Christmas In Snowflake Canyon by RaeAnne Thayne Read Free Book Online Page B

wouldn’t be caught dead in public with someone like me. Some one less than perfect.
    She pushed the memory away. “Do you, er, have any idea what kind of things we might be required to do?” she asked Andrew.
    She didn’t have a lot of experience with people with disabilities or, for that matter, with warriors of any sort. Unless one counted women fighting over the sales rack at her favorite department store in Paris, which she doubted anyone would.
    “You’ll have to work that out with Spence and his staff. From what I understand, they have another group arriving for a session in a few days, and because of the holidays, they are in need of volunteers.”
    “Sure. Why not,” Dylan said shortly. “Might as well waste the time and money of everybody in town.”
    “You might think it’s a waste of effort, but not everybody agrees with you,” Andrew answered. “Most people in Hope’s Crossing think it’s a great program. They are jumping at the chance to help make a difference in the lives of people who have sacrificed for the sake of their country.”
    The attorney’s voice had softened as he said the last part, Gen noted. He was watching his brother with an emotion that made her throat feel tight. Dylan looked down at the hand clenched on his leg.
    “I don’t claim to be as smart as you. I don’t have a couple fancy degrees hanging on my wall. But be honest, Andrew. Do you really think a week in the mountains can make any kind of difference for guys whose lives are ruined?”
    Was that how Dylan saw his own war injuries? Andrew’s jaw tightened, and she knew he was thinking the same thing.
    “A hundred hours,” the attorney said instead. “You can finish that in a few weeks and put this whole thing behind you. Or,” he went on, “you can stand by your belief it’s a big waste of time and choose jail time instead. Before you do that, ask yourself if you really want to break Pop’s heart by spending the first Christmas in a decade when you haven’t been in the desert or the hospital, not with your family but in a jail cell.”
    For just a brief moment, she caught a tangle of emotions in Dylan’s expression before he turned stoic once more.
    “At least tell me the truth.” His voice was low, heated. “This was Charlotte’s idea, wasn’t it? She and Spence won’t back off. They’ve been riding me about this for weeks.”
    “Neither of them had anything to do with it,” Andrew assured him. “If you want the truth, Pop suggested it. When he mentioned it, I thought it was a good idea and brought it up with the D.A. They ran with it.”
    “Remind me to take you off my Christmas list for the next twenty years or so,” Dylan growled.
    “Like it or not, you’re in a unique position to help here,” Andrew said quietly. “Charlotte, Spence…everybody can give lip service about what it takes to walk that journey to healing but you’re right in the middle of it. You understand better than anyone.”
    Genevieve’s face and neck felt hot as the sincerity of the words seemed to arrow straight to her stomach. She thought she enjoyed such a cosmopolitan life, but she suddenly realized she knew nothing about the world. She hadn’t given men like Dylan a thought while she had been in Paris.
It made her feel small and selfish and stupid. He might think A Warrior’s Hope was a waste of time, but she resolved in that moment on a hard chair in her attorney’s office that she would do her best, even if the concept filled her with anxiety.
    “Stand on your principles if you want,” Andrew went on when his brother remained silent. “What do I care? I get paid either way, though I will point out that I’ll be the one to get crap from Pop if you’re enjoying the county jail’s hospitality over the holidays.”
    “Yeah, boo hoo.”
    Andrew rolled his eyes. “Right. Or you can just yank up your skivvies, suck it up and keep in mind it’s only for a few weeks. Lord knows, you’ve endured a hell of a