The House on Hancock Hill Read Online Free PDF Page A

summer?” I had no idea where the question came from, but it spilled out like it’d been living on the tip of my tongue for years. Henry jumped a little and looked at me.
    “No,” he said, turning his gaze back to the road, eyes intent. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel until his knuckles were white, and I wondered if he was lying, but why would he?
    “I don’t know either,” I said slowly. “Dad never told me.”
    “Did you ask?”
    Did I? I must’ve, but I couldn’t remember. Henry didn’t press when I gave him no answer.
    We crossed the bridge, and I had my face practically pressed against the passenger window. The view was breathtaking. I’d seen it hundreds of times as a child, but this was a different country entirely. If I hadn’t known we were crossing a canal, I’d have thought it was just a flat, snowed-under stretch of fields. A perfectly white divide between Hancock and Houghton glistening like it was covered with diamond dust.
    Less than a mile later, we arrived at the sheriff’s office, and I was glad to get out of the truck. My ribs ached, my face hurt, and my mind was spinning in strange directions. It had thrown me that I’d suddenly thought about Tom. Was it being back here? Did this place that had been such a part of my youth bring on an urge to reminisce? Henry locked the Avalanche and caught up with me, so I shrugged it off.
    “If it takes forever, you don’t have to wait,” I told him. “I’m sure someone here can offer me a ride.”
    The one-shouldered shrug he gave me was a bit too casual to match the look that followed it. “Do you know why they made you come all the way here?”
    “No, they wouldn’t tell me over the phone, just that I’d better get here right away.”
    “Hmm.” Being the small town it was, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Henry (and everyone else and their grandmothers) knew exactly why I had been dragged here. And if Henry knew my reason for being here now, was it so far-fetched to suspect he knew the reason why Dad and I never came back? It bothered me, but now was not the time to ask, nor did I want to offend Henry after he’d been so helpful.
    We walked past a couple of parked cop cars, and I made a surprised noise at the two sheriff’s department snowmobiles. “They use these?”
    “For patrolling the trails, sure,” Henry said easily, reaching past me to hold the door. Inside, behind a glass divide, sat a woman who did a double take when she noticed my face. She rose to her feet. “Are you all right?”
    I smiled as reassuringly as I could, which wasn’t very, evidently. “I’m fine, thank you,” I told her. “I’m Jason Wood. The sheriff wanted to see me?”
    “Ah, the Johnson farm case,” she said, nodding, and my eyes went painfully wide in alarm. What case ? “I’ll let him know you’re here. Have a seat.” I headed for a set of benches, and she smiled shyly at Henry. “Dr. McCavanaugh.”
    Henry smiled. “Hello, Colleen. How’s Zach?”
    Colleen held the phone halfway to her ear. “Doing much better. His anal glands don’t bother him anymore at all.”
    I smothered a laugh, and it hurt my nose quite a bit. Grinning, Henry sat down while Colleen informed the sheriff of our presence. “Anal glands?” I mouthed at Henry, making a face.
    “Pomeranian,” he mouthed back. For some reason that made it even funnier, and I sniggered like I was twelve.
    “He’ll be ready for you in five minutes,” Colleen called. Her eyes lingered on Henry, who was completely oblivious. From anyone else, I’d have suspected it to be an act, but it was pretty clear Henry had no idea how gorgeous he was. Stretched out on the bench beside me, legs crossed at the ankles, biceps bunching the fabric of his jacket as he folded his arms, he looked like he was posing for a photoshoot. But he just smiled a bit self-consciously when he caught me staring.
    “I wonder how the farm managed to burn down in this weather.” I’d spent