Read Online Snowed by Pamela Burford - Free Book Online Page A

from me till we get dug out. Understand?”
    “James, please
—
”
    “I mean it, Leah. I don’t even want to know you’re in the same house.”
    In the next instant she was alone.
    No, not alone. Not in this house, she reminded herself. There was a girl named Annie. Just a memory perhaps, but she may as well have been there in flesh and blood.
    Leah hugged herself against the chill that seemed to pervade the room.
If he thinks I want something from him now, what’s he going to think when I tell him about our father?
     
     

 
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
     
Annie!
    I run as hard as I can, but my legs barely move. Annie’s so close. Her face is white. Her eyes are wide and frightened. She’s so young. Heartbreakingly young.
    “Leah?”
    Why can’t I reach her? If I could reach her, I could help her. I could save her.
    “Leah, wake up.”
    I can almost touch her—she’s so close now. Don’t die, Annie. Please don’t die.
    “Leah, open your eyes. Wake up.”
    Annie!
    “Open your eyes. It’s a dream.”
    Leah bucked and twisted, trying to reach Annie, but arms like iron bands imprisoned her, pressing her tight against a warm bare chest.
    “It’s a dream, just a dream. It can’t hurt you.”
    Leah knew that deep voice.
A dream. It can’t hurt you.
Her eyes opened. She blinked. Nothing looked familiar. She stopped fighting and let herself be held. Her chest heaved. She shook violently, her body bathed in sweat.
    “Leah, look at me,” James commanded. He tilted her chin. His troubled eyes glowed a luminous blue in the semidark. “You had a nightmare. It’s just a dream. Do you understand?”
    She managed to nod. He held her close again, stroking damp tendrils of hair off her face, until the tremors gradually subsided.
    “Leah, who is Annie?”
    She didn’t answer.
    He said, “You cried out her name.”
    “My...sister,” she whispered, her mouth dry.
    My mother.
    He was silent a moment. “The sister you never knew.”
    Leah nodded.
I never knew her, but you did, James. Tell me about her. If only I could ask you to tell me about her.
    She didn’t realize she was biting her lip, her chin trembling, until he said softly, “It’s okay to cry.”
    She shook her head. “No. It’s not okay.” No more tears for Annie. Tears can do nothing for Annie.
    James let out a long sigh. He seemed at a loss, as if prey to conflicting emotions. She was shivering now, chilled by her cold sweat. He rose and crossed to the fireplace, where log and kindling were already laid, with crumpled newspaper beneath. He opened the flue and lit a match, using a burning scrap of paper to create an updraft. The fire blazed to life and he stood silhouetted, his broad back to her. The room was bathed in a golden glow that helped to chase away the terrors of the night.
    He wore lightweight gray track pants that rode low on his trim hips. The firelight shone through the thin material, leaving little of his powerful form to her imagination. He opened an armoire and took out a blanket. “Lie down.”
    She obeyed, still shivering. He pulled up the comforter and tucked it around her. Then he shook out the extra blanket and laid it on top.
    “Better?” he asked, sitting on the bed.
    It wasn’t, but she nodded shakily.
    “If you want to talk about it...”
    She knew he was just going through the motions, saying the right thing. He’d made it more than clear how he felt about her. She shook her head and looked away, pulling the comforter to her chin. She didn’t think she’d ever get warm. He sat next to her for a few minutes, watching her, listening to her teeth chatter.
    Finally he slipped his hands under her back and pulled her up against his chest, cradling her like a child. At length the shivering stopped as his warmth suffused her body. His chest hairs brushed her eyelashes. She savored the scent of him, like a drug, lulling her to sleep.
    “James?”
    “Hm?”
    “I don’t want anything from you. I swear to God I