Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lincoln couldn’t believe it. He actually couldn’t believe that he, a man who had lived in Fir Tree Grove for most of his life, had somehow managed to get completely and utterly lost while driving a horse-drawn sleigh.
He looked around at their surroundings with growing bewilderment. They were on what appeared to be a narrow country road lined with tall evergreen trees, their branches heavy with snow that glowed in the moonlight. It was beautiful, but it was also completely unfamiliar. How had they ended up here?
The truth was, he’d gotten so absorbed in his conversation with Imogen that he’d barely been paying attention to where the horses were taking them.
Her laugh was exactly the same as it had been in high school, that bright, musical sound that had always made his chest feel warm and tight.
And when she’d smiled at him while talking about their prom night disaster, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she’d smiled and reminded him of how good everything had been, he’d completely lost track of everything else around them.
The horses had been content to wander wherever their instincts took them, and Lincoln had been so caught up that he’d let them drift without paying the slightest attention to their direction.
“So,” he said, trying to keep his voice light despite the growing knot of anxiety in his stomach, “I have some good news and some bad news.”
Imogen, who had been looking intently at the snowy landscape around them, turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. “Oh no. What’s the bad news?”
“The bad news is that I have absolutely no idea where we are,” Lincoln admitted, feeling heat rise in his cheeks despite the cold air. “I got so distracted by our conversation that I wasn’t paying attention to where we were going.”
“Okay, so what’s the good news?” Imogen asked with a small laugh.
“Well, the good news is that these horses seem very calm and well-trained, so we’re not in any immediate danger of being thrown from the sleigh or anything dramatic like that. Or having them bolt and take us further off into… wherever we are.”
Imogen burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the quiet winter air. “Lincoln Blackwell, only you could get lost in your own hometown while driving a sleigh. How is that even possible?”
“Well…” Lincoln cleared his throat, although he was grinning despite his embarrassment.
“In my defense, Fir Tree Grove has grown quite a bit since we were kids. And it’s dark.
And snowy. And I was distracted by exceptionally good company.
” The last part slipped out before he could stop himself, and he felt his cheeks grow even warmer.
But Imogen’s smile softened, and she pulled the blanket a bit tighter around her lap.
“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I can forgive you,” she said teasingly. “But what do we do now?”
Lincoln looked around again, hoping against hope that some landmark would suddenly become visible through the darkness. But all he could see were trees and snow and the faint outline of the road stretching ahead and behind them.
“Let me get out and see if I can get my bearings,” he said, climbing down from the sleigh. “Maybe if I walk a bit, I’ll recognize something.”
The snow crunched under his boots as he made his way a short distance in each direction, peering through the darkness for any sign of where they might be.
But the faint moonlight peeking through the clouds wasn’t enough to give him anything to see by, and the landscape looked the same in every direction—just endless trees and snow-covered fields.
He trudged back to the sleigh, feeling foolish and increasingly concerned about keeping Imogen out in the cold much longer. She was bundled up well enough, but it had been getting colder as the evening progressed, and he could see that she was starting to shiver slightly.
“Any luck?” she asked as he climbed back up beside her.
“None whatsoever,” Lincoln admitted. “I can’t see a thing out there. But let me check my phone—maybe I can call for help.”
He pulled out his phone, relieved to see that he had at least two bars of signal. He scrolled through his contacts, trying to decide who would be the most helpful in this situation.
“I’m going to call Mabel,” he said. “If anyone knows how to organize a rescue mission, it’s her.” He didn’t point out that she was one-half of what had gotten them into this mess, partially because whatever Mabel had intended, he knew it wasn’t for them to get lost out in the snow.
Mabel answered on the second ring, her voice warm and cheerful. “Lincoln! How’s the sleigh ride going? Are you two having a wonderful time?”
“Well,” Lincoln said, glancing at Imogen with an apologetic expression, “it’s been lovely, but we’ve run into a small problem. I seem to have gotten us lost.”
