Chapter 24
twenty-four
CHRIS
I’d just kicked off my boots, grabbed a beer, dropped my ass on the couch, and turned on the football when my phone rang.
I let it ring out.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone and anyone I did talk to, they'd no doubt regret it.
It rang again and I groaned but still didn’t get up.
When it rang a third time, I figured it was important.
“Chris, where the hell are you?” Sheriff Whitworth barked formally.
“At home. Where are you?” Dennis didn’t scare me. I’d known him too long for that. Besides, what trouble could I cause? I never went anywhere or did anything to put myself on their radar.
“I’m at Winter Green Farm.”
“And the reason for your call is?” I cut him off.
“I just got a call. Car off the road on the Highway 87. Can you go?”
I didn’t want to. I wanted to sit here, drink my beer, and wallow. But that wasn’t who I was .
“Yeah, I guess. I’m twenty minutes out,” I told him, ending the call.
I set the beer on the coffee table as I grumbled. As I spun around, I saw the wad of cash still sitting on the counter. I didn’t want it. I wanted nothing to do with it.
“Deal with it later,” I grumbled to myself as I started layering up again.
I tugged on my beanie, scarf, boots, and coat and made sure my gloves were in my pocket. If some idiot was off the road, I had no idea what to expect. Snagging the keys to the tow truck, I stomped downstairs, keen to get this over with as soon as possible.
The truck spluttered and coughed to life while the cab started warming up. After a quick check to make sure I had everything I needed, I pulled out, hoping this was quick and painless.
With Christmas carols still playing on the radio, I carefully navigated the roads. Even though the plows had been through, snowbanks lined either side of the road, a depressing, gray slush.
I came around the bend and my heart stopped.
My foot came off the accelerator.
“No!” I gasped.
The car up ahead on the shoulder of the road was one I’d recognize anywhere.
A black Cayenne balanced precariously on the side of the road facing the wrong direction.
I could see the woman behind the wheel, hunched forward.
I felt like I was going to vomit.
Vaulting from the truck, I ran toward the car ignoring the snow splattering my face or the puddles I stomped in.
I reached the car and couldn’t see any damage. I made my way to the driver's door, not really sure what I expected, trying to prepare myself for anything. Holly had to be okay. There was no other option. She had to be. I needed her to be.
Slowly, I opened the door, Holly lifted her head, and her eyes met mine.
She was a mess. Mascara streaks ran down her cheeks, her eyes were red and puffy, and she was crying. Not just crying, sobbing. God-awful sobs wracking her body.
“Hey! Hey! Hey. What happened?” I asked, cupping her face in my hands.
There wasn’t a scratch on her and I finally felt like I could breathe. I glanced in the back seat, and Noelle looked frightened but unharmed.
“I … I … I …” Holly tried to get the words out, but every one caught in her throat until she spluttered.
I reached across and unbuckled her belt before turning her to face me. “Holly, you’re okay. Noelle’s okay. You’re both fine,” I attempted to reassure her.
“We’re not …”
“You’re okay. We can get your car out but you gotta tell me what happened? You’re facing the wrong way.”
I couldn’t figure it out. It didn’t make sense.
“We were turning around,” Noelle filled me in.
“Why? Was something wrong?” I asked, the worry almost paralyzing.
“I … I … I … made a mistake,” Holly managed to force out.
“I’m sure you didn’t.”
“I did.” Holly pulled herself together. She straightened her spine, pushed the hair from her face, and wiped her cheeks on her sleeve. She was a mess, but she was strong at the same time. “I left without telling you something. I had to come back,” Holly started.
“Well, I’m here now,” I pointed out, my chest pounding.
“I don’t want to …” She glanced behind her at Noelle before re aching through the gap in the seats to hold her hand. “We don’t want to go without telling you something,” Holly declared.
If she said thank you again, I was going to punch something.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I tried to convince her.
“I do. It was what I was trying to say but messed it up.”
“You can tell me anything,” I promised her. No matter how much it hurt or how deep it cut, I’d hear anything she had to say.
“We don't want to go home. We want to stay with you, Chris. We miss you,” Noelle announced.
I expected Holly to apologize and try to take back her daughter's words, but she didn’t flinch. Noelle had said what Holly was struggling to.
“You want to stay?” I clarified, my gaze bouncing between the two people I never wanted to let go.
Holly didn’t use words. Instead, she nodded gently.
I couldn’t help myself. I leaned forward, captured her face in my hands, and kissed her like my life depended on it.
When I pulled back, Holly was smiling. “I want you to stay, too. I love you, Holly Star.” I declared, never meaning the words more than I did in that moment.
“I love you, too, Chris. I’m so sorry I screwed it up.”
“Sweetheart, you didn’t screw it up. This is us and it’s perfect,” I promised her, pulling her out of the car and spinning her around in a circle.
“What about me?” Noelle called out.
Before we could answer, she scrambled out of the car and ran over to where we were, wrapping herself around our legs. Standing there, with the snow falling, I felt complete. Holly and Noelle were my family, and I was never letting them go.