Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
F orty-five minutes later, they were in their rental car, Savannah was behind the wheel, Theo was scowling as he looked between his phone screen and the road in front of them.
“This is not good,” he muttered.
Yeah, no shit.
The lady at the rental counter had commented about how bad the weather was and that it was forecast to get worse.
And she’d been absolutely right.
It had been cloudy with some light, pretty snow falling in Asheville.
After about ten minutes, the snow was coming down harder and the visibility was reduced significantly.
Now? They were forty-five minutes down the road and it was horrible.
At least in Savannah’s opinion. Weather and bad roads was subjective, she supposed, but she couldn’t imagine anyone thinking these roads were fine.
However, for two people who lived in the south, these roads were getting impossible. Savannah hadn’t grown up in Louisiana but most of her driving experience was in the temperate climate since she’d used her father’s car service or public transport in New York.
Louisiana didn’t really get snow. They definitely didn’t get snow like this . Huge, fat flakes that swirled and twirled before hitting the ground and piling up on top of one another, sticking to everything, covering the trees, bushes, rocks…and the road.
“I can’t see a fucking thing,” she said.
She felt the tires slip and she sucked in a breath.
“You okay?” Theo asked.
“I…don’t know.” She didn’t dare even glance over at him. Though staring at the unending sheet of white in front of them wasn’t exactly helpful. She honestly had no idea where the road was exactly. There were, thank God, guardrails that kept her from driving off the edge of the stupid mountain.
Theo blew out a breath. “We need to stop.”
“We can’t stop!”
“Well, not here . But soon. As soon as we can.”
She swallowed. “Yes. Definitely. Ugh.” She took a breath. “The farm is two hours from Asheville.”
“We’re not going to make it tonight.”
“I don’t know where else to stop.” She was gripping the wheel tightly and her shoulders were nearly at her ears.
Going up hill on a slick surface was difficult. But then they got to the top of the hill and started down the other side and ‘difficult’ became terrifying.
The car started sliding faster. She knew better than to slam on the brakes though every instinct was screaming at her to do just that.
“Oh my God, Theo.” She was panting and felt like crying.
“I know, baby. I know. You’ve got this.”
His hand was on the back of her neck, and she took a deep breath. She was still tense from head to toe, but the feel of his heavy warm hand grounded her, and she could concentrate. She didn’t touch the brakes or the accelerator, just concentrating on keeping the car going straight, turning the wheel slightly to the right when she felt the back end of the car sliding right. Then turning to the left when the back end slid left.
At the bottom of the hill, the road straightened and the car gradually slowed to where she felt she could press the gas again gently.
“You’re doing so great, City Girl,” Theo said softly.
He squeezed her neck gently and she breathed again.
They drove another five miles—taking ten minutes—in tense silence, but when he started to remove his hand, she quickly said, “No. Keep it there.”
And he did.
Five minutes later, Theo sat up straighter in his seat. “Hey. There’s a sign.”
Savannah leaned in, peering through the swirling flakes. A large wooden sign sat by the side of the road.
“Merry Falls Lodge,” Theo read. He looked down at his phone. “Yeah, Merry Falls is a little ways up the road, but this place is outside of town a bit. Let’s pull in.”
“Yeah.” God that sounded great. She could not keep going. But it wasn’t like she’d had a choice. “What if they don’t have any rooms?”
“They’ve got to at least let us hang out in the lobby or something until it stops snowing.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
“And you need a break.”
“I really do.”
It was another five minutes before they saw what was probably the drive. It was covered by snow as well, but it looked like it had been cleared at least once since the snow had started.
She slowed and started to turn. The back of the car slid again and she swore.
“Easy. You’ve got this,” Theo murmured.
She made the turn and they started up the drive. There was a huge house up ahead, the windows all lit up.
“How big is this place?” she asked.
“Sixteen rooms. A big lobby. A restaurant. There’s a pub next door,” Theo said, reading from his phone.
“Cool,” Savannah said, concentrating on driving.
The tires were slipping a little again and she concentrated on turning into the slide.
“It was built in the eighteenth century. It’s a historic landmark,” Theo said.
“Great.”
“Is my talking making things better or worse?”
“Maybe just a little wo?—”
And then she pulled the wheel a little too far, the back end slid the opposite direction…and then kept going. The car spun, then slid.
Savannah let out a gasp, Theo braced his hand on the dash, swearing, as they slid into a huge snow bank. The car came to an abrupt stop.
Her seatbelt jerked across her body, thrusting the breath out of her lungs.
“Fuck. Are you okay?” Theo asked.
She realized her eyes were shut. She opened them and became aware of one of Theo’s hands braced over her chest. She gave a little laugh. Her hand came up to cover his and she looked over at him. “Yes. I’m okay. Are you?”
