Chapter 1
Strawberry Sleigh Bells - Preview
Chapter One
Digging my hand into my purse, I pull out a handful of notes and toss them at the taxi driver as we pull into the drop off lane at the airport.
The ride here was nothing short of horrendous.
Not only were we stuck in traffic for over an hour due to people panicking about the storm—I’d already been running late.
There is absolutely no way I can miss this flight.
I haven’t seen my brother, Jackson, or Mom all year.
I miss them both and I really need my family after the day I’ve had.
“Keep the change,” I yell as I slide across the backseat and push the door open. Grabbing the arm of my overnight bag and tossing it over my shoulder, I slam the car door and rush to get inside.
Snow has begun falling freely from the darkened sky, the sidewalk already covered in a thick dusting of powder.
A strong wind blows across the path as I hurry to the entrance.
My strawberry blonde hair whips across my face, blinding me as the strength of the gust knocks my small frame to the ground.
My ass hits the cold, wet concrete, sending a shockwave up through my spine.
Somehow, my bag is still slung over my shoulder.
Fucking hell.
Blowing my hair out of my face, I push to my feet and check my watch.
My pulse races as I realise my departure time is only 10 minutes away. It’ll take a miracle for me to make my way across the busy airport and all the way to gate thirty-three in that short amount of time. Luckily I packed light and have no baggage to check.
I rub my bruised tailed bone, flushing with embarrassment—what kind of grown adult slips in a puddle and lands on their ass—but nothing seriously hurts from my fall. The seat of my denim overalls are soaked and I cringe inwardly. That’ll make for a comfortable flight, ugh.
I make my way inside more carefully, bracing myself against the wind. Thunder crashes in the sky behind me, the gloomy evening flashing briefly as the sky lights up.
Thundersnow. How fucking dramatic. Even mother nature is against me today. I can’t catch a fucking break.
Reaching the doors, I brush myself off and scrape my feet on the entrance mat, hoping to dry off the soles for the mad dash I’m about to make. Hopefully I won’t fall on my ass again.
I’ve already checked in online, leaving no need to stop at the front desk, so I bolt through the doors toward the stairs leading to security on the first floor. I weave in and out of the crowds that seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
My thighs burn as I dash up the stairs, taking two at a time, the denim of my overalls pulling tight with each upward lunge. Whilst cute, they aren’t the most practical item of clothing I could have worn. Some athletic tights might have been a better choice.
Face it, Lucy, you don’t own any athletic gear.
To my utter relief, security is quiet, no lines to slow me too much and a lane immediately available.
I make my way toward it, my breaths coming quickly, my lungs burning with the effort.
I really need to start working out. Gross.
I’ll have time for it now. My mood sours at the memory of the news I received today.
Due to budget cuts, I won’t be returning to teach my kindergarten class after the holidays. I’ll miss those munchkins.
Scowling, I dump my bag on the tray and make my way through the metal detector, desperately trying to catch my breath as an airport attendant scans me for contraband.
She gives me Alpha vibes, but I can’t scent her, probably due to the scent neutralizers public places like this pump through the air conditioning.
It’s unsettling really, not being able to scent those around me.
As strange as it might seem, I prefer the off-putting burnt plastic smell the taxi driver had to this…
nothingness. I’m sure my usual sweet strawberry scent would smell pretty sour given the day I’m having and the funk I’ve fallen into.
The attendant offers me a nod at the same time my bag is cleared, and I grab it, mentally preparing myself to sprint the rest of the way to my gate.
The crowds are thinning now, most people heading out instead of toward the gates. I try not to think about what that might mean for my flight.
The trip here was long and draining, taking a total of 4 hours, with one of those stuck in traffic once the storm started.
I hate to think what it will take going the other way now that the weather is really deteriorating.
Plus, it’s been a long year not seeing any of my family.
This visit with them should calm me and help me figure out what to do next.
Maybe a more permanent move should be on the cards…
Passing the food court, I glimpse the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the tarmac ahead.
Multi coloured lights glitter everywhere against the darkening night.
There are more gates with stationary planes than there are empty gates.
My stomach growls as a mouth-watering combination of smells floats towards me, making me wish I had time to grab a bite.
