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Chapter Eighteen
Melody saw her mother standing in the back of the sanctuary, a questioning expression on her face, and when she reached her, she asked, “Why are you here? I thought you’d headed home an hour ago.”
“I was going to,” Melody assured her, “but I ran into Michael on the way out, and he asked me to stay and listen to him sing. So I did.”
Sarah said nothing more, but Melody could tell by the smile she was trying to hide that her mother wanted to read more into this situation than she should. She’d simply been humoring a child that she cared about. Nothing else. This night certainly had done nothing to change the way she felt about music—Christmas or otherwise.
“I’ll see you at home in a little while,” Sarah said, waving at a friend across the room, and Melody nodded before taking off for the door again, hopeful that she could finally escape before anyone
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The sound of his voice sent little tingles down her spine, and she pictured him sitting in his living room on a manly-looking, plaid sofa, a fire blazing behind him, maybe a painting with hunting dogs or something else masculine in the background. “Good,” she said, still trying to sound as casual as possible. “I was just about to call you.” Why did she say that? Stick to the minimum!“Well, Michael went straight to sleep tonight, so I figured I’d give you a call before whatever magic spell he’s under breaks and he spends half the night requesting water and screaming that he needs to go to the bathroom.”He sounded a bit exhausted, as if the bedtime routine was not his favorite part of parenting, and Melody couldn’t help but chuckle. “That sounds fun,” she said sarcastically.“It’s a nightly battle of tug-of-war where he always finds
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“Mel, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Reid said rather quickly. "I can't ask you to pick Michael up from school."She paused at the shortening of her name. No one had called her that since her father passed, but she actually sort of liked the way it sounded when she heard it in his voice. Ignoring it for now, she said, “You didn’t ask. I volunteered. It’s really no trouble at all. I definitely won’t let him come home with me because then he might feel like he got his way, but picking him up and taking him to the sitter’s can’t be too time consuming, and it will give me a chance to see him for a few minutes.”“It’s actually more time consuming than you might think,” he explained. “School gets out at 3:00, but parents start getting in that parent pick up line at 2:00. I’m not even kidding.”“Seriously?” Melody aske
A Christmas Melody Chapter Twenty-One
A few blocks away, Reid rose from his seat on the sofa in the living room and slipped his phone into his pocket. He quietly crept down the hallway to check on Michael. Peering in the door, he could see his son’s chest rise and fall, illuminated by his Jake and the Neverland Pirates night light. He held his favorite teddy bear in his arms, and every once in a while, his upper lip would twitch, as if he was still talking, even in his dreams.Smiling, Reid turned and made his way back down the hallway. He had no idea what it was that made Michael seek out Melody Murphy, but he was glad Michael had done so. Even though Reid wasn’t sure if he was even capable of starting a relationship at this point in his life, he did enjoy spending time with her. She was witty and insightful, always volunteering to help other people. She’d rearranged her whole life to help her mother, and now she was going out of her way to help Michael. Melody tr
A Christmas Melody Chapter Twenty-Two
Delaney drove a Dodge Charger, and since she wasn’t sure she could attach the Christmas tree to the top of her car, she’d borrowed her dad’s old work truck. Even though it was almost twice as old as they were, it was in good running condition, thanks to her dad’s constant repair. Still, as they chugged along down the highway, every bump sent Melody clutching the dashboard to steady herself, and before they were even a mile out of town, she’d given up on trying to drink the hot cocoa Delaney had brought her. The chocolate chip muffin, however, she had managed to devour. There were some perks to being best friends with the most talented baker in town.They were a few miles from Shepherdstown, the dusting of snow they’d gotten in Charles Town looking more like an inch or two here, though the main roads were clear, and the sky was dropping large, fluffy flakes on them. The GPS reminded Delaney to turn left in one mile, and
A Christmas Melody Chapter Twenty-Three
“Hey, Michael!” Melody said, forcing a smile and trying to pretend like she hadn’t almost wiped out.As usual, he flung himself around her legs, and Melody found herself losing her balance again.“Are you okay?” Reid asked, coming up behind his son.“Yeah. Old truck. No running boards,” she muttered.“It’s nice. What is it? A ’63 Chevy?”Michael released her as Delaney came around the front of the truck behind Melody. “It’s a ’64,” she said. And then extending her hand, she added, “Hi, I’m Delaney.”“Reid, nice to meet you,” he said, reaching past Melody to shake her hand. “It’s a classic,” he added, obviously talking about the truck.“Thanks. It’s my dad’s pride and joy. I’m surprised he
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Michael was eagerly offering a particularly unimpressed reindeer a handful of hay he’d somehow managed to free from the bale in the corner of the enclosure, and Melody couldn’t help but admire his tenacity. “Thank you for helping Delaney out,” Melody said, walking alongside Reid at a leisurely pace. As long as they could see Michael, there was really no need to rush.“I’m kind of surprised she didn’t have that worked out already,” he replied, his hands deep in his coat pockets. “She really didn’t know what she was going to say if she couldn’t find him?”“Well, in her defense,” Melody offered, “sometimes it’s a lot harder to actually carry out those types of plans once you’re in the situation. I mean… sometimes even the best planning doesn’t quite go as as expected.”“Yeah?” he asked. &ldq
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Reid followed, and just before she reached the bench, he hurried around her and wiped the thin layer of snow from the seat.“Thank you,” Melody said with a smile, taking a seat. He found a spot next to her, and Melody was glad to see he chose to sit only a couple of inches from her instead of completely on the other end of the bench, which was also an option.“So no tree for you today?” Reid asked, folding his hands in his lap and leaning forward, his eyes following Michael across the snow.“No,” Melody said, trying to keep her voice cheerful. The song playing now, “Jingle Bells” had no true significance, which made it easier. “My dad always said, ‘Only Murphy’s pick out the Murphy Christmas tree.’ So Mom and I will go in a day or two, I guess.”“Why haven’t you gone already?” he asked, glancing at her for
A Christmas Melody Chapter Twenty-Six
The phone rang twice before her mother answered with a cheery but distracted, “Hello?”“Hey, Mom. How are you?”“Hi, Melody. I’m good. Just getting some baking done. Are you at the tree farm?”“Yes,” Melody replied. “I just had a quick question.”“Is it snowing there?” her mother continued, as if she hadn’t heard Melody’s last remark.“Flurries, nothing too heavy.”“Oh, it must be so pretty. And did Delaney find her farmer?”Images of Delaney standing next to an older gentleman with a pitchfork next to a pigsty filled her mind, and Melody stifled a giggle. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Delaney still talking to the man who must be Josh. “She did. She’s talking to him now.”“Wonderful. And
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