Page 1 of Christmas for Keeps
CHAPTER1
Connor
“What do you mean,you can’t come?”
“Weren’t you listening? They’ve closed O’Hare and Midway, so I can’t get out of Chicago.”
“But why…” I gritted my teeth. Traffic hadn’t moved for at least half an hour, and I didn’t want to bark at Abby. I willed myself to remain calm because my frustration with the standstill had nothing to do with her. “I heard you, but why can’t you come tomorrow?”
“Have you checked the weather forecast? This storm will get worse over the next few days, and it’s headed your way.”
“I know. I’m sitting in the middle of it, dead in the water.”
“How far are you from Stowe?”
“Seven or eight miles.”
“I hope you get to the hotel soon. They’re saying Chicago may get twenty-four inches. That would be a record, so there’s no telling how long it would be until I could leave town. You’d better not plan on me making it.”
My pulse pounded in my ears, and my jaw hurt from clenching it so hard. I tried taking deep, calming breaths, but they didn’t help at all. “For God’s sake, today’s only the twentieth, and our reservations run through the twenty-seventh! Surely you could get out of there…” Yelling was no way to change her mind, so I lowered my voice. “Couldn’t you come for a few days when the airports reopen?”
“Let’s see what’s happening in Vermont then. It’s a long trip, and if I wouldn’t be there longer than a day or two…”
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I punctuated each word by banging on the steering wheel.
“Connor, it’s okay. We’ll do it another time.”
“This storm is a disaster! I might die out here before traffic starts moving again. There’s a huge Land Cruiser in front of me blocking my view, and it’s driving me nuts. Not that I could see through the snow anyway, but…” A fresh stab of irritation made me want to get out and yell at the damn SUV in front of me. “It’s not just that, though. I’m disappointed about our trip, Abby. I want to see you.”
“I want to see you too.”
We’d been friends since we taught at the same elementary school in Boston four years earlier. It had been my second year out of college and my first year teaching. Her classroom was next to mine, and she took me under her wing. She showed me the ropes at the school, and when we realized we both loved bargain-shopping and old movies, we became close friends.God knows I needed a friend. I missed Zach so much and felt like an idiot for…
“Is everything okay, Connor?”
“Yes, why?”
“You got quiet.”
“God, I wish you could come.”
Abby had gotten married two years earlier and moved to Chicago. Her husband didn’t last long, but she and I remained close. Both lonely, we talked regularly and got together when we could. Months earlier, we’d planned a week together at a ski resort in Stowe, Vermont, which now wasn’t going to happen.
I tried to put on a cheery voice. “Maybe in March? Spring break? We could go to Florida or something.”
“That would be amazing. I’d like—”
“Ah!” I yelled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.” My heart, pounding like a bass drum, disagreed. “Traffic moved a little, and my car slid. I almost hit that damn tank in front of me.”
“Oh God! I need to let you go.Pleasebe careful. Text me when you get there?”
“Okay. It won’t be the same without you this week.”
“Look on the bright side. Maybe you’ll meet a guy.”