Free The Ghost of Christmas Never by Linda V. Palmer Page A

been too old for that kind of fun, bubbles
were cheap as far as entertainment went. And I was big on cheap at the time.
    Mia laughed and ran through them, pulling Rob behind her. Seeing the adoration in his
eyes, I honestly felt sick to my stomach. Yeah. Just call me Scrooge.
    I did not have my sibling's romantic heart, which meant all I could think of was her
nursing degree—once a year away but now in the toilet—and his preposterous dreams of being
Nashville's next big name. I'd so hoped she'd fall for a wealthy doctor, live in an elite suburb, and
have beautiful babies.
    Well, maybe I'd still get the babies.
    "Would you look at this?" Rob's comment yanked me back to the moment. Following
him and Mia through the double front doors, I walked onto the porch, now covered in snow that a
freezing winter wind had blown there. Just ahead, blizzard conditions compromised my view of the
sidewalk and our cars. "Take care, Mrs. Brody." He took Mia's hand and carefully descended the
steps with her.
    Jake offered me his elbow. I ignored it and moved on, still irritated that he'd not only
ignored my pleas for help, but had actually encouraged the wedding by paying the exorbitant costs
of a last-minute Christmas Eve ceremony in the Ozark Mountains. To find out he was actually on the
job was the last straw for me. How self-serving could he be?
    Rob and Mia got into their car. Jake headed to his SUV. I took my time, walking carefully
so I wouldn't slip. When I paused to brush snow from the windshield of my sensible sedan, it
cleared easily, which meant no defrosting or scraping would be necessary. I slid behind the wheel
and pulled down the visor. A quick glance in the mirror revealed snowflakes already melting in my
long brown hair, which I'd tamed into a prim knot at the nape of my neck. I waited until Rob pulled
onto the snow-covered street before easing forward. I hated driving in these conditions. Not that I
did it that much. Little Rock had more icy days than snowy ones, and four or five of those were the
limit even during our worst winters.
    With only my thoughts for company, it was hard not to wallow in disappointment. I'd so
hoped Mia would make something of herself. She was, after all, a ten-year project on which I'd
pinned my highest hopes. Her successes in life meant I'd done my job as caretaker, a long-term task
thrust on me at the tender age of twenty, when our parents died in an automobile accident. Mia had
been twelve at the time. Thinking back, I didn't know how we'd made it.
    Rob's brake lights drew my attention to the road. I saw their black Toyota fishtail, which
made me grip my steering wheel a little tighter. But my car did fine, and I could just make out the
festive lights of the Starlight Inn ahead. Rob turned to the right and entered the parking lot.
    I followed, careful to keep ample sliding distance between us. I was nothing if not
cautious and not only with my driving. Based on years of practice, I never did anything in a rush,
which was one of the reasons Mia's decision to marry a guy she'd known six short months really
rankled. Had I taught her nothing?
    Since snow covered the white lines that delineated parking spots, I guessed where one
might be and pulled into it, carefully braking. Jake parked next to me. All of us got out of our
vehicles and hurried toward the hotel, ducking against the blinding snow. After stomping our feet
on the outside mat, we went into the lobby. Rob pointed to the restaurant entrance, just ahead and
to our left. A hostess showed us to the table reserved earlier, where a wedding cake now
waited.
    Mia squealed her surprise at the sight of it and spun to face me, her golden-brown eyes
brimming. "Oh, Libby. It's incredible. You're so talented. Isn't she talented, Rob? Isn't she?"
    "Absolutely." Grinning, Rob gave me a hug, and I was glad I'd gone to the trouble of
sneaking the confection into the restaurant earlier. My heart had not been in it.
    As owner and sole baker of The Sweet