Page 54 of Promise Me This Christmas
“I’d like to do my exercises and then have a nap,” Gran said, folding her napkin on the table.
“Good plan.”
An hour later, Larkin was at loose ends, not sure what to do with herself while her grandmother napped.She went up to her room and made the call to Marly, who sounded pleased that they were accepting her invitation.Then she canceled her reservation at the Graff, with apologies, but they assured her they had a waitlist of patrons who would be happy to take their table.
Larkin found herself thinking about Carson.What would he be doing for Christmas dinner?Probably he’d be going back to Whispering Pines to share a turkey dinner with his parents and brothers.
Not that it was any of her concern.She had to stop thinking about him.What she needed was a good book to read.Maybe she’d also grab a mug of hot apple cider.She was on her way out of the room when she noticed the printed copy of her article, which she’d left on her dresser.The pages were askew.Had she left them that way?She tidied the papers, then went down to the library.
Chapter Fifteen
Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve
Dressed in herhousecoat and slippers, Amy tripped down the stairs early on the morning of Christmas Eve.TheCopper Mountain Courierwas usually delivered by six-thirty, and she wanted to be the first to snag it.She paused in the anteroom between the foyer and main door to tidy the boots that were strewn there.Next to the boot rack was a basket of slippers in various sizes that had been knitted by Aunt Mable.She went through that, matching the pairs the way she would socks, folding them into neat bundles.
She was aware these were delaying tactics.Though she was anxious to see the article Larkin had written about Bramble House, she was also dreading it.If it was unfavorable, she planned to hide the paper, hoping no one else would ask about it.If it was good, well, she’d pass the paper around the breakfast table and breath a huge sigh of relief.
At this time in the morning in December, the sun wouldn’t be up for hours, and as Amy opened the door, the automatic lights on the porch went off.She couldn’t see the paper anywhere.She peered behind her seasonal planters but still couldn’t find it.Bundling her housecoat close to her chest, she ventured out onto the porch and peered down the steps, and there it was, rolled into a tube, secured by an elastic, on the third step down.
Honestly, was it too much to ask for the paper to be delivered to the porch?What if it had been snowing?Amy placed one hand on the railing, but it was so cold, she quickly withdrew it.Carefully she took her first step down and instantly lost control.Her foot slid, her body tumbled.She had a second to thinkThis won’t be good, and then she was pitching forward.Automatically she shot out her hands to break her fall and felt something in her left wrist scream in agony.Thanks to momentum, once she’d hit the stairs she continued to tumble