed.
"Coming," he called, dodging Annabelle, who scurried through the foyer with a brightly-colored package in her hands, and pulled open the front door. He blinked at the man standing there, his best friend since he was two, in his uniform and looking both serious and very cold.
Quickly, Mark drew him inside, pushing the door shut behind him and watching as his friend stamped snow from his police-issue boots.
"Mark, do you have a minute?"
"Hey, Ben. Official visit?" It was the usual question from Mark, a standard joke whenever Ben arrived at their door in uniform. Now Mark was waiting for Ben's standard reply, usually something along the lines of crimes against short people. This was because Mark had towered over Ben since the famous growth spurt in his sixteenth year.
Instead, Ben just shook his head, and Mark paused.
40
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
His friend looked so damn serious, and something in him made him glance at his wife as she joined him, trying to hold their wriggling daughter for a Christmas hello to Uncle Ben.
"Do you need a lawyer at the station?" Mark asked carefully. He hadn't been called to the station in his official capacity before. He dealt with land issues and wills and there wasn't a lot of need for a criminal lawyer in Hill Valley. When his friend didn't immediately reply, he thought maybe it was his wife that Ben needed. Melanie had been the town doctor since her father retired four years before and was older than Mark; a fact Ben never let him forget. Maybe it was her help that Ben needed?
Ben
Similar Books
Once Bitten (A Melanie Travis Mystery)
Laurien Berenson
Common Ground
J. Anthony Lukas
Grave Possession (Wraith 3)
Angel Lawson
Runt
Marion Dane Bauer
The API of the Gods
Matthew Schmidt
Dreamland
Sarah Dessen
Long Shot
Mike Piazza, Lonnie Wheeler
When One Door Opens
JD Ruskin
The Unseen
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
