by Kay Correll
“Gloria.” Nick looked up and smiled.
Annie wasn’t sure she liked that.
“I heard you were back in town.” Gloria positively beamed at Nick, ignoring Annie completely. “It’s so good to see you.” She elegantly settled in the chair next to Nick. “I’d been hoping you’d stop by and see me.”
“You have?” Nick’s forehead creased.
“Well, of course. We were such good friends back in high school.” Gloria flipped her obviously dyed hair over her shoulder.
The woman was flirting with him. Flirting. Annie seethed. “Gloria, we were just finishing up. Getting ready to leave.”
“Oh, don’t you want to stay and have one more drink with me?” She still never looked at Annie, but leaned closer to Nick. The woman had no shame.
“Ah, we’re both driving, so we don’t want to have another drink.” Annie picked up her purse from the table.
“Well, that’s too bad.” Gloria rested her hand on Nick’s arm. “We’ll have to make it a point to get together while you’re back in town.”
Annie stood and grabbed her coat from the back of her seat, catching the chair right before it crashed to the floor.
“Um… sure.” Nick looked uneasily from Gloria to Annie and stood up himself. “I guess we’re leaving. Good seeing you.”
“It was great seeing you, Nick. Don’t be a stranger. You can always find me at Le Boutique on Main.”
Annie was acutely aware the woman had still not said one word to her. “Bye, Gloria, enjoy your dinner.” Not that she cared if the woman enjoyed it or not. She could choke on it for all she cared.
She was instantly appalled by her uncharitable thoughts. Even if they were mostly how she really felt…
“Well, Gloria Edmonds is still in town, huh?” Nick held the door open for Annie, and they slipped out into the wintery night.
“She’ll never leave.” Annie’s voice held a tone he wasn’t quite sure of.
“You and Gloria have some kind of run in?”
“You mean besides how she treated me in high school? Like I didn’t exist? Or how about how she tried everything in her power to get Nora’s husband—back when he was just Nora’s boyfriend—to break up with Nora and go out with her?”
“Oh—”
“Or how she found out Nora and I were trying to get the river walk put in, and she did everything in her power to thwart us?” Annie pulled gloves out of her pocket and jerked them on her hands.
Nick paused under a streetlight, watching the anger chase across Annie’s face.
“Or, how about… never mind. It doesn’t matter. I just can’t abide by that woman.”
“I can see that.” Nick figured he’d better take a wide berth around Gloria if he didn’t want to run afoul of Annie and Nora. And he didn’t. He wanted them both to like him again. Or at least not be mad at him. And preferably trust him.
He looked at Annie, her face tilted up to him, her eyes flashing. He took a deep breath and started to lean down toward her, toward her lips. He couldn’t help himself.
Her eyes widened and she whirled away. “We should go. Look how much snow we’ve gotten already. It’s really coming down.”
What was he thinking?
He cleared his throat, shook his head, and trotted after Annie. “Wait up.”
Annie slowed down her pace, and he caught up with her. She started to slip on the sidewalk, and he caught her gently by the arm. “Here, hold on. Looks like there’s a layer of ice under this snow.”
She rested her hand on his arm as they walked down the sidewalk. He pressed his hand over hers, trying to ignore the instant connection. But as far as he was concerned, they could walk on like this forever.
What was he doing?
All he knew was it felt right to be walking down the street in Sweet River Falls with Annie on his arm once again. Perfect and absolutely right.
Chapter 13
Annie could hardly breathe. She tried to convince herself it was because of the near miss on the slip on the ice, but she couldn’t quite persuade herself to believe that lie. She knew it was because she was hanging onto Nick Chambers’s arm. She felt like a young girl again.
His strong hand rested on hers, but she ignored it. Totally ignored it. They walked on in silence. The only sound she heard was the crunch of their steps on the snow-covered sidewalk. The wind had picked up and thrust the snow in a relenting sheet of icy darts. She bent her head against the onslaught.
“Here’s my car.” She stopped in front of her vehicle.
“Let me help you clear the snow off.” Nick took his hand off hers.
The lack of connection to Nick threw her for a moment. She snatched her hand off of his arm and dug into her pocket for her keys. “You don’t have to clear the car. You should get to your own car and get back to the lodge before it gets any worse.” She opened the car and reached in for the ever-present snow scraper.
“Please. Hand me the scraper. You climb in and start the car and get it warmed up.”
She handed him the scraper, secretly glad to be able to slip out of the wind. She slid the key in the ignition and turned it.
Nothing.
She frowned and didn’t care who saw it.
She turned the key again. Just a faint tick, tick sound.
Nick tugged open the car door. “Sounds like your battery is dead.”
“I’ve been meaning to replace it. Had to jump it the other day. Just haven’t had time to get a new one.” Annie wanted to bang her hands on the steering wheel but couldn’t quite let herself express her frustration in front of Nick. It had been a careless choice to ignore the aging battery.
Nick held out a hand. “Come on. I’ll drive you home. We’ll deal with the battery in the morning.”
