The breath got trapped in his lungs.They careened through the four-way stop.Somehow they missed the other vehicles.He’d say that ranked up there as a Christmas miracle.
At last, the pickup slowed to a stop.It was then he took his first full breath as he loosened his cramped fingers from the steering wheel.That was close—too close.
He glanced over at Felicity.Her face was pale.He felt bad.They definitely needed to put down some anti-skid material at that intersection.
His hand moved to cover her hand where her fingers were digging into his thigh.He rubbed his fingers gently over the back of her hand.“I’m sorry about that.”
She attempted a smile, but it didn’t quite work.“It’s okay.”
And then, as though she realized she was touching him, she pulled her hand away.All that was left behind was a cold spot where her hand had once been.
Felicity visibly swallowed.“Maybe we should turn around.”
“But don’t you need something from the storage place?”
She nodded.“My mother’s sewing machine.I need it to fix the costumes for the Christmas play.”
He realized she had less than a week to fix the costumes.That wasn’t much time.They were halfway between the bookshop and storage place.They might as well keep going.
He pressed on the accelerator.Moving at a slower speed, they made their way as darkness descended upon them.He didn’t like this time of year when it grew dark so early.And the heavy cloud brought darkness all that much sooner.
“Justin, aren’t you going to turn around?”
“Where?”They were on a two-lane country road.“I’m not going off the road in the snow.We might never get back on the road again.”
“I’m sorry I got you into this.”
“It’s fine.We’ll be there in no time, and then we can head back to town.”
“I really am sorry.”
Honestly, it wasn’t her fault they were out on a snowy night.Justin inwardly groaned.He knew exactly why they were out here.Merry.She was matchmaking.He was certain of it.He wondered if Felicity was aware of it.There was no way he was asking her.
Still, the silence was awkward.He chanced a quick glance in Felicity’s direction.She was staring straight ahead as she worried her bottom lip.
Hoping to get her to relax a little, he said, “Why don’t you turn on the radio?”
Without a word, she reached out and turned it on.A bouncy country tune was playing, but she changed the station until “White Christmas” was echoing through the pickup.He wasn’t so sure about the choice in music, considering they’d just had a close call with all of the white stuff, but then he heard Felicity humming along.
Beep.Beep.Beep.
The music abruptly stopped mid-chorus.“The National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont, has issued a Severe Winter Storm Warning for Addison County, Bennington County, Caledonia County, Chittenden County, Essex County, Franklin County…”
“That includes us,” Justin said.“Turn it up.”
Without a word, Felicity did as he’d asked.
“We have a severe weather warning up until six p.m.There is a snow squall working its way through the area.It is creating whiteout conditions and putting down four to six inches of snow.”
“Six inches?”Felicity’s voice was woven with distress.
“Don’t worry.”He reached out to her and squeezed her forearm.“We’re going to be fine.”
“Turn around,” she said.“No sewing machine is worth getting stuck in a blizzard.”
“The snow is already picking up, and so is the wind.There’s no place to turn around.The safest thing for us to do is drive to the storage place.It isn’t too far up the road.”
The radio announcer’s voice drew his attention once more.“It’s a good evening to curl up with a frozen pizza, some hot chocolate, and watch your favorite movie.And if you’re already out on the roads, find a safe place to take shelter.”
