Dust of Snow Read Online Free PDF

morning a call woke me about three
minutes before my alarm. I groaned and squinted at the glare of my
cell phone. “‘Lo?” I croaked, not recognizing the number.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,”
someone said.
    I rubbed at my eyes, waiting for more. When
it didn’t come, I asked, “Who is this?”
    “It’s Ashley.”
    “Oh.” I promptly sat up, wide-awake. “Is
everything all right? Did something happen?”
    “No—nothing bad. It’s just that my battery
died again, and I was wondering if I could catch a ride with you
into work.”
    “Of course. I still need to get ready, so I
won’t be leaving for another hour.” Ashley was always in his office
when I arrived, but did he really go in at seven a.m.? “But I’ll
pick you up as soon as I can.”
    “I can come over and save you the trip.”
    “It’s your nose,” I said, suppressing a yawn.
“See you soon.”
    He showed up twenty minutes later, just when
I was pushing the snowblower back into the garage. “I still need to
shower,” I told him around chattering teeth.
    “That’s okay. No rush.”
    “Come in.” I led him through the garage,
pulling off two layers of gloves, a hat, ear warmers, a neck
warmer, my coat, and the sweater underneath. I deposited the load
on a small bench in my tiny mudroom and pushed open the door to my
home. Ashley seemed to be amused by the process, his dark eyes
twinkling. I cleared my throat. “I really would have picked you up,
you know. You didn’t have to walk over.”
    He shrugged with one shoulder. “I like the
snow.”
    “Insane.” I shuddered. “Living room and
kitchen are through here.” I pointed at the arch down the hallway.
“Make yourself comfortable wherever—just don’t let Curly sit on
your lap. You’ll never get the hairs off your suit.”
    “Curly?” Ashley smiled.
    “My cat,” I said, wondering why it felt like
I was exposing a dirty secret.
    “I love cats. I’ll go say hi.”
    He disappeared into my home and I stood there
blinking like an idiot for a long minute. “Right,” I muttered to
myself. “Get a move on.”
    I quickly showered and shaved, acutely aware
of Ashley downstairs. I liked the home I’d created for myself—the
small fireplace, the bookshelves, the comfortable matching couches.
So why was I feeling so nervous?
    When I came downstairs, Ashley was leaning
against the kitchen counter with coffee in one hand and another mug
resting on the countertop next to his elbow. He held it out.
    “You don’t mind, do you?” he asked, holding
up his own mug. His eyes were warm as he regarded me, but I could
spot a touch of wariness.
    “Of course not,” I said firmly, taking my
coffee from him. “Thank you.” And I didn’t mind, I really didn’t.
Was it weird that I didn’t mind him making himself at home?
    Curlywurly chose that moment to start winding
around Ashley’s legs. “Get off, you lazy cat,” I said, trying to
push him away with my foot. Tan and black hairs already clung to
Ashley’s pant leg. “I’m sorry. This is why I usually get out of
here as soon as I’m dressed.”
    “I don’t mind. He’s lovely.”
    “ Hmpf . I suppose.” I glared at the
feline.
    Ashley laughed. “You have a nice home.”
    “Thanks.” I traced the crease of the tile
with my toe, my socks sliding easily. It was my kitchen, but it was
strange to have someone else in it again. Strange, but nice.
    “You really don’t mind that I helped myself?”
He held his mug up again as I drank from mine. Black with a little
bit of sugar, just as I liked it. “I couldn’t resist the
smell.”
    “It’s fine, really. I told you to make
yourself comfortable.” Something occurred to me rather belatedly.
“How did you know my address?”
    “Oh.” Ashley laughed a little
self-consciously. He dipped his head, hiding his dimples from view.
“I asked Sonny.”
    “From HR?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And he told you?”
    “In his defense, I said I needed it for
Christmas