Free A Christmas Kiss by Caroline Burnes

paralysis. She could not see his face. It was in shadow. Light fell on the top of his head and across his shoulders, hiding all other features.
    "Kit?" She whispered the word, unable to do more.
    The figure stood, watching her as if she could not see him.
    "Kit?" She sat up in bed, turning to face him directly.

    He stared a few seconds longer, then backed away.
    "Kit?" Cori got up and went to the window. Her fingers fumbled at the lock that would open it wide enough for her to slip through. "Kit?" She called out to him, louder now.
    He was leaving, fading among the enormous oaks, a shadow lost among the deeper shadows of the trees.
    "Kit!" Cori cried his name as she broke a fingernail on the lock. It was jammed. She pounded on it, first with her fist and then with a shoe. When it wouldn't give, she went to the door. Frantic, she searched for the key that would open the dead bolt lock. Where had Joey put it? She had a clear picture of him holding it in his hand, but she'd been so tiled, so preoccupied. Maybe he'd given it to her. She finally found it on the dining room table and ran to the door. It took her shaking hands several tries to manage the lock. When it was open she threw the door wide and ran into the darkness. The grass, crisp and frosted, crunched beneath her bare feet as she ran toward the oaks where Kit had completely disappeared.
    "Kit!" She screamed his name. "Kit! Don't go! Please, don't go!" She ran toward the trees. "Kit!"
    The lights in the main house shot on. Every room, every window, bloomed with light. In a moment the back door opened. "Cori?" Jolene's voice was afraid. "Cori, are you out there?"
    Cori stood in the midst of the trees, whirling one way and then another as the breeze shifted the tree limbs overhead and played with the shadows. Her feet were numb and moisture froze on her face. "Kit."
    His name was barely a whisper.
    Jolene rounded the corner of the cottage with a flashlight in one hand and a deadly nine millimeter semiautomatic pistol in the other. She held the gun as if she knew how to use it.
    "What is it, Cori? Was someone here?"
    Cori turned slowly to face her. "It was my husband. Kit was here." She spoke almost as if she were asleep. "He came up to the window but he didn't say anything, and when I woke up he disappeared."
    Jolene shifted the light among the trees, searching for any sign of life. When she was certain no one else was in the backyard, she hurried to Cori and wrapped an arm around her. Easing her back toward the cottage, she kept the gun ready and the flashlight moving over any areas where an intruder might hide.
    Cori watched the trees where a ghost from the past had hidden, watching and waiting for the moment he sought.

Chapter Five
    Cori was still huddled in a blanket when Joey arrived. Jolene handed him a cup of coffee and drew him into the big kitchen of her house.
    "She claims it was her husband." Jolene's brow was furrowed. "I didn't see anyone." She shrugged.
    "It was dark. He could have been there."
    Joey looked down into the steaming cup of black liquid. "She might have seen someone, but it wasn't her husband. Kit Wells is dead."
    "Oh." The word rushed from Jolene's lungs. "She was so certain. She saw him so clearly." She rubbed her arms and refilled her own cup. "She hasn't spoken a word since I brought her in here."

    Joey sighed. "We need her testimony, Jolene. And I'm afraid she's going to break apart before the trial." He stopped himself. There was no need for Jolene to know the details of Cori's plight.
    Holding her cup, Jolene stared at her friend. "It's the DeCarlo trial. I've already figured it out. But is it just her testimony, Joey? I saw the way you looked at her. It occurred to me it could be something more."
    He turned and walked to the doorway where he could watch Cori. Her coffee cup sat on the table, untouched. "I can't let it be anything else. My job is to protect her and to make sure she's able to take the stand when DeCarlo goes up for