“Yeah.”
She took a few deep breaths. Then said, “Fuck.”
Theo looked out the side window. “Yeah. This is…fuck.”
Savannah put the car in reverse and pressed the accelerator. The tires spun. She tried drive but there wasn’t really anywhere to go.
“I think we’re stuck.”
Theo nodded. “We’re stuck.”
The house was still at least fifty yards away.
“Let me see if I can push us out.”
Theo opened his car door, and snow swirled inside. “Dammit,” he muttered, but he got out, slamming the door behind him.
Savannah watched in the rearview mirror as he waded through the snow, checking out the rear of the car, then the front. He pushed against the back, and the car wiggled, but he came back, yanked his door open, and slid inside.
His hair and beard already had snow sticking to them and Savannah reached up to the brush it away. “We’re walking right?” she asked.
“I think so.” His gaze dropped to her bare legs. “Right now, I’m a little sorry I’m so into your pencil skirts and you’re such a good girl.” He looked up with a little grin. “But only a little.”
In a snap, Savannah’s body responded to his deep voice saying good girl. Damn, she was in so much trouble with him. She shook her head. “Dammit, this is so not the time to get all sexy with me.”
“How am I getting sexy?”
“The good girl thing.”
A grin stretched his mouth. “Yeah?”
“Shut up.” She sighed and looked up toward the house, then down at her shoes. “I have jeans and boots in my suitcase. If you get it for me, I can change before we trek up there.”
“Nah.” He reached over, shut off the car, grabbed her wrist, and opened his car door again. He tugged on her arm, and she slid over the middle console into his seat as he got out.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll come back down and get the bags,” he said, reaching into the car and scooping her up.
“You’re carrying me ?” she asked, blinking against the snowflakes attacking her face. The cold wind hit her bare legs and she shivered, but Theo was already striding toward the house.
“Good thing I’m a big, strong, rugged outdoorsy guy, huh?” he asked.
She looked up. He was grinning.
“You’re having fun ,” she accused.
“Now that we’re safe, I am,” he said with a nod. He looked around. “I’ve never seen snow like this in real life. Only in movies and stuff. This is amazing.” He kicked a foot through the snow in front of them and a white cloud billowed up in front of them.
Savannah laughed even as her teeth started chattering. She couldn’t deny that this was unusual and…okay, fun. In a way. A weird way. The driving was a zero out of five stars, for sure, but now, seeing the huge flakes floating down from the sky, it was pretty magical.
And seeing the amazement on Theo’s face was very fun.
Being held against his wide chest, his biceps bulging, as he carried her through the snow also didn’t hurt the “magical winter wonderland” feelings either.
He climbed the steps to the wide front porch of the massive house and strode to the front door. He looked around. “What do we do at a place like this? Do we knock?”
Savannah laughed. “Just go on in.” She wiggled. “You can put me down now.”
“What if I like you in my arms?” He gave her a squeeze.
“I promise you that you can have me back in your arms later,” she said, meaning it whole heartedly.
He leaned in and pressed a quick, sweet kiss to her lips. “You were a rockstar on the snowy road, City Girl. I owe all those tense muscles of yours a good rub down.”
She shivered again, but this time, it was not from the cold. “I accept.”
Theo swung her feet to the ground, and she reached for the door, pushing it open.
Golden light, warm air, and the smell of cinnamon and apples surrounded them at once.
Savannah took a huge, deep breath as Theo shut the door behind them.
Almost immediately they were approached by a woman with short, curly gray hair and a huge smile. “Hello! Welcome! Goodness, come in.”
Savannah stepped forward, her hand extended. “Hi, I’m Savannah. This is Theo. We just flew in and got surprised by the storm.”
“Yes, you’re not the only ones,” the woman took Savannah’s hand in her much warmer one, rubbing the back of it with her other hand rather than shaking it. “I’m Lucy Gibbons. I own the Merry Falls Lodge.” She smiled up at Theo, too.
“I’m afraid our car is stuck part-way up your drive,” Theo apologized. “Is there any chance we can stay here tonight until the storm stops and we can dig it out?”
“But don’t be silly,” Lucy said. “I’ll have Henry or Scott tow it up closer to the house and then you can grab your bags. They’ll get the trucks out and plow the lane in a bit and then of course after the storm passes. But the major roads are going to be shut down for a while. You probably just barely made it here.” She pulled a phone out of her pocket and typed in a message.
Savannah and Theo just stared at her.
“Um.” Savannah looked up at Theo.
He looked back at her and shrugged. “You have a room for us?” he asked Lucy.
“I do,” Lucy said, turning on her heel and leading them toward the front desk.
