Read Online Hers for the Holidays by Samantha Hunter - Free Book Online

tractor, clearing the area around the garage so that she could get her car out. Who would have known?
    She constantly surprised him. He wished he could take a picture of her on his phone and send it to Tessa—she was certain to be as surprised by this other side of Lydia as he was.
    If Lydia ever told her. Hopefully, she would. Tessa was made of strong stuff, and she stood by her friends. Lydia had to trust in that.
    Planting his shovel in the snow, he saw that Smitty and Kyle had gone to take care of the animals, and Lydia was still pushing snow around with the tractor. Ely decided to take the opportunity to look around while everyone else was occupied. He’d already noticed that none of the locks or windows had been broken or jimmied. Lydia had locked her doors, so how had the intruder gained entry?
    It was an old door, old lock, and it was possible Lydia’s mother had handed out copies of the keys to anyone she thought needed one. He’d have to find out. He planned to buy new locks and install them first thing, and seek out the local sheriff and talk to him about what was going on. Just in case.
    He’d promised Lydia he wouldn’t tell Tessa, but he’d never said he wouldn’t tell the local authorities what had happened.
    Wandering around the outside of the house, predictably, any footsteps were erased by snow, but he saw something small and off-color kick up through the snow as he stepped and bent to retrieve a small vial. It was empty, and it could be anything. Still, he put it in his pocket.
    As he turned the corner toward the back, he was interrupted.
    “Looking for something?”
    Kyle was standing by the edge of the porch, watching him closely. How did this guy keep managing to get the drop on him?
    “Thought I dropped my keys, but I guess I left them inside,” Ely lied smoothly.
    Smitty was a good enough guy, but Kyle gave him an itchy feeling. He was protective of Lydia, but there was something shifty about him, as well. Kyle watched more than he talked, and he watched Lydia in particular. Ely didn’t like it.
    Kyle barked out a short laugh. “If you lost them out here, you’re sunk. And wouldn’t that be convenient? Give you another excuse to stay.”
    Ely smiled, but there was no humor in it. “Turns out I don’t need an excuse. I’ll be staying awhile. I’m going to help out a bit while I’m here.”
    Kyle didn’t seem to like that idea very much, but just shrugged. “Whatever,” Kyle said with a snort, and turned to walk away, heading back to the barn.
    Maybe a background check into Kyle wouldn’t be a bad idea, Ely thought as he went inside to get his keys—where he had left them on the counter just inside the door. Beside them, he saw a slip of paper and picked it up. It was a veterinary report on one of the cows—the animal had been poisoned.
    The door opened and closed behind him, and he turned to find Lydia, pink-cheeked from her outdoor exertions. Their eyes met and held for a second, before she walked past.
    “What happened to this cow?” he asked, the piece of paper still in his hand.
    Her eyes darkened. “Well, if you read it, you already know. But it’s fine. We got to it in time.”
    He touched her elbow as she passed him. “Lydia, someone tried to kill one of your animals—and Kyle told me about the spray paint.”
    She took a breath. “Listen, there are some people from my past who might not be crazy about me coming back. I think as soon as they know I’m not staying, this will stop.”
    “What else?”
    Reluctantly, she told him.
    “And the sheriff wouldn’t help?”
    “There was nothing they could do. It’s not exactly a situation for them to send out a forensics team and post surveillance,” she said sarcastically, but he sensed the agitation, and the fear, underneath her tone.
    “Okay, well, hopefully my presence here in the house might discourage anyone, as well.”
    She agreed.
    He paused, inhaling. The house smelled amazing and his mouth watered. He