Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

where the wind didn’t howl. Zane planted his hands on his hips and scowled again. He hoped he wasn’t inviting a party of wild animals out of the woods. Last thing he needed were skunks and groundhogs taking up residence in prestigious Mountain Glen.
    He dusted off his hands and headed for his truck. No more worrying about it. Whatever creature wound up here, he’d take care of it. He had more important things to do right now.
    Miranda Lambert started singing about doing somethin’ bad as Zane pulled out of Mountain Glen and headed for town. Wouldn’t mind doing somethin’ bad with that chick , he thought with a grin. His groin stirred, but it wasn’t the thought of the country singer doing it. Nope, he’d had a tough time keeping his mind off a certain other blonde since the night at Springer’s party.
    He eased the truck down Red Barn Road. His gaze skimmed the broken-down homes that lined the left side of the road, relics from another generation deserted and boarded up now. Too bad. Some of them could’ve been something, probably were something all those years ago. Grand colonials with balconies and wide porches now sat with broken windows and crumbling chimneys and trees and shrubs so overgrown it was hard to see what lay behind them. Except for one, the grand Thompson estate. Zane slowed as two deer bounded across the road and then raised a hand at Damian Knight, one of the men who’d helped rebuild the Thompson place last year. Summer herself stood on the front porch, wearing a parka and holding a mug. They both waved at Zane, and he sped up again. The dashboard clock read almost four-thirty, and he was pretty sure the shelter closed its doors at five.
    He took County Route 78 until he reached Garrison’s Feed ’n Seed near the interstate. Best place in town to buy anything from hunting equipment to tools to rabbit food, the store had been a fixture in Pine Point for three generations. A handful of pickups parked in the lot, but Zane pulled around back to the Christmas tree display.
    “Hey, man,” Reid Garrison said as Zane walked up to the rows of pines. “What’s going on?” He grabbed Zane’s hand in a hearty shake. “I hear you’ve been kissing up to the lonely housewives out at Mountain Glen.”
    “Shit.” Zane whistled. “This town loves its gossip, doesn’t it?”
    “Is it true? You been warming beds out there?” Reid grinned. They’d played ball together back in high school, before Zane had dropped out, and they’d had more than their share of fun when it came to warming beds.
    “Nah. Trying to keep a low profile.” He walked down the line of trees. He wasn’t sure how tall might be too tall. Six feet? Seven?
    Reid followed him. “Doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun.”
    Maybe not, but Zane had faced his share of jealous boyfriends and angry husbands in the last ten years. He’d vowed to stick to single women from here on out. “How much?” he asked, pointing to one full spruce. A little shorter than all the rest, it made up in fullness what it lacked in height.
    “Forty bucks. I’ll trim and wrap it for you too.” Reid hefted the tree onto his shoulder and carried it across the lot. “Need anything else? Wreath? Stocking stuffers?”
    “Nah.” Zane wasn’t much for the holidays. Didn’t have anyone to celebrate with, anyway, now that his mother and sister had moved down south. He waited, paid, helped Reid toss the tree into the bed of his truck and then picked up a tree stand at the last minute. “Thanks, man. See you around.”
    Reid waved and loped back inside the Feed ’n Seed. Zane took the back roads into town. The wind had picked up, but the forecast still had zero snow for another few days. Shit. He could do without the bone-chilling temperatures, especially if they didn’t bring anything good for skiing or snowmobiling. As he neared Main Street, he checked the directions he’d jotted down. A right turn onto Jefferson Avenue, then a left onto Lower Road