There’s no way the on-board meal will even come close to smelling this good.
Lightning flashes across the sky, the falling snow thickening suddenly as the rumbling thunder rolls overhead, loud enough to be heard inside.
As I pass gate twenty-four, the boarding door opens, a flustered attendant holding it open, a sympathetic smile plastered on her face as she apologises to the disembarking passengers.
Oh no. Dread settles heavily in my stomach as my legs burn and I push myself ever forward. Had their flight been cancelled after boarding or had it just been terribly rough? I don’t have time to find out. The clock on the wall ahead tells me I have just two minutes before the boarding doors close.
Gates thirty-one and thirty-two are empty, and I skid to a halt as I finally reach my destination.
Panting, I make my way to the attendant desk decorated with tinsel across the front and a small Christmas tree on one edge, where a small dark-haired female stands waiting.
The doors behind her are closed, no other passengers waiting in the uncomfortable seats surrounding the space.
“Am I too late to board? Please, I need to get on this plane. My brother is expecting me.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. All flights have been cancelled due to the storm,” she responds, gesturing out the window where the snow is now so thick it almost blinds my view of the tarmac. “Didn’t you receive the notification?”
“What notification?”
“A text message was sent to all fliers about half an hour ago, Miss. All flights in and out have been cancelled, at least until tomorrow. The risk is too great.”
“I didn’t get it,” I said, my brow furrowing as I pat all of my pockets, trying to find my phone. I can’t remember the last time I used it. I’d been reading my kindle on the trip here.
Dropping a shoulder, I let my bag fall to the floor, crouching to open it and rifling through it, panic causing my hands to shake. Oh shit, where’s my phone?
Praying I didn’t leave it in the taxi, I frantically dig to the bottom, my mind racing a mile a minute, trying to recall where I last used it.
I spoke to Jackson just before I left my apartment, and then I placed it down beside the bowl on my hall table while I grabbed my keys. I stop rummaging in my bag and let myself fall back so that I’m sitting on the floor and bury my face in my hands. Fuck. It’s still on the fucking hall table.
I am such a mess.
I’ve always been a little flighty and forgetful.
And this week has rattled me. Not only did I lose my job, but my landlord refuses to renew my lease.
In a month’s time I’ll have nothing. No job.
No home. A sob tears from my throat as I realize I’m not going to make it home to see my family. I really fucking need to see them.
“Are you alright, Miss? Do you need help making alternative arrangements? I can get you on the phone to our Customer Service department?” the attendant asks, her voice laden with concern.
“We appreciate your concern, but I’ve made arrangements for the both of us.” A deep, rumbling voice says to the attendant and my skin prickles in response, my body freezing in shock.
It’s been ten years since I heard that voice. Ten long years since I’ve seen the alpha I craved for my entire life. Despite unknowingly breaking my heart when he and my brother left me to join the army, he still holds a special place there. Your first crush always does, don’t they?
There isn’t anyone I’ve wanted more than I wanted him.
My feelings were never that of a teen crush.
It had been deeper than that. Almost instinctual.
I’ve always wondered what could have been if I’d said something then or tried to contact him since.
There’s no chance he’s here now. I must be imagining it, my distress making me search for comfort in the voice of a stranger.
“Come on, Lucy. Let me see that pretty face, babe.” My skin tingles as his words roll over me, my nipples pebbling as the sound shoots right to my core. It is him. I might have perfumed if it wasn’t for the heat suppressor the doctor prescribed. Thank fuck it works.
My hands shake as I slowly lower them from my face, looking up to confirm if it really is him.
His face comes into view, familiar but different from the young adult I’d known so long ago.
His jaw is sharper, more defined, a five o’clock shadow lining it, the first hint of grey beginning to show.
His dark hair is swept to one side, longer on the top and his baby blues sparkle in amusement as I stare up at him.
“Clayton?” I ask, as I try to compose myself. It wouldn’t surprise me to find my jaw had hit the floor. “What are you doing here?”
Clay had always been off limits. Twelve years my senior and my brother’s best friend, there had always been a line drawn between us.
The effort it had taken to move on from the unreciprocated feelings I’d had as a fifteen-year-old had been huge.
And right now, looking up at him, it felt like they were all rushing back.
Shit.