I looked in the rearview mirror, and the poor kid’s teeth were chattering. Even though I felt like I was sitting in a sauna with the heat pumping, her cheeks were rosy and her nose as red as Rudolph’s.
“There’s a blanket on the seat. Grab that and wrap it around you,” I told her.
When Holly turned in her seat, her ass on display, I almost groaned. The woman made denim jeans look good.
Once Noelle was settled again, Holly looked over at me. “Thank you for this. I know this isn’t what you had planned for your night.”
There was a genuineness to her that I couldn’t help but admire. Even after all the things going wrong in her day, she was still kind. Something a lot of people could learn from.
“It’s fine.” I brushed off her comments. She didn’t know I planned on wasting my night with a beer, a frozen pizza, and a few solid hours of Call of Duty.
“Did you want me to take you to the Evergreen Lake Inn? We can see if they have a room for the night.” I tried to be helpful.
“That would be great. I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. My mind’s all over the place.”
I reached over and rested my hand on her thigh. It wasn’t until I looked down and saw my hand sitting there, that I realized what I’d done. Pulling it away as quickly as I could, I apologized.
“Chris, you've gone above and beyond for us tonight. You have nothing to apologize for,” Holly assured me.
Evergreen Lake Inn was full.
Of course it was.
Booked solid for the next few days.
Seems Holly wasn’t the only one trapped in the storm.
When she’d walked out of the hotel, she looked like she was about to burst into tears.
She climbed into the car, keeping her voice low. Noelle had fallen asleep, using one of my sweaters as a pillow.
“They’re full,” she stated, staring blankly ahead.
“Oh.”
“Is there anywhere else?”
I racked my brain. There was nowhere close, and even if there was, chances were they’d already be full, too.
I put the truck in drive and started driving.
“Chris.”
“Yeah, honey?” I answered, the endearment falling from my lips before I knew what I was saying.
Thankfully, Holly ignored my slip-up. “Where are we going?”
“You can stay with me tonight. Then tomorrow, we can go from there.”
three
HOLLY
Last night,when Chris offered to let us stay at his place, my initial thought was to panic. I didn’t stay with strange men, even if he’d been incredibly nice to us and I couldn’t think of any other options. I’d suggested we just sleep in our car, down in his shop, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He told me I’d freeze to death, and seeing the way Noelle was shivering, I conceded defeat and followed him up the stairs.
Halfway up, Noelle slipped, and if it hadn't been for Chris behind her, God knows what would’ve happened. She could’ve split her head open, broken her leg, or something equally terrifying. While my heart threatened to burst through my rib cage, Chris swooped in and picked Noelle up, carrying her the rest of the way. Seeing my daughter wrapped around him did things to my body it certainly shouldn’t.
Chris opened the door and led me in before setting Noelle down on her feet. While she raced off to use the bathroom, Chris turned up the heater before racing about trying to tidy the place up.
