Page 36 of Saved By Noel
Yes. Why?
I sigh, unsure if I’m relieved or disappointed.
ME
Any chance you have a tall ladder among all your handyman gear?
McSCROOGE
. . . yes?
McSCROOGE
Am I about to be an accomplice to a crime?
ME
On a scale of 1 to 10, how open to that would you be?
McSCROOGE
I’m the mayor. Obviously zero.
ME
But you have the perfect character credibility to get away with it!
McSCROOGE
Clara . . .
ME
OK, OK, no crimes. The smoke detector on my vaulted ceiling has decided tonight is a convenient time to run out of battery. The chirping won’t stop and I’m losing my mind.
McSCROOGE
I’ll be right there.
Chapter twenty-three
Clark
Adrenaline courses through my system, not at all ideal for 11:30 at night. Syd told me that Clara was coming to town this weekend, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to get a late-night SOS text from her.
I can’t figure out if the adrenaline is the excited anticipation kind or the fight-or-flight variety. Pulling into Clara’s driveway, I turn off my truck and pull my ten-foot ladder out of the truck bed.
Knocking on the door, I hear Clara call, “It’s open!” I turn the doorknob and step inside, not at all prepared for the sight before me.
A barstool is in the middle of the room, with what appears to be a spatula attached to a coat hanger attached to a broom handle propped against it. Glancing left, I see Clara sulking on her couch. Her curls are tousled, and she’s dressed in flannel Christmas pajamas, because . . . of course she is. She’s holding the remnants of some sugary concoction in her hand, her shirt coated with a dusting of white powder.
A chuckle erupts out of me before I can stop it.
Clara’s eyes narrow at me, and I quickly clear my throat.
“This is not funny, Clark,” she says, trying to sound firm and sassy, but coming across unfairly adorable instead. Clara stands up and strides over to me. “It’s important for you to understand that I amnota night owl. I need copious amounts of rest in order to be a functional human being, and thatthingis destroying my chance at a full night’s sleep.”
In a stroke of excellent comedic timing, the smoke detector lets out a loudchirp!
