Holly Lane Read Online Free PDF Page A

since last year?”
    Now Grayson finally began to look as remorseful as Adam felt he should. “Sure am sorry, and I’ll be givin’ the new feller a lecture about it, that’s for certain. But . . . guess the good news is—at least your little boys ain’t with ya this year, so you don’t have to fret about disappointin’ ’em.”
    A thick sigh that bordered on a growl left Adam’s lungs. The old man made a decent point, but it didn’t make him any happier. He’d packed up enough food and clothes for a couple of days, enlisted his mom to feed the dog, and . . . hell, more than that, he’d just been counting on this getaway. It wasn’t a big thing—but it was the one thing he’d felt stood a chance of helping him get back in a better mood and ready to face the holidays. Damn it.
    Yet it looked like fate—or something—had taken away his options. “Well then, like it or not, guess as soon as you put my money back on my credit card, I’m heading home.”
    So it surprised him when Grayson appeared just as uncertain about this as he had everything else in their conversation. “You sure about that?” he asked, glancing toward the window. “I mean, you notice how fast that snow’s fallin’?”
    “I saw it,” Adam said, giving the window no more than a sideways glance. “But so what? I’ve got four-wheel drive—a little snow doesn’t slow me down.”
    “Hmm,” Grayson replied as if he knew something Adam didn’t. “You remember that hill you just come down to get here? I just got a call from up top sayin’ nothin’s movin’ up or down it now—road’s slick as snot. And besides, this is Snow Valley, ya know.”
    “So?” Adam asked, squinting slightly.
    “Well, it ain’t just a name. When it snows here, it piles up faster, falls harder. Somethin’ about the lay of the land and the air flow into the valley. A clipper that leaves an inch or two everywhere else leaves more like four or five down here. And that hill’s a bear—steep enough in good weather, and pert near impossible in bad.”
    Huh. He’d never heard any of this before—but he was used to driving in bad conditions given that he did a lot of snow removal to tide him over during the winter, and Grayson was probably prone to exaggeration. “Well, you just told me you don’t have any place for me to sleep tonight,” Adam said, “so looks like I don’t have much choice. I’m getting out of here.” Then he trudged back out into the cold, wrestling his keys from his pocket.
    The first thing he noticed was the way his work boots sank deeper into the snow than they had a few minutes ago. Then he lifted his head to look around.
    Shit. In a very short time, the whole valley had taken on blizzardlike conditions—everything covered in white and the snow blowing harder than before. He could barely see the first cabin less than twenty yards away.
    The next thing to catch his attention was the sound of slipping, sliding tires somewhere behind him, and he turned back to spot a dark shadow through the heavy snow—a big, sturdy-looking SUV struggled to make the first turn where the narrow road began sloping upward.
    Aw, damn. In truth, it was a hell of a road, and he had been sliding around more than he liked getting down here—and that was when the snow had been light. And now the behemoth SUV in the distance was making no headway.
    That’s when he glanced to his right to see Grayson standing next to him, having followed him out into the cold. “Told ya,” Grayson said.
    Adam only glowered—then said, “Where will you be sleepin’ tonight?” Since it appeared he might be bunking with the old man.
    “Office floor, I reckon. I keep a sleepin’ bag here for just such occasions.”
    Huh. Adam hadn’t even brought a sleeping bag. Since he’d rented a cabin. With bunk beds. Usually he took the bottom and the boys shared the top. His chest tightened with irritation all over again.
    “You can join me if you like,” Grayson