“Please, protect us and land this plane,” Noel prayed.
Fred kept an eye on the oil pressure gauge. About fifteen minutes later he yelled, “That's it! I have to shut the engine down!” To Noel's horror, Fred killed the engine. A strange silence immediately followed—a frightening silence resonated inside of Noel's heart. “We'll glide in...I have to start easing us down or we'll fall out of the sky. Hold on!”
Noel held on for dear life as Fred began taking his plane down. The descent was sudden and harsh—and very fast. Noel wasn't sure how in the world Fred was going to land the plane in one piece. “Please, save us!”
Fred kept focused on the flying while Noel prayed. “There!” Fred yelled. “Down there...see the airfield! See the snowplow at the end of the airstrip!” Excitement filled Fred's voice. “We're going to land as smooth as hot butter on a stove! If we had been further away from North Winds, I would have landed us in the mountains.”
Sudden hope filled Noel's heart as Fred aimed his plane toward a snowy airstrip. The plane was coming in hard and fast. Noel braced for impact as the ground growled up at her through vicious, hungry teeth. The sky quickly vanished. Nothing but hard ground awaited below.
“Here we go...gonna be a bit rough...” Fred prepared for a rough landing. He took his plane down and managed to carry out a landing that was indeed rough on the backside, but nothing overly dramatic. “There...made it down in one piece. I've had rougher landings flying birds in Vietnam.”
A fifty-year-old man named Wallace waited until Fred stopped his plane and then ran over. “Heard you coming in on a silent engine, Fred. What happened?”
“Lost oil pressure,” Fred explained in an easy voice.
“I'll check the engine.” Wallace McKay lived inside the hangar in a back room. He was a mentally challenged man in many ways—and in many ways, the man was brilliant, especially when it came to plane engines.
“I'd appreciate that, Wallace.”
Noel looked over and spotted Wallace. He had a sweet and tender face that melted her heart. Wallace McKay, Noel would learn, was as close to an angel as a man could be. “Will you be taking me to the lodge?” she called out.
“Sure will, ma’am. Just let me check Fred's plane first to get an idea of what's wrong and then we'll take the Snow Cat to the village,” Wallace explained in his own way, speaking slowly, having to stop here and there to focus on his words, and then carrying on.
Fred patted Wallace's arm. “You're a good man, Wallace.” Wallace blushed and hurried to the front of the plane.
Noel leaned her head back, drew in a deep breath, and whispered, “Thank you, Lord for getting me to North Winds in one piece. Please help me complete my purpose for being here.”
As Noel prayed and then struggled to remove her seat belt, a pair of hidden eyes locked onto Fred's plane.
Chapter 4
The North Winds Lodge was nothing more than a long, two-story, rustic log cabin. The lodge was broken down into parts. The first floor had the lobby and then the east and west wings. The top floor held the guest rooms. The attic was off-limits to guests as well as a cramped basement area. All in all—at least on the outside—the lodge appeared basic and unappealing. But the inside of the lodge...oh, the beautiful inside...was a dream. December Green had managed to transform the lodge into a majestic, dreamlike, winter wonderland filled with Christmas wonder and beauty. The outside of the lodge, due to the extreme cold and hard winds, was impossible to decorate. However, the inside of the lodge was toasty and warm—the perfect environment for Christmas!
Noel couldn’t get over how Christmassy the inside of the lodge looked and felt. It was like truly walking into a colorfully wrapped present and stepping into a brightly lit North Pole filled with large Christmas lights, snowmen, cozy reindeer, Christmas trees, and candy canes...every delightful treat a child's imagination could dream up for Christmas. The front lobby was decorated to resemble a Christmas toy shop filled with old toys and Christmas trees. A wonderful Christmas train ran directly under the ceiling of the lobby on wooden tracks, passing through little snowy villages. Little worktables holding fun Christmas crafts were spread about for guests to find delight in. The Christmas arts and crafts, from what Noel could see, consisted of everything from construction paper Christmas trees to delightful candy gingerbread houses; one table even held a partially completed Christmas jigsaw puzzle that would someday show a wonderful Christmas morning filled with children unwrapping presents under a beautiful Christmas tree.
“You've had quite an adventure.”
“Huh?” Noel turned to face a lovely, blond-haired woman wearing a thick, green sweater with a smiling snowman on the front of it. December Green, who turned out to be Noel's age, was indeed a lovely woman who carried an infectious smile. December reminded Noel of a blond-haired Elinor Donahue. Noel had always liked the television showFather Knows Best. Well, her granny had enjoyed the show and Noel had eventually become fond of the show herself.
“Fred tells me you two had quite the landing,” December explained as she put down a gold-colored key onto the wooden countertop that had been painted to resemble a candy cane. The key was attached to a piece of wood that had been carved to resemble a cozy, little teddy bear.
“Oh, yes...it was scary.” Noel nodded her head, grateful to be standing on solid ground. “I think when I leave North Winds, I'll walk out.”
“Fat chance.” December laughed. “It would take you forever to get over the mountains.” December's laugh quickly faded. “And, of course you would have to pass the Dip. That river curves southward...very dangerous.”
“Fred told me about the river.” Noel nodded. “I was just joking about walking out of here. Fred told me that his friend Wallace found out why the oil pressure dropped.”
“Well, I'm just grateful you two made it to North Winds in one piece,” December told Noel. “Fred isn't going back up into the sky anytime soon. His plane needs a new part of some sort. He had to call down to Snow Fields and put in an order for the part. He won't be getting the part...oh...for about a week or so. His friend Mike has to fly up the part.”
“Oh...that's too bad. I know Fred was wanting to fly back to Snow Fields today.”
December's smile returned. “Fred is always anxious to get back to Snow Fields because Mrs. White has a crush on him.”
“Mrs. White...the woman who owns the bakery?” Noel asked, picking up her room key.
“That's her.” December grinned. “Mrs. White is seventy years old and she thinks the world of Fred. Fred is determined to stay single until he flies off to Heaven.”
Noel couldn't help but smile a little. What was the sense in being a sour plum?I'm still hurting over Granny...but Granny always taught me to put on a brave face and show grace. Sure, I'm a tough farm woman, but I also know how to show manners and grace when needed. Sure, I've chased off a few bears and even more land hungry thieves in my time...but I don't need to put on a tough face here. December is a nice woman.“Well, love is strange I guess and—”
