Page 77 of Dream a Little Dream

“Put me to work.” She placed a hand on her hip and quickly studied the early stages of my booth. “What do you need?”

“Any idea on how I can keep the wind from whisking all this away.”

“Is that a real question?” she asked with a gleam in her eye. “I’ll be right back.”

We spent the next fifteen minutes using the Velcro and double-stick tape Elizabeth conveniently kept in her car for her odd jobs gig to secure anything that moved to the table. I dared the wind to attempt even the most modest lifting of our trays once Elizabeth straightened to survey her work. “Yeah, that’s definitely going to do it. Now you just need to replenish enough and overlap the snacks so that they act as each other’s weight and anchor.”

“Food science comes in all forms.”

She offered a high five, and I honored it with a hearty smack.

“Hey, there. I’m off early. Where’s the people in the old-timey costumes?”

We turned at the sound of Devyn’s voice, and without preamble, Elizabeth melted into her arms for a kiss. I should have looked away but was too surprised by their instant heat. Oh, they’d definitely been beneath the sheets a lot lately. Zero doubt in my mind, and good for them. Given the steam in my own relationship, there was no need for envy. These days, there was nothing to do but cheer them on. I knew that level of happiness now and could spot it in others. Speaking of which, I scanned the area for Kyle, wondering when I’d catch a glimpse ofthose blue eyes. She likely wouldn’t make an appearance until an hour into the Jamboree, but I missed her and couldn’t wait to experience the event hand in hand. Once the booth was up and running, I had a schedule for a few of my employees who were interested in clocking the hours, which would also allow me time to enjoy the evening. The wind hit hard, and a chill moved through me. That felt kind of ominous.

Devyn and Elizabeth turned to me, looking about as unnerved as I felt. “The weather’s weird, right?” Devyn asked. “We weren’t scheduled for any kind of storm, but it feels like something’s in the air.”

“Probably just a blip,” I said, moving past it. I focused instead on the heavenly scent of gingerbread, cider, and something smoky on the grill a few yards away. I would definitely need to taste-test whatever it was before the night was over. This could still be fun.

An hour later, I had to retract the sentiment.

The wind had not only amped up but decided to bring its friends: rain, thunder, and lightning. The Jamboree had barely begun when the Christmas trees began to fall. The food that hadn’t been blown away was getting rained on, and people were running for their cars chased by large raindrops that fell aggressively all around us.

As I began moving our supplies into the wagons beneath the L-shaped table, I caught sight of the bounce house in the distance sink in on itself. People rushed past with hoods on, clutching their holiday favors to their chests. A strand of gold garland flew by as the sound of holiday music was drowned out by the clap of thunder that rolled through the sky. I was worried about Kyle. I hadn’t seen her, yet this was around the time she thought she’d arrive.

“I’m gonna take all this to my truck,” Buster called.

“I’ll be behind you with the rest in just a few minutes!” I yelled back. That’s when I spotted KC Collette and Gray heading past the booth. I shielded my eyes from the rain with one hand. “Hey, KC! Have you seen Kyle anywhere?”

She shook her head, dark hair drenched against her forehead. “And I haven’t been able to get ahold of Dan either. They were supposed to drive here together.”

“I imagine traffic is a little chaotic. Where did all of this come from?”

“This whole storm was supposed to miss us,” she called over the newest clap of thunder. “At least that’s what Channel Five said this morning. This is madness! We better get out of this rain.”

“Yes, and be safe!” I waved goodbye and spent the next fiveminutes loading up the soggy remnants of my booth, heartbroken that the event was not to be and amazed by how much water my clothes were apparently able to absorb. As I pulled the second wagon full of ruined food and decorations to the park entrance, I took a moment to look back. The once festive scene had been replaced with a frantic scramble. Above all else, my brain kept repeating one key phrase:Where is Kyle?

Chapter Twenty-three

Chain Reaction

Anythingyet?

I stared at the text from Elizabeth, my stomach not quite right. I’d poured myself a glass of wine to settle my nerves, but now I didn’t have the ability to drink it.

Nothing. It’s been two hours.

Cell service had been spotty ever since the storm had rolled in, which could easily be why I hadn’t heard from Kyle. The fact that Elizabeth’s text had just made it through was encouraging. I took another lap around my kitchen, perched on top of one of the counters, and then jumped down again. I was restless. The downtime was doing nothing to help my brain. I needed to find a way to distract myself and relax, especially when the perfectly logical explanation for Kyle’s silence was that she’d been held up at work.

On a mission, I headed to the couch, folded my feet beneath me, and grabbed my laptop from the end table. I could at least use this time to catch up on email and knock one thing off my to-do list. By the time I finished, maybe Kyle would be home or at least answering her phone. But I didn’t get as far as my email because the page for the local news was up on my screen and auto-refreshed to a shot of several mangled cars on a highway. The headline glared back at me.

Multiple Vehicles Affected in Chain-Reaction Crash

No. We rarely had big accidents here. But I’d been through this before. I’d lost my entire world because of a car crash, and it was unthinkable to imagine it happening again. My stomach roiled, and I gripped the couch hard enough to break two nails. The weather. That was my next thought. The power of the storm had likely caused as muchchaos on the roads as it had at the Jamboree. I didn’t know what Dan drove or the model of car I should be looking for, which felt ludicrous, because this was a small town, and I knew what everyone drove! Didn’t matter. I grabbed my keys off the counter, slid into my tennis shoes by the door, and sprinted in the rain to my car. Torn between heading to the highway just outside of town or straight to the hospital, I went with my gut. There would be more information available at the hospital, and hopefully, I’d find Kyle at work. All would be just fine. Then this sick feeling in my stomach could disappear forever, and we could get back to life as regularly scheduled.

When I arrived in the entryway of the ER, I found the waiting area more crowded and chaotic than I’d ever seen it. Tasha stood in the midst of the masses, holding a clipboard thick with forms. Hurriedly, she flipped between them as she spoke with the different groups of people. Not sure what to do, I stood off to the side, all the while scanning the nurse’s station behind Tasha for any glimpse of Kyle or Dan. My chest ached with worry. My body was cold all over. I tried not to shake like a leaf but was wholly unsuccessful. A moment later, Tasha spotted me and came in my direction.

“Babygirl, what have you heard?” The look on her face was grim, and I didn’t want her to say another word. I wanted to live in this space for always, a moment when I could believe that everything was okay. Because whatever Tasha was about to impart would be true forever and ever, and I wasn’t sure I could bear it.

---