She considered her choices. Get Nick to bring his car around and jump hers, all the while fighting the blinding snow, or let him take her home. Both were equally bad choices as far as she was concerned. Really bad choices. It had been so unsettling to have him back at the cabin this week. Besides, if he took her all the way to her place, he’d have to double back on the roads to get to the lodge.
“Come on, Annie. It’s freezing out. Let me drive you home.”
She took his outstretched hand and climbed out of her car. He kept his hand in hers, led her down the street, and helped her into his SUV. He climbed in and started the vehicle. A low light shone from the dashboard with a welcoming glow. She rubbed her arms, trying to get warm. She hadn’t expected it to get this cold and had only worn a lightweight winter jacket.
“I’m going to clear the windows. Be right back.” Nick slid out of the car, and a brief burst of cold air rushed in. She sat inside, watching the scraper slide across the windshield, glad she was inside while the car began to warm.
Nick popped back into the car, pulled off his gloves, and rubbed his hands together. “It’s getting nasty out. Let’s get you home all safe and warm.”
She was ready for that. Ready to be home in her cabin and out of the storm. A crack of thunder boomed in the distance.
“Ah, a thundersnow storm. I’d forgotten that springtime sometimes brought with it the weird phenomena of thundersnow.” Nick looked up at the sky. Or what they could see of it through the swirling snow.
“Which usually means we’re going to get dumped on.”
Nick pulled the car out, his headlights slicing through the snow. He slowly drove down the main street and took the road out of town toward the cabin. The snow swirled around, blanketing the road.
“Maybe we should turn around and head back into town. It’s really getting bad out.” Annie strained to see out the window.
“We’re good. I’ll just take it slow.” His words were calm and reassuring.
They crept along the road while Nick carefully navigated the turns. After way longer than it should have taken, they were almost to the cabin. Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth. She peered outside as if to help Nick see better.
All of
a sudden, a deer sprang in front of the car, illuminated by the headlights. A gasp escaped her lips. Nick swerved to avoid hitting the animal. “Hold on. Hold on.” His terse voice cut through the darkness.
The car spun out of control, circling once, then sliding over to the edge of the snow-covered pavement. She watched in horror as they teetered on the edge then began sliding down the steep embankment at the side of the road. Each moment went by in slow motion. Tree branches snapped around them. Glass shattered. Her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. She instinctively threw her hands up to protect her face.
After what seemed like an eternity, with a crunch of metal, they slammed to a stop.
Nick was out of his seat belt and leaning over her within seconds. “Are you okay? Annie?”
“I… I think so.” She tried to clear her thoughts. She looked out in the darkness and saw two trees had miraculously stopped them from plunging the rest of the way down the hillside to the river below. The SUV hung between the two pine trees, balancing not quite completely on its side against them.
The windshield had cracked into millions of pieces, shattered around them. A tree branch poked through the opening. Her ankle hurt like all get out.
“Let’s go. We need to get out. I’m not sure how long the trees are going to keep holding the car.” Nick reached out his hand and climbed up the inclined car seat, pulling her with him. He wrestled the door open and climbed out. The car tilted crazily against the trees, but he firmly grasped her arms and pulled her to safety. They stumbled backward, and she crashed against his chest as they landed in the snow.
The car door slammed shut behind them. With a shudder, the SUV tottered and started to slide down the hill. Nick wrapped his arm around her and dragged them backward.
She watched in alarm as Nick’s car disappeared down the slope. She held her breath until she heard a crash and a splash as it reached the bottom. Nick tightened his arm around her. “Sh. It’s okay. We’re okay. Everything is okay.” His quiet litany did little to soothe her nerves.
She leaned against him and closed her eyes, unwilling to follow the train of her thoughts on what could have happened to them. Her pulse raced, and her breath came out in ragged gasps.
“Can you walk? I need to get you out of this storm.”
She opened her eyes. Nick’s face was inches from hers, his eyes filled with concern. “I—I can walk.” She could, couldn’t she? She didn’t think she was hurt that much, though her ankle throbbed.
“I think we’re only about a quarter mile from the cabin. Let’s go before you freeze.” Nick stood up and pulled her unceremoniously to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her, and they slowly trudged back up the hillside to reach the road. The wind whipped the snow against her face as they fought their way along the road.
She was shaking with cold but ignored it, along with ignoring the pulsating pain in her ankle.
“You okay?”
“Yes.” It was all she could do to get the one word out as they fought against the deepening snow and the fierce wind. Another crack of thunder rolled in the distance, promising more snow.
They finally reached the road to her house and stumbled along the drive until she could see the porch light struggling to shine through the whiteout. Nick’s strong arm still supported her every step of the way. She leaned against him, tired from the struggle, fighting the pain in her ankle, and exhausted by the pure terror of the crash.
Annie leaned heavily against him as they climbed the stairs to the front porch. He kept his arm firmly wrapped around her waist. The last few minutes of their trek he’d almost had to drag her through the snow. He needed to get her inside and warm.
“I don’t have my key, it’s in my backpack. Which must still be in the car.” Her voice quavered.
“Which would be at the bottom of the ravine. Got a stashed key?”
“Yes-s-s-” Her teeth chattered. “By the back door, under the flower pot.”
