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Chapter Nine
Melody was upstairs in the hallway shuffling some boxes around so that she could get the antique school desk to the stairs when she heard the front door open. Thinking it odd that her mother would be home so early, she put the box of collectibles she had in her hands down carefully on the ground and slid her way through the mess to the stairs. “Mom?” she shouted from the top of the stairs.
She wasn’t expecting the sound she heard next.
“Hi, Miss Melody! It’s me—Michael!” came a familiar high-pitched voice, and Melody’s eyes doubled in size.
“Michael?” she shouted, hurrying down the stairs. She saw him standing next to the front door about the time she made it halfway down the stairs. He was still wearing his backpack, and since Reid didn’t appear to be with him, she was completely confused. “What are you doing here? Where’s your dad?”
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Reid finished tightening a loose spindle near the top of the steep stairwell when he realized his cell phone was ringing. It was about time for Michael to get to Ms. Karen’s house, so he decided he better check and make sure everything was okay. Pulling it out of his pocket and glancing at the display, he saw that it was the sitter calling and answered the phone immediately.“Hello?” he said, and the panic in Ms. Karen’s voice when she responded lit every one of his nerves on fire.“Reid, it’s Karen. Do you have Michael with you today?”“No, he’s not there?” Reid asked, dropping his tools and rising to his full height.“No, the school bus came by, but it didn’t stop. I called the school, and Michael’s teacher said that he got on the bus like he always does. They’re trying to get ahold of the bus driver, but… Rei
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Michael was sprawled across from her on her father’s favorite oriental rug, studying the checkerboard with the scrutiny of a general poring over his battle plans. She’d called her mother to let her know Michael’s dad was on his way so she wouldn’t worry. Now, Melody couldn’t help but smile watching Michael stick his tongue out of the side of his mouth in concentration as if that would help him to decide which move to make next.“I think you’re stalling,” she said with a wink. It had been a long time since she’d played checkers, and while she intended to let him win, she at least wanted to make it a challenge.“I’m not stalling,” he replied, looking up at her with those big blue eyes. “I’m thinkin’.” He finally made a move, and Melody began to contemplate what she should do next to set him up for subtler success. “Do you really think San
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Melody straightened the hem of her pink sweater and brushed her hair back over her shoulders. Upon opening the door, she could tell immediately that he was a bit frazzled, and she couldn’t blame him. Despite the fact that he had been trying to sound calm on the phone, she knew he must have been moments away from a panic attack the second he found out Michael hadn’t made it to Ms. Karen’s house. “Hi, Reid,” she said, smiling and attempting to keep her own voice cheerful. If she didn’t think it was a big deal that his son had sought her out because Michael thought she was “nice and pretty,” maybe Reid wouldn’t either.“Melody, hi,” he said, stepping through the doorway. “It’s nice to see you again, though I didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances.”He was smiling politely, and she giggled at his comment, hoping she didn’t sound like a
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They reached the top of the stairs, and she remembered just what a disaster she had created earlier that day. It looked even worse than it had the week before. She stopped so abruptly at the top of the stairs that he bumped into her. “Sorry,” he said, and Melody took a step forward. “It’s no problem, Melody. It’s the least I could do after how cool you’ve been about Michael just dropping by.”His hand had briefly touched her hip when he ran into her, and she knew her eyes were probably twice their regular size as she stood staring at him, inches away from her again. The scent of pine and leather filled her lungs, and it took her a moment to process what he had just said. After a lengthy pause, she said, “What are friends for?” flashed him a smile, and began to pick her way through the maze.“You’ve been busy,” he said politely, following her.&ldqu
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Reid found Mrs. Gregory in her kitchen sipping a cup of coffee with a catalogue in front of her on the island, the heavenly aroma of sugar cookies radiating out of the oven. She looked up as he walked in, and setting her cup down said, “Did you get it all patched up?”“I did,” he assured her with a smile. “I think it’s in pretty good shape, and I trimmed the tree back a bit more while I was up there so you shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore for a while.”“Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed with a smile. “One less thing to worry about.”“Do you mind if I use your sink?” he asked. He’d taken his work gloves off for part of the more delicate repairs and now his hands were dirty.“Not at all,” she said, hopping up to fetch him a clean towel. “You’ll sit a spell with me and have a cup of
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As the pianist, Mrs. Agnes Watson, who couldn’t have been a day younger than ninety, began to play the opening bars of “Away in a Manger” Melody gave all of her attention to Michael. If she was looking at him, she couldn’t possibly dwell on the times her father had played that very song on the piano, and she’d sang from the bench next to him in their parlor at home. He’d join in on the harmony, and her mom would listen and applaud when they were finished.Michael was standing in the middle of the stage, beaming. He seemed to know all of the words, even though this was his first rehearsal, and as soon as the song was over, he waved at Melody, and she waved back. As Mrs. Watson began to play, “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” Melody started to wonder what Reid might be doing. It seemed strange that he wasn’t there. Why didn’t he bring Michael himself? While the voice of self-doubt in her mind worried
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