Snowbound - Harlequin.com
Snowbound - Harlequin.com Snowbound - Harlequin.com
52 SNOWBOUND Fiona winced and hoped the man she’d been obsessing about was out of earshot. Clearly she would have to supervise the kitchen crews. It might have been far more interesting to have been stranded here without eight teenagers. GETTING THE KIDS out the door was a chore, even after John went to the effort to round up a fair selection of parkas, gloves, hats and several pairs of boots. One girl—Amy—didn’t want to go. John was sympathetic until she started to whine. “It’s cold.” “Come on, you gotta be on my team,” Hopper coaxed. “I don’t like getting cold.” “But you ski!” one of the other girls said in apparent surprise. Her lower lip was getting pouty. “Not when it’s snowing like this.” Troy Thorsen grabbed a hat and put it on her, pulling it down over her ears even as she shook her head madly, fighting him. “You have to come out, or we won’t have even sides.” She yanked it off and threw it at him, her eyes flashing. “I don’t have to do anything.” Their teacher intervened. “No, you don’t. Amy, if you’d rather stay inside, that’s fine. Mr. Fallon has a good library. You can pick out a book and read in front of the fire with me.” “But, Ms. Mac!” the skinny kid protested. “Aren’t you coming out?” “Are you kidding? Not a chance.”
JANICE KAY JOHNSON 53 “Bummer,” somebody muttered. Kelli sniffed and pointedly turned her back on Amy. “Let’s just go out. It doesn’t matter if sides aren’t even.” “Yeah,” a couple of them agreed. All began zipping parkas and donning hats. Amy smiled at Hopper, the boy she’d been hanging on. “You could keep me company. We could play a game. Or, like, explore the lodge.” Be alone, her tone promised. Yanking on gloves, he missed the full wattage of her smile and possibly her implicit promise. “Nah, it’s going to be cool out there. I’ll see you later, okay?” Standing to one side, John saw anger flare on her face. Then, “Oh, fine!” she snapped. “I’ll come already.” She appropriated a parka the girl in braces had been reaching for, picked out a faux-fur headband that left her hair to ripple down her back and chose gloves. “Cool!” Hopper declared, as oblivious to the coldshoulder she gave him now as he’d been to her earlier, flirtation. Coatless—she’d loaned hers to one of the girls— Fiona followed them out onto the porch. “Remember, you’ll stay right in front. I want to be able to see all of you whenever I glance out.” “Yes, Ms. Mac,” they all said dutifully, meanwhile rolling their eyes. Shaking her head, she came back inside and shut the heavy front door. “Want to bet on how long they last out there?” “I’m going to say ten minutes for the one who didn’t want to go.”
- Page 2 and 3: For 60 years, Harlequin has been pr
- Page 4 and 5: Dear Reader, In 2009 Harlequin will
- Page 6 and 7: ABOUT THE AUTHOR The author of more
- Page 8 and 9: 8 SNOWBOUND Only, they hadn’t. Th
- Page 10 and 11: 10 SNOWBOUND Fiona was momentarily
- Page 12 and 13: 12 SNOWBOUND bottles heated at odd
- Page 14 and 15: 14 SNOWBOUND Then he stood for a mi
- Page 16 and 17: 16 SNOWBOUND Voice pitched so only
- Page 18 and 19: 18 SNOWBOUND Well, she had no choic
- Page 20 and 21: 20 SNOWBOUND “I didn’t know tha
- Page 22 and 23: 22 SNOWBOUND it with spilled coffee
- Page 24 and 25: 24 SNOWBOUND back in the lodge, onl
- Page 26 and 27: 26 SNOWBOUND You want to share mine
- Page 28 and 29: 28 SNOWBOUND He thought of himself
- Page 30 and 31: 30 SNOWBOUND Tabitha, Erin and…th
- Page 32 and 33: 32 SNOWBOUND Her chin came up. “T
- Page 34 and 35: 34 SNOWBOUND and beneath the collar
- Page 36 and 37: 36 SNOWBOUND students! And here she
- Page 38 and 39: 38 SNOWBOUND She’d barely reached
- Page 40 and 41: 40 SNOWBOUND She ached as if she’
- Page 42 and 43: 42 SNOWBOUND didn’t remember, for
- Page 44 and 45: 44 SNOWBOUND ing a smile. “Amy be
- Page 46 and 47: CHAPTER THREE WILLOW AND ERIN came
- Page 48 and 49: 48 SNOWBOUND didn’t seem in any h
- Page 50 and 51: 50 SNOWBOUND figure it out. They se
- Page 54 and 55: 54 SNOWBOUND She laughed. “Hopper
- Page 56 and 57: 56 SNOWBOUND Her eyes widened. “O
- Page 58 and 59: 58 SNOWBOUND “I don’t need it.
