Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
2
HAYDEN
The bell above the door jingled as I hurried inside Frost and Found Hardware. “Butch,” I called out as I stomped my feet on the mat and shook the snow from my hair.
A middle-aged man with white hair, a full beard, and a crooked nose stepped out from the back room and walked up to the counter. He grinned, and his gray eyes twinkled merrily. “How can I help you, Mayor Douglas?”
Butch Frost was practically an institution in the town of Winter Falls. His family had owned the hardware store for generations, and he now ran it with his daughter, Brinley. Also, his kindness and perpetually jolly disposition made it near impossible not to like him.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “You’ve known me since the day I was born, Butch. Since when do you call me Mayor Douglas?”
He shrugged, and his smile widened. “Just thought I’d try it on for size.”
“Now that I’m two years into my second term?”
“No time like the present, but you’re right, spud,” he said with a nod. “It felt weird.”
As a kid, I hated the nickname he’d given me, thinking that he was referring to my lack of height since I didn’t have a growth spurt until my sophomore year of high school. By graduation, I’d shot up to six foot two and told him he shouldn’t call me spud any longer. But Butch had reached up and ruffled my hair, telling me that it had nothing to do with my stature. He’d picked it because I was what he called “earthy and grounded.”
“The blizzard has picked up strength, and it’s already nearly whiteout conditions out there,” I explained. “I wanted to check in with you and see if you need anything since we’re already beginning to close some of the roads down.”
Winter Falls was a small town high up in the mountains that sat at the base of the Winter Falls ski resort. We survived mostly on the tourist income from visitors who came to ski, but our quaint little town also kept Christmas alive all year long, drawing in even more travelers.
Our elevation brought a lot of snow, which was excellent for business. However, it also meant that we were sometimes hit by massive blizzards. We watched the weather forecasts carefully and made sure to be more than prepared.
We’d been watching the coming storm headed in our direction, and over the past two days, it had picked up strength. It looked as though we might be facing the biggest storm we’d seen in seven years. Back then, the town had been snowed in, and no one was able to get in or out. Oddly, this one was going to hit a couple of days before Christmas, the same time as before.
“We’re all set,” Butch answered. “We ordered extra salt, sand, shovels, and even a few snowblowers. Brinley delivered just about everything that was ordered, but we made sure to have emergency supplies. She’s going to run some last-minute supplies up to The Snowed Inn and Lodge as soon as she gets back from helping shovel and salt the senior center.”
The bell tinkled as someone entered, and Butch gave the newcomer a jaunty wave. “Welcome to Frost and Found Hardware! How can I help you?”
“Hi, um, I think I might be a little lost.”
To my utter shock, the sweet, feminine voice had every nerve in my body lighting up and my dick swelling. What the fuck? I hadn’t felt desire for a woman in…I didn’t even know how long. I’d been too focused on my career to think about a relationship. Besides that, I already knew all the women who lived in my town since I’d grown up with most of them. No one had sparked enough interest for me to even think about dating. And hookups weren’t my style, so I’d never even thought about a holiday fling.
But somehow, without even seeing this woman’s face, she had my libido roaring to life and making me think about how her voice would sound when she was moaning in ecstasy or screaming my name.
Fucking hell. I needed to get control of my body. At least I was wearing a heavy coat that was long enough to hide my erection. I thanked my lucky stars for that as I turned to face the owner of the sensual voice.
When I first saw her, I cursed my lucky stars for playing a joke on me. No way was I going to get my mind off sex when I was staring at the most stunning woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
Long, wavy, dark brown hair cascaded down over her shoulders from under her knitted cap. The color of her hair made her pale skin look more prominent and her catlike green eyes pop.
She was tall—although still at least half a foot shorter than me—but she had delicious curves in all the right places. Even with the heavy winter coat she was wearing, I could tell that she had big tits and wide hips, perfect for breeding.