Read Online Christmas on Main Street by Susan Donovan, Alexis Morgan, Joann Ross, Luann McLane - Free Book Online Page B
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white Christmas.” Heavy white flakes had started to pile up on her windshield, and her wipers were losing a valiant struggle to keep up as outside temperatures plummeted, turning the snow to ice. “Maybe this will teach you to be careful what you wish for.”
By the time the GPS showed her half a mile from the cabin, her jaw was aching from having clenched her teeth for the past ten miles and her fingers had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly she feared it would take a crowbar to release them.
“Almost there,” she assured herself as the GPS counted down to three-tenths of a mile.
One of the best things about the cabin was the bubbling hot spring on the property, which Bernard and Lucien had tapped into when they built the cabin. Providing them with a seemingly endless supply of heat and hot water.
Since Adèle had assured her the place was stocked with everything she could need, the very first thing Kelli planned to do when she reached the cabin was pour a huge glass of red wine. Then she was going to drink it while soaking away the stress in that deep, lion-footed tub she remembered so fondly.
She was enjoying that warm mental image when her left front wheel slid off the road’s shoulder.
A moment later there was an ominous crunching sound as the car came to an abrupt, bone-jolting stop.
11
“Damn, damn, damn!”
Kelli slammed her gloved hands onto the steering wheel. Wasn’t this the last thing she needed? Taking a deep breath, which was meant to calm but didn’t help at all, she put the car in reverse and tried backing up. But the tires only spun, and after two more tries, it was readily apparent that all she was going to do was get herself even more stuck.
Heaving a sigh, she pocketed the key, took her overnight bag from the backseat, and left the car. She wasn’t going to worry about the gifts in the trunk right now. If anyone did manage to make it all the way out here, they were free to try to steal them.
As she trudged through the snow, bent against the wind, Kelli couldn’t help wishing she were lying on a warm, sun-drenched beach sipping a mai tai while a deeply tanned cabana boy catered to her every need.
With the forest draped in snow, nothing looked familiar, making her uncertain exactly how much farther she had to go and remembering everything she’d learned about always staying with the car in situations like this.
Then, just was she began to fear she was lost, she turned a corner and there, surrounded by towering fir trees, was the Douchett cabin.
That was the good news.
The bad news was the fire-engine red pickup parked in front.
“Well, there’s no turning back now,” she muttered. Rather than use the key Adèle had given her, she knocked on the heavy wooden door.
A moment later it was opened by Cole, who was dressed in sweatpants, a soft, well-washed black sweatshirt with a Tun Tavern emblem, and thick black socks. Kelli knew, because Cole had told her when he’d signed up for ROTC, that the Philadelphia tavern had been where the Marines had held their first recruitment meeting in 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence.
“What are you doing here?”
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” she shot back, her nerves and temper frayed.
“Hell, I’m sorry.” He ran a hand over that too-short hair she was actually starting to get used to. It definitely defined those razor-edged cheekbones. Which was so not what she should be concentrating on right now! “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you.” He glanced past her. “Where’s your car?”
“It’s down the road about a quarter of a mile. I slid off the shoulder and got stuck. Hopefully nothing’s broken.”
“You walked all that way? In this storm? Didn’t your dad teach you to stay with the car?”
“Yes. But it wasn’t that far, and weighing the options, I decided to risk being eaten by bears or getting lost rather than spending the night all alone out there.”
He shook his head, but
By the time the GPS showed her half a mile from the cabin, her jaw was aching from having clenched her teeth for the past ten miles and her fingers had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly she feared it would take a crowbar to release them.
“Almost there,” she assured herself as the GPS counted down to three-tenths of a mile.
One of the best things about the cabin was the bubbling hot spring on the property, which Bernard and Lucien had tapped into when they built the cabin. Providing them with a seemingly endless supply of heat and hot water.
Since Adèle had assured her the place was stocked with everything she could need, the very first thing Kelli planned to do when she reached the cabin was pour a huge glass of red wine. Then she was going to drink it while soaking away the stress in that deep, lion-footed tub she remembered so fondly.
She was enjoying that warm mental image when her left front wheel slid off the road’s shoulder.
A moment later there was an ominous crunching sound as the car came to an abrupt, bone-jolting stop.
11
“Damn, damn, damn!”
Kelli slammed her gloved hands onto the steering wheel. Wasn’t this the last thing she needed? Taking a deep breath, which was meant to calm but didn’t help at all, she put the car in reverse and tried backing up. But the tires only spun, and after two more tries, it was readily apparent that all she was going to do was get herself even more stuck.
Heaving a sigh, she pocketed the key, took her overnight bag from the backseat, and left the car. She wasn’t going to worry about the gifts in the trunk right now. If anyone did manage to make it all the way out here, they were free to try to steal them.
As she trudged through the snow, bent against the wind, Kelli couldn’t help wishing she were lying on a warm, sun-drenched beach sipping a mai tai while a deeply tanned cabana boy catered to her every need.
With the forest draped in snow, nothing looked familiar, making her uncertain exactly how much farther she had to go and remembering everything she’d learned about always staying with the car in situations like this.
Then, just was she began to fear she was lost, she turned a corner and there, surrounded by towering fir trees, was the Douchett cabin.
That was the good news.
The bad news was the fire-engine red pickup parked in front.
“Well, there’s no turning back now,” she muttered. Rather than use the key Adèle had given her, she knocked on the heavy wooden door.
A moment later it was opened by Cole, who was dressed in sweatpants, a soft, well-washed black sweatshirt with a Tun Tavern emblem, and thick black socks. Kelli knew, because Cole had told her when he’d signed up for ROTC, that the Philadelphia tavern had been where the Marines had held their first recruitment meeting in 1775, even before the Declaration of Independence.
“What are you doing here?”
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” she shot back, her nerves and temper frayed.
“Hell, I’m sorry.” He ran a hand over that too-short hair she was actually starting to get used to. It definitely defined those razor-edged cheekbones. Which was so not what she should be concentrating on right now! “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you.” He glanced past her. “Where’s your car?”
“It’s down the road about a quarter of a mile. I slid off the shoulder and got stuck. Hopefully nothing’s broken.”
“You walked all that way? In this storm? Didn’t your dad teach you to stay with the car?”
“Yes. But it wasn’t that far, and weighing the options, I decided to risk being eaten by bears or getting lost rather than spending the night all alone out there.”
He shook his head, but
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