Evergreens and Angels Read Online Free Page A

switched off the engine, drawing Dillon’s attention back as a run-on knock lingered. Yeah, the truck definitely needed some serious attention. The door creaked on rusted hinges and a blonde head bobbed through the opening. Long, loose strands of hair whipped as a breeze kicked up. A red knit hat fell to the ground and skittered across the gravel. Dillon rushed to retrieve it.
    “Oh, thanks.” The voice was positively female and held a slight southern accent that Dillon found vaguely familiar. He turned back, arm outstretched with the hat, to find the woman smiling at him. She took it from him and tugged it back over her ears. “I didn’t expect such a breeze. It’s really picking up. And just look at the sky to the—what is that, west?”
    “Uh huh. Storm’s coming over the mountains.” Already, powdery flakes two-stepped through the air. White specks clung to the woman’s eyelashes, illuminating eyes the color of rich, sweet toffee. “It’s going to dump some snow.”
    “The first snow of the season…Gramps always claimed it was magical.” She sighed and glossed lips rounded into a little, whimsical O . “It’s the perfect day to take home a tree to trim. Can you help me find what I’m looking for?”
    He knew her. How? From where?
    Dillon studied her as he answered. “That depends. What, exactly, are you looking for?”
    About his age, chin-height, she had sleek blonde hair and eyes large enough to get lost in. And that slight tilt of her chin and toss of her hair…
    Not to mention the soft lilt of her voice…so familiar. “I’m not sure. Something tall, green, fragrant, and yearning to be decorated…Gramps said I would know when I saw it.”
    “That sounds about right. So sure, I can help you.” He turned and motioned her to follow. “Let’s head this way.”
    Dillon strode toward the grove as she fell in step beside him. She wore faded jeans that disappeared into ankle boots, and a hunter-green blouse flapped in the breeze. A waterfall of hair spilled loose over her shoulders, nearly kissing her slim waist. His brain whirled with a tug of memories. He knew this woman; the slight curve of her lips and the way she twirled a lock of hair around her index finger jostled something inside him. They’d met once before, but when and where?
    He was about to ask when they turned a corner to find his mom heading toward them. A huge smile plastered her face and her arms were outstretched as if welcoming home a long lost friend.
    “Brynn, oh my! Is it really you?”
    Brynn. Dillon stopped dead in his tracks as the name brought everything back in a single snapshot…the long-ago winter evening, a Christmas tree, and oatmeal cookies.
    Mistletoe.
    But back then, Brynn had been slight—almost scrawny—with braces and wire-framed glasses propped on her lightly-freckled nose. She’d talked non-stop, burning his ears with her incessant chatter, until he wanted to plunge his fingers into them and take off running. That would have earned him a none-too-gentle lecture from Dad, though, so he’d endured the torture.
    The cookies were worth it…he definitely remembered the delicious oatmeal-raisin delights coupled with a glass of cold milk Mrs. Jansen had offered. Pure Heaven.
    He also recalled a hint of sadness that had clouded Brynn’s eyes when he asked why she had to leave Clover Cove again.
    And now, as Brynn rushed ahead in a flurry of curves and glossy hair to meet his mother, he wondered why he hadn’t chucked the cookies in favor of her. The knit cap slipped from her head once more as she reached his mom. Her delighted squeal rent the air. “Mrs. Cutler?”
    “Please, to you I’m Hattie, dear. It’s so good to see you again.”
    Dillon gaped as his mom wrapped her arms around Brynn and drew her in for a tight bear hug. Again, He wondered how the cookies jockeyed to the highlight of that evening instead of the girl who had somehow morphed into this woman. What had he been thinking ? “Just look