Read Let It Snow (The Hope Falls Series) for Free Online Page B

death. They’d been lucky enough not to lose too many people who were close to them, but when they were young and would lose a pet, Nikki took it harder than the rest of the family.
    He wrapped one arm tightly around her. “I love you too, Nik.”
    As she straightened, she looked right in his eyes with steely determination. “I know. And I also know you still love Tessa. So man up, grow a pair, and go talk to her.”
    And there she was. Nikki was back.
    *
    “Thirty thousand dollars,” Tessa repeated slowly, trying to slow her heart that was about to beat out of her chest.
    Henry moved his large cowboy hat and flipped through a few more papers. “That’s what it looks like. The property tax has not been paid for quite a while. The interest and penalties accrued. Then there is also the mortgage that is past due. Since you were given the home in the will, unfortunately you are now responsible for all of it.”
    Tessa felt like the walls of the quaint café were closing in on her. She couldn’t believe what Henry was telling her. After applying for a loan to open her studio and finding out that her credit score was so low, she’d gone to see a lawyer to get to the bottom of it and found out about the house. He hadn’t given her the details, just that Henry Walker was overseeing her Gran’s estate. That was two days ago, and now here she sat.
    “I’m so sorry about all this, darlin’. I had no idea Adeline had even passed until I got a call from that city slicker lawyer of yours. When the taxes started coming back unpaid, I tried to find your grandma, but I kept hittin’ a brick wall. The last known address I had was the retirement home in Mission Beach. The letters were returned, and when I contacted them, they said they had no forwarding address for her.”
    Tessa heard the words that were coming out of Henry’s mouth. But the only thing she could focus on was that number. She had built a pretty significant nest egg when she’d been on staff as a photojournalist for Time magazine. But it was gone now.
    Over the six years that she had to stop traveling to take care of Grandma Adie full time, it had dwindled. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, and quinceañeras didn’t pay quite as much as being a Time magazine photographer on assignment in war-torn countries. But she had still been doing okay until she had been forced to put her grandma in a nursing home the last four years of her life. That large monthly expense had steadily eaten up the rest of her savings.
    “So what are my options as far as selling the house?”
    “Well, it is your property. So you can do with it what you wish. I can call Lauren and have her meet you there this afternoon so you can take a look at the place. I’m sure she can give you the low-down as far as its value and such.”
    “Lauren Harrison?” For some reason, Tessa had thought that she was a TV host now. She was sure that she remembered seeing the pretty blond on a commercial or a billboard or something. Or maybe she’d just imagined it. It was quite possible that, over the past few years, she’d begun having stress hallucinations.
    “Yep. Well Harrison soon-to-be Stevens. She and Ben should be tying the knot any day now.”
    “Ben?” Tessa didn’t remember a ‘Ben’ growing up, but Henry was referring to him as if she would know who he was.
    “Her co-host on Home Sweet Vacation Home, Ben Stevens,” Henry explained.
    “Oh, okay,” Tessa said, somewhat relieved that she wasn’t going crazy after all. “Yeah. If you could have her meet me there at her earliest convenience, that would be great.”
    “Will do, sweet pea. Now you call if you need anything. I’m sorry again for your loss. That Adeline was one fine woman,” Henry said as he stood and picked up his Stetson. Before he left, he paused and said, “It sure is good to see you home. This town looks good on you.”
    Tessa smiled and politely said, “Thanks.”
    She didn’t have the heart to tell him that this wasn’t