Christmas In Silver Bell Falls Read Free Page B

house was a mess and once I got inside and looked around, I couldn’t help but start cleaning.  I guess I lost track of the time.”
    “Have you eaten dinner yet?” he asked expectantly.
    “A banana.”
    “Mel…” he whined.  “You have to start taking better care of yourself.”
    “I will.  I know.  Actually, I’m just getting ready to take a nice hot bath to relax.  I promise I’ll eat as soon as I’m done.”
    He sighed wearily.  “Okay.  Be sure that you do.  Call me tomorrow.”
    “I will, Dad.  Thanks.”
    She hung up and turned the water off.  Looking around, Melanie grabbed some fresh towels from one of her boxes and set them on the vanity before stripping down and gingerly climbing into the steamy water.  A groan of pure appreciation escaped her lips as soon as she was fully submerged.
    “This almost makes up for all the grime,” she sighed and rested her head back, closing her eyes.  “Heavenly.”
    For a few minutes, Melanie let her mind be blank and simply relaxed.  The hot water and the salts were doing wonders for her tired body and it was glorious.  Then, unable to help herself, her mind went back into work mode.  A running list of supplies she was going to need was first and she cursed not having a pad and pen handy to start writing things down.  Next came the necessities of going into town and maybe meeting her neighbors.
    And then there was the book.
    The groan that came out this time had nothing to do with relaxation and everything to do with dread.  “Damn Christmas story.  Why can’t I write what I want to write?”  It was something she’d been asking her editor for months and the only response she got was how all of the other in-house authors were contributing to building their holiday line, and she would be no exception.  “Stupid rule.”
    And then something came to her. 
    Melanie sat up straight in the tub and only mildly minded the water that sloshed over the side of the tub.  “All I need to do is write a story that takes place around Christmas.  It doesn’t have to necessarily be about Christmas!”  Her heart began to beat frantically.  “I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing!”  Relief swamped her and she forced herself to relax again.  Sinking back into the water, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander to all of the possibilities that had suddenly opened up.
    “A romance at Christmas time,” she said quietly.  “Major emphasis on romance, minor on Christmas.  Technically, I’m meeting my obligations.”  She smiled.  “Hmm…a heroine alone—maybe stranded—in a winter storm and a sexy hero who storms in and rescues her.”
    Melanie purred.  “Yeah.  That could definitely work.”  Sinking further down into the water, an image of the hero came to mind.  Tall. That was a given.  Muscular, but not overly so.  Maybe lean would be a better way to describe him.  And dark hair.  She was a sucker for the dark hair.  “Sex on a stick,” she said quietly, enjoying the image that was playing in her mind.
    The bathroom door swung open and Melanie’s eyes flew open as she screamed.  The man standing in the doorway seemed to have stepped almost completely from her imagination.  If she wasn’t so freaking scared at the moment, she would appreciate it.
    “I wouldn’t count on sex on a stick or anyplace else if I were you.  You’re trespassing and you’re under arrest.”

Chapter Two
     
    For a moment, Josiah could only stare.
    There was a naked woman in Carol Harper’s tub. 
    Holy.  Crap.
    When he’d driven up to his place a few minutes ago and saw the strange car parked out in front of the cabin, he immediately became suspicious.  Hazards of the job, considering he was the sheriff of Silver Bell Falls.  The front door had been locked and the blinds drawn just as they always were, but the car was definitely a red flag.  So he let himself in.
    And found the naked woman he was currently staring at.
    “Who the hell