Free Christmas In Snowflake Canyon by RaeAnne Thayne Page A

Sawyer since the day she threw his ring back at him.
    “I know, right? But we left things on pretty good terms. He’s not a bad guy… . He was only a little more interested in his video games than me, you know? I decided that wasn’t for me.”
    “Understandable.”
    Chelsea’s gaze shifted over Gen’s shoulder and her face lit up. “Hey, Dylan! Eden said you would be stopping in this morning.”
    “And here I am. Hi. Chelsea, right?”
    “One two-second conversation in line at the grocery store and you remembered my name.”
    Gen didn’t like the way all her warm feelings toward the other woman trickled away. Friends weren’t that easy to come by here in Hope’s Crossing. She certainly couldn’t throw one away because she was feeling unreasonably territorial toward Dylan, even if she had been the one shackled to the man.
    She didn’t blame Chelsea for that little moment of flirtatiousness. Dylan still needed a haircut. Regardless, he looked quite delicious. Even the black eye patch only made him more attractive somehow, probably because the eye not concealed behind it looked strikingly blue in contrast.
    She thought of that moment when she had nearly fallen on the ice a few days earlier, when he had caught her and held her against his chest for a heartbeat.
    And then the humiliation of his words, basically accusing her of being so shallow she recoiled in disgust when he touched her, which was so not true.
    “Genevieve.” He again said her name as her Parisian friends did and for some strange reason she found the musical syllables incredibly sexy spoken in that gruff voice.
    “Is that how you say your name?” Chelsea asked in surprise. “I though it was Gen-e-vieve.”
    She managed to tamp down the inappropriate reaction to the man. “Either way works,” she said to Chelsea. “Or you could simply call me Gen.”
    “Thanks. I’ll do that.”
    The young woman turned her attention back to Dylan. She tucked her hair behind her ear—her pointy ear, Gen thought, before she chided herself for her childishness in noticing. She was a horrid person, as superficial as everyone thought.
    “We’re all so excited you’re finally coming to help us,” Chelsea said. “Eden has been over the moon since she heard about your, er, little brush with the law.”
    “Good to know I could make everybody’s day,” he said dryly, but Chelsea didn’t appear to notice.
    “It’s going to be perfect,” she exclaimed. “You’re going to be great! Exactly what we need.”
    She had said nothing of the sort to Genevieve, yet another piece of evidence in what she was beginning to suspect—that her presence was superfluous here, an unnecessary addendum. The organizers of the program wanted Dylan to help out at A Warrior’s Hope because of his own perspective and experience. She, on the other hand, was little more than collateral damage.
    “Where is Eden?” she finally interjected.
    “She’s at the pool with Spence and our new program coordinator, Mac Scanlan.”
    “I thought Eden was in charge,” Genevieve said.
    “Technically, she is. She’s the executive director, in charge of fundraising, planning, coordinating events etc. We just hired a new person to actually run the activities. He’s spending the day familiarizing himself with the facilities. She told me to send you to the pool the minute you both arrive.”
    Which had been several minutes earlier, but who was counting?
    “Thanks,” Genevieve said.
    “I’m supposed to make you ID badges first, but we’ll have to do that later, when my system is back in action. You know where to go, right? Through the main doors there and down the first hall.”
    Dylan seemed reluctant to move. Apparently Genevieve would have to take the lead. She followed Chelsea’s directions, aware of him coming up behind her.
    “You made it,” she said to Dylan as they entered the hallway.
    “You didn’t think I’d show?”
    “Given your general reluctance to this whole idea,