LITMIR.BIZ

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air, stomped the snow off her boots and tromped through the backyard of her family’s property. She blinked against the sun’s bright glare and glanced over her shoulder at the horse barn. For as far as she could see, white fields rolled and preened beneath a pale blue sky. Wow, it was good to be back for keeps.

      The frigid air burned her lungs as she trudged toward the door. Slow going through the accumulation, but much easier since the blizzard had stopped. Last night’s trek home had been interesting. Drifting snow made it impossible to drive, so she’d pulled over on Wild Rose Lane and walked a half mile. She’d nearly turned into a snowman, too—well, a snow-woman. Thinking of Macie, Chelsea smiled to herself as she clomped up the porch steps.

      “Ha! I saw you coming.” The door swung open and Meg, her younger sister by four years, crooked one slim brow. “What are you doing up at this hour? You got in so late. You should be sleeping in. Taking advantage of your time off.”

      “What can I say? I needed a horse fix.”

      “I totally get it.” Meg braced one slim shoulder against the open door, model-gorgeous with her lean looks, beautiful face and long brown hair. “Good news. The county snowplow just finished clearing the road.”

      “Yay. Now I can rescue my car.” Her eighteen-year-old Toyota might not be snazzy, but she’d gotten attached to it over the years. She’d inherited it from Mom when she’d gone off to college. She tromped through the doorway and into the warm house. “Do you know what I really need?”

      “I’m afraid to ask.”

      “Someone to give me a lift.”

      “Sorry, I can’t pick you up.” Mischief twinkled in Meg’s brown eyes before she disappeared into the kitchen. “But I can give you a ride.”

      “Really? Isn’t it a little early in the morning for puns?”

      “Sorry, couldn’t help myself. Sara Beth is rummaging around in the basement. Thought I should warn you.”

      “Okay.” Chelsea shouldered the door shut. Sara Beth was sister number two in the McKaslin lineup, Chelsea’s younger sister by two years. “I guess the real question is what she’s looking for?”

      “House lights. We’re putting them up today.” Meg’s voice echoed from the kitchen, leaving a lot unsaid. This would be the first Christmas they would be stringing up the lights without Mom.

      Chelsea swallowed against a tide of emotion and plopped down on the nearby bench. She could do this. She could face this Christmas without Mom. “Are you going to hang the dangly icicle ones or the multicolor ones?”

      “Not my call. The person who puts up the lights gets to decide.” A clink sounded from the kitchen. “I can tell you, it won’t be me. Remember what happened when I was on a ladder last?”

      “Was that when you got stuck on the roof?”

      “Putting up the big star, per Mom’s directions, remember? And it totally wasn’t my fault the stupid ladder decided to fall over. I haven’t trusted one since.”

      “You think the rest of us should?”

      “Sure, as long as it isn’t me.” A clunk of a stoneware mug being set on the granite counter punctuated her humor. “I strung the lights the last time with Dad, if you remember. Sara Beth said she’s not partial to ladders, and Johanna is at the vet clinic working with Dad and who knows when they will be back, so that only leaves—”

      “Me.” Great. She wasn’t fond of ladders either. She tugged off her boots. This is what she got for being the oldest and out of town when her sisters were planning Christmas. “Why don’t we wait for Dad?”

      “Because I think it will be too tough on him to have to do it.”

      “Right.” Because he’d always put them up for Mom. Boy, this Christmas wasn’t going to be easy. She unzipped her barn coat and hung it in the closet. “Guess it’s my turn, then.”

      “I knew you’d do it. I kinda think it’s best to surprise Dad with the decorations, you know, like a new tradition. Now it’s our turn to put up the lights for him.”

      “I like it.” She followed her sister’s voice into the kitchen. Bayly, one of their two dogs, opened an eye to watch her enter the room, let his lids fall shut and went back to snoozing on his bed near the family room’s crackling fireplace. “But before I do anything, I’ve got to fetch my car and I have a few things to do in town.”

      “What things?” Meg set a teacup on the breakfast bar. The scents of cinnamon and spices wafted upward on the steam.

      “Go to the bank. Hit the bookstore. Check up on a few people.”

      “What people?” Meg’s eyes narrowed curiously. That was the problem having so many sisters. No privacy. Plus, sisters tended to be nosy.

      Maybe she was missing Seattle after all. She cozied up to the breakfast bar and plopped onto a swivel chair. “I came across a little girl and her dad in the cemetery last night. She fell off the curb in the storm and broke her wrist.”

      “Poor little one.” Meg set a second cup on the counter. “So, tell me. Handsome dad?”

      “I didn’t notice.”

      “How could you not notice? Honestly.” Meg shook her head with disapproval. “Any chance he was a single dad? I keep praying for you to find a really great guy.”

      “He was a widower. That was why he was at the cemetery.”

      “Oh.” Meg circled around the kitchen island and took the neighboring chair. “How sad for them.”

      “Yeah,” she agreed, sipping her tea, remembering Macie. And the father...Dr. Kramer. She ought to really dislike him, she hadn’t appreciated the way he’d manhandled her, suspecting the worst when she’d only been helping his daughter, the child he’d let wander away from him. But then, it only took a moment of inattention and if he’d been at his deceased wife’s grave...her heart twinged with sympathy. Sympathy was one thing, but remembering the way snow had settled on his broad shoulders was entirely another.

      “You’re praying for me to find someone? Really?” She sipped her tea, which warmed her instantly. “Even though you know I have a five-year plan?”

      “You and your plans.” Meg leaned back, legs crossed. “Don’t tell me. You made a pro-con list, too.”

      “Don’t mock my pro-con lists. I wouldn’t be able to make a good, workable plan without them.”

      “I wasn’t mocking, honest. Just curious. Where are you putting romance in your plans?”

      “I’m not.” When the time came, she had a very definite idea about the kind of man she would fall for—dependable, honest, loyal and kind—and even then, he would have to fit into her plans. Wasn’t that what plans were for? “Am I smart, or what?”

      “How exactly do you want me to answer that?”

      “I’m not sure I do.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Somewhere outside rang a dog’s distant bark.

      The doorbell chimed, echoing through the sprawling house. Bayly lifted his head from his dog bed, gave a halfhearted bark and yawned wide. His watchdog abilities were sorely lacking.

      “Ooh, could be the delivery dude.” Meg bounded from her chair, mug in hand. “Maybe my package finally came. No, stay where you are. You’d better rest up while you can because in about ten minutes, you have a ladder to climb.”

      “Will I be climbing it alone?” She arched one brow, kind of wondering what else her sister had planned for her.

      “It depends.” Meg’s voice trailed behind her as she wove through the house. “If it’s not a busy day at the clinic, then Johanna will be able to lend a hand.”

      “Probably not busy in this

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