Snow Angel (The Hope Falls Chronicles) Read online

  Snow Angel

  by

  Melanie Shawn

  Copyright 2013 by Melanie Shawn

  Cover Design by Hot Damn Designs

  Published by Red Hot Reads Publishing 2013

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this book. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from Melanie Shawn. Exceptions are limited to reviewers who may use brief quotations in connection with reviews. No part of this book can be transmitted, scanned, reproduced, or distributed in any written or electronic form without written permission from Melanie Shawn.

  This book is a work of fiction. Places, names, characters and events are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Sneak Peek: Snow Days

  Excerpt: My First

  Excerpt: Sweet Reunion

  Other titles by Melanie Shawn

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Beads of sweat dripped down Lily Sotelo’s back as the corners of the large, heavy cardboard box dug into her biceps and forearms. Her arms shook as she lifted her knee beneath the massive object for balance so she could readjust her grip on the awkward, rectangular box. As she set her foot back down, the soles of her sneakers squeaked on the slippery surface. Slowly she navigated her way down the wet concrete steps.

  Over the pounding of blood causing Lily’s head to feel like it was going to explode from exertion, she heard the creak of her landlord-slash-neighbor’s door opening. “Are you sure you don’t need a hand with that, sweetie?”

  “No, Mrs. H, I’ve got it. But thanks so much for offering,” Lily said brightly. She knew if there was even a hint of stress in her tone Mrs. H would be out of her apartment and “helping” her so fast it would make her head spin. If that happened, there was a more than likely possibility the elderly woman would fall and break her other hip.

  “Oh now, of course you don’t need the help of an old lady, but I can call Tim. He would be happy to carry all those heavy boxes for you,” Mrs. H’s shaky voice said from directly behind Lily.

  Great. Mrs. H was on the steps. The wet steps.

  “I’ve got it,” Lily managed to grunt out even though she was now struggling to catch her breath from the exertion.

  She loved Mrs. H—adored her, really—but right now Lily just needed to concentrate on making it down the last flight of steps without breaking her neck. Also, the last thing she wanted her well-meaning landlord to do was call her grandson Tim. He didn’t take no for an answer and was creepy with a capital C.

  Tim was one of the many reasons that Lily had jumped at the chance to move out of Sacramento when she had been given the opportunity to choreograph pop superstar Karina Black’s upcoming winter tour.

  Relief washed over Lily as she heard the pitter-patter of Mrs. H’s slippers shuffling back inside her apartment. “Well, all right then. I’m gonna go on in and get out of this rain.” Before closing her door, she added, “Don’t forget to stop by before you leave, sweetie. I’ve got some goodies for you to take on the road.”

  “Okay. I’ll be sure and stop by, Mrs. H,” she promised.

  As Lily reached the bottom step, all of the energy she had expended over the last three days suddenly caught up to her in one fell swoop. Her limbs were heavy and weak. Her head was pounding like a hammer, and she felt like her eyelids had bricks attached to them.

  She paused for a moment and propped the burdensome box against the stucco wall of the apartment complex. After shutting her eyes and taking in several cleansing breaths, she realized the second wind she desperately needed was not going to magically rush through her. Although, to be fair, it would more accurately be like a tenth wind at this point.

  Lily had spent the weekend at the wedding of Amanda Jacobs and Justin Barnes in Hope Falls—the small town in the Sierra Nevadas she was now going to be calling home—for the next few months at least. While she was there, she’d been approached by Karina Black with an out-of-this world amazing job opportunity.

  After returning from the sleepy town two days ago, she’d quit both of her jobs, packed the entire contents of her life into six boxes that would fit in her Jeep, cleaned her apartment, every nook and cranny—so she could get her deposit!—and said goodbye to the few friends she had made since she had settled in Sacramento two years earlier.

  Now, she was tired. And somewhat second-guessing her choice of making her life-changing decision so abruptly. She could have sub-leased her apartment and not made things so final.

  Lily shook her head at that thought. Even though her commitment to Karina only extended through the tour, which entailed three months pre-production and then three months on the road, she knew she would not be returning to the Sacramento area after her contract was up. She had already stayed much longer than she’d ever intended to.

  Prior to moving to Sacramento two years ago, she’d spent eight years never staying more than one year in any given location before moving on. It wasn’t ideal but it had worked. She was still alive.

  Pushing the button on her key remote, she popped the back of her Jeep and hoisted her final box inside. She sucked in a hiss from pain shooting through her as she body tensed and her muscles quivered while she pushed and maneuvered the container until she was satisfied that it was securely in place. Finally reaching up and shutting the hatch, she turned and sat on the bumper to take a moment and rest.

  Closing her eyes, she sat perfectly still, listening to the tap-tap-tapping of the rain as it landed on the aluminum carport that sheltered her. Slowly her body relaxed as the melodic beat began to lull her. She allowed herself the luxury to just take a moment and simply…be.

