Mountain Charm Read Online Free Page B

treasures. The job wasn’t terrible. He’d gone cave exploring in the Cumberland Plateau and visited a nature reserve in Chattanooga.
    And now he was witch hunting in the Smoky Mountains.
    “With a name like Dylan Thomas, how could you do anything but write?” Angelina asked, smiling at him.
    He chuckled. “I know. My mom loves his poetry. She’s a literature professor at Vandy.”
    “And your dad?”
    “No idea. He and my mom split when I was young. I have no real memories of him, and we’ve never been in contact with each other.”
    “That must be hard for you.”
    Dylan shrugged. “Not really. I mean, how can you miss someone you’ve never known?”
    “I guess that’s true.”
    He could tell she couldn’t truly relate. Family seemed very important in this little mountain town, and especially to Angelina and her mom.
     “Your mom is a sweet lady,” Dylan said.
    “Thank you. Yes, she is.”
    “How long has she been sick?”
    Her face paled, and he knew immediately it had been the wrong thing to ask.
    Angelina balled her napkin into her fist before throwing it onto the table. “I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t really talk about it with anyone.”
    “Not even with Maddie?”
    “Maddie knows the basics. It’s just not something I can talk about with a stranger.”
    The last thing he wanted to do was upset her.
    “I understand. I’m sorry.”
    “Thanks,” Angelina said with a relieved smile. “But I will answer your questions about my family. It’s not my favorite topic—and Mom knows way more than I do—but I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
    He felt triumphant, but he couldn’t enjoy the success. Not yet.
     “We don’t have to do that today,” Dylan said. “We can talk about whatever you like.”
    “What if I don’t want to talk about anything?”
    “Then we can just sit here.”
    Angelina grinned. “You know, I’m not sure your editor will be happy you’re passing up an opportunity to interrogate me. Don’t reporters usually have a deadline?”
    “We do, but there’s a little more flexibility with a human interest article like this one. These stories take massive amounts of research and travel, so they allow time for that.”
    “So, what’s your deadline?”
    “My editor didn’t really give me one.” That still seemed odd to him, but he hadn’t questioned it. The freedom was kind of nice. “I was actually assigned to a story that was going to send me rafting down the Mississippi River, but something changed at the last minute. Next thing I know, I’m being handed directions to Maple Ridge.”
    Angelina laughed. “I can’t even imagine your disappointment.”
    “Why would I be disappointed?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. I would just assume a rafting trip would be more fun than doing witch research in the mountains.”
    Twenty-four hours ago, he would have agreed with her. But now that they were actually having a civil conversation, he wasn’t too bothered by the fact that he was having lunch with a pretty girl who just might happen to dabble in witchcraft.
    “I’m not disappointed,” Dylan said, his voice soft. “I admit, I wish you and I had met under better circumstances. You know, without the rifle pointed at my face.”
    They both laughed.
    “But no, Angelina, I can’t say I’m disappointed.”
    A brief looked passed between them, leaving him reaching anxiously for his phone. He was in desperate need of something to distract him from the beautiful woman sitting across the table.
    Suddenly, Angelina’s name was being yelled from across the street.
    “Oh no,” she muttered under her breath.
    A tall man crossed the street and headed straight to their table.
    “Friend of yours?”
    She sighed heavily and forced a smile as the man approached them.
    “How are you, Kyle?”
    “I’m great.” The guy’s eyes raked over her, and Dylan’s jaw tightened. “You’re looking good, Angelina.”
    Irrational, consuming jealousy flooded