Read Menace in Christmas River (Christmas River 8) for Free Online Page A

are shiny,” I added. “He didn’t smile, but he almost smiled when we shook hands, and when he did, his teeth shone.”
    Kara clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
    “That’s the worst description of a man I’ve ever heard in my life, Cin,” she said. “ Shiny teeth ? What do I care about shiny teeth?”
    I had thought my description had been pretty good given the situation I’d been in, but I supposed it wasn’t up to Kara’s standards.
    “Well, you can see for yourself on Sunday,” I said, going back over to the melted dark chocolate, and adding a good helping of butter and heavy whipping cream to it. “You’re still coming, right? Even though I won’t be competing?”
    “ Of course ,” she said. “And doubly of course if I get to meet Cliff Copperstone.”  
    Then, as if it had just sank in, her face scrunched up and she made a little squealing sound.
    “Ooh!” she said. “I’m so excited! Here I thought it was just going to be a bunch of stuffy, boring cooks in white hats. But suddenly here I am, about to meet a real life celebrity chef .”
    I smiled to myself, shaking my head slightly.
    “Do you know if he’s married?” she said, her eyes as big as pizza pies.
    “No, I don’t,” I said. “But you are.”
    She grinned coyly.
    “I was just wondering ,” she said. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize everything I have. Not when I’m so happy with my life.”
    “I know,” I said. “I was just joking.”
    “Still…” she said, feigning a faraway, dreamy look in her eyes.
    I clicked my tongue against my mouth. But then smiled at her.
    She finished off the last bite of pie. Then she began pressing the back of her fork against the plate, getting every last cookie crust crumb.
    “Okay, Cin,” she said. “You’re forgiven. But don’t let something like that happen again, all right? I’m the first person you call when you have news. Especially if it involves a celebrity chef here in Christmas River. And especially when it’s a looker like Cliff Copperstone. Agreed?”
    “Okay, okay,” I said. “From now on, you’ve got a monopoly on all my headlines. Happy?”
    Her lips curled up into a smile.
    “Now, is that too much to ask?”  
    Sometimes, I wondered if Kara wasn’t trying to give old Moira Stewart a run for her money and become the town’s premiere gossip.
    She licked the back of her fork some more and then I went over to the freezer and pulled out several bags of frozen cherries for the second layer of the HubbaHubba Pie .
    When I had returned, another slice of the Lemon Gingersnap had magically appeared on Kara’s plate.
    I put the cherry bags down and watched her.
    She was halfway through her third piece of pie before she noticed.
    “What?” she said, her voice muffled by the pastry and creamy lemon filling. “I haven’t eaten anything all day, and it’s a damn sight windy outside, and you’re supposed to eat hearty during the winter to keep warm.”
    “You don’t need to explain,” I said.
    “And besides,” she said. “You started all this. Putting a plate of Lemon Gingersnap in front of me like that. What did you expect to happen? I’m no pillar of willpower, Cinnamon. It’s your own fault I ate half the pie.”
    I smiled and watched as she demolished the rest of the slice, amused as amused could be.
    I think I could have walked the earth for a thousand more years, and I still wouldn’t have been able to find a friend as loyal, fun, and entertaining as Kara.
     

 
    Chapter 8
     
    The bitter wind howled after me as I opened up the heavy brewpub door and stepped inside the cozy and familiar confines.
    I sucked in a deep breath of beer-tinged air, feeling its warmth circulate through my cold lungs. Then I stamped out the snow from my boots and untied the scarf from around my neck. Bits of the white stuff clung to the fabric, and I did my best to shake them out away from the pub’s hard wooden floor where they would melt and