Snowflake Sweethearts

by Turansky, Carrie

  The words seemed to spring off the page and into her heart, and she knew beyond all her doubts what she ought to do.

  * * *

  Annie gripped Emma’s hand as they dashed through the rain and into the bakery. The smell of plaster dust and fresh paint greeted Annie as she stepped through the doorway.

  Jason stood high up on a ladder in the center of the room, working on a light fixture. He smiled when he saw her, called out a greeting and climbed down. “Crazy weather, isn’t it?”

  “It sure is.” She flicked water off her hands. It dripped on the new beige tile, making little puddles by her feet. “We’re going to have to build an ark soon if this rain doesn’t stop.”

  Jason chuckled. “You’re right about that.”

  Annie took a quick survey of the room. “It looks like you’re making good progress.”

  He nodded, looking pleased. “We finished sanding the walls this morning. We’re right on schedule.”

  Annie noticed Jason’s daughter sitting at a card table in the corner, coloring. She looked up and smiled at them.

  Emma tugged on Annie’s hand. “Can I go see Faith?”

  Annie hesitated. She only planned to stay for a few minutes, and she didn’t want Emma to be upset when they had to leave.

  “I hope it’s okay that Faith’s here.” Jason said. “My neighbor usually watches her after school, but her son has the flu, and I didn’t want to risk Faith catching it.”

  “It’s fine.”

  Emma tugged on Annie’s hand again. “Can I go see her?”

  “Okay, sweetie, just be careful. Don’t touch the ladder or any tools.”

  Emma nodded, then zipped across the room and joined Faith at the table.

  “Let me show you why I asked you to come over.” He slipped his arm behind her and guided her toward the kitchen.

  Annie pulled her damp coat a little tighter around herself, trying to keep her distance without being too obvious.

  “The new oven was delivered today,” he said, “but it’s got a larger door than the old one, so I don’t think we should put it in the same place.” He showed her how the door swung open. “That would block your pathway between the

  counter and the mixer.”

  “Good point.” Annie turned and searched the room. “Maybe we should move it over there.” They talked for a few minutes, discussing the different options, and finally chose a new location for the oven.

  “I’m glad you noticed the problem before you installed it.”

  He smiled and nodded. “That’s my job.”

  She forced a slight smile in return. “Well, I better get going.”

  His face fell, and he looked as though he wanted to say something else.

  She suspected what it might be, so she hurried on. “Emma and I have some errands we need to run.” She turned away, hoping to make her escape.

  “Annie, wait a minute.”

  Her stomach clenched, and she slowly turned to face him. “Yeah?”

  “Faith and I are going to see A Christmas Carol at Mt. Baker Theater tomorrow night. Would you and Emma like to come with us?”

  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she needed to be honest. “That’s nice of you to ask, but I’m sorry. We can’t go.”

  “Are you sure?” He took a step closer. “It seems like we’ve got a lot in common. I’d like a chance to get to know you better.”

  “I’m flattered, Jason, but I’m already seeing someone.”

  “You mean Alex?”

  She nodded.

  “But I thought he’s taking a job in Chicago.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. Surely Jason couldn’t have heard Alex’s decision before she did, could he? No, he was probably just guessing based on hearsay.

  “Alex did go there for an interview, but I don’t think he’s made a decision yet.” She pulled in a deep breath, her heart ringing with the truth. “Either way, I’m committed.”

  Jason nodded. “He’s a lucky man.” He studied her a moment more. “If you ever change your mind, I hope you’ll give me a chance.”

  Before she answered, the front door opened, and Irene and her Bayside Treasure friends flew in, flapping their umbrellas and squawking like a flock of wet blue jays.

  “Oh, I love the new tile.” Marian took off her rain hat and shook it out.

  Irene set her umbrella by the door. “It’s from Italy.”

  “I hope the rain won’t damage it.”

  “No, I’m sure it’s fine. Jason assured me it’s totally weatherproof and the perfect color to hide footprints.”

  Barb strolled across the room. “I can’t believe how much more space you have now that they took out the old bakery cases.”

  Hannah hooked her arm through Irene’s. “It’s going to be lovely, simply lovely.”

  Annie smiled at Jason. “Sounds like you’ve impressed them.”

  He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “Wish I could do the same for you.”

  She shook her head, suppressing a smile. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

  “No, but I won’t ask you out again unless you let me know you’re interested.” He motioned toward the front room. “Shall we?”

  She nodded and followed him out of the kitchen to greet Irene and her friends.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Irene said, pulling Annie aside while Jason showed the other women around. “Alex called from the airport in Chicago.”

  Annie’s pulse jumped. “When?”

  “About thirty minutes ago. He was just getting on the plane.”

  Why hadn’t he called her? The memory of their last conversation flashed through her mind, providing the answer.

  “He said he tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.”

  “He did?” Annie pulled her phone from her purse. Three missed calls from Alex. She groaned. “I must’ve turned off the ringer and forgot to turn it back on.” She flicked the button on the side.