Savannah took in all the details as they followed her. The lodge was utterly charming and she immediately felt warm and welcomed. The lodge definitely had an old-fashioned feel, but it was obviously well cared for from the clean and highly polished wood to the tasteful Christmas decorations. Nothing was overdone and yet she felt surrounded by Christmas nostalgia.
Lucy opened a large leather-bound book and ran her finger over the page, then she turned to her computer, moving the mouse and clicking a few times. “I’ll put you in room eleven,” she told them. She clicked a few more times. “You can stay as long as you need to.”
“Thank you.” Savannah went to reach for her purse and realized it was still out in the car. “When we can get out to the car, I’ll bring my credit card to you and?—”
“Whenever,” Lucy said, waving that away. “I’m not worried.” She handed Savannah the key to their room. An actual key. It was ornate brass with a pretty maroon ribbon tied to the end. “Up the stairs, take a left.”
“You don’t need our full names, addresses, anything?” Savannah asked.
Lucy laughed. “I suspect we’re going to be spending the next couple of days together, at least. There will be time for all of that.”
“Oh, okay.” Savannah had never been in a situation like this. “Well, if you want?—”
Just then the front door opened again, and a gust of cold air and snow swirled into the lobby.
“Oh goodness!” Lucy exclaimed, coming around the desk and starting for the new couple who had just stepped into the lodge. “Welcome! Come on in.”
“Looks like we’re not the only ones to just blow in here. Let’s get out of the way,” Theo said, putting an arm around Savannah.
“Yeah, okay. I guess if Lucy isn’t worried about working things out, then I shouldn’t be either.”
“Exactly.”
Savannah’s eyes found the huge front windows through a doorway off the lobby. The snow was coming down even faster, making it impossible to see anything but white. It was like they were in a snow globe, and someone had just shaken the thing.
“I need to call the Monroes and let them know I won’t be there tonight,” she said.
“Yeah, I’ll call my mom too. And we should check in with people in Autre, just let them know we made it.”
“Good idea.”
They climbed the stairs to the upper level and found room eleven. Theo pushed the door open, and Savannah stepped past him into the room.
It was…beautiful.
Cozy, charming like the rest of the lodge, but beautiful. There was a huge four-poster bed with a thick, deep red comforter, and half a dozen throw pillows in cream and forest green. The curtains on the window were the same forest green and were pulled back to reveal a tall pine tree, ladened with fluffy snow and the still-swirling storm.
At the foot of the bed sat a cedar chest with a thick quilt in Christmas colors folded on top. Across from the bed was a fireplace that had possibly once been a real wood-burning fireplace but had been replaced with gas at some point. To the right of the fireplace, in the corner near the window, was a Christmas tree, glowing with white lights. Wooden apple ornaments hung from the branches and the whole thing was draped with a wide green and gold ribbon garland. The same garland hung from the mantel.
Savannah turned to Theo. “Wow.”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
“This is so pretty.”
“It really is.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what the other farm has to offer, but this is pretty great so far.”
“Oh! I should call them.” Savannah looked for her purse for a few seconds before remembering, again, that her purse was still out in the car.
“Here.” Theo held out his phone.
“Thanks.” She took it but paused. She looked up at him. “I’m really used to traveling on my own. Checking into places on my own. Figuring things out on my own.”
“I know,” he said.
“But I like having you here with me. Just because I can do it on my own, doesn’t mean that being alone is the only, or best, way.”
Something flickered in Theo’s eyes and suddenly Savannah found herself being hauled up on tip toe by his big hands wrapped around her upper arms. His mouth met hers in a deep, full kiss.
She moaned. It had been too long since they’d really kissed.
With the way he was holding her, she couldn’t wrap her arms around him though, so she just had to let him kiss her.
And he did. He really did.
When he finally let her go, she was breathing hard and her whole body was tingling.
“I know you can do anything, and that you’re fully competent and independent, and you don’t need me. But the idea that you might want me anyway, is the biggest fucking turn-on I can think of, City Girl.”
Savannah stared up at him. “Talk about saying exactly the right thing to get me to take my clothes off for you.”
He gave her a lazy grin. “You were absolutely going to take your clothes off for me even if I hadn’t said that.”
Cocky. He was so cocky.
But he was also right.
“Well, yeah, to change into something warmer than this.” She waved a hand down her body to indicate the very weather-inappropriate pencil skirt she’d stupidly worn just because he’d told her to.
But he called you a good girl for it…
“You’re not really worried about staying warm while we’re here are you?” Theo asked, taking a step closer.
She fought her grin. “I don’t know. It’s pretty bad out there.”
“Bet I can make you sweat even in the middle of a snow storm,” he said, reaching for her.
But before he touched her, the lights went out.