“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I can forgive you,” she said teasingly. “But what do we do now?”
Lincoln looked around again, hoping against hope that some landmark would suddenly become visible through the darkness.But all he could see were trees and snow and the faint outline of the road stretching ahead and behind them.
“Let me get out and see if I can get my bearings,” he said, climbing down from the sleigh. “Maybe if I walk a bit, I’ll recognize something.”
The snow crunched under his boots as he made his way a short distance in each direction, peering through the darkness for any sign of where they might be. But the faint moonlight peeking through the clouds wasn’t enough to give him anything to see by, and the landscape looked the same in every direction—just endless trees and snow-covered fields.
He trudged back to the sleigh, feeling foolish and increasingly concerned about keeping Imogen out in the cold much longer. She was bundled up well enough, but it had been getting colder as the evening progressed, and he could see that she was starting to shiver slightly.
“Any luck?” she asked as he climbed back up beside her.
“None whatsoever,” Lincoln admitted. “I can’t see a thing out there. But let me check my phone—maybe I can call for help.”
He pulled out his phone, relieved to see that he had at least two bars of signal. He scrolled through his contacts, trying to decide who would be the most helpful in this situation.
“I’m going to call Mabel,” he said. “If anyone knows how to organize a rescue mission, it’s her.” He didn’t point out that she was one-half of what had gotten them into this mess, partially because whatever Mabel had intended, he knew it wasn’t for them to get lost out in the snow.
Mabel answered on the second ring, her voice warm and cheerful. “Lincoln! How’s the sleigh ride going? Are you two having a wonderful time?”
“Well,” Lincoln said, glancing at Imogen with an apologetic expression, “it’s been lovely, but we’ve run into a small problem. I seem to have gotten us lost.”
“Lost?” Mabel’s voice rose with concern. “How on earth did you manage that?”
“I got distracted and let the horses wander,” Lincoln explained, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I have no idea where we are now. We’re on what looks like a country road by a field, surrounded by evergreen trees, but that describes about half the roads outside of town.”
“Oh my,” Mabel said, although Lincoln thought he detected a hint of amusement in her voice. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll send someone out to find you right away. Can you see any landmarks around? Anything to help narrow down where you are?”
Lincoln looked around again, squinting through the darkness. “Not really. Just trees and snow. But I might be able to drop a pin on the phone, if the signal holds up. I’ll try when I hang up, and maybe that can get someone to us faster.”
“That helps,” Mabel said. “I’ll call Henry—he knows every back road in this area like the back of his hand. He’ll find you in no time.”
“Thank you so much,” Lincoln said, relieved that they’d be out of the cold sooner rather than later, hopefully. “And I’m really sorry about this. I should have paid better attention.”
“Things happen,” Mabel said, not sounding nearly as upset as Lincoln thought she probably should be. “We’ll get you two back home as quick as possible. Just stay warm and keep each other company until help arrives.”
Lincoln hung up, and glanced at Imogen with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Help is on the way. Henry’s going to come find us.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Imogen said with a laugh. “I thought it might be George to our rescue, but he’s still sick, isn’t he? So poor Henry is going to have to trudge out here.”
“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. If we try to head back, we might get more lost. And I sent Mabel our location,so hopefully it goes through.” Lincoln set the reins down, and the horses huffed in the cold, the small bells on the harnesses jingling.
“I’m so sorry about this,” he said finally. “You must be getting cold.”
“I’m all right,” Imogen assured him, although he could see that she was pulling the blanket more tightly around herself, and she was shivering. “It’s actually really beautiful out here, wherever ‘here’ is.”
Lincoln couldn’t help looking at her a moment longer. She seemed to be glowing in the moonlight, he thought, against the backdrop of the snow. He thought she’d never looked more beautiful, and without thinking, he opened one side of his heavy winter coat.
“Here,” he said softly. “Come closer. My coat is pretty warm—we can share the heat.”
Imogen hesitated for just a moment, then scooted closer to him on the sleigh’s seat. Lincoln wrapped his coat around both of them, and she settled against his side with a small sigh of contentment. The contact sent warmth radiating through his entire body, and he had to work to keep his breathing steady.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she murmured, and he could feel some of the tension leaving her shoulders as she relaxed against him.
There was quiet for a few moments, before Imogen spoke suddenly.
“I was so startled by the Secret Santa gift that you got, that I don’t know if I really conveyed to you how much it meant to me,” Imogen said quietly. “I don’t think anyone else has ever done something so thoughtful. I honestly… I can’t recall, if so. The fact that you remembered something from so long ago means more than I can really explain.”
