A Daughter for Christmas by Margaret Daley Page A

stern tone to her voice, but when she looked into her grandmother’s pleased, happy expression, she couldn’t.
    â€œI hope you got the hint. I like our new neighbor. And besides, he’s determined to get that fudge recipe and the only way that poor man can is to marry into the family. We wouldn’t want to disappoint him, would we?” Then her grandmother sauntered toward Doug.
    And now Granny lived even closer to Max—right next door rather than down the street.

Chapter Seven
    â€œI enjoyed today. I never knew there were that many germs on common things.” Taylor fastened her seat belt in Max’s Mustang after science class the following week.
    â€œMost of the germs are harmless. Some people think we are too obsessed with cleanliness, that children don’t build up their immunities like we used to.” Max pulled out of his parking space at his office.
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    â€œI’m usually a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. Not extreme on either side of the argument. That’s why we’re studying germs this week and learning when and where to be more careful. Especially with flu season here.”
    â€œIt was weird but fun.”
    â€œWeird?”
    â€œI’ve never seen a germ under a microscope. I never thought of it as moving around.”
    â€œYeah, they are a life-form. If you need any help on your presentation about Louis Pasteur, I can help.”
    â€œThat probably wouldn’t be fair since you’re the teacher. I wouldn’t want anyone to accuse me of being a teacher’s pet. Believe me, I’ve never been one.”
    â€œBut I’m only your teacher this week and the presentation isn’t until next week.”
    â€œNicholas offered to help me. He could if Mom’s busy. My brothers can be a handful at times.”
    Something in her voice made Max slant a look at her. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œI shouldn’t have to get a child years younger than me to help me. I don’t care if he’s a genius. It should be the other way around.”
    â€œNicholas is unusual. You shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone. If you do your best, then you’re doing what you should. That’s all you should expect.”
    â€œBut it’s hard. I want to do good, but…”
    Scenes from his own childhood paraded across his thought—the struggles, the self-berating. “But reading doesn’t come easy.”
    â€œNo. It takes me forever to read a chapter and then I forget what I’ve read.”
    â€œYou may not want to hear it, but what you need to do is practice even more. The more I read as a child the better I got.”
    â€œBut you’re a doctor. Smart.”
    Max pulled into his driveway, switched off his engine, then shifted toward Taylor, hoping he could do something to help his daughter. “It wasn’t always like that. When I was in elementary school I had a lot of trouble with reading. I couldn’t seem to learn using the phonetics method, which is what they taught at my school. I even went to a reading clinic. I was so embarrassed. I wouldn’t tell any of my friends.”
    Her green eyes, so like his, widened. “What did you do?”
    â€œI got mad. First at myself. Then at my parents. Then I just got mad and decided I wasn’t going to let it win. Totell you the truth, I didn’t even know what it was. Now I do.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œAn auditory processing problem. I don’t hear sounds like others do so that means I have to work extra hard to compensate.”
    â€œYou do?”
    â€œYeah, having a learning disability, which is what they call it today, doesn’t mean you aren’t smart. It does mean you might have to do things a little different from others, from how it’s normally done at school. But you have the chance to do that with your homeschooling.”
    â€œHow so?” Puzzlement greeted his look, her