Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EMILY
My eyes shot open as Michael Bublé crooned “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”. I grabbed my phone from under my pillow, flicked off my alarm, and smiled. Last night had been amazing.
I rolled over to Dana. The other side of the bed was empty. My smile fell. Where was she?
Dana had said it would be hard to go back to being friends. Maybe she’d decided to get up to reduce any temptation. My chest constricted. It would be difficult, but we’d manage. It would be easier with some distance between us, removing the temptation of hooking up again.
I listened. The house was silent, the fire reduced to glowing coals. At least the howl of the wind had subsided. I glanced over to the window. Blue skies. Even better. I glanced at my watch. Shit, I needed to get a move on if I was going to catch the train.
I changed back into my clothes from yesterday, which Dana had hung next to the fire to dry, and then wandered around the cabin, checking rooms as I went.
Dana wasn’t in the bathroom, her bedroom or the kitchen.
She’s probably gone to pick up the truck.
The electricity was working again, so I set about making a pot of coffee for us.
It had just finished brewing when a loud rumble grabbed my attention.
Was that Dana? It didn’t sound like the truck.
I turned and headed back into the living room toward the sound. My eyebrows shot up as I swung open the door.
A red tractor slowly pulled up in front of the cabin. A large metal blade attached to its front was pushing snow to the side.
The engine sputtered to a stop and Dana jumped out.
She jogged over to me. “Hey, sorry, I thought I’d be back before now.
I’d planned to have coffee and breakfast waiting for you, but it took me longer than I expected to clear the snow.
We should head out, just in case there are delays.
I cleared all the way to the main road, which has also been plowed, so I think we should be okay, but I don’t want to run the risk. ”
I hadn’t even thought about how much snow would be on the roads.
Dana must have been up for ages, clearing the roads so I could get home.
I resisted the urge to fling my arms around her and press my mouth to hers.
Instead, I stood on the deck, my arms feeling awkward as they hung by my sides.
Last night was over. Today we were back to platonic reality.
“I just finished making us coffee. I saw some travel mugs in your cupboard. Is it okay if I pour it into those so we can drink them on the way?”
Dana grinned. “That would be amazing, thank you.”
We quickly got ready and climbed up into the tractor with the travel mugs in hand.
“I’ve never been in a tractor before.” I peered around as Dana slowly drove down the road. “This is quite cool.”
“You should visit in fall so you can sit in the front with me while I drive the hayride around. It’s the best time of year to visit the farm, in my opinion.”
My chest warmed. Visit in fall. That would be nice. It was ten months away so surely by then the memory of last night would have faded and spending time with Dana wouldn’t feel so fraught.
I glanced over at her. Were her cheeks more flushed than they had been? Perhaps it was just the cold. Either way, it suited her. My eyes dropped to her lips. Those lips which had been so hot and wet as they worked their way down my neck last night… I yanked my gaze away.
“A visit in the fall would be lovely,” I said then focused on the rows of firs covered in snow on our right and the fields of white stretching out to our left.
The blue skies and sun made the snow almost blinding.
“Although, I’m not sure if it’ll be more beautiful than this.
It’s hard to believe it was blizzard conditions only last night. ”
I sensed Dana looking at me, but when I turned my head, her eyes were firmly focused on the road in front of us.
The truck came into view, parked off the side of the road, its roof covered in a thick coating of snow.
“How would you feel about driving the truck down to the barn so I can drop the tractor back off and then keep going?” Dana asked as she slowed the tractor. “I’d prefer not to leave it out here in case Roz needs it.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Dana killed the engine. “I already wiped the snow off the windows, so it should be good to go.”
She handed me the keys, then I awkwardly climbed down off the tractor and got into the truck.
I’d never driven a pickup truck like this before and everything felt slightly different. I followed Dana as she drove to the main road that divided the farm in two. While Dana steered the tractor into the red barn, I pulled over and climbed back into the passenger seat.
Dana jumped back into the truck a moment later. “Thanks for that.”
“Thank you for clearing the snow so I can get home.”
“I would have done it sooner or later,” she said with a shrug. “Anyway, it’s better to do it quickly, before it compacts and ices over, or turns to slush.”
“Hang on…” My chest tightened. “Did you get the tractor from here?”
Dana nodded, her eyes firmly fixed on the road.
