Snowbound - Harlequin.com

194 SNOWBOUND
“You’re the expert.” He reached into her trunk for her
bag. “Just the one?”
“What d’ye mean, just the one? Airlines would reject
it. It must weigh sixty pounds.”
He grunted as he heaved it out of the trunk. “You
know, we do have laundry facilities here.”
She poked him with her elbow, and he laughed out
loud.
The limp was more evident weighted down as he was,
and she saw him wince climbing the steps to the porch,
but she knew better than to offer to take the bag from him.
Besides…she’d had a heck of a time hoisting it into her
trunk. She wasn’t lying; the darn thing felt as if she’d
filled it with books instead of just her winter boots, ski
pants and wool sweaters as well as plenty of changes of
clothes. Okay, and a few books. Presumably she’d have
to entertain herself some of the time while he worked.
Inside, heat radiated from the enormous fireplace.
The room, too, looked just as she remembered it, except
there were strange people here. Unjust, perhaps, but for
a moment she resented them, wanting to see Dieter and
Erin and yes, even Amy instead of the middle-aged
woman who lifted her head from a book and nodded,
the kids who played checkers at the table, the couple
strolling in from the kitchen.
“A new guest?” the woman, not much older than
Fiona, asked with a pleasant smile.
“In a way,” she said, smiling in return. “I’m actually
a friend of John’s.”
“Oh, how nice. You’ll be here for Christmas, then?”
When she nodded, the woman sighed. “We’re leaving