Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne Page A

always said to Christopher’s mother. He doesn’t agree. We had a huge fight. Slamming doors, swearing, telling me how much he hates it here and hates me most of all. That’s why I’m late.”
    â€œI’m so sorry,” she said, giving Louise an impulsive hug. “That must be so difficult for you.”
    â€œI’m fine, really. It’s all part of the joy of raising a teenager, right?”
    Andie could remember plenty of times when she strongly disagreed with the strict rules at her grandparents’ house, but she never would have dared slam doors or talk back. She didn’t advocate her grandfather’s way of handling things, but there had to be a difference between harsh discipline and making sure a child understood there were lovingly considered consequences for misbehavior.
    She didn’t feel it was her right to give advice to Louise about how to deal with her grandchild, though.
    â€œI need to tell you, your shortbread was a huge hit next door,” she said to change the subject. “Sheriff Bailey loved it.”
    Some of the tightness eased from Louise’s features. “Oh, I’m so glad.”
    â€œOh, you’ve been to see Marshall?” Megan Hamilton turned from picking out a piece of powder-dusted lemon cake. “I heard about his accident. How is he?”
    She pictured the sheriff as she had found him earlier that day, rumpled and sleepy and gorgeous. Those dratted butterflies sashayed through her stomach again and she scowled. When would she stop having this ridiculous reaction to him?
    â€œOh no. Are things that bad?” Megan asked, obviously misinterpreting Andie’s expression.
    â€œNo. At least I don’t think so. He’s in pain, but he’s doing his best not to show it. Mostly, he’s frustrated and annoyed at the inconvenience of having a broken leg, I think.”
    â€œThat sounds like Marshall,” Megan said.
    â€œI don’t really know him, so I don’t have a baseline to compare to. Wyn just asked me to keep an eye on him, since I live so close. I’ve stopped in a few times since he came home from the hospital and he seems to be feeling better each time.”
    â€œGood. I can’t believe someone would just hit him with their car and leave him lying in the snow like that. Who knows how long he would have been there if he hadn’t had a cell phone on him?”
    An involuntary shiver rippled down her spine, picturing him broken and bleeding in the cold and snow and wind that could be brutal coming off the lake.
    â€œKnowing Marshall, he probably would have patched himself up, dragged himself to the nearest busy road and hitchhiked to the hospital,” McKenzie said with a laugh.
    Considering the man had a compound fracture, that would have been quite a Herculean feat, though she wouldn’t put it past him. Something told her when Marshall put his mind to something, he didn’t let too many things stand in his way.
    â€œMarsh is a few years older than me, but he was kind of a legend at HPHS,” Megan said, confirming Andie’s suspicion. “He played the entire last ten minutes of a state championship football game without telling the coach his shoulder had been dislocated by a bad hit.”
    â€œI remember that,” Louise said. “Charlene was livid!”
    â€œMarshall was always the strong silent brother,” Megan said. “Funny how different they were. Elliot always had his head in a book and didn’t have time for most of us, while Wyatt was a big flirt who could talk his way into anything.”
    At the mention of Wynona’s twin brother, Andie felt a twinge of sadness for a man she had never known. When Andie first came to Haven Point, she and Wynona had first bonded over their shared loss. Like Jason, Wyatt Bailey had died helping other people. In Wyatt’s case, he had been hit by an out-of-control car during a snowstorm while coming to