The Winter Spirit ARE Read Free Page A

though, and beamed up at me.
    “God, you haven’t changed at all. And at the same time, boy , have you changed.”
    “That…makes no sense.”
    He laughed again, his brown eyes twinkling in the sharp winter sunlight. “It’s so good to see you.”
    The knot of nerves in my belly untangled a little. “It’s good to see you too. So do you need a tow? Or I can try to jumpstart you?”
    Owen turned toward the car and waved a hand at it in dismissal. “Nah, it’s a rental. They’re picking it up later. I’ll just get my stuff and grab a ride with you.”
    “Uh, yes. Sure. Here, let me help.” He popped the trunk and my eyes almost fell out of my head. “Planning an extended stay?”
    For the first time his smile seemed a little strained. “Something like that.” Without looking at me again, he lifted two suitcases out of the trunk. I grabbed the other two. We walked toward my truck in silence and dumped the bags on the backseat. I noticed that his fingertips were completely white.
    “Anything else in there?”
    “Just my laptop bag.”
    “I’ll grab it. You climb in.”
    The Toyota was freezing inside, and when I tried the key in the ignition, the car didn’t so much as sputter. I grabbed the laptop bag sitting in the passenger seat, checked to make sure nothing else had stayed behind, and wriggled my way back out. I could see Owen in the cab of my truck, fiddling with either the radio or the heat.
    Owen Ashurst .
    I laughed softly to myself as I trudged through the sludgy snow. I couldn’t believe it.
    “So what brings you back here after all these years?” I asked him as I slammed my door shut. The inside was toasty warm now, so I pulled off my hat and gloves and tossed them onto the dashboard. When I glanced at Owen he was giving me a thorough once-over and his eyes were shining again.
    “Never did get rid of your baby curls, did you?”
    I patted my wayward and static-y hair, refusing to check myself out in the mirror. “Says the guy with the angel mane. Did it stay that white or do you bleach it?” I pulled out from behind Owen’s rental car as he laughed, then settled in to stare at scenery once so familiar to him. It wasn’t that I hadn’t noticed he avoided my questions, but I decided to let them go.
    Instead, I looked at my town and wondered how he saw it. Not much had changed, although some effort had gone into renewal and renovation. Patsy’s Ice Cream Parlor had a new front and colorful little doors and shutters that made it look inviting even in the middle of winter. Like a gingerbread house. Modetz—the most inappropriately named funeral home ever to exist—was still in business too. They’d added an overhang to their side entrance so the grieving didn’t have to trudge through snow or rain to get to their cars. The little parking lot that came with the building had been resurfaced, but that was currently covered in snow.
    “Barney’s is gone?” Owen suddenly asked, whipping his head around to look at me.
    “Ah, yeah.” Burgers at Barney’s had been a rare treat with Owen if I managed to get away from my grandparents’ house. “He finally succumbed. I think he ate nothing but ground meat his whole life. I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. His son tried to take over for a while, but he ran the place to the ground. It was a French restaurant for a year or so.”
    Owen’s eyebrows rose comically. “French? Here?”
    “Yeah. Didn’t last long, obviously. It’s a flower shop now. Pretty nice one too.”
    Owen nodded, biting his lip, his eyes not leaving mine until I had to pay attention to the road again. He went back to staring out the window for the rest of the short trip.
    I pulled into the long driveway of the Lake House, and tried and failed not to scrutinize Owen for a reaction.
    He leaned forward in his seat. “Wow, I can’t say this place looks the same. This is amazing.”
    My heart did a pleased little hop and I couldn’t entirely fight down the blush