Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,24
been sent, but I couldn’t pay any attention.
I wasn’t going to see Liv today . . .
“You okay?” Ren asked me quietly.
I tried to smile. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; well, not if you didn’t include my disaster self’s fault for driving into a snowbank yesterday. It was just bad luck. “Yeah. It’s just that tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, and I was supposed to be there yesterday and I haven’t seen Liv in four years and she’s so close but it may as well be a million miles.”
Ren put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get you there tomorrow. I promise. One way or another.”
Just then, my phone rang, and I tried to fish it out of my pocket while still holding Chutney. Ren took her; I got my phone out and saw Liv’s name on-screen. “I better take this,” I said. “Sorry.”
I ducked back out into the reception and out onto the footpath. “Hey,” I answered.
“Hamish, Josh just called me from work to tell me the road’s closed!”
“I know. I just found out. The mechanic said he could fix my car but the road is blocked or something. I dunno. Liv, I won’t get to see you today,” I said, trying not to cry. My disappointment was palpable, visceral, aching. “It sucks that I’m so close and I can’t get there. Isn’t there another road?”
“Not from where you are. Unless you went south about a hundred miles and then came across and back up. But that would take you all day with the snow and all, and it’s all mountain road, Hamish. I don’t know if those roads are any better.”
I sighed and kicked my toe into a clump of snow near the gutter. “It’s so unfair. It better be cleared by tomorrow. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, Liv.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But you’re here, that’s the main thing.”
I frowned, feeling miserable for myself. I didn’t even know where I could stay the night . . . I needed to get stuff sorted. Surely there was more than one motel in town. Surely. “Well, I better go back in and sort out this car. He said something about paperwork. Can we FaceTime later? I miss your face.”
“Yes!” she laughed. “I miss your face too.”
“Bye, Liv.”
“I will see you soon!”
I nodded, though I didn’t feel as optimistic as her. I clicked off the call and sighed, looking up the pretty street. It was so picturesque it hardly seemed real. There were some people walking, another truck driving down the road, and Christmas decorations just about everywhere. For a town so pretty, there had to be holiday accommodation. I began to thumb in a search for an Airbnb when Ren’s voice startled me. “Everything okay?”
He looked so concerned, I felt bad for making him worry. Chutney was all smiles as she walked and sniffed, and so help me, the two of them were just the cutest. “Yeah, I just . . . Liv was ringing to tell me about the road being closed. Which sucks.”
“Yeah, Beartrap Road is the only road in from here. If it’s closed, there’s no way in.”
“What the hell kind of name is Beartrap Road?” I asked, horrified. “And what should I be more terrified of? The bear or the trap? And pray tell, who the hell is trapping bears? Just leave the fluffy killing machines alone.” He laughed, and I sighed. “Sorry. I tend to ramble when I’m stressed.”
His smile twisted into a bit of a pout. “I’m sorry you can’t see your sister today.”
“Me too.”
“Robert said he’ll call when he hears from the car rental place and what they want to do. They should send a replacement vehicle, but honestly, it’d be quicker for this one to be fixed.”
“Is his name really Robert McGee?” I asked quietly. “As in Bobby McGee?”
Ren chuckled. “That’s why he goes by Robert.”
I nodded and shrugged when I remembered my phone in my hand. “I was just searching for an Airbnb or some holiday rental. Do you know of anyone who rents out a room?”
He frowned and looked up the street, then scratched the back of his neck. “Well, yeah.”
“If you say Norman Bates, I’ll take my chances on Beartrap Road.”
He chuckled and met my eyes. “Me.”
“You rent out rooms?”
“No, I meant you could just stay with me. Another night, if you like.”
“Are you sure? I’ve really been more than an inconvenience, and you’ve gone above and beyond. I can’t ask any more of you.”
He put his hand on my arm. “Hamish, it’s no