A Christmas to Die For by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online

me to move out?"
    It was tempting to say yes, but it was safer to have Tyler where she could keep track of him. "You're welcome to stay as long as you want." She started up the ladder, the loop of lights in her hand.
    "Thank you. And since I'm staying, I'd be glad to climb up and do that for you. I wouldn't have to stretch as far."
    "I can reach." If she stood on the top step on her tiptoes, she could.
    She looped the string of lights over the small metal hook that was left in the window frame from year to year. Pulling the string taut, she grasped it and leaned toward the other side.
    She stretched, aware of him watching her, and pushed the wire toward the hook—
    "Wait!" Tyler barked.
    The wire touched the hook—a sharp snap, a scent of burning, a jolt that knocked her backward off the ladder and sent her flying toward the ground, stunned.

FOUR
    "I' m fine. Really." Rachel tried to muster a convincing tone, but if she looked half as shaken as she felt, it was hardly surprising that Tyler wanted to rush her to the hospital. "You don't look fine." He had a firm hold on her arm, and he didn't seem inclined to let go any time soon. "My car's right there. If you won't go to the E.R., at least let that local doctor you were talking to have a look."
    "I don't need Dr. Whitmoyer to look at me." She rubbed her hands together, trying to get rid of the tingling sensation. "It just knocked the wind out of me, that's all."
    He still seemed doubtful, but finally he gave a reluctant nod. "I'll help you inside."
    "No." She tried to pull her arm free, but he continued to propel her toward the door. "Look, I don't want my grandmother upset, okay? She's been worried enough about me since the accident, and the last thing she needs is any fresh reason to fear. Besides, she's already had her quota of crises today."
    Tyler's face settled in a frown, but at least he stopped pulling her toward the door. "That's dirty pool, you know that?"
    "I'll do whatever works where Grams is concerned. She may think she's still as tough as she always was, but that's not true."
    After her accident and then Andrea's brush with death in the early summer, Grams had shown a fragility that had hit both of them hard. She was doing much better now—confident that the inn would succeed, happy about Andrea's wedding. Nothing must disrupt that.
    Tyler urged her toward the step. "Sit down and get your breath back, at least. When I saw the power arc and you fly backward, I thought my heart would stop."
    "Sorry about that." She managed a smile as she sank down on the low stone step. It was nice of him to be so concerned about her. "I felt a bit scared myself, not that I had time to think about it. Is it my imagination, or did you tell me to stop just before I touched the hook?"
    He nodded, putting one foot on the step and leaning his elbow on his knee as he bent toward her. "A second too late. I caught a glimpse of bare wire where the sun glinted on it. Sorry I didn't see it sooner. And sorry you didn't think to check those lights before you plugged them in."
    "I'll admit that wasn't the smartest thing I ever did, but I did look over them when I got the box out of the attic. At least—" She stopped, thinking about it.
    "Well?"
    She glared at him. "I think I checked them, but I was in a rush to get ready for last night's meeting." She'd shoved the box in the downstairs restroom when she'd realized how late it was. Maybe she had missed some of the strings.
    Tyler, apparently feeling it wiser not to pursue the conversation, walked over to the stepladder and cautiously detached the string of lights. He frowned down at it for a moment before carrying it back to her.
    "There's the culprit." He held the strand between his hands. Green plastic coating had melted away from a foot-long stretch of cord, and the wire between was blackened and mangled, shreds of metal twisting up like frizzled hair. The acrid smell of it turned her stomach.
    "Guess I won't be using that string of