“Lost?” Mabel’s voice rose with concern. “How on earth did you manage that?”
“I got distracted and let the horses wander,” Lincoln explained, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I have no idea where we are now. We’re on what looks like a country road by a field, surrounded by evergreen trees, but that describes about half the roads outside of town.”
“Oh my,” Mabel said, although Lincoln thought he detected a hint of amusement in her voice. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll send someone out to find you right away. Can you see any landmarks around? Anything to help narrow down where you are?”
Lincoln looked around again, squinting through the darkness. “Not really. Just trees and snow. But I might be able to drop a pin on the phone, if the signal holds up. I’ll try when I hang up, and maybe that can get someone to us faster.”
“That helps,” Mabel said. “I’ll call Henry—he knows every back road in this area like the back of his hand. He’ll find you in no time.”
“Thank you so much,” Lincoln said, relieved that they’d be out of the cold sooner rather than later, hopefully. “And I’m really sorry about this. I should have paid better attention.”
“Things happen,” Mabel said, not sounding nearly as upset as Lincoln thought she probably should be. “We’ll get you two back home as quick as possible. Just stay warm and keep each other company until help arrives.”
Lincoln hung up, and glanced at Imogen with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Help is on the way. Henry’s going to come find us.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Imogen said with a laugh. “I thought it might be George to our rescue, but he’s still sick, isn’t he? So poor Henry is going to have to trudge out here.”
“Well, there’s nothing to do but wait. If we try to head back, we might get more lost. And I sent Mabel our location, so hopefully it goes through.” Lincoln set the reins down, and the horses huffed in the cold, the small bells on the harnesses jingling.
“I’m so sorry about this,” he said finally. “You must be getting cold.”
“I’m all right,” Imogen assured him, although he could see that she was pulling the blanket more tightly around herself, and she was shivering. “It’s actually really beautiful out here, wherever ‘here’ is.”
Lincoln couldn’t help looking at her a moment longer. She seemed to be glowing in the moonlight, he thought, against the backdrop of the snow. He thought she’d never looked more beautiful, and without thinking, he opened one side of his heavy winter coat.
“Here,” he said softly. “Come closer. My coat is pretty warm—we can share the heat.”
Imogen hesitated for just a moment, then scooted closer to him on the sleigh’s seat.
Lincoln wrapped his coat around both of them, and she settled against his side with a small sigh of contentment.
The contact sent warmth radiating through his entire body, and he had to work to keep his breathing steady.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she murmured, and he could feel some of the tension leaving her shoulders as she relaxed against him.
There was quiet for a few moments, before Imogen spoke suddenly.
“I was so startled by the Secret Santa gift that you got, that I don’t know if I really conveyed to you how much it meant to me,” Imogen said quietly.
“I don’t think anyone else has ever done something so thoughtful.
I honestly… I can’t recall, if so. The fact that you remembered something from so long ago means more than I can really explain. ”
Lincoln felt his heart skip slightly. “I was worried it would be too much. That you’d be creeped out that I still remembered things like that.”
Imogen laughed. “Not at all! It feels like ages since I’ve felt someone knew me so well.
I mean… I have friends here, of course, close friends, but they don’t know me quite as well as you do.
We’ve known each other for so long. And maybe we don’t know the people we are now that well, but having someone who remembers who I was then—” She broke off. “I feel like I’m rambling. But—”
“No, I get it,” Lincoln interrupted. “I really do. I felt the same way about the boots. It was such a silly thing to be obsessed with back then, and I honestly forgot about it for years. Obviously, I guess, since I never bought myself a pair. But seeing that box, realizing you remembered that… it felt like being a teenager again. I remembered why I wanted them so badly, and I couldn’t help but wish that I’d had them all this time…
even though I’m also thrilled just to have them now. ”
The words spilled out before he could stop them, and as he heard himself speak, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was still talking about the boots. He felt Imogen go still next to him, and he thought that maybe she was thinking the same thing.