Page 107 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
“Think about it, Cait,” he said, ignoring her protest. “We could be celebrating our anniversary this spring. How many years is it now? Eighteen? How the years fly.”
“Listen, Joe, I don’t find this amusing.” She glanced at her watch. If only she hadn’t slept so late. Never again would she have any Christmas punch. Briefly she wondered what else she’d said to Joe, then decided it was better not to know.
“I heard a news report of a three-car pileup on the freeway, so we’ll take the side streets.”
“Just hurry,” Cait urged in an anxious voice.
“I’ll do the best I can,” Joe said, “but worrying about it isn’t going to get us there any faster.”
She glared at him. She couldn’t help it. He wasn’t the one who’d been planning this trip for months. If she missed the flight, her nephews and niece wouldn’t have their Christmas presents from their Auntie Cait. Nor would she share in the family traditions that were so much a part of her Christmas. Shehadto get to the airport on time.
Everyone else had apparently heard about the accident on the freeway, too, and the downtown area was crowded with the overflow. Cait and Joe were delayed at every intersection and twice were forced to sit through two changes of the traffic signal.
Cait was growing more panicky by the minute. She just had to make this flight. But it almost seemed that she’d get to the airport faster if she simply jumped out of the car and ran there.
Joe stopped for another red light, but when the signal turned green, they still couldn’t move—a delivery truck in front of them had stalled. Furious, Cait rolled down the window and stuck out her head. “Listen here, buster, let’s get this show on the road,” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Her head was pounding and she prayed the aspirin would soon take effect.
“Quite the Christmas spirit,” Joe muttered dryly under his breath.
“I can’t help it. I have to catch this plane.”
“You’ll be there in plenty of time.”
“At this rate we won’t make it to Sea-Tac before Easter!”
“Relax, will you?” Joe suggested gently. He turned on the radio and a medley of Christmas carols filled the air. Normally the music would have calmed her, but she was suffering froma hangover, depression and severe anxiety, all at the same time. Her fingernails found their way into her mouth.
Suddenly she straightened. “Darn! I forgot to give you your Christmas gift. I left it at home.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I didn’t get you a gag gift the way I said.” Actually she was pleased with the book she’d managed to find—an attractive coffee-table volume about the history of baseball.
Cait waited for Joe to mentionhergift. Surely he’d bought her one. At least she fervently hoped he had, otherwise she’d feel like a fool. Though, admittedly, that was a feeling she’d grown accustomed to in the past few weeks.
“I think we might be able to get back on the freeway here,” Joe said, as he made a sharp left-hand turn. They crossed the overpass, and from their vantage point, Cait could see that the freeway was unclogged and running smoothly.
“Thank God,” she whispered, relaxing against the back of the seat as Joe drove quickly ahead.
Her chauffeur chuckled. “I seem to remember you lecturing me—”
“I never lecture,” she said testily. “I may have a strong opinion on certain subjects, but let me assure you, I never lecture.”
“You were right, though. The streets of Bethlehem must have been crowded and bustling with activity at the time of that first Christmas. I can see it all now, can’t you? A rug dealer is held up by a shepherd driving his flock through the middle of town.”
Cait smiled for the first time that morning, because she could easily picture the scene Joe was describing.
“Then some furious woman, impatient to make it to the local camel merchant before closing, sticks her nose in the middle of everything and shouts at the rug dealer to get his show on the road.” He paused to chuckle at his own wit. “I’m convincedshe wouldn’t have been so testy except that she was suffering from one heck of a hangover.”
“Very funny,” Cait grumbled, smiling despite herself.
He took the exit for the airport and Cait was gratified to note that her flight wasn’t scheduled to leave for another thirty minutes. She was cutting it close, closer than she ever had before, but she’d confirmed her ticket two days earlier and had already been assigned her seat.
Joe pulled up at the drop-off point for her airline and gave Cait’s suitcase to a skycap while she rummaged around in her purse for her ticket.
“I suppose this is goodbye for now,” he said with an endearingly crooked grin that sent her pulses racing.
