Read Online Some Kind of Wonderful: A Holiday Novella (The Cupcake Lovers) by Beth Ciotta - Free Book Online

doesn’t erase my past. What I’ve seen. What I’ve done. As for the future … I can’t promise I won’t pursue an equally deadly profession. Or at least one that involves some form of violence. Do you really want to be a part of that? To live with that on a daily basis? You wouldn’t be able to stomach it. Not even the thought of it. One of us has to be the realist here.”
    “I’m going to ignore the fact that you just pegged me as a flaky wimp and focus on your military background. You did what you did in order to protect civilians from harm. To combat evil. The intent would be the same if you were a policeman or security officer or, heck, a bodyguard.”
    “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. That’s part of the problem.”
    “You’re welcome to stay with me in Orlando while you figure it out.”
    Instead of warming Zach, the offer struck him cold, making him feel useless and unfocused. “Soak in the sun while you peddle cupcakes and whimsical fantasies?” He blew out a breath, cocked his head. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. You’ve done an amazing job with Cupcakes & Dreamscapes. You’re a talented baker and astute businesswoman. I just … I can’t see us meshing. Not long-term. Not in a romantic sense.”
    “That’s too bad,” Maya said, looking at him with an equal dose of pity and frustration. “Because I can.”
    Zach’s heart jerked and the earth shook.
    No. That would be the Hummer ramming into a roadblock.
    Zach automatically shielded Maya with an outstretched arm as she lurched forward on impact.
    Thank God, he’d been crawling at minimum speed. The hit hadn’t been intense enough for the air bags to deploy, but it had shaken the occupants all the same. Zach looked into Maya’s stunned-wide eyes. “You okay?”
    She nodded. “You?”
    “I’m good.”
    “Happened so fast I didn’t even have time to scream,” Maya said in a choked voice. “What did we hit?” She squinted through the windshield into the blinding snow. “Please tell me it’s not a deer or moose.”
    “I think it’s a felled tree.” Hard to tell in the near-whiteout conditions. “Sit tight.”
    Zach bundled up and swung out of the vehicle, his booted feet sinking a good six inches into the mounting snow. The wind whipped and the snowflakes stung. The swirling flurries put Zach in the mind of a snow tornado. How could this storm not be on anyone’s radar? Chin down, he shoved forward, inspecting the Hummer and a massive downed maple camouflaged by several inches of snow. He looked ahead and then behind them. “Damn.”
    Kicking into survival mode, he made his way to Maya’s side.
    She rolled down the window, squinting against the wind and snow. “A tree?”
    “Yeah. And it’s not going anywhere.”
    “What about us?”
    “Not in the Hummer. Blocked in front. Snowed in from behind. According to the map and GPS, Marx’s cabin should be just up and around the bend. We’ll have to hoof it. Wait out the storm there.”
    “What if he won’t let us inside?”
    “He will.”
    “But—”
    “He will.” Zach had lived through too much to be intimidated by the “business end” of a hunting rifle. They’d weather this freak storm in the safety and warmth of Marx’s cabin. Of that, Zach had no doubt. “Bundle up good. I’ll grab some supplies from the back.”
    “We have to take the Cupcake Lovers Christmas basket,” she said while looping her scarf around her neck. “That’s why we came up here after all. To spread goodwill and cheer.”
    “Whether Marx wants it or not.”
    “One of these days Roscoe Marx will be touched by something or someone and he’ll see the light.” She smiled softly. At Zach. “There’s hope for every Scrooge.”

Chapter Nine
    “I can’t believe you kept our snowshoes all these years,” Maya yelled over the howling wind.
    “Not me,” Zach yelled back. “Uncle Dan and Aunt Helen. They were hanging in the garage. Same place we always hung