3 Madness in Christmas River Read Online Free Page A

it outside of the jacket.
    “I better get back,” she said, grabbing her purse. “But listen, don’t let the little stuff get to you. Keep that pretty head of yours on straight.”
    “Too late for that,” I said, sighing, and checking my phone again, in case I missed a call from Penny.
    I hadn’t.
    “Think about sitting beside a quiet stream on a breezy summer morning,” she said. “Meditate on the inner peace you feel, and carry that feeling with you throughout the rest of your day.”
    “You sure are all in on this yoga thing, huh?” I said.
    She shrugged.
    “My boyfriend’s mother is the Antichrist,” she said. “I need something to keep me sane.”
    She walked through the dividing door, and I heard her say goodbye to Chrissy and Tiana up at the counter before leaving.
    I may not have had an insane future mother-in-law to contend with, but I had enough problems of my own to test my sanity.
    Maybe Kara was right. Maybe I really should join her at the yoga studio in the mornings.
    “We might need a few extra chocolate hazelnut pies,” Chrissy said, sticking her head in the back. “It’s going quick out here.”
    “Okay, I’ll have some for you in about an hour,” I said.
    I should really have been pleased that the shop was so crowded. The season was starting off on a great foot.
    But rather than feel grateful, all I wanted to do was go home, kick off my shoes, and sit on the sofa in front of the fire with Daniel’s arms around me.
    In fact, if it were up to me, that was all I’d do this winter.
     

 
    Chapter 5
     
    The Pine Needle Tavern was teeming with locals and tourists alike when I wandered in around 6.
    It had been a long, long day, and walking into the packed tavern, full of loud, inebriated voices felt overwhelming. But the atmosphere was toasty and jubilant. Darlene Love’s Baby, Please Come Home blasted from the stereo, and the spirit of the holidays was in full swing inside the crowded pub.
    Even though it was packed, it wasn’t hard to find Marie.
    She was sitting at the bar, her long red hair hanging in curls down her back. She had a red leopard-print leather jacket on that was borderline tacky, but something that she managed to pull off because she’d been pulling off those kinds of outfits all her life.
    She wasn’t alone. Marie was never alone. I swear, when she walked in a room, everyone within a mile knew it.
    It was an old-fashioned kind of charisma that she had. She always had the right thing to say at the right time. And people loved listening to her talk.  
    Growing up, I had idolized Marie. Though she was rich, she never dressed like she was. She always dressed more like an 80s rock star rather than the wife of a wealthy jeweler. She wore black leather jackets with stilettos, and had a string of animal tattoos on her back that made her hands down the coolest gal in Christmas River anytime she came home to visit.
    When I was a kid, she used to smuggle me teen magazines with the latest fashion trends and demo tapes of the hippest music coming out of the LA music scene. Unfortunately, I never really took to any of it. But whenever she blew into town, it seemed like my life got that much more exciting.
    These days, she was older, but still had that youthful spirit about her. Her dreams of being a big star hadn’t panned out, but she didn’t seem to be bitter about it. And even though she had more wrinkles than she used to, she could still turn heads. 
    When I walked up, the group of old timers were laughing heartily around her. Some had tear streaks down their faces, like they’d been laughing for hours.
    “There ya are, Cinnamon, hon,” she said, her face lighting up when she saw me. “That shop sure takes some hard work.”
    “Sure does,” I said. “I hope you weren’t waiting here too long.”
    She shook her empty glass, which, knowing Marie, had once been filled with rum and Diet Cherry Coke.
    “Just finished number one,” she said. “So don’t feel sorry