Read Online Snowflakes on the Sea by Linda Lael Miller - Free Book Online Page B

clothes, she regretted not asking Pat to stop by the Penthouse for more of her things.
    Once dressed in a pair of jeans and a soft yellow sweater, Mallory went to the bedroom window and pushed back the brightly colored cotton curtains to look outside. The snow was still falling, already filling the tracks left by Nathan’s car.
    Mallory returned to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair and apply a touch of makeup. Unless she was on camera, she needed nothing more than a dab of lip gloss. Her eyelashes were thick and dark, requiring no mascara, and, normally, because of her fondness for the outdoors, her cheeks had plenty of color. Now, staring at herself in the old mirror over the bathroom sink, Mallory saw the pallor that had so alarmed her friends and co-workers of late. Because she hadn’t brought blusher from the penthouse, she improvised by pinching her cheeks hard.
    In the living room, the lights on Nathan’s Christmas tree were still blazing, and with a sigh, Mallory flipped the switch. The glorious tree was dark again, and the tinsel dangling from its branches whispered in a draft.
    Mallory closed the door leading into the living room as she went out. The January Christmas was a private thing, and she did not want to share it with anyone other than Nathan—not even Pat.
    In the kitchen, she sliced off a piece of turkey and gave it to an appreciative Cinnamon, but she had no appetite herself. She cleaned up the mess Nathan had left behind and put the half-charred bird into the refrigerator.
    Mallory was brewing fresh coffee when she heard the sound of a car motor outside. Knowing better than to hope that Diane’s crisis, whatever it was, had been resolved so soon, thus freeing Nathan, she didn’t bother to rush to the window and look out.
    The visitor was Pat. Her trim camel’s hair coat glistened with snowflakes as she rushed into the kitchen, shivering. “Good Lord,” she complained, hurrying to stand beside Mallory at the stove. “It’s cold out there!”
    Mallory laughed, somewhat rawly, and began to divest her sister-in-law of her coat and knitted scarf. When the things had been put away, the two women sat down at the kitchen table to sip coffee and talk.
    Pat’s shimmering blond hair was swept up into an appealing knot on top of her head, and she looked slim and competent in her tailored black suede suit and red silk blouse. Her blue eyes searched Mallory’s face as she warmed her hands on her coffee mug.
    “You were pretty shook up when I called, Mall. Are you okay now?”
    Mallory nodded. She was tired of all the solicitude, and besides, there was really nothing Pat could do to help. In any case, she had no intention of complaining about Nathan’s demanding life to his sister. “I—I’m all right, Pat—honestly. And I’m sorry if I frightened you. C-couldn’t we talk about something mundane—like the weather?”
    Pat gave her a cynical look, but she wasn’t the type to pry; that was one of her most endearing qualities. “You and Nathan assured me,” she said, arching one golden eyebrow, “that the weather on Puget Sound was mild . Do you realize that it has been snowing for almost a week?”
    Mallory shrugged, grinning. “What can I say in our defense? Every few years somebody up there forgets that it isn’t supposed to snow much here, and we get buried in the stuff. Seattle must be wild.”
    Pat rolled her eyes. “We are talking blatant insanity here!” she cried. “When I drove onto the ferry, I was amazed that I’d made it through town in one piece. People are slipping and sliding into each other over there, with and without cars.”
    “You like Seattle, Pat,” Mallory challenged kindly. “You’re not fooling me one bit.”
    Suddenly Pat was beaming. Her cornflower blue eyes sparkled, and her face glowed. “You’re right,” she confessed. “I love it! The water, the mountains, the trees—”
    Mallory laughed. “Not to mention the fresh raisin bagels they