Special Delivery Winter - Aria Grace Page 0,71

head and sitting up a little more. “I must have dozed off.”

“That's okay. I'm kind of nocturnal,” he said with a chuckle. “We're almost there anyway.”

I looked out the window and couldn't see anything but trees and snow, although it was snowing a little harder now.

“Thanks again,” I said, thinking about our destination. “I really appreciate you giving me a place to crash.”

“It's no problem, really. Hopefully the house is in decent shape.”

“Has it been empty for a year?”

Ryker shook his head. “No, I have some good friends on the island who have been keeping an eye on it for me.”

I nodded and turned my attention back out the window. We rounded a bend and the trees suddenly parted and turned into low grasses. No, I realized as I caught glimpses of water, it wasn't low grasses at all.

“What is…” I started curiously.

He knew exactly what I meant. “Marshland. And a couple of small channels. This is what separates Half Moon from the mainland.

“Oh.” I peered through the snow and spotted a bunch of lights in the distance. “How far away is it?”

“A couple of miles.”

I watched as the island slowly drew closer and I realized that I wasn't just seeing the lights of houses, but Christmas lights as well. It felt like I could see the whole island from here, dotted with reds and greens and whites, some of them twinkling, and a few small things that look like inflatable decorations.

“It's beautiful,” I said as I stared at the lights through the falling snow.

For the first time since my flight was canceled, I felt a big smile coming on. Maybe I could find something to paint here.

Ryker chuckled and I saw a small smile tug at his lips. “I'm glad you think so.”

We drove over a small bridge and I found myself in what seemed like a quaint little town, much like I expected from Frostbourg. It was filled with small charming stores and restaurants, all sporting lights and festive wreaths. I could see a few Christmas trees in the windows; all of the lamp posts had wreaths with candles and bright red ribbons, and everything, including the road, was covered in a light dusting of snow.

The architecture was very different from what I had been looking forward to in Frostbourg, but it was all charming nonetheless. Ryker turned down a couple of streets and the close construction of what seemed more like a cozy downtown turned into larger yards and some more modern looking houses – still with their own sort of charm. There were plenty of decorations and lights, and of course the snow just added to the ambience.

After a couple more streets he let out a sudden laugh.

“What is it?” I asked in surprise.

“They put my lights out for me,” he chuckled, turning into the driveway of a cute little beach-style cottage. Sure enough, the eaves were decked with lights and there were fake candles twinkling in the windows.

We got out of the car and grabbed our bags, then headed up onto the small porch.

“This is really cute,” I said, imagining myself painting the little house.

“Thank you,” he chuckled.

“I like the wolf,” I laughed.

“What?!” he asked in alarm, sounding as if he thought I'd seen a real wolf.

“There.” I pointed.

He leaned around me to look and his eyes landed on a very realistic statue of a white wolf, complete with a scarf and a Santa hat.

Ryker shook his head and laughed. “I guess they left me a present.”

He unlocked the door and we stepped inside. Ryker flipped on a light and I couldn’t hold back a gasp. It seemed that Ryker had a hoarding problem; I couldn’t see anything beyond stacks and stacks of boxes and furniture. I thought we were in a kitchen, but couldn’t even be sure.

“What the hell?!” Ryker demanded.

He pushed his way through a narrow path and I followed, nearly crashing into him as he stopped short, then peered around him. As jam-packed as the kitchen was, the next room was totally empty. It was like someone had everything, everything, and piled it in the kitchen.

Ryker pulled out his phone, muttering under his breath. I heard his voice mail options menu and then, clear as day, a voice filled the room.

“Ryker, answer your damn phone! I didn’t want to do this on a machine… ugh. Well, I hope you get this before you actually get home. Don’t panic, but there was some pretty good flooding a couple of weeks ago and your