  “Don’t worry. He should be home around eight tonight.”

  Annie’s stomach fluttered. Alex was coming home.

  “Have you made a decision? Are you going to stay?”

  Annie nodded and smiled. “I’m staying.”

  Irene’s eyes lit up. “And you’ll work things out with Alex?”

  “I’ll try, if he’s willing.”

  Irene pulled her in for a tight hug. “Oh, I’m so happy.”

  “Well, Alex might not be. I said some pretty awful things to him before he left.”

  “I’m sure you can work it out when you talk tonight.” She patted Annie’s hand. “I won’t be there, but I’ll pray for you.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “It’s Hannah’s birthday. The girls and I are taking her out to dinner.”

  A slight wave of uneasiness rippled through Annie. She took Irene’s hand. “I’m glad you’re spending time with your friends, but I hope you won’t overdo it or stay out too late.”

  Irene chuckled. “You sound a little like a mother hen, dear.”

  “Sorry, but you’ve been doing so well. I don’t want you to have a setback.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” She must’ve read the concern on Annie’s face because she added, “I was just teasing about you being a mother hen. I appreciate you watching out for me.” She hugged Annie. “Now, why don’t you go home and bake Alex something delicious? Then light a fire in the fireplace and turn on the Christmas lights. You might even play some romantic music.”

  Annie chuckled. “You want me to set the mood?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I had in mind.”

  “Why, Irene, you’re quite the romantic.”

  Irene patted her cheek. “You be
t I am, honey.”

  Annie walked over and laid her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Come on, Emma. It’s time to go.”

  She looked up from her coloring project. “Do we have to?”

  “Yes. We’ve got a party to plan.”

  Emma’s eyes widened. “A party?”

  “That’s right. A welcome-home party for Alex.”

  Emma jumped up. “Yippee!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Rain pounded the roof of the cab like a drummer beating a frantic rhythm. Alex gripped the handle of his computer case and peered out the cab’s streaming windshield. He was certain the driver couldn’t see more than a few yards ahead, even though he’d turned the wipers on high.

  Alex was sick of riding in cabs and fighting his way through storms. But he was almost home. In a few minutes he’d see Annie and take her in his arms again.

  Up ahead, orange cones and police barricades blocked the road.

  “What’s going on?” Alex leaned forward in the backseat, glaring at the roadblock.

  “Looks like Harris is closed off. Maybe there’s flooding.”

  “Cut across Fourteenth. Take McKenzie.” Alex clenched his jaw and shifted in his seat. Nothing was going to stop him from getting home. He’d get there if he had to swim.

  The cab crawled ahead through the streaming water. Five minutes later they pulled into his grandmother’s neighborhood, and he blew out a deep breath.

  As they turned the corner, the flashing lights of an ambulance sliced through the darkness.

  Alex’s heart jerked. The ambulance was parked in his grandmother’s driveway.

  He yanked off his seat belt. “Hurry! That’s my house.” He grabbed some bills from his wallet and threw them on the seat. The driver pulled toward the curb, and Alex jumped out. He ran across the muddy lawn and dashed up the steps.

  “Hey, what about your suitcase?” the driver called.

  Ignoring the driver, he jerked open the door. “Annie?”

  She rushed toward him. “Alex!”

  Looking past her, he saw three EMTs gathered in the living room. Gram lay on a rolling gurney under a gray blanket. Emma stood frozen by Gram’s recliner, her hands clasped in front of her mouth.

  “What happened?” Alex dropped his computer case to the floor.

  “She went out to dinner with the Treasures, but she started having chest pains.”

  Alex’s heart lurched. “Is it another heart attack?”

  “I don’t know.” Annie’s worried gaze focused on Gram. “Marian wanted to take her to the E.R., but she insisted on coming home.” Annie turned back to him. “I wasn’t sure what to do, but she didn’t look good and she was still in pain, so I called 9-1-1.”

  “Good decision.” He ran his hand gently down her arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  “You’re here now. That’s what counts.”

  He gave her a quick hug, then stepped forward as the EMTs rolled the gurney toward the front door. “Gram, can you hear me?”

  She nodded, and her eyes filled with tears, but she couldn’t speak past the oxygen mask covering her mouth.

  “Everything’s going to be okay.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We’ll follow you to the hospital.”

  Annie touched Gram’s shoulder. “We love you. We’ll be praying.”

  Gram nodded again, and they whisked her out the door.

  Alex followed them out to the porch and grabbed his suitcase the cab driver had left there. Annie and Emma joined him, and they watched the EMTs load the gurney into the back of the ambulance.

  “Grab your coats. Let’s go.” Alex stowed his suitcase inside.

  “What about Emma?”

  The little girl gripped her mother’s hand, her eyes wide. “I want to go with you.”

  “I know you do, sweetie, but we don’t know how long we’ll have to stay at the hospital.” Annie took her phone from her pants pocket. “Maybe she could stay with Lilly.”