  Lily loved rain. She loved the sound, the smell, the feeling it gave her of a fresh start. Every time it rained, she felt as though it was a cleansing, cathartic experience. A new beginning. The old was washed away and there was a clean slate.

  If there was one thing that had been a constant in her life, it was starting over. She had that down pat. She could write a book on it. Sell DVDs, t-shirts, bumper stickers.

  Moving and starting over on a rainy day seemed like a good omen.

  A vibration at her hip snapped her out of her inner musings. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she froze when she saw that it was a number she didn’t recognize. Lily made it a strict policy never to answer calls from random numbers. It was part of protocol, and she always followed protocol.

  But that was before, she reminded herself. This was her new life, and the number displayed had the same area code of the town she was moving to. Pushing down the sick feeling she got at the appearance of an unknown numb
er, she forced herself to answer the call.

  Because that is what a normal person would do.

  “Hello,” her voice wavered.

  A concerned woman’s voice came over the line. “Lily, honey, is that you? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, this is Lily. Who’s this?” Lily felt a small amount of relief surface. Even though she didn’t know who the person on the other end of the line was, they at least seemed to have good intentions.

  “This is Sue Ann Perkins. I was just calling to confirm that you still wanted the apartment over the café for the next few days.”

  “Oh, yes. Sorry, I will be there tonight.” Lily looked at her watch. “Is nine too late? I got a little bit of a late start.”

  “Nine’s just fine. I’ll be here till eleven closing up.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Sue Ann.”

  “Is everything all right, sweetie? You sound a little shaken up.” Genuine worry laced Sue Ann’s voice.

  “I’m fine, just tired.” Lily thought that it was sweet that a person Lily had just met over the weekend was concerned for her, but she didn’t want to cause anyone to worry.

  “Now I’m sure that this goes without saying but make sure that you have chains for your tires. There’s a storm coming in and I don’t want you to get stuck on the mountain.”

  Chains! How could she have forgotten to get chains? Well, she needed to add stopping by an auto parts store on her way out of town to her to-do list.

  “Wow, I’m so glad you mentioned that. Thanks again, Sue Ann. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  “Sure thing. See you in a few. Drive safe, sweetie.”

  After hanging up with Sue Ann, Lily stared down at her phone, battling with whether or not to place the call. She didn’t want to bug anyone, but she just needed to know that everything was going to be okay.

  Biting the inside of her mouth, she pushed her phone back in her pocket then instantly pulled it back out and scrolled through her contacts. She hit the button and placed the phone to her ear.

  The line rang twice. “Agent Stone.”

  “It’s Lily.”

  “Hey, Lily. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I just wanted to double-check that you understood the message I left you yesterday. I’m going to be relocating.”

  “Yes. I called you back. Didn’t you get my message?” Agent Stone’s voice sounded distracted.

  “I did. I just wanted to…um…make sure that you knew where I was.”

  “I put it down in my notes. But as you know, your case has been closed for almost two years. You’re file’s not active.”

  “I know. I still just wanted you to know.” Lily felt a knot well up in her throat. How could these people who’d sworn to protect her just be done with her?

  “Listen, Lily. I know that it’s scary the first few years out, but you have nothing to worry about. If you want to be on the safe side, just keep your head down and maintain protocol. No reason to take unnecessary risks.” And with that ominous statement, the line went dead.

  Her hand shook as she put her phone back in her pocket and left it there. Lily tried not to let the overwhelming sensation of being in way over her head envelop her. She would figure all of this out.

  It wasn’t that scary. She was just really on her own. Completely alone. Vulnerable.

  She shook her head to get that thought out of her mind. She couldn’t think like that. Her credo was now and had been since she was a child to focus on the positive. She was just a normal girl, moving to a new town to start a new job.

  Sure, she had never had a professional job as a choreographer, and true, she hadn’t lived around the snow since she was a kid, but she was sure that she could handle whatever challenges the exciting experiences may bring.

  At least that’s what she was going to keep telling herself.

  ---~---

  Eric’s hand flexed around the frosted beer mug he had just been handed. Patience was a virtue he had always prided himself on, but Maci Wallace was seriously testing its limits.

  “Sooooo anyways, I told him that he should do the world a favor and crawl into a hole and die. Ugh! I just hate it when guys come up to me and think that they can just talk to me. Like, who do they think they are?” Her large blue eyes looked up at Eric through long, dark eyelashes. Fake, long, dark eyelashes if his detective skills were still on point. “It’s so exhausting constantly being hit on. You know, I think if I had a big, strong, badass boyfriend then maybe I wouldn’t get bothered as much. I don’t know… What do you think?”

  “Sounds like a solid plan.” Eric downed his Coors and stood up from the bar stool. “Excuse me.”

