Snow Angel (The Hope Falls Chronicles) (10 page)

Slow. He needed to take things slow.

Reaching into his bag, he picked up his hoodie and quickly pulled it over his head. “Let me walk you

out.” His voice held a raspy quality that was pure need.

“Oh, right.” Lily laughed a little as she shook her head and looked up at him. “Okay, thanks.”

She turned to leave and he followed behind her. His eyes automatically locked in on the naturally

seductive sway of her hips. The sight quickened his already rapid heart rate.

Shower. He needed a cold shower. A very cold shower.

Chapter Eight

Lily shivered as she walked through the frozen food section of Grocery Junction. It had very little to do

with the temperature in the aisle itself. She hadn’t been able to warm up since she had stepped foot outside that morning. In between her errands, she had even broken down and once again fell off of the no-caffeine

wagon when she’d stopped by Sue Ann’s for another delicious coffee in hopes that it would warm her

from the inside out. It had helped, but not as much as she had hoped it would.

She quickly grabbed a few packages of frozen green beans and a couple of vegan TV dinners. One was

Indian Mattar Tofu and the other was Tamale Roasted Vegetables. She hadn’t tried either of them before.

Since transitioning to a clean eating lifestyle, she had switched to cooking most of her meals, but for the next few weeks she really needed to concentrate on the choreography for the tour.

Sometimes sacrifices must be made.

After checking the list she had programmed into her phone and glancing down at her cart, she was

satisfied that she had everything she needed. She wanted to do cartwheels now that her day-o’-cold errands

was almost behind her but she didn’t think that the store would appreciate her tumbling around inside. This was her last stop, and she was headed home to take a hot bath, put on sweats, and veg out in front of the

TV.

As she pushed her full cart to the front of the store, her eyes fell upon a completely empty check stand.

Seeing that there was no line at the checkout made her want to do a touchdown victory dance. She guessed

that in a small town there might be a lot of times that there was no one in line at the grocery store, but she had never experienced it before, and that, combined with the fact that she was done with her errands, made

her practically giddy.

Okay, so maybe she was a little too excited that her running around was complete and she didn’t have

to wait in a line. But she had been cold for the last five hours. And not just a little chilly either. All-the-way-down, feel-it-deep-in-your-bones
cold
.

“Well now, you look mighty happy about something, young lady,” a voice sounded beside Lily as she

placed her items up on the conveyor belt.

“Hey, Mayor Walker,” the tall, thin, cheery cashier greeted the gentleman as she loudly smacked her

gum.

Lily looked up from what she was doing and saw that the man, who she gathered from the cashier’s

greeting was the mayor, was speaking to
her
.

He extended his hand, and Lily reached up on autopilot to shake it. “Henry Walker. And you must be

Lily Sotelo.”

The metallic taste of adrenaline, i.e. panic, rose up in her throat. How did the
mayor
know her name?

And why on earth was he talking to her? She tried to keep her facial expression neutral even though inside

her warning bells were going off like there was a four-alarm fire.

Calmly she tried to remind herself that this was a small town and she was the new girl. Not only that but

she was also working with the Karina Black. News of her moving there had probably made its rounds.

There was nothing to be alarmed about. But she was.

She saw a strange expression spread across the jovial man’s face, and she realized she might not be

doing as good of a job at hiding her inner freak-out as she had hoped.

Well, good going. Way to act normal.

She felt a small glimmer of hope that she may be able to salvage this interaction if she tried. She smiled

brightly as she said, “Yep, I’m Lily. It’s so nice to meet you, Mayor.”

“You too,” the mayor replied. Then, with a deep furrow in his brow, he sincerely added, “Sorry if I

spooked you. I just noticed you had a little pep in your step.”

“Oh that.” She laughed a little as her body began to relax. Somehow with one sentence the mayor had

put her at ease. “I was just happy to go home because I’m cold.”

The mayor just stared at her blankly.

