Snowed In Read Free Page A

very traditional. I think they’re dumb.”
    “Gotta say I agree with you. So do they make a lot of movies here?”
    “Only a couple, but a lot of actors come here to get away from it all. I saw Heath Ledger once.”
    “No way! In person?”
    She nodded, then shrugged. “At least, I think it was him. My boyfriend didn’t agree.”
    “You have a boyfriend?”
    “Yeah, sure. Don’t you?”
    “No, not really.”
    “Why not?”
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    “I’m not really interested in having a boyfriend.”
    She looked at me suspiciously. “Why not?” I shrugged. “Just figure I have plenty of time to get serious later.”
    “Do you date?”
    “Oh, yeah, sure. I really like dating.”
    “I can’t imagine not having a boyfriend.” I smiled. “I can’t imagine having one.” She looked at me like I’d come from another planet.
    “So, do you want to sit in there?” I pointed to the parlor, realizing I never really imagined I’d ever invite anyone to sit in one. I mean, really, who had parlors these days?
    “Not really. I’ve never been inside this house.
    The Shoemakers didn’t have kids, so . . .” She shrugged as though that explained it all.
    The Shoemakers were the previous owners, and I guessed Nathalie was hoping for a tour.
    “Today’s the first time for me, too,” I said. We both laughed. I’d forgotten how hard it was to get to know someone. But Nathalie made it seem easy.
    “Where’s your bedroom?” she asked.
    “I was just about to take a look around and decide. Want to come with me?”
    “You betcha. Sure beats having tea with my 18
    mom. Her idea of exciting conversation is discussing Victorian lace.”
    I grimaced.
    She nodded. “Exactly.”
    As we climbed the worn wooden stairs, each of our steps echoed around us. The house had been built sometime in the 1880’s, and it sounded old, felt old. Okay, it felt haunted. The perfect setting for a horror movie.
    When we got to the second floor, it was like we’d stepped even further back in time.
    A short hallway to my right led to a couple of bedrooms that were separated by a bathroom.
    “Oh, totally awesome!” Nathalie said as she peered into one of the rooms. “I think all the furniture is antique. You must have paid a fortune for this.”
    Mom probably had, but, fortunately, money is one of the things that isn’t a problem for us. Dad is a big corporate executive. He and Mom split everything they’d acquired over the years right down the middle. Except for me, of course. If they fought about anything, I didn’t know about it. That didn’t make it any easier, and I can’t deny there were a lot of tears. But at least there wasn’t really any bitterness—or financial squabbling.
    Nathalie looked at me. “People really get into 19
    the old stuff around here. The Victorian Walk is next weekend. A lot of the houses are opened up for touring, and all the money collected goes to the Historical Preservation Society. I’m selling tickets if you want to go.”
    Looking through old houses really wasn’t my thing, but I was trying to make a friend here and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
    “I might. I don’t really know. I mean, I just got here.”
    “Oh, right. Sorry. Guess you need to find a bedroom before you start planning your social calendar.”
    Would I even have a social calendar here?
    Would I meet other kids? Would we hit it off?
    Would we want to do things together?
    “Anyway, I thought you said you’d never been inside this house,” I said.
    “Right. The Shoemakers usually closed it up and headed to Florida for the winter, so this one was never included on the tour. I’m guessing they decided to sell and stay down there?”
    “I think so.”
    “Fine by me. They were totally no fun.”
    “Do a lot of people leave for the winter?” I asked.
    Nathalie shrugged. “Some do. Most don’t.
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    Most of our businesses rely on tourism, and since we don’t get many tourists in winter, some people will close up shop and head to