  He turned to find his brother Jake and let him know that he was done being his wingman for the night when he felt Maci’s hand wrap tightly around his bicep.

  “Hmm, you have such strong arms. Do you think you’re up for the job?” she purred seductively.

  “No, not interested,” Eric stated bluntly. He did not lead women on.

  He saw what he thought might be hurt flash in Maci’s eyes before it was quickly replaced with anger.

  “You’re an asshole.” Grabbing the small purse that was sitting on the floor beside the barstool, she huffed loudly as she pushed past him dramatically. “Nora, let’s go!” she yelled loudly across the bar to the pool table area where Jake was busy sweet-talking Maci’s friend.

  Nora looked up, and when she saw the look on Maci’s face, she said something Eric couldn’t hear to Jake and then reluctantly stepped out of his arms. She rushed to her friend’s side and gave Eric the stink eye as she and Maci exited the bar.

  Eric sat back down. No need to rush off now that he could sit and enjoy a beer in peace.

  Jake slapped him on the shoulder as he sat beside him. “Thanks a lot, bro.”

  Maybe leaving wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

  Ignoring his brother, he motioned to Levi, the bartender and new owner of JT’s Roadhouse, to get his attention so that he could close his tab.

  “You couldn’t have just entertained Maci for another ten minutes? You are a piss-poor excuse for a wingman,” Jake complained.

  “I’m not a wingman,” Eric said flatly.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Jake replied sarcastically

  As Levi approached with the check, Jake sighed dramatically.

  “Damn, I was so close.” His brother held up his hands positioned closely together to illustrate his point. He clapped them together as he said, “I was just about to close the deal when you blew it.”

  “Don’t blame your inability to hook up on me, little brother. You had plenty of time to make it happen. You obviously aren’t as irresistible as you think you are.”

  Jake just smiled at him. “Now I know you’re just cranky. Because we both know that’s ridiculous. Who could possibly resist this?” Jake motioned his hand from the top of his head down to his feet.

  “Apparently Nora.” Jake’s cockiness was actually fairly amusing to Eric, and he thought it was a large portion of his brother’s charm, but he didn’t want Jake to know he thought that.

  “Nah, she’s calling me right after she takes Maci home. We’re hooking up later,” Jake said with a satisfied grin on his face. “I just wanted to bust your balls.”

  Eric shook his head at his little brother as he took his credit card slip from Levi.

  “You’re bailing? Come on, stay and have another beer. It’s only nine o’clock.”

  “I have an early morning,” Eric explained. Which, although very true, had nothing to do with him wanting to leave.

  Hanging out in bars, even JT’s, which he enjoyed, didn’t have the same appeal it had held for him in his twenties. He wanted more than just empty conversations and random hook-ups. He wanted something real.

  “I’m buying,” his brother offered hopefully.

  “All right. One more.” Eric had always had a tough time saying no to his brother—or his sisters for that matter.

  As Levi set down two more
cold ones in front of Eric and Jake, he asked, “How’s the promotion, Chief?”

  Eric had recently been promoted to Hope Falls Chief of Police. He hadn’t exactly wanted the position, but when Chief Randall retired suddenly, he had been offered the job and knew it was the right move to make. So he had accepted. Because Eric always did the right thing.

  “It’s good. Just a lot of paperwork,” Eric explained and as he rolled his neck, which had tensed up at the mere mention of his job.

  A desk job. That’s what it was. It was a lot of meetings, paperwork, and even more meetings. Eric had only held the position for two weeks now and he already missed being a detective. Sure, there weren’t really a lot of exciting cases in the sleepy town of Hope Falls, but he had been able get out among the community, and that’s what he missed the most.

  “So what happened with Maci? She was totally into you.” Jake moved the topic along to something that he was interested in, e.g., women.

  “I could not listen to her speak for another minute.” Eric took another swig of beer.

  “Who said anything about listening to her speak?” Jake looked at Eric like he was moments away from being fitted for a straightjacket because he’d officially lost his mind.

  And maybe he had. In the past, he probably wouldn’t have had an issue taking Maci home, having some fun, and then sending her on her way. She was attractive—really attractive—and Jake was right—Eric could tell that she was into him. But the thought of spending another second with her, even if it involved them both being naked, held absolutely zero appeal.

  “Don’t you ever get tired of one-night stands with random women?” he asked his brother seriously.

  Jake’s face contorted as if he’d smelled something bad or Eric had grown another head before he lifted his arm and pressed the back of his hand to Eric’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

  Eric slapped his brother’s hand off of him. “Never mind.”

  He didn’t know why he had thought for even a second that Jake, of all people, would understand. Jake was the self-proclaimed King of Casual Sex. Jake prided himself on keeping things “simple.”

  Eric used to buy into that philosophy. He enjoyed women; they enjoyed him. Lately, however, “simple” just sounded boring and definitely not worth the effort it took to get them out the door.