- Page 60 and 61: 60 SNOWBOUND each other, all blurre
- Page 62 and 63: 62 SNOWBOUND She laughed with them.
- Page 64 and 65: 64 SNOWBOUND although neither of th
- Page 66 and 67: 66 SNOWBOUND “Gee, why don’t I
- Page 68 and 69: 68 SNOWBOUND As, she supposed, it w
- Page 70 and 71: 70 SNOWBOUND “Period starting?”
- Page 72 and 73: 72 SNOWBOUND “Daddy…I mean, my
- Page 74 and 75: 74 SNOWBOUND Downstairs, Kelli and
- Page 76 and 77: 76 SNOWBOUND games that went on for
- Page 78 and 79: 78 SNOWBOUND that he quickly hid.
- Page 80 and 81: 80 SNOWBOUND “Really?” Dieter l
- Page 82 and 83: CHAPTER FIVE JOHN COULDN’T REMEMB
- Page 84 and 85: 84 SNOWBOUND “Fiona.” She slept
- Page 86 and 87: 86 SNOWBOUND “Not what the physic
- Page 88 and 89: 88 SNOWBOUND It took her a bit long
- Page 90 and 91: 90 SNOWBOUND mother. I was afraid s
- Page 92 and 93: 92 SNOWBOUND John dumped burgundy w
- Page 94 and 95: 94 SNOWBOUND Her laugh was a lovely
- Page 96 and 97: 96 SNOWBOUND He nodded, unsurprised
- Page 98 and 99: CHAPTER SIX AFTER DINNER, Willow di
- Page 100 and 101: 100 SNOWBOUND “Willow’s period
52 SNOWBOUND<br />
Fiona winced and hoped the man she’d been obsessing<br />
about was out of earshot. Clearly she would have<br />
to supervise the kitchen crews.<br />
It might have been far more interesting to have been<br />
stranded here without eight teenagers.<br />
GETTING THE KIDS out the door was a chore, even after<br />
John went to the effort to round up a fair selection of<br />
parkas, gloves, hats and several pairs of boots. One<br />
girl—Amy—didn’t want to go. John was sympathetic<br />
until she started to whine.<br />
“It’s cold.”<br />
“Come on, you gotta be on my team,” Hopper coaxed.<br />
“I don’t like getting cold.”<br />
“But you ski!” one of the other girls said in apparent<br />
surprise.<br />
Her lower lip was getting pouty. “Not when it’s<br />
snowing like this.”<br />
Troy Thorsen grabbed a hat and put it on her, pulling<br />
it down over her ears even as she shook her head madly,<br />
fighting him. “You have to <strong>com</strong>e out, or we won’t have<br />
even sides.”<br />
She yanked it off and threw it at him, her eyes<br />
flashing. “I don’t have to do anything.”<br />
Their teacher intervened. “No, you don’t. Amy, if<br />
you’d rather stay inside, that’s fine. Mr. Fallon has a<br />
good library. You can pick out a book and read in front<br />
of the fire with me.”<br />
“But, Ms. Mac!” the skinny kid protested. “Aren’t<br />
you <strong>com</strong>ing out?”<br />
“Are you kidding? Not a chance.”
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