Sleigh Ride (Minnesota Christmas Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

telling him there was nothing wrong with him—he could read, he just didn’t want to.
    Arthur was still pissed they hadn’t asked him. He could have told them that.
    The door to the conference room opened, but Gabriel stood with the knob in his hand, talking to a group of kids and their parents who had come into the library. Bored and twitchy, Arthur cruised the librarian, mystified as always by how not attracted he was.
    Okay, that wasn’t fair. Gabriel was cute in the face, despite the glasses. The glasses weren’t bad, but they reminded Arthur of smarts, which wasn’t a turn-on for him, ever. He would allow there was something alluring about those slim hips, though they had to be hella boney to bang. The guy picked over the grocery store offerings the same way Frankie did, asking to have weird crap special ordered. Most of Arthur’s lack of attraction, honestly, was because the guy was so damn tall. Tall and skinny and wiry.
    And that fucking hair.
    Arthur had hated his own thick, unruly orange-red hair until he’d met Gabriel, and then he’d thanked God for small favors. Gabriel’s hair was curly, at least four inches long and dishwater brown. Technically Paul’s was the same color and equally curly, but he wore it short, close to his head. Gabriel’s curls were fucking ringlets, and they bounced and flopped every time the guy turned his head. Soupy’s hair was less springy, and she looked as if she’d stepped off the Good Ship Lollipop. Gabriel’s curls seemed soft , yeah, and Arthur would lay money they made great handholds, but he had no desire to find out. As skinny and pale as Gabriel was, that hair made him look like a mop. With glasses.
    Yeah, thanks, Arthur would jerk off instead of tapping that. And the hell he’d date it.
    “Sorry.” Gabriel shut the door and turned to face Arthur, gesturing to the seats at the table. “Would you care to sit?”
    Clearing his throat, Arthur pulled out a chair and put his butt in it. “This sleigh and Santa crap—it’s fine for you to raise money and all, but I really don’t want to be a part of it. I’ll repair the sleigh, but you gotta find somebody else to play the fat man.”
    Behind those glasses, Gabriel’s eyes went flinty. “That works out well, because I don’t want you involved either.”
    Arthur blinked, shifting in his chair at Gabriel’s harsh reply. “Okay—so tell my mom, and we’re done.” Then Arthur could do his best to block this uncomfortable conversation from his mind.
    Now Gabriel’s eyebrows peeked over the top of his plastic rims. “Why is it you can’t tell her?”
    Was this guy cracked? “I can’t tell her no. I tried. If you say no, she’ll listen.”
    “I voiced my reluctance about her project, but she and the rest of the library board voted to proceed. She renewed her determination yesterday, in fact.”
    God, just listening to this guy talk set Arthur’s teeth on edge. Voiced my reluctance. Renewed her determination. Arthur would show him reluctant and determined. “It’s your damn library. Tell her no.”
    “It is not, Mr. Anderson, my damn library . It is the City of Logan’s library. I’m the library director.”
    “Yes, but you’re in charge.” Arthur could understand the guy’s logic, but the idea that Gabriel couldn’t get Arthur out of this put him in a panic. “She likes you. She’d listen to you.”
    “She’s your mother. I should think that trumps any influence I might have.”
    Arthur snorted. “If you think so, you’re fucking crazier than I thought.”
    Gabriel’s lips pursed into a thin line as he leaned over the table. “I would thank you not to use profane language in the library. There are children present, and since you’re practically a living bullhorn, your foul mouth carries to young, impressionable ears.”
    Arthur’s own ears heated, and he squirmed and stared at the table. “Sorry.”
    The librarian’s posture eased, not quite relaxing, but not quite so stiff and