Christmas on My Mind Read Free Page A

didn’t you?” Jess said.
    â€œMaybe you should. Come on.” He opened the door of the SUV and climbed out. Jess opened her door and swung to the ground without waiting for him to come around and help her. Catching up with him at the trailer, she saw that he’d taken a set of keys out of his pocket and was unlocking the door.
    â€œShe gave you her keys?”
    â€œShe wanted me to check the place. Besides, I need to get the cat food. Take a look if you want.” He stepped to one side, giving Jess a view through the door. Her heart sank but she forced herself to step inside.
    The interior of the trailer wasn’t dirty or smelly. But how could anyone live in such a cramped and cluttered space? One end was taken up by the bed, which was covered by a ragged quilt. The storage shelf below the ceiling was stuffed with clothes. The tiny bathroom had the toilet inside the shower. The only sink was in the kitchen, which had a microwave, a camper-sized fridge under the counter, and a couple of open shelves, cluttered with mismatched dishes and canned food. The rest of the trailer was taken up by an old-style TV and a sagging armchair. An electric space heater, unplugged, sat near the front, surrounded by stacks of magazines.
    â€œThis place could burn down in a heartbeat!” Jess said. “Nobody should have to live like this!”
    â€œI know. Francine was renting a studio in somebody’s basement before an old friend died and left her this trailer. She told me she needed to save money, but I’m not letting her come back here till the place is cleaned out and made safer. Not even then, if there’s someplace else she can go. For now, she’s better off in jail.” Ben found a half-empty bag of cheap store-brand kibble behind the door. Stepping back from the trailer, he shook it, making a rattling sound.
    Within seconds, a huge, scruffy-looking ginger tabby came bounding out of the weeds. Ben reached down to scratch its ears. “Come on, boy, it’s chow time,” he said, filling an old metal pan with kibble.
    Jess liked cats. As the burly creature chomped down his food, she crouched to stroke his back. A rusty purr rumbled through his battle-scarred body. Glancing under the trailer, she could see a filled water bowl and a sturdy wooden box lined with a tattered blanket. Somebody cared about this cat.
    â€œDoes he have a name?” she asked Ben.
    â€œHe does. It’s Sergeant Pepper.”
    â€œLike the Beatles?”
    He answered with a shrug of his masculine shoulders. “I’m guessing your mother’s a fan.”
    â€œSo am I,” Jess said. “At least we’ll have something in common.”
    â€œYou’re sure you want to meet her, after seeing how she lives? Right now, you can walk away, and she’ll never know the difference. Once you’re in her life . . .” He let the words trail off.
    Jess shook her head. “I’ve come too far not to do this.”
    â€œThen I have no right to stop you. But if it turns out badly, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He set the bag of kibble back in the trailer and locked the door. “Let’s go,” he said.
    * * *
    Silence hung in the cab on the short drive to the jail. Jess’s hands twisted the handle on her leather purse. Ben was tempted to say more to her. Francine had a lot of baggage and a lot of needs. Taking on her problems could be an emotional drain. And, if it came to that, walking away could be a gut-wrenching ordeal. But no, Jess had already made up her mind. If the sight of that trailer hadn’t deterred her, nothing would. It was time for him to back off.
    He tried to imagine what it would be like, meeting a mother who was a total stranger. Ben’s own mother had always been there for him, especially after his father died in a small plane crash. Ben had been nine then, his younger sister, Ellie, not much more than a toddler. His widowed