She tried to explain her odd statement. “I mean, I’ve been cold since I left the house this morning. I

haven’t lived anywhere this cold for a long time, and I guess I’m just not used to it anymore.”

“Well, now I don’t want to put a fly in your pie, but this here is mild compared to what it’s going to be

like in a few weeks. There’ll be snow to shovel and—”

“Oh, I know. I grew up around snow, and I’ve always wanted to move back to someplace that

snowed,” Lily blurted out. She didn’t know what had possessed her to do that. She
never
offered up

personal information about herself.

“Well you dang sure got your wish.” Mayor Walker chuckled as he moved to the endcap at the check

stand and pulled out two boxes that read Hot Hands. They looked like they held packages of little tea bags.

“Now here. You take these. You just shake them up and put them in your gloves or clothes and that should

take some of the chill off.”

“Thanks.” Lily felt tears form in her eyes as she slid her credit card down the machine to pay. This place

didn’t seem real. All of these people had been so kind to her, starting with Sue Ann then Lauren. Obviously Karina and all the people at her dinner party—Ariana, Carlos, and Miles. And then there was Eric.

Eric and his opening doors, moving her boxes, walking her to her car, looking ridiculously sexy.

Okay, well maybe the last thing wasn’t really an act of kindness, but she sure appreciated it.

She finished up her transaction and turned back to the mayor. “Thanks again. Nice meeting you.”

“You too, young lady. Now you let me know if you need anything, you hear?”

Lily grinned and nodded. “I will.”

Stepping through the sliding doors, she felt the cold air hit her like she’d walked into a wall. She

quickly pulled two packets out of the Hand Warmers box, shook them, and placed them in her gloves. She

rushed across the small parking lot to her Jeep with the cold beating on her face.

By the time she had finished loading her groceries, she realized that the little packets of heat worked.

She still felt the cold on her face of course, but she didn’t feel chilled to the bone anymore.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she saw the mayor opening the door to an old-school Cadillac that

looked to be in pristine condition. She reached out and pressed the button to roll down her driver’s side

window. “They really work,” she happily proclaimed as she held up the tiny white bag of heavenly warmth.

Mayor Walker snorted as he put his hands on his belt buckle. “Well of course they do, sugar. I wouldn’t endorse anything that didn’t.”

The mayor tilted his large cowboy hat at Lily, and she waved as she pulled out of the small parking lot

and onto Main Street. As she drove past Read Between the Lines, she half expected to see that Great Dane

that she’d seen on her first day here marching down the street again. She was actually a little disappointed that she didn’t.

She loved dogs. She hadn’t ever had her own dog growing up. A few of the foster families she’d lived

with had had dogs, and she had tried her best not to get attached to them but inevitably she always did. And she’d always been heartbroken when she’d had to leave them.

Lily shook her head, trying to clear it. She didn’t want to think about the past. She wanted to focus on

the present, which included a nice, relaxing, warm bath.

Turning onto her street, she felt her pulse pick up once again at the thought that she might get a glimpse

of her sexy neighbor. It had been three days since she’d had an Eric sighting. As each day passed, her

anticipation and expectancy grew more and more intense.

After seeing him every day for the first four days she was in town, she had kind of come to think that

that would be the norm. She had run into him at Sue Ann’s, Karina’s, in her front yard, and at the

Community Center. But since he had walked her to her car after his basketball game, they had not run into

each other again.

It was disappointing.

Rounding the curve where their houses sat, she saw that Eric’s SUV was parked in his driveway. Her

hands tingled with excitement. She gripped the steering wheel as she pulled up and parked.

Just knowing that he was next door made her feel happy and also safe. Feeling either one of those

things independently was a big deal for Lily. Having them both happen at the same time was unprecedented.

She slipped her Hand Warmers in her gloves before getting out into the cold again. Then she hurried to

the back to get her groceries. She was just reaching in to get her bags when she heard a loud bark and

turned to see a gorgeous golden retriever sitting beside her.

