Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,77
me?” Lila asked the florist, her heart thumping.
The woman behind the counter shook her head apologetically. “Even if I could, I don’t have it anyway,” she said. “He paid in cash, and the only contact information I have is Brian Brown, which you probably already know since he was the one who signed the card, right?”
He hadn’t even used his real name. Had she really thought he’d give his address? “He actually signed it Theo,” she said. “But I guess that doesn’t help. Okay, thank you for your time. Sorry to bother you.”
Lila pushed aside her disappointment. What had he intended by sending her flowers? Was it a consolation prize—sorry I won’t ever see you again and I feel bad? Or had he meant something else? Whatever the gesture was, she felt even more confused than before. Realizing that she needed to get out of her head and try to enjoy the holiday, on a whim she decided to stop by the farm on her way back to the cabin. Maybe a nice hot chocolate in the café would turn things around. Trudy and Judd were probably working, and Lila could hear about how they were all doing and catch up on the latest cuteness with Rex. She needed a friendly face, and the Johnsons were just the right family to lift her spirits.
Getting into Eleanor’s car, Lila drove down the main road toward the farm. The snow was really coming down now, a winter storm rapidly moving in. The hills were a blanket of white with little dots of green spruce peeking through, the scenery stretching out in front of her, looking just like a Christmas card. She really did love it in Pinewood Hills. She couldn’t wait to have something delicious like a peppermint hot chocolate and cinnamon Christmas roll at the farm. She’d cozy up by the heater and chat with Trudy and Judd until she was dripping in holiday cheer, and hopefully Theo would soon be a distant memory.
Even though she knew better and was trying to put herself in the festive mood, Lila glanced over at the coffee shop as she passed it, despite knowing the for-sale sign would only distress her. But when she caught sight of Theo getting into a red truck, she slammed on her brakes, hydroplaning on the wet tarmac and sliding toward the ditch. The two passenger-side tires skated madly across the surface, locked and helpless to control the vehicle. The growl of the engine as the car came to rest, the tires groaning against the snow bank, caused Theo to spin around. She could see the frustration in the slump of his shoulders as he started marching toward her.
Lila cut the engine and jumped out of the car, her feet sinking into the snow that had piled up, icy clumps of it sliding into her shoes as she trudged toward him. But she barely noticed, the mixture of elation and anxiety overwhelming her and clouding any rational thought she had.
“What the hell just happened? Are you okay?” he called to her, as he peered over her head at Eleanor’s car.
His tone was clipped but Lila didn’t care. When she reached him, she couldn’t help smiling. Instinctively, and despite everything, she lifted her arms to put them around his neck, but he caught them and gently held them by her sides.
“Thank you for the roses,” she said, looking up at him and not bothering to hide her affection.
His face softened. “You’re welcome.”
“Were they goodbye roses?” she asked, feeling the vulnerability in her words.
He stared at her, as if drinking her in, not answering. Did he even know?
“Don’t disappear,” she said, twisting her hands around and grabbing his. “Let’s go inside and talk for a minute.”
“I think we should work on getting Eleanor’s car out of the ditch first,” he suggested.
“It’s not in the road. It’ll be fine for a few minutes.”
Theo clearly deliberated.
“I’m freezing…” she tried.
With a huff, he took her hand. They walked up to the door of the shop and he let her inside, the warmth hitting her like a tidal wave, giving her a shiver as the cold left her. When she’d recovered, she smacked her hands on his chest, startling him. “You shut off your phone,” she snapped, everything she wanted to say surfacing at a mile a minute in her head. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve worried, having no idea if you’re okay?”
“The way you care for people is unbelievable,” he said.