Read Online We Need a Little Christmas by Sierra Donovan - Free Book Online Page B

blinked against the bright glitter of sun on the snow. “Wow.”
    â€œNothing like this in Dallas, is there?”
    The atmosphere in the cab of the truck shifted again with a new silence from Liv.
    Women. It was too easy to say the wrong thing. Give her another fifty years , he thought.
    A moment later a large sign with an arrow showed up on the right, marking a turn that otherwise would have been easy to miss. Fashioned from rustic wood— pine, what else?—it looked as if someone had already gotten out here to brush away any snowfall that might have obscured the letters last night.
    â€œâ€˜The Snowed Inn?’” Liv let out a laugh that was half a groan.
    He could really get used to hearing that laugh.
    â€œNot my idea,” he said. “That’s one bad joke you can’t blame me for.”
    From the sign that marked the turn, it was just a few hundred yards to the inn itself—a long two-story building reminiscent of a ranch house or a ski lodge. It was flanked by pine trees that, ironically, had needed to be transplanted to the spot. Before that, the land had been a large vacant field. Scott watched Liv to see if she recognized the location. The uniform blanket of new snow surrounding the building would make it harder. The tall trees neatly outlining the far outer edges of the property would be the best clue.
    Scott pulled up in the wide front driveway. “Any idea where we are?”
    Liv frowned, then looked past the hotel to the trees that once would have formed a barrier to keep the people outside the property from seeing the big outdoor screen. “It’s the old drive-in movie theater, isn’t it?”
    â€œA cigar for the lady,” Scott said, and one of the wide double doors of the inn swung open.
    He’d hoped Mandy would be the one to greet them, but it was Jake Wyndham who stepped out, wearing a pullover sweater over a collared shirt. Barely over thirty, Jake had come to Tall Pine from back East a couple of years ago and managed to get this place built literally from the ground up. People in town—the females, especially—often remarked that Mandy Reese had landed quite a catch when she and Jake got married.
    Like most of the women in Tall Pine, Liv looked suitably impressed as the brown-haired, brown-eyed East Coast transplant walked up to the truck. Scott groaned inwardly. Not that it should bother him.
    Then she murmured, “He looks really . . . preppy.”
    Scott laughed out loud as he climbed out to help Liv out of the truck. Not one to wait, she already had her door open. “Hold on,” he said. “The driveway could be pretty slippery.”
    But by the time he reached her side of the truck, to his mild annoyance, Jake had beaten him to the gentlemanly act of giving Liv a hand down. It wouldn’t do, of course, for The Snowed Inn to be held liable for a visitor taking a spill from the snow and ice in the driveway. But Scott knew Jake didn’t think that way. No, Mr. Ivy League just had really good manners.
    â€œWelcome to The Snowed Inn,” Jake said, releasing Liv’s elbow once she stood steadily on the ground. “I’m Jake.” He cast a questioning glance past her to Scott.
    â€œWe come bearing Christmas trees.” Scott rested his hand on the back of the pickup. “And I thought you might be able to give Liv the nickel tour while we’re here.”
    â€œAbsolutely. And thanks.” Jake nodded to Liv before turning back to Scott. “Let’s grab the trees and get out of the cold.”
    Scott picked up one box while Jake took the other, although it was hardly a two-man job. Scott winked at Liv as she followed them inside, hoping his instincts were right and she’d like what she saw. Maybe that’s what this errand was all about. His gut told him she needed some distraction and Christmas cheer. Especially this Christmas.

Chapter 7
    Liv followed the two men as they set