Read Online Snowflake Wishes by Maggie McGinnis - Free Book Online

night?”
    â€œI’m not twitching.”
    â€œYou always twitch when you’re too amped up to sleep.” He squeezed her. “Need a story?”
    She closed her eyes tightly, assaulted by sudden, sweet memories. Years ago, whenever she’d had trouble falling asleep, he’d rub her back and tell her stories—silly little nonsense tales he pulled out of his imagination. He’d speak in his most soothing voice, and she’d fall into a deep, relaxed lull … but before she ever fell asleep, his hand would still and his voice would soften, and then he’d be the one to fall into dreamland first.
    She’d never had the heart to tell him he always succumbed to his own stories before she did, because she’d never wanted him to stop telling them. After his breathing was slow and even, she’d slide out of bed, sit down at her easel, and paint a scene from the story. Then she’d write down as much of the tale as she could remember, and then, when he’d wake up and pull her back to bed, she’d finally be able to sleep.
    She still had those stories—and those paintings—tucked away in her bedroom closet.
    â€œI’d love a story,” she finally answered, then felt desolation creep through her.
    He’d tell one, but this time, she wouldn’t be able to paint it afterward.

Chapter 6
    Early the next morning, Piper was startled awake by the sound of a plow outside the window. She squinted her eyes against the morning sunlight just creeping through the panes, then sat up carefully, trying not to wake Noah. He’d fallen asleep first, but she hadn’t been far behind him, and visions of his story were still dancing around in her head.
    â€œMorning, sunshine.” He smiled, brushing a stray hair away from her face. It was a move so tender that it made her want to sigh and sink right back against his body.
    â€œHow long have you been awake?”
    â€œSunrise hit me between the eyes about an hour ago.”
    She pulled away, stretching. “You must be as stiff as a board.” She slid out of the booth. “Want to stand up?”
    She stepped away from the booth so he could slide out, and when he stood up to stretch, she found her eyes traveling over his chest and up to his morning stubble. When her eyes met his, she saw amusement, like he’d caught her looking and knew exactly what she’d been thinking.
    People were stirring from their uncomfortable sleeping spots, and Piper could hear the cook banging pots back in the kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee hit her nose as Darla pushed through the swinging doors, carrying two huge carafes.
    â€œFree coffee for anybody who helps shovel!”
    She put the carafes on the counter, along with a stack of clean coffee cups, and though Piper was just about ready to kill for a hot cup of coffee, she waited while the others got their cups and went back to their spots. Then she filled up two mugs, handing one to Noah as she poured creamer in hers.
    â€œStill like yours black?” She grimaced as she stirred hers.
    â€œStill pollute yours with flavors that are not coffee?”
    â€œJust cream.” She rolled her eyes. “And if you’d grown up on my mother’s coffee, you’d have learned to love creamer, too.”
    He stared out the window, sipping his coffee as the morning sunlight touched the tips of his eyelashes, and Piper had a vision of him sitting on a front porch someday, looking out over a sunrise-lit lake from his Adirondack chair. It was an image that hit her right in the gut—one she’d had in her head for a long time—and for a moment, she tried to picture somebody besides him in that chair.
    She couldn’t.
    She closed her eyes and braced her hands around her mug, wishing the heat would seep in and bring sanity to her brain before she completely fell under Noah’s spell again.
    He looked at her over his cup, smiling in that way that