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

word.
    Tyler had gone out earlier and hadn't come back yet. She certainly wouldn't wait up for him, although she'd had difficulty all summer going to bed when guests were still out. He had a key—he'd let himself in.
    Thinking about that opened the door to thoughts of him, just when she'd succeeded in submerging her concerns about Tyler in her more prosaic worries.
    If she could stay angry with him, dealing with the situation might be easier. Unfortunately, each time he had her thoroughly riled, he managed to show her some side of himself that roused her sympathy.
    Tyler was determined to give this quest his best effort, and she'd guess he brought that same single-minded attention to every project he undertook. That would be an asset in his profession, but at the moment she wished he were more easily distracted.
    He'd had a difficult relationship with his mother—that much was clear. She sympathized, given her own mother, who was as careless with people as she was with things. She'd always had the sense that her mother could have left her behind on one of their frequent moves and not even noticed she was gone. Not that Andrea would have let that happen.
    She rubbed her temples, trying to ease away the tightness there.
    I'm spinning in circles, Lord, and I don't know how to stop. Please help me see Tyler through Your eyes and understand how to deal with him in the way You want.
    Even as she finished the prayer, she heard the sound of the door opening and closing, followed by Tyler's step in the hallway. She paused, fingers on the keyboard, listening for him to go up the stairs.
    Instead he swung the library door a bit farther open and looked around it. "Still working? I didn't realize bed-and-breakfast proprietors kept such late hours."
    "It's pretty much a twenty-four-hour-a-day job, but at the moment I'm just trying to finish up some changes to the Web page. Not my strong suit, I'm afraid."
    "Mind if I have a look?" He hesitated, seeming to wait for an invitation.
    "Please. I think I have it right, but I'm almost afraid to try and upload it."
    He smiled, putting one hand on the back of her chair and leaning over to stare at the screen.
    "Never let the computer know you're afraid of it. That's when it will do something totally unexpected."
    "Just about anything to do with it is unexpected as far as I'm concerned. I'd still be keeping reservations in a handwritten log if Andrea hadn't intervened."
    "Andrea. That's the older sister, right?" He reached around her to touch the keyboard, correcting a typo she hadn't noticed.
    "Two years older." She tried not to think about how close he was. "She and her new husband are on their honeymoon. Somehow I don't think I can call and ask her computer questions at the moment."
    "Probably wouldn't be diplomatic," he agreed. "As far as I can see, this looks ready. All you have to do is upload."
    She hesitated, cursor poised. "That's it?"
    "Just click." He smiled down at her, giving her a slightly inverted view of his face, exposing a tiny scar on his square chin that she hadn't noticed before.
    And shouldn't be noticing now. She was entirely too aware of him for her own peace of mind.
    She forced her attention back to the computer and pressed the button, starting the upload. "I can see you're a fixer, just like my big sister. She's always willing to take over and do something for the inept."
    As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she heard how they sounded and was embarrassed. She thought she'd gotten over the feeling that she would never measure up to Andrea. And if she hadn't, she certainly didn't want to sound insecure to Tyler.
    "There's nothing wrong with admitting you don't know how to do something. I couldn't make a quiche if someone offered me a million bucks."
    "It's nice of you to put it that way." She leaned back, looking with faint surprise at the updated Web site. "It actually worked."
    "You sound impressed. The program you're using is pretty much 'what you see is what you