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Christmas Snowe and Peppermint Cocoa

By Joi Copeland

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Prologue


Snoweflake Jacobson curled in a ball on her bed in her rented apartment, her stomach churning. She pushed herself off the burgundy comforter. Fast as her aching body could carry her, she inched toward the bathroom connected to her room. Within minutes, she emptied the contents of her belly into the toilet. She swiped the tears from her eyes before they could fall.
Snowe straightened and stole a glance in the mirror above the sink. Lifeless eyes with dark circles under them stared back at her. Her lip curled. She forced down another round of sickness and turned her head in disgust.
Climbing under the covers, she clung to the body pillow beside her and wept. Dear God, what had she done?



Five years later


Chapter 1

“I’ve what?”
Snoweflake Jacobson’s legs felt like jelly. If she didn’t sit down soon, she’d end up in a big heap on the floor. Not a great idea, considering she stood in the middle of a clothing store at the mall. She located a bench near the front of the store in record time and collapsed.
Her mother sighed. “You heard me, Snowe. You’ve inherited your aunt’s house in Camden, Maine.”
Closing her eyes, Snoweflake took a deep breath and counted to five in her head. “I don’t understand, Mom. Why did she leave the house to me? Why not Dad? She was his sister, after all.”
“Hard tellin’ not knowin’. You know your aunt. She was eccentric. You need to come home and take care of this. With everything else, your father and I don’t have the time to even look at the old place. When can I expect you?”
Leave it to her mother to insist Snowe drop everything and heed her demands. There was much to be done and apparently little time to do it.
“As soon as I can. I’ll talk with my boss tomorrow and let you know the plan.”
Snoweflake put the phone in her purse and headed toward the exit sign. She dropped the cup of peppermint cocoa into the trash. Not as good as the one Mrs. Graham made, but a close second.
Whoa! Where’d that come from? Snowe hadn’t thought about Tanner’s mom in ages. She sighed and shook her head. No more shopping for her today. She had a lot to get done now that she owned a house in Camden. She’d visited her parents every so often, but once she’d made the decision to leave her hometown and move to California, Snowe never considered going back for good.
Wait. Who said it was for good? She chewed her lower lip and climbed into her car. Just because she owned the house didn’t mean she had to live there. Putting it up for sale was an option. Or even renting it out. That would be a good way to have extra income each month. Living in the Golden State could be quite expensive.
Snowe maneuvered her car down the street and, within minutes, pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building. Turning the key and pulling it out of the ignition, she leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes. Camden. Her parents weren’t the only things she’d left back there. The missing pieces of her broken heart were scattered in her hometown.

****

Tanner Graham pushed open the front door of his office. Rain sloshed over the gutters above the doorframe, spilling onto his coat and his hair. So much for taking the time to stay dry this morning. For a contractor, he really ought to have those gutters cleaned out. He mentally added the task to his list of things to do.
Sitting in her usual spot, his faithful secretary Elsa wiggled her fingers in a little wave. She’d been working with him since he started his business.
“Good morning, Boss.” She tossed a grin his way.
“How’s my favorite gal?” Tanner shook the water off of his jacket and hung it up on the peg near the door.
The fifty-three-year-old chuckled. “I’m your only gal, at least in this office. If your mom heard you say that, she’d be awfully hurt.”
“Nah. She knows I couldn’t live without you.” Tanner leaned his hip against her desk. “Whatcha workin’ on?”
“Catching up on email.” Elsa finished typing and swirled her chair to face him.
“Did you cut your hair? It looks different today.”
Elsa ran her hand through her brown hair. “Just yesterday. I thought a bob would look cute. And a little bit of touch up takes away the gray.”
“Pshaw. You don’t have gray hair yet.” Tanner grinned. “Work here long enough, however, and you will.”
“Tell me about it.” She turned back to her desk and rummaged through a few papers. “You had a couple of calls this morning.”
Tanner took the pink slips. He frowned. “Edna Jacobson passed away?”
Pursing her lips, Elsa nodded. “I was a tad shocked myself. I knew she’d been ill, but I didn’t think she’d pass on so soon. The services are next week.”
“Wonder why Mom didn’t call me. She must be pretty upset.”
Elsa shrugged. “When I talked to her, she sounded sad but not distraught. I asked her if she wanted to call your cell phone, and she said no. She didn’t want to bother you while you were driving in this weather.” She squinted and peered outside. “This is pretty typical for Camden this late in the year.”
“Agreed. Don’t work too hard, Elsa.”
Sighing, he headed down the short hallway to his office and closed the door. Edna Jacobson had been one of his mom’s closest friends. He’d gone to her house a number of times growing up. The summer going into his senior year in high school, he’d met and fallen in love with Snoweflake. Did she know her aunt passed away? His heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t seen her in three years. And that had been a quick glance last time she’d visited her parents. Shoot, he hadn’t even talked to her for longer than that. Would she be at the funeral?
Opening the top drawer to his desk, Tanner pulled out a picture of him and Snowe. His six-foot-three-inch frame seemed to compliment her five foot ten inches. Brown straight hair hung past her shoulders. His eyes zeroed in on her almond-shaped ones. Those deep pools of chocolate still captivated him. Long dark lashes. High cheeks bones. Beautiful lips. Tan skin. Gorgeous. And she still took his breath away.
He snorted. Why her parents named her Snoweflake, the complete opposite of her looks, baffled him. Why she’d left him five years ago raised even more questions.
Tanner slumped in his chair and picked up his phone to call his mom. He’d been the only man in her life for as long as he could remember. He pushed aside his questions about Snoweflake. Time to focus on his mom and make sure she knew he cared.
“Hello?” Her voice wobbled.
“Mom, it’s me. You okay?” Tanner rubbed his hand over his eyes.
Angela Graham sniffed. “I will be. I already miss her.”
“I know. I’m going to cancel my appointments today. Not a lot I can do in the rain anyway. I’ll be there in less than an hour, alright?”
“Oh, honey, you don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine.” His mom didn’t often show her weakness, but the sadness in her voice shot straight to his heart.
“I know you will, but I’m coming over anyway. Make me some of that yummy peppermint hot cocoa. No one does it like you do. I love you, Mom. See you soon.”
Tanner hung up and leaned back in his chair. No doubt Snoweflake would be in Camden soon enough. The question was, would Tanner be ready?

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