Page 8 of The Christmas Lodge
The dog whined a little but stopped its nervous trotting after a few more moments. Satisfied, Derek gave him one last pat and then stood, walking toward the woman. She had closed her mouth now, but still stared at him with wide eyes full of shock and utter confusion. If she was from out of town the last thing she had likely expected to see coming at her in the darkness was a sled pulled by a team of dogs. Sure, it was a common sight in Snowy Pine Ridge, but their town was the exception and he knew it.
He stopped within a foot or so of her, startled by how vividly green her eyes were, even illuminated only in the lantern light and the waning moon overhead. She lifted her chin at his approach, her green eyes suddenly snapping fire, a belated stress response to the traumatic experience she had just undergone. He hoped that he had not terrified her too badly, but he had seen enough to know that she had likely had the scare of her life. His team of dogs was friendly as could be, but how would a stranger know that when a pack of dogs suddenly careened at them out of the dark?
“Ma’am, I’m so—”
Those few words were all he managed before she lit into him. Apparently, his voice was the last impetus she needed to recover from her shock enough to act.
“What in the WORLD were you thinking?” she yelled, jabbing a finger at his face. “You could have killed me! Do you have any idea how… howrecklessthat was?” She gestured wildly around him, encompassing him and his team for good measure. “What if you hadn’t stopped in time? How many other people have you almost killed?!”
Derek lifted his hands as a sign of peace, waiting for her to cool down enough to listen. She stared at him, her mouth tight and her eyes raining down fire at him. A detached part of his mind wondered how such a tiny package could hold so much spitfire, but he made sure to keep that comment to himself. He was sure she wouldn’t appreciate the observation, or the fact that she looked less authoritative and frightening during her tirade than she did like an adorable baby tiger trying to frighten off a larger predator.
“Ma’am,” he tried again, keeping his voice neutral and calm and, with a mighty effort, holding back the smile that threatened to curl up the corners of his mouth. She would just think he was laughing at her, and he had no intention of adding insult to injury. “Please let me apologize for scaring you like that.”
The woman folded her arms, some of the fight going out of her. “All right then, apologize.”
Derek raised an eyebrow and found that he had to work even harder now to muscle back the smile that threatened to make its appearance. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry we scared you, and I’m glad you’re all right.” He hesitated, then continued on, keeping his tone polite but matter-of-fact. “You should know that most folks around here know better than to wander far from the streetlights in town without some form of illumination. You know, a headlamp or a flashlight or something.”
The woman pulled her head back, her brow furrowing. “Why in the world would I carry a headlamp with me?”
“It's a basic rule for living safely around here. I’m guessing you’re not from this town.”
The woman drew herself up, looking affronted and Derek waited for her to start off on another tirade. To his surprise, though, she loosened her folded arms and let out a sigh that ended in a sheepish laugh. “It’s that obvious, huh?”
“Kind of,” he admitted. “I really am sorry we scared you. Hopefully we didn’t sour you on Snowy Pine Ridge. We don’t usually scare our visitors half to death like that.”
The woman pulled a wry face. “Trust me, I was already a little sour about this place even before that near-death experience. I never expected to find myself in a remote place like this of my own accord.”
Derek eyed her.There’s definitely a story behind a statement like that, he thought.
He didn’t even know this woman, but he was already curious to hear just what it was that had made her set her heart against the little New Hampshire town that made up his whole world.
And I don’t even know her name, he realized.
“I’m Derek Morse,” he offered, reaching out to shake her hand. “I figured you might need my name when you file a police report for attempted murder.”
It pleased him to no end when the woman laughed aloud at his lame joke, and he liked the way her laugh transformed her face from the anger she had worn before. She shook his hand firmly, and he sensed immediately that she was in the habit of carrying herself confidently through the world.
“Lacy Preston.”
“Well, Lacy, let me officially welcome you to our town. Now that we’re acquainted, can I ask what had you skulking around the outskirts of town?”
“I wasn’tskulking,” Lacy protested, then broke off when she realized he was teasing her again. She huffed and rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Not that it’s any of your business, but if you must know, I just inherited this house.” She paused, tilting her head and throwing him a look filled with challenge. “Which means I also own the property we’re standing on. Wouldn’t that mean I should file a police report for attempted murderandtrespassing?”
Her quick wit brought out a bark of surprised laughter from him, which sent his dogs baying and barking into the night air as well. He glanced over his shoulder at them, quieting them with a quick order, and turned back to face her. Her unexpected admission had brought with it even more questions about who she was and what had brought her to town.
“This mansion belonged to Nicholas Spielman,” he replied slowly, searching her face for any resemblance to his late friend, but finding none. “Are you family?”
“I’m his granddaughter,” she said, her voice dry and holding a hint of tartness. “He didn’t choose to be a part of my life before this, so I don’t know why he left it to me, but I can’t very well just reject it. So. Here I am.”
Derek blinked, a little overwhelmed by her words. She had clipped them off casually, as though speaking about a mild annoyance, but he sensed from the suddenly closed-off look in her eyes that painful baggage from the past lurked in what she’d said. Nicholas had never talked about his family, apart from his son, Harv. He had questions for her now, many more, but he held his tongue. He had no right to ask about her seemingly complicated relationship with her grandfather, so he opted for a safer route.
“What do you think of the house?”
Lacy glanced over her shoulder at it automatically and shrugged. “It’s certainly seen better days. I can already tell it will take a mountain of work if it’s going to pass muster.”
“Muster for what?”
“That, I haven’t decided yet.”
