Page 1 of Snow Bound (Odyssey #1)

“W hat do you mean, they’re not coming?”

Anna Goodwin switched her phone to speaker, set it on the nightstand, and pulled back the covers on the four-poster bed. “ I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.”

Her best friend’s response was a pithy, “ Shit . Your mom bailed on you again.”

“Are you really surprised?”

“No.” Lola huffed out a curse. “ What did she say when you talked to her?”

Anna picked up one of the overstuffed pillows and plumped it with more vigor than required.

“ She said Brian had a client who owns a beach house in Miami and offered to let them use it. And since it’s November , she knew I’d understand they’d rather be in Florida where it’s sunny and warm than in some drafty old house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan .

Plus , the girls have friends there, and it would be sooo boring for them to spend their birthdays stuck in the middle of nowhere. ”

“Excuse me,” Lola interrupted, “but wasn’t the ‘middle of nowhere’ her idea?”

“Of course, it was.” Anna gave the pillow a solid jab. “ Ask me if she remembers that.”

“She knows you’re already there, right?”

“She knows.” Anna frowned at the pillow, which was now hopelessly misshapen. She tossed it aside and picked up the other one.

“And I’m guessing she didn’t even suggest you join them in Miami .”

“It’s like you were there,” Anna drawled, smiling when Lola cursed. “ It’s fine, Lo . You know I hate Florida .”

“It’s not fine,” Lola countered. “ It’s so far from fine I can’t even see fine from here. What about the girls’ birthdays? I thought the whole point of this reunion was so the whole family could be together for their official entries into teen-land.”

“Mom told me just to mail them their gifts.” Anna focused on the pillow in her hands, concentrating on squishing it into the shape she wanted before tossing it back on the bed. “ So they’ll be waiting for them when they get back to New York , like a surprise.”

“God, what a bitch.”

“I didn’t call her that on the phone, but it was close.”

“I’d like to believe you told her off, but I know you too well.”

“What good would it do?” Anna rolled her shoulders, still tight from the conversation with her mother, and got into bed. “ She doesn’t get it. Worse , she doesn’t want to get it. She’s got Brian , the twins, and the New York rich-lady life she wants. There’s no room for me in it.”

“The twins are your little sisters,” Lola pointed out.

“I know.” Anna thought of the girls, bright and happy and growing up so fast. “ I’ll keep in touch with them. Maybe when they’re older, they’ll want a relationship with me. That would be nice.”

“You’d feel better if you told Kimberly she’s a selfish cow.”

“I really wouldn’t.” Anna shifted against the pillow, wiggling around to try to find the right spot. “ I’m fine, Lo .”

“You’re not fine. You’re sad and hurt, and it stinks.”

Anna sighed. “ I got my hopes up this time.”

“I know, honey. So did I .”

“On the bright side, I don’t have to listen to her bitch about my hair,” Anna said, looking in the mirror over the bureau and tossing the hair in question.

Dyed in layers, it was a bold but still natural looking red at the scalp that grew brighter and bolder along the length.

The stylist had added layers of orange, yellow, purple and blue, building an ombre effect so that from midway down, her hair looked as though it was literally on fire.

“Why would she bitch about your hair?” Lola wanted to know. “ It looks awesome.”

“Don’t you know? A high value man will never marry me if I continue to dye it unnatural colors.”

“High value man,” Lola muttered. “ Like that’s a real thing.”

“And I had a couple of lovely glasses of champagne with my dinner, thanks to the ridiculous pile of groceries Kimberly had delivered.”

“Let me guess—scrambled eggs with cheese?”

“The champagne really classed them up. I may have to have them that way all the time.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to pair your signature ‘ I’m sad’ meal with booze,” Lola said drily.

“Spoilsport.”

“Are you going to come home?”

“I thought about it,” Anna admitted. “ But the place is paid for, and Kimberly bought all those groceries. I might as well stay.”

“Maybe your dad can come hang with you. It’s been, what, six months since you’ve seen him?”

“I saw him in July . And he’s in Switzerland until January ,” Anna reminded her.

“Oh, right. Hey , you should go visit him,” Lola suggested. “ Find some ski slut and have a good time.”

“Yes, that’s what I want to do while visiting my father,” Anna said drily. “ I’ll be fine here for two weeks, then I’ll have a week to chill at home before I have to go back to work.”

“I still can’t believe your tight ass of a boss gave you three weeks off.”

