Page 5 of Catch Yourself a Snowmance
Chapter 3
Alyssa
I gotta tell you, Santa, there’s something
about this place that doesn’t seem quite … Kosher.
~ Howard Langston, Jingle All the Way
“Turn at that next big sign,” Noelle says to Jennifer.
“Which next big sign?” Jennifer asks, squinting into the dusky light.
We’ve been on the road for three and a half hours after packing all our stuff into Jennifer’s SUV. She’s a single woman with a mom car. And she justifies her choice in vehicles by saying she’s just being practical. If she’s going to be married in the next eight years, she might as well have a car that’s family-ready.
We couldn’t be more opposite from one another. I figure my Mazda MX may be the last sports car I own. I may as well drive a car that says, “fun, single woman” as long as I can. Then again, at the rate I’m going, I may never need anything bigger.
“That one!” Noelle says to Jennifer, waving her hands and pointing.
Jennifer takes the turn and we all lean just a bit to the left from the sudden change in direction.
“Now the rest of this road is a bit serpentine,” Noelle warns Jennifer. “You’ll be fine. We’re only fifteen minutes from our home away from home. I have to hop out and get the key from the property manager at the bottom of the hill, though.”
“Just tell me when to stop …” Jennifer says. “With some notice if possible,”
When Jennifer pulls into the driveway of the property manager’s cabin, I lean over toward Tori and give her a nudge.
Tori rustles from her nap and looks around.
“We’re almost there. Noelle’s getting the key.”
“Mkay.” Tori stretches and sits upright, looking around in that groggy way you do after a solid nap.
Stephanie’s in the third row with her nose in a book on her ereader.
Noelle gets back in the car.
“Okay. Well, there’s a slight change in plans.” Noelle’s voice has a cheery edge to it. “The place Daddy always took us had a leak in the upstairs bathroom this week. They’ve got a guy out there doing repairs, but we can’t stay there because they have the water shut off and the flooring is torn up. So, we’re staying in the cabin on the next property over.”
“Is it the same size as the one you had planned on?” I ask.
“I guess it’s a little smaller. He said it’s a bit more rustic. Of course, everything up here is more rustic than our cabin. That one is nicer than most homes in town.” Noelle catches my eye in the rear view mirror. “It’ll be an adventure, right?”
“Famous last words,” I say with a teasing smile.
“I’d better text Liam to let him know where to go when he gets up here,” Noelle says. “Theyleft about fifteen minutes after we did, but with this stop, they should be catching up to us any minute.”
Noelle opens her phone and starts texting while Jennifer gets back on the road and maneuvers her way up to the mystery cabin.
We pass the place Noelle showed me in pictures. It’s even more beautiful in real life, honey pine with a large deck overlooking the woods and the view beyond, floor to ceiling windows on one side of the house. Lights illuminate the porch from the eaves, and low decorative lights run up the driveway making it look like a lodge in some idyllic movie set for a winter in the woods.
The next building we see is more weathered gray than warm golden wood. It’s smaller. More like an actual cabin.
Noelle looks down at something and back up at the number on the mailbox at the end of the gravel driveway leading onto the property. Jennifer slows. It’s like we all know this is the place, but we’re sort of hoping we’re wrong.
“This is it!” Noelle says in her cheeriest teacher voice. “We’re here!”
Stephanie looks up from her book just as I glance over the seat at her. She stares out the front window and squints. “That’s the place?”