“Hello. Where did you come from?” Lily asked as she kneeled down to check if the dog had a collar.

The second her hand touched the dog’s head, it began licking her gloves and pressing its head against

her.

“Thank you for the kisses,” she said. She rubbed the dog behind its ears as it happily wagged its tail and

continued to bathe her with his tongue.

“Shadow! Shadow!”

She heard Eric’s strained voice yell sounding like he was a fairly good distance away.

Reaching down and checking the tags, she yelled back, “Over here!”

She heard his heavy footsteps as he came closer. She took the several moments she had to prepare

herself for being face to face with the man that had been starring in her dreams both day and night since

she’d accepted that dance with him.

“There you are.” Relief filled his deep, sexy voice as he ruffled the dog’s head. “You had me worried,

boy.”

Although Shadow did seem genuinely happy to see his owner, most of his attention continued to be

lavished on Lily. She looked up to see if Eric had noticed that she seemed to have won his dog's affections and, when she did, she felt the air leave her lungs in a whoosh. Her preparation had not even come close to fortifying her against what she saw.

Today, Eric wasn’t in a tux, sweats, or uniform and he wasn’t shirtless in gym shorts. Nope. Today he

had on a navy blue thermal that molded perfectly to his chiseled chest and biceps, blue jeans that weren’t

too baggy or too tight and fit him snugly in all the right places, and a pair of work boots.

Short stubble lined his jawline, causing his clean-cut face to have an edge that was a little—no scratch

that—a lot bad-boy. His hair was probably just windblown, but to her active imagination it looked like he

had just gotten out of bed and he hadn’t just been sleeping there.

Oh boy.

---~---

Eric looked down at Shadow plastered against Lily and he couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Not of

the fact that the dog who never left his side, thus the name Shadow, now clearly had found someone whose

company he preferred over Eric’s. No, that didn’t bother him at all.

He was jealous of the fact that his dog was getting attention that he himself would love to be getting

from his new sexy neighbor. Shadow, probably sensing Eric’s feelings and wanting to prove who the alpha

between the two of them was, proceeded to hop up and plant a big sloppy kiss on Lily’s face.

“Down, Shadow,” Eric commanded, and Shadow immediately obeyed.

Lily was laughing as she wiped her face. “He’s fine. I love dogs.”

Of course she did. If Eric had written down everything he wanted in someone, Lily would have it. She

was beyond hot. Which, as shallow as it may seem, did matter to Eric. If attraction wasn’t there, then what was the point? She was also independent, talented, kind and friendly, and she loved dogs.

What more could a man want?

Shadow whimpered for Lily’s attention. His tail was wagging so fast that he was having a hard time

staying in a sit.

“You were just giving me kisses, huh, Shadow?” Lily said, leaning down to kiss Shadow on the top of

his head.

Lucky dog.

Eric looked up and noticed that Lily’s Jeep was filled with groceries. “Do you need a hand with those?”

Lily straightened back up and her eyes widened at his offer. “Sure, that would be great.”

He grabbed several bags, and she did the same. As they made their way to the front door, Eric noticed

that Shadow walked between him and Lily. He really hoped that the dog would not try and pee on her to

mark his territory.

“Man, I’ve heard of Southern hospitality, but I didn’t know it reached all the way to California.” She

took out her keys, and Eric noted that she unlocked both the door handle lock and the deadbolt.

He could add that as one more thing he liked about this girl. She even locked her deadbolt. Most girls he

knew didn’t have the key for their deadbolt and some of them never even locked their front door at all. It drove Eric crazy.

“It’s a small town. We like to help each other out,” Eric explained as he set the groceries down on her

counter.

“It’s nice,” she said with a smile that looked…sad.

He wanted to ask her what was wrong but he heard Shadow barking at the front door. They walked

back outside just as Jake was getting out of his black Range Rover.