“I haven’t had a vacation since I started working there,” Anna reminded her. “ Human resources told him I had to take it.”

“Figures he wouldn’t be that generous on his own. What are your plans for week three?”

“Well,” Anna hedged, unsure if she should tell Lola what was on her mind. Then thought, what the hell? “ I was hoping to make an appointment with my lawyer to see what it would take to open my own accounting firm.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Lola declared, “ Well , it’s about fucking time.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Anna warned. “ I just want to see if I can maybe make it work. Emphasis on maybe .”

“Oh, we’ll make it work,” Lola vowed. “ I’m putting you on my schedule now. Monday , eight-o’clock.”

Anna winced. “ Does it have to be that early? It’s still my vacation.”

“Yes,” Lola said firmly. “ How’s the house?”

Deciding to fight that battle another day, Anna switched gears.

“ Beautiful . Built -in bookshelves, a big old stone fireplace, and a kitchen I want to live in. Not to mention a big jetted tub in the main bedroom—which I have moved myself into now that Kimberly and Brian are a no-show—which I plan to defile at the first available opportunity.”

“If I wasn’t in the middle of this merger, I’d come up and join you.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t have those feelings for you,” Anna said soberly and grinned when Lola snickered. “ How’s that going, anyway?”

“The merger? We’ll be wrapped up by next week as long as I don’t have to go to New York to spank these fuckers in person.”

“I’d pay money to see that.”

“Perv.”

Anna snorted. “ Like that’s not the pot calling the kettle black.”

“Hey, verbally spanking unprepared, overconfident opposing counsel is the only action I’m getting these days,” Lola protested. “ Let me have it.”

“At least you’re getting something,” Anna muttered.

“You could be getting plenty if you wanted,” Lola pointed out with the stark honesty that only a best friend could pull off.

“Once again, pot meet kettle.”

“All right, all right. I won’t mention your non-existent love life if you don’t mention mine.”

“Deal.”

“And all kidding aside, I can come up for a few days, keep you company.”

“You’re sweet to offer, but I’m fine on my own. I’ve got plenty of groceries and a library full of books to keep me company. If I get desperate, there are cross-country skis in the basement I was told I could borrow.”

“Jesus. If you get that desperate, just come home,” Lola said, appalled, and Anna laughed. “ Listen , I have to get some sleep. I’ve got an early call in the morning. Call me if you need to talk, or change your mind about wanting company.”

“I will. Love you, Lo .”

“Love you, too.”

Anna reached out to disconnect the call, then settled back against the pillow with a sigh.

She hadn’t lied to Lola , not really. She didn’t want to come back to Chicago and spend her vacation at home, and she did love the house.

After her tiny apartment, the two-story Victorian felt like a cozy Versailles , and she intended to enjoy every bit of it.

Kimberly and Brian could go fuck themselves.

She wiggled her toes under the sheet, enjoying the way the soft cotton moved across her bare skin.

She thought briefly about getting up to get the oversized t-shirt she’d packed to wear as a nightgown—there was approximately two feet of snow on the ground outside, and the house wasn’t exactly toasty warm.

But she liked sleeping naked, and now that relatives with boundary issues—the kind that might lead them to burst into her room without knocking—were no longer a factor, she was loathe to put something on.

Although another blanket might not be a bad idea.

She slipped out of bed, shivering in the cool air, and walked quickly across the room to the large closet, where she’d spotted a thick quilt on one of the shelves when she’d stowed her suitcase.

She was making her way back to the bed with the quilt when the framed photograph on the wall caught her eye.

A middle-aged woman sat on what Anna recognized as the steps on the house’s wide front porch, a grin on her cheerful face.

On one side of her sat a young woman with the same giddy smile, the same heart-shaped face.

The family resemblance was unmistakable, and by the age difference she assumed they were mother and daughter.

Their arms were wrapped around each other, joy lighting their faces.

Anna lifted a hand to rub at the familiar ache under her heart, and in self-preservation focused her attention on the photograph’s other occupant. And felt her heart hitch for an entirely different reason.

“Well, hello, hottie,” she drawled.

The man sat on the other side of the older woman, his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he, too, leaned into her just a little bit.

The same gorgeous chestnut hair covered his head, curling at the longer-than-respectable ends, and he sported a thick beard a shade or two darker.

His face was turned toward his companions, robbing her of a full view, but what she could see was impressive.