Page 15 of Home Between Homes

Jack’s mouth fell open. His eyes twitched as if trying to come up with a response to her words that had taken him by surprise. In his defense, we went from her outing him to deciding we had to be a couple to suggesting he better ask me to marry him pretty quickly. I would be at a loss for words, too.

“Oh my, it looks awful out there,” Mrs. Candice said as she gazed past him out the kitchen window. The trees and mountains we had seen minutes ago were now replaced by white noise.

“That’s our cue, Mrs. Candice,” Jack said.

As if the cat understood, he opened his eyes, bowed his head as if to thank him, and jumped off the kitchen counter, causing the floor to vibrate once more. He snaked around my feet, pressed his whole body into my ankles, and dropped onto the carpet next to me.

“You better hurry home and call me so I don’t have to sit here all day worrying if you made it back safely.” Mrs. Candice said. “And take good care of this one.” She pointed at me. “He looks like he’s not used to weather like this.”

“I promise,” Jack said with a smile and motioned for me to head for the door.

“Thanks for the book,” I said, as it was clear I had to take it with me. I tucked it under my jacket and then zipped it up to protect it from the weather.

“You’re more than welcome. But I warn you, once you start reading it, you won’t be able to put it down.”

We pushed our way back through the small stairwell. The closer we got to the door, the more I could feel the cold radiating through it. The howling had gotten so loud now that it almost sounded like it was trying to warn us not to go, but it wasn’t like we had a choice. I took one last look at Mrs. Candice, but she had already closed her apartment door behind us.

Jack put his hand on the doorknob. “Ready?” He looked at me. His eyes were serious, though he was smiling at the same time.

I pulled my scarf over my mouth and held my hand to my chest to make sure the book would stay under my jacket. “Ready.”

FIVE

UNDER THE WEATHER

We had only openedthe doors of my car for five seconds, but that was enough to make the dashboard look like we had tried to build a winter wonderland on it. The walk from Mrs. Candice’s apartment to my Corolla was only fifteen feet, but we were both panting as if we had just run ten miles.

I turned on the engine, and the warm air blowing out of the vents filled the interior with white noise, almost completely drowning out the deep male voice on the radio singing about dreaming of a white Christmas. I took off my beanie, and the snow that had accumulated on it fell into my lap—enough to form at least one snowball. As much as I wanted to complain, this wasn’t the time. I checked the road, and while it was still visible, it was easy to tell that this would change in a matter of minutes.

“Give me your address,” I said, turning to Jack.

He looked like a Yeti. His eyes were the only part of him not covered in snow. He shoveled some off his cheeks, revealing his red skin. He looked at the snow in his hands and then around the car, searching for a place to put it.

“Throw it on the mat. It doesn’t matter,” I said, but he had already opened his door. The wind blew the snow back in as he let go of it.

Jack snorted and pulled the door back shut. “Sorry. That was a terrible idea.” He leaned forward, now listening to me, and brushed more snow out of his hair onto the floor. “Today would have been a good day to wear a hat.” He shook his head to get the rest off, and somehow, he reminded me of a dog shaking its fur dry. It was damn cute.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Other than the fact that we forgot the cookies, yes. But we should go. I live at 124 Market Street.”

I entered it into the navigation system, buckled my seat belt, and as soon as Jack followed my lead, I took my foot off the brake.

For two whole Christmas carols, Jack watched the road as carefully as if he were driving. We just listened to the music and tried to concentrate so I wouldn’t make any mistakes because we had to make sure we didn’t get stuck in this weather.

“Is it always this bad here?”

“We get a lot of snow,” Jack replied, not taking his eyes off the road, “but not usually like this.” He glanced at me. “I’m sorry I persuaded you to drive me. You should’ve stayed put.”

“First, I offered it. Second, it’s good that we went together. Nobody should be alone in this. Besides, Mrs. Candice was a real hoot. I’m glad I met her.”

“Yeah, she’s fun. I didn’t expect her to out me like that, though. I hope that didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“Why would it?”

Jack shrugged. His breathing got louder. “Not many people take that kind of information well. And it must have made you uncomfortable that she just assumed you were—how did she put it—playing for my team?” He laughed uncomfortably.

Could it be that he doesn’t know? Or was he trying not to assume anything?

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