  “Let’s call her on the way.” He and Annie quickly gathered a few items for Emma and Irene, then hurried out to Annie’s car. Alex climbed into the driver’s seat while Annie helped Emma and stowed their bags in the back.

  The rain had slowed to a misty drizzle, but water rushed down the edges of the street and overflowed the curbs.

  “Harris is closed by Twelfth. We’ll have to cut around.” Alex backed out of the driveway and headed down the street.

  Annie tapped in Lilly’s number. A few seconds later she shook her head. “Lilly’s not answering. I suppose I could try Jason. His daughter and Emma are friends.” But Jason didn’t answer, either.

  “I think she should come with us,” Alex said.

  Annie looked over her shoulder and back at him. “But we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  “You’re right, but keeping her with us is probably the most reassuring thing we can do.”

  Annie hesitated a second. “All right.”

  “I can always bring you both home if we need to.” Alex entered the Five Freeway and headed north toward St.

  Joseph’s Medical Center, pushing the speed limit.

  Annie gripped the armrest, but she didn’t tell him to slow down.

  A few minutes later they took the exit for Sunset Drive, heading west. But as he prepared to turn right on Ellis, roadblocks once again cut off his path. Alex released a frustrated breath. “Great.”

  Annie looked to the right and left. “There’s got to be another way to get to the hospital.”

  “I think we can go around Cornwall Park and come in from behind.” He drove on. The rain came down harder, and he cranked up the wipers.

  “Maybe we can cut through the back of that shopping center.” Annie pointed to the right at a large grocery store and several small shops.

  Alex slowed and scanned the parking lot, but the water looked deeper there than in the street. A pickup truck pulled up behind them and honked. Alex flipped on his emergency flashers and signaled the truck driver to go ahead.

  The truck barreled around them into the parking lot, spraying water on both sides like high waves. He seemed to have the same idea of cutting through and disappeared behind the row of stores.

  “Maybe we should follow him.”

  Alex clenched his jaw. It looked risky, but he had to get to the hospital, and there didn’t seem to be any other way. He pulled into the parking lot and drove around behind the stores. Dumpsters and piles of wooden crates stood by the back entrances. A few lights shone down on the rear parking lot, illuminating their way.

  “The water looks deeper here.” Annie’s voice rose to a higher pitch. “Maybe we should go back.”

  He took a quick glance over his shoulder. “We’re more than halfway. We’ve got to keep going.” He gripped the steering wheel and leaned forward.

  Only two seconds later, the engine sputtered and died.

  Alex twisted the key in the ignition, pumping and giving it more gas, but the engine wouldn’t start.

  Annie gasped. “We’re moving.”

  Panic shot through Alex as he felt the car lift and turn.

  “Mommy,” Emma whimpered from the backseat.

  Annie grasped his arm. The car tilted and bobbed across the parking lot, picking up speed as it flowed down the slope. The beam of the headlights glowed across the surface of the water and showed they were headed toward a stream.

  Alex ripped off his seat belt. “We’ve got to get out, now.”

  Annie reached for her door handle.

  “No!” Alex lunged and grabbed her. “Not the door. We have to go out the window.”

  The car spun like a crazy carnival ride. Emma’s whimpering cries turned to panicked screams. He stabbed the button to lower the windows, bu
t nothing happened. Energy pumped through him. He had to get them out of this car.

  God, please help me. No sooner had he thought the prayer than he had the answer. “Get Emma up here.”

  Annie unfastened her seat belt and pulled Emma into the front with them.

  Alex pushed his seat back as far as possible and tore off his coat. “Turn away. Cover your face and Emma’s.” Placing his coat over the side window, he leaned back and kicked the glass. A painful jolt fired up his leg, but the window didn’t break. Please, God. Gritting his teeth, he kicked again. The glass shattered and crumbled around him.

  Covering his hand with his coat, he knocked out most of the remaining glass and left his coat lying over the jagged edge. “You need to go first.”

  Annie stared at him, her eyes wide. “What?”

  “Climb up on the roof. I’ll hand Emma to you.” When she didn’t move, he grabbed her arm. “You have to go now.”

  While Emma’s cries grew louder, Annie climbed over Emma and him, then out the window. He held on and boosted her up to the roof.

  He turned to Emma. “Your turn, sweetie.”

  “No!” Emma screamed and clung to him, but he pried her fingers loose and shoved her out the window into Annie’s arms. All the while the car bobbed and swayed. Water splashed around his feet and ankles as it started filling the car.

  He stood on the seat and hoisted himself out the window. Emma’s cries and Annie’s frantic efforts to try to calm her daughter cut through the night, sending a frightening chill through him.

  His mind spun as he tried to pull his thoughts into focus. A terrifying panic rose in his chest and cut off the air in his throat. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

  He could not lose everyone he loved in a wild and rushing flood.

  The water pulled the car down the slope and into the stream, spinning it like a wild top. Trees closed in overhead, darkening his view for a few seconds. Moonlight cut through the clouds. The car headed for the bank and crashed into a clump of trees.