Snowfall Read Free Page B

her and just missed as she went to check on Apollo. The valiant mastiff seemed to be doing okay, but his worried mommy was checking on him every ten minutes anyway.
    “Hey cool,” Poncho exclaimed from his seat on the other side of the couch, “I never saw this movie. Didn’t what’s her face get an award for this?” Poncho dug into the homemade chicken pot pie that hadn’t burned while they’d all been out in the snow.
    He watched as what’s her face—Kathy Bates—proceeded to beat the crap out of a stranded and hurt James Caan. As the movie’s plot unfolded, Poncho understood why Jake had given Ashley a bad time about it. It was too similar to the situation they were in. A man stranded in a snowstorm and depending on a crazy woman to shelter and care for him until the roads were clear enough to get out.
    “You got a pretty mean streak in you, little lady,” he admonished as she sat between them. “That’s not funny. I’m gonna lock my door tonight now.” Both Ashley and Jake snickered, but Poncho was serious. “I mean it. I’ma have nightmares about waking up with a crazy-ass Ashley standin’ over me with a sledgehammer.”
    The snicker turned to a full-out laugh when Poncho scooted farther into the corner of the couch and stuffed a throw pillow between him and Ashley.
    Ashley did her best interpretation of crazy eyes at Poncho then shoved to her feet again. “Ashley.” Jake caught her hand. “He’s fine. You’ve checked him eight times since the movie started. Let him sleep.” He looked from her wide eyes to their clasped hands. He’d touched her before and always it was like a low-level current. Electricity would run from the point of contact to his gut and lower. This time was no different. Except for the first time, he got the feeling that she felt it too. His fingers were long, enveloping her small hand so that some of his fingers were lying on her delicate wrist, and he felt the increase in her pulse. He froze for half a second in wonder. Then he decided to test her. He tugged, she stepped closer and the pulse kicked again. He slid his hand over hers until his longest finger was in the warm pillow of her palm. He stroked there, and her pulse went into over drive just before she snatched her hand back with a scowl and marched out of the room.
    Well, well, well , he thought. The ice queen wasn’t quite as indifferent as she’d like him to believe. With his thoughts turning to what he was going to do about that he was unprepared for Poncho’s yelp.
    “What the hell? Crazy bitch. Aarrgh!” It was at that moment Jake discovered why his best friend never watched scary movies. Poncho was one hundred and sixty pounds of mean scrapper. He’d had his college tuition paid in full on a wrestling scholarship and right now he was hiding his face in a pillow over a Stephen King movie.
    “Poncho.” He leaned over and whispered around the pillow, “Man, I’m never letting you forget this.”
     
    Ashley stood on the other side of the wall and willed her heartbeat to return to a normal level. Once she was sure her legs could carry her, she went to her bedroom and knelt by Apollo. She would have put him in the bed and slept in one of the guest rooms or even the couch if it came to that. Unfortunately the other dogs wouldn’t leave him alone and she didn’t want them to jostle him as they bounced on and off the mattress.
    He was cinched up tight with bandages around his middle and looked to be in no pain thanks to the meds they’d given him. Fortunately, she kept a variety of supplies around for the dogs. The other dogs were keeping vigil in a circle around him and as a unit they lifted their heads to look at her as she knelt among them to stroke Apollo’s head. “You still okay, big guy?” she murmured. Grover, the Irish wolfhound and second in command, nudged in next to her and laid his head on her lap while Bernie the St. Bernard stayed where he was stretched along Apollo’s side. The