Chocolate Dipped Death Read Online Free PDF Page A

people do wonder if there’s another reason.”
    Savannah laughed as if the thought of being mysterious delighted her. With her long, dark hair and striking coloring, she looked beautiful even in the dim glow of the streetlamp. Not surprisingly, I felt like a lump of clay beside her—but then, I always had. “I guess things don’t change around here, do they? Don’t these people have better things to do than worry about me?”
    I led Max into the intersection behind an SUV laden with half a dozen pairs of skis. “You know how it is. You’ll be big news for a few days, and then they’ll find something new to talk about.”
    “As long as I don’t give them something new to sink their teeth into, right?” Savannah’s expression sobered, and she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. “I’m curious, Abby. What on earth made you decide to come back? Weren’t you living in California?”
    I nodded. “Sacramento.”
    “I could have sworn I heard you were a lawyer.”
    “I was. Corporate law.”
    “And now you’re back in Paradise making candy.” She slid an amused glance at me. “I just know there’s a story there.”
    Not one I wanted to share. She seemed different tonight, but I wasn’t foolish enough to trust her. I gave her the simplified version. “I went through a divorce, and then Aunt Grace died, so I decided to stay.”
    “Do you miss it? Life in the city, I mean.”
    “Not really,” I said, and I was a little surprised to realize that I meant it.
    “And most of the folks around here have just accepted you back, no questions asked?”
    I felt an odd sense of loyalty toward the people of Paradise, so I sugarcoated the truth just a little. “I wouldn’t go quite that far, but for the most part, yeah. Like I said, there are a few people watching to see if I make good, and probably a few more who are waiting to see if I’m really going to stick around, but with everybody else it’s like I never left.”
    Max finally found an acceptable tree and lifted his leg. I told myself it wasn’t a commentary on the lie I’d just told.
    Shivering in a chill gust of wind, Savannah swept a glance along the street in front of us. “For you, that’s probably just fine, but being treated as if I never left isn’t really much of an incentive for me.”
    No, it wouldn’t be, but that’s not the part of her comment that interested me most. “Does that mean you’re thinking about coming back to Paradise?”
    Something darted through her eyes, but it was gone before I could identify it. “Me? Come back here? I doubt I’d last very long if I did.”
    “I thought you and Miles were moving to New York—or is that just a rumor?”
    Savannah quirked a half smile at me. “Well, the rumor mill certainly isn’t broken. Where did you hear that?”
    “I don’t remember.” It wasn’t exactly loyalty to Marshall that kept me quiet, but people are slow to forgive, myself included. “It’s not true, then?”
    Savannah looked away without answering and remained silent for a long time. “The jury’s still out, I guess. I’d rather stay in Gunnison, close to family. Or even here.”
    I’d been wondering why a man who’d been educated at Harvard was working in Gunnison, Colorado. Now I had my answer. Savannah liked it there. I must have looked shocked because she laughed. “Does that surprise you?”
    “Actually, yes. It does.”
    “You’re lucky, Abby. I doubt people would forgive someone like me.”
    She sounded almost wistful, and I felt an unexpected twinge of pity for her. “I’m sure they would if they knew you’d changed. Why wouldn’t they?”
    “Let’s face it. I didn’t exactly endear myself to people when I lived here.”
    “Nobody’s perfect.”
    “Least of all me, I know. I think Evie would be happy if I fell off the face of the earth. Karen, too.”
    “Evie’s emotional,” I agreed, “but she’s not completely unreasonable. And Karen—well, I’m sure that if you