Page 55 of A Very Naughty Christmas

“Okay, let’s get you home and into something warm and dry.” He released her, pulling her seatbelt across her hips and latching it, then did his own. After shifting into low gear, he eased his Ford Expedition forward. The snow crunched beneath the tires, but the bigvehicle was as stable and steady as if they were on dry roads.

“Dixie?”

“Yeah,” she asked, glancing over at him as they came to a stop at the next corner.

“I need to know where you live, darlin’.”

“Oh, right. Two blocks up, then left on Piedmont. Third shop on the left.”

“You live in a shop?”

“In an apartment above one. 104 ½ Piedmont Street, over the Posey Shop.”

“Got it.”

In four-wheel low, it took him five minutes, where it would have taken her at least thirty at the slow pace she had been slogging at in the driving wind and snow. He angle-parked in front of the flower shop and then came around to help her out. Slipping, despite her boots, she clung to his arm to keep from busting her ass on the icy, snow-covered front stoop.

“Where?” he called as he frowned at the storefront with the closed sign on the door.

“To the left, up the stairs.”

He moved them to the side door and pulled it open, pushing the piled-up snow that hadn’t been cleared off as he did so. She rushed into the dark stairwell and out of the wind. Feeling for the light switch in the dark with frozen fingers, she finally found it and flipped it up. Nothing happened.

“Power is out,” he said. “This is expected to be a record-setting, heavy snowfall and the wind has downed trees already. It’s going to get a lot worse before it’s over, I’m afraid.” He took her hand and moved ahead, going first up the stairs in the dark. At the top, he stopped, waiting for directions in the pitch black, windowless hallway. “The first door on the right.”

Reaching her stiff fingers into her coat pocket, she withdrew her keys.

He took them from her. “Which one is it?”

“The one on the ring by itself.”

Kyle had it open in a minute and was through first. She tried the switch inside the door, just in case. Still nothing.

“Candles and matches?” he asked.

“Yes,” she murmured as she moved past him in the dark. “I think I have some in the kitchen.” With some fumbling, she crossed to the kitchen, jumping when she heard a scraping sound. He had found his way to the living room window and opened her drapes, letting in some of the light reflected from the bright snow. That small amount helped her locate the four beeswax candles she had stashed in a drawer with a lighter for this kind of emergency. She stood up, as he moved up alongside her. “I have candle holders in the cabinet behind you. Second shelf.”

In another minute, there was a soft glow in the room. It wasn’t until then that she thought about Kyle seeing her shabby little apartment. The furniture was third hand at least, though it was clean, and the tables, which she’d gotten at a yard sale, were scarred and scratched. The wood stain markers she’d bought hadn’t been able to hide the deep grooves. And the carpet, which they hadn’t replaced when she moved in, had a large bleached-out stain. From what, she didn’t want to think about.

“Um, thank you for bringing me home. I’m sure you want to be on your way before the roads get impassable.”

“I’m not leaving you here without power. Do you have an alternate source of heat? A fireplace, maybe?”

“I have a kerosene heater in the bedroom.” She didn’t mention that it was cheaper to use than run the baseboard vents, and on really cold days, if she was off, she bundled up and spent her time in bed with her cat and a book.

“Good, I’ll get it started while you run a hot bath.”

“But the power is out.”

“The water in the tank will stay hot for a bit. The power probably hasn’t been off long. It will help get the chill out of your bones. It also may be your last chance for a bath for a few days if they don’t get the power on for a while.”

She couldn’t argue either point. As she went down the short hall to her bedroom, she patted a door as she passed. “The bathroom is in here, and there’s another door in my room.”

Going straight on through, she left Kyle in her room and closed the door behind her. She then stripped off her damp clothes and turned on the hot water faucet. Kyle was right. The water was still hot and she filled the old-fashioned claw-foot tub full, adding a big squirt of bubble bath. Then she sank in up to her neck, sighing as the warmth seeped into her half-frozen body.

She must have dozed off because the water had cooled when a knock sounded on her door. With a splash, she sat up, slightly disoriented.

“Dix, come on out and get dried off.”

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