“So you walked all the way over here from your cabin and then cleared from the main road all the way back to your cabin. How long did that take?”
“A while.”
I stared at Dana, the snow-covered fields blurring behind her. “No, seriously. You must have gotten up at, like, 3 a.m. or something to do all that.”
Dana’s cheeks flushed. “Something like that.”
“Dana!” I exclaimed. “That was...so, so thoughtful.”
Dana shot me a glance. “I knew if I didn’t do it, there was no way you’d make it to the train on time.”
“You must be exhausted. We didn’t go to sleep until after 1 a.m.”
I was touched and horrified in equal measures. While I’d been sleeping, Dana had worked for hours in the pitch black to clear the roads so I could get home for Thanksgiving. It was too much.
Dana shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ve got all day to sleep.”
“Do you want me to drive so you can rest?”
She waved her hand. “It’s okay. It shouldn’t take us that long to get down to the station, and then I need to drive back anyway.”
I glanced at the clock on the truck. 7:20. It only took about ten minutes to drive from Sapphire Springs to the farm, so we had plenty of time to stop at the Airbnb and grab my bags. Thank god I’d packed yesterday afternoon.
“Oh, by the way”—Dana cleared her throat—“I got you a small present. It’s in the box next to your feet.”
Dana had gotten me a present too? I bent down and picked up a box wrapped in silver paper. I pulled the wrapping paper off, opened the box, and gasped.
It was the Sapphire Springs snow globe, the one I’d decided not to buy at the Christmas market because of the expense.
Tears filled my eyes. “Dana! This is so lovely, thank you.”
Dana glanced at me as we passed Roz and Olivia’s farmhouse. “I’m glad you like it. I wanted to get you a reminder of Sapphire Springs so you don’t forget about us.”
“As if I could do that.” There was no way I would forget Sapphire Springs or Dana, especially not after last night. How was I going to go back home and pretend like none of this had happened?
My phone pinged as we headed toward the main road.
My eyes widened as I read the message that had popped up. “Shit! The trains are canceled.”
“What?”
“Mihira messaged. There’s been a mudslide near Tarrytown.”
“Damn.” Dana pressed her lips together. “The last time that happened it took them well over a day to fix it.”
“What terrible timing. There’ll be so many people who won’t be able to make it home because of the weather.
” Me included. I swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat.
Not only would I miss dinner, but poor Dana had busted her butt trying to get me home safely.
It almost would have been better if we were still trapped at her place.
At least then we could have extended last night for one more day…
I recalled Dana, her breath ragged, running her hands over my body, and a surge of desire hit me. I swallowed.
“Can you check if Route 9D and the Palisades Interstate Parkway is open?” Dana’s words brought me back to reality.
Was she thinking I could drive home? That hadn’t even crossed my mind.
I’d dropped my rental car off yesterday, and the rental company had been plastered with posters stating they were closed on Thanksgiving.
And getting an Uber or a taxi would set me back hundreds of dollars I didn’t have, if I could even find a driver willing to take me.
No, the best-case scenario was that Mihira and I would find a gas station that was open and scrape together a Thanksgiving dinner of cold sandwiches, chips and soda. The lump in my throat swelled.
I checked the 511NY website and Google Maps anyway. “Yep. They’re open. But I don’t have a car.”
“Excellent, do you want to text Mihira and let her know we’ll pick her up in fifteen minutes. She’s staying at the bed and breakfast in town, isn’t she?”
I stared at Dana. “Um, why are we picking her up?”
“We’re driving to Brooklyn.”
My eyebrows shot up. “What! No, Dana, you don’t have to do that. It’s too far. You’re too tired.”
Dana shrugged. “I don’t have any plans and I can think of worse ways to spend my day than hanging out with you and Mihira. Anyway, it will be nice to have a change of scenery. I haven’t been into the city for ages.”
“But everything will be closed!”
Dana’s voice softened. “Hey, I know how much you were looking forward to Thanksgiving. Let me do this for you...and for Mihira too. Please.”
I had to admit it was appealing. A road trip with two of my new favorite people, culminating in my family Thanksgiving, especially when compared with my gas station Thanksgiving alternative. And it would delay having to say goodbye to Dana.
But Dana had hardly slept last night. She was in no state to drive.
“How about I drive, and you can sleep? Then when we get to Brooklyn, you come and have Thanksgiving dinner with my family to refuel?”