Snowbound - Harlequin.com

JANICE KAY JOHNSON
11
Nodding at townsfolk when he had to, he took the
time to pick up his mail, go to the tiny liquor store and
then to top his Toyota 4Runner’s tanks at the Chevron
station before setting out for the lodge. With the snow
coming down harder, he skipped his usual stop at the
library to pick out new books and check his e-mail.
Within half an hour, he was cursing under his breath.
The snow was falling heavily—more like a midwinter
storm than a pre-Thanksgiving one. Good thing he’d
stocked up. If it kept on like this, the plows might take
a week to get to his place. The Thunder Mountain
Lodge, of which he was now proprietor, was the last
dwelling on the west side of the mountains. Just past the
lodge, the highway closed for the winter unless the
snowfall was light.
If this storm was any indication, snowfall was going
to break records this season.
He wouldn’t mind. When he bought the lodge in
December last year, John had intended to keep it operating,
but he hadn’t done much advertising and he found
himself looking forward to midweeks when he had the
place to himself.
Families were the most annoying. Cross-country
skiers, snowshoers, hikers; they were okay. They tended
to be out all day and come back tired. They’d eat quickly
and gratefully, maybe sit in front of the blaze in the
huge, river-rock fireplace that was the lodge’s heart,
then disappear into their rooms. But families… They
were another story. The mothers always wanted to talk
and the kids yelled and ran around and knocked things
over. Families wanted suggestions for activities, baby