He didn’t want to leave her, but they needed that key. Or he’d smash a window. One way or another he was getting her out of this storm. But first, he’d look for the key. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
He fought his way through the drifting snow, ignoring the icy coldness that filled his boots, ignoring the bite of the wind. He struggled around to the back of the cabin and upended the flowerpot. After two attempts to pick up the key, he tugged off his gloves and retrieved it.
After several fumbled attempts with his frozen fingers, he managed to get the key in the lock. He pushed the door open and strode through the house, jerking the front door open as soon as he reached it.
Annie stood huddled beside the door. He reached out, wrapped an arm around her, and helped her inside.
The warmth of the cabin surrounded them. Annie flipped on the light and stood dripping snow onto the mat by the door.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of these wet clothes. Get you warmed up.”
She nodded, standing shaking before him. He berated himself for not taking her advice and heading back into town when she’d first suggested it to him. But no, he had to be the macho hero and drive her home.
Look how well that had worked out.
He unzipped her soaked jacket and let it slip to the floor. He gently pushed her into a chair by the door and knelt before her. He tugged off one of her boots. When he went to pull off her other one she winced.
“What’s wrong?”
“I hurt my ankle.”
His heart raced. She was hurt. He looked down to see his hands shaking. It was probably just from the cold…
He steadied his hands, removed the boot, and slipped off her sock. Her foot was icy cold and swollen. “Looks like you sprained it. We should get it looked at. Get an X-ray. Though I guess that’s out of the question tonight. Why didn’t you tell me? You walked all the way on it.”
“What were our choices?” Her voice trembled.
“You should have told me.” He would have carried her if need be. She must have been in a lot of pain tromping through that snow. She’d always been a stubborn, determined woman. He glanced up at her.
An ashen pallor covered her face. He didn’t like the looks of it. Not at all. “You sit there. I’m going to start a hot shower for you. We’ll get you all warmed up, then you’ll sit and we’ll prop up your foot.”
She didn’t argue with him for once.
“I’ll be right back.” He didn’t like the constant tremors that raced through her body. Guilt washed over him. He caused this. It was his fault. He should have listened to her and turned back to town.
He hurried off and got the shower started, then helped her to the bathroom. “You going to be okay?”
“Yes, I’ve got it from here.” Her teeth still chattered.
“I’m going out and bringing in some more wood for the fireplace. Just in case the electricity goes out.”
“Then you need to come in and get out of your wet clothes. I still have some boxes of Dad’s clothes in his closet that I’ve never gotten rid of.” She paused and held onto the counter. “I’m sure you could find some sweats you can wear.”
He hated to leave her here, so unsteady, but it wasn’t like he could stay while she got in the shower.
“Okay. I’ll get the firewood, then change. Now jump in the shower and get warmed up.” He backed out of the bathroom and pulled the door firmly shut behind him. He drew in a deep, exhausted breath, longing to sit down and get warmed up. But first he needed to bring in some loads of wood, then dry clothes, then make sure Annie was warmed up. Then he’d allow the exhaustion to take hold, but not before.
Annie limped out of the bathroom after a good long, hot shower. The shaking had somewhat subsided, though unsteadiness still flowed through her. Her ankle had settled down to a dull throb instead of a searing pain. She wanted nothing more than to sit on the couch, prop up her foot, and forget this evening had even happened. If she let her mind wander to the what ifs…
The spinning SUV. T
he teetering vehicle against the trees. The crash of the car as it hit the bottom and splashed into the river. They could have been in it. They could have…
She pushed the thoughts away and limped down the hallway. She heard sounds from her father’s bedroom and slowly made her way to the open door. Nick stood in the low lamplight, a pair of her father’s sweats resting on his waist, bare-chested, sorting through a box he’d set on the bed. She swallowed. She was the one who had told him to go rummage through her father’s clothes. The boxes of clothes she’d just never been able to get rid of.
He looked up as she leaned heavily against the doorframe. “I hope it’s okay. I grabbed a quick hot shower, too.” His chest still glistened with drops of water. He grabbed the towel and rubbed his chest, then scrubbed the towel over his damp hair.
She limped over to the bed and dug through the box, handing Nick a plaid flannel shirt. “Here, this should fit.” Put it on. Cover your chest. The chest she was doing her best not to stare at. He’d certainly kept himself in very fine shape over the years. She looked down at herself and her extra ten to fifteen pounds she could never quite lose the last few years. Aging didn’t play fair with the sexes.
Nick tugged on the shirt and buttoned it up. “Here, let me help you. Let’s get you out to the couch. I’ve made a fire.”
She let him wrap his strong arm around her waist and help her over to the couch, forgetting all about her fierce I-can-do-it-myself independence, grateful for the help.
She sank onto the worn leather, glad to be off her foot. He grabbed an afghan off the back of the couch and settled it around her, his hand briefly grazing her cheek as he pulled the cover up under her chin.
“I’m going to put a pillow on the coffee table. Put your ankle up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She did as she was told. The pain lessened a bit as she elevated her foot. A warm fire danced in the fireplace, casting a cozy glow in the room. She leaned back against the couch and adjusted the afghan around her.
