Read Online Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne - Free Book Online Page B

white, blue and silver. She particularly admired a trio of thick candles spearing up from an elaborate arrangement of twigs, berry picks and pinecones, all spray-painted to match the color theme. “Your house looks beautiful. It should be in a home decor magazine.”
    â€œBen calls it Christmas on crack,” she said with a smile.
    â€œHey. I only said that once.”
    Both she and Kenzie looked up when Ben Kilpatrick spoke from the doorway. He wore a leather jacket and had car keys in his hand.
    â€œYou did,” Kenzie said. “But it was memorable.”
    â€œI love our house. It’s my favorite place in the world,” he said. “Hi, Andrea.”
    He leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then stepped quickly away, making her face heat. Ben was always so careful with her, treating her like those delicate ornaments hanging in the front window. It was clear he didn’t want to crowd her or make her feel threatened—or maybe he was that way with everyone and she was looking for layered subtext where none existed.
    She would have greatly preferred that no one in Haven Point had ever found out what happened to her, but Rob Warren had made that impossible.
    â€œYou look lovely tonight, as always,” he told her.
    â€œThank you. I hope we’re not chasing you away.”
    â€œNot really—though I’d like to think I’m smart enough to duck and run when the Helping Hands are around.”
    McKenzie gave him a mock scowl. “You love the Helping Hands.”
    â€œI do. Everyone knows the Helping Hands are really the heart of Haven Point. Without you, this town would be a cold, sad, cheerless place.”
    â€œDon’t you forget it.”
    â€œYou would never let me, darling,” he said with a laugh, then kissed her forehead.
    â€œI’m actually heading over to Snow Angel Cove,” he told Andie, then pitched his voice lower and looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers. “I’m helping Aidan with a Christmas present. I’d be grateful if you didn’t mention anything to Eliza or Maddie. They think I’m heading over to watch a basketball game.”
    She twisted her fingers as if locking her lips and tossed the pretend key over her shoulder, which earned her one of Ben’s rare but devastating smiles.
    â€œGood luck to both of you, then,” she said.
    â€œThanks.” He waved at her, then leaned in once more to kiss his wife of only a few months. When he walked out the door, McKenzie’s lipstick was smeared and her hair a little rumpled, but that rather dazed smile indicated she didn’t really mind.
    For one small, selfish moment, envy poked at Andie with sharp, merciless claws, leaving behind a trailing sadness. Oh, she missed that. Jason had been gone for two years and there were times she ached most of all at the loss of those casual little touches. His fingers brushing the back of her neck as he passed by, his arm draped across her while he slept, his hand on her knee as they sat together on the sofa watching a favorite television show.
    All those small, tender physical reminders that oiled the sometimes creaky and contrary machinery of a marriage.
    Her children gave her hugs and kisses all day, which she adored. She tried to tell herself it was enough. Deep in her heart, on those nights she couldn’t sleep because the bed felt too big, she knew it was a lie.
    On those nights, she would wrap herself in a blanket, curl up in the window seat and read long into the night to push the loneliness away.
    But this was a party and she wasn’t going to waste time feeling sorry for herself. “Is the guest of honor here yet?” she asked.
    â€œYes. Hazel and Eppie were the first ones here. You know how Ronald Brewer is. If they show up ten minutes early, he considers them all late. Everyone’s back in the family room.”
    Andrea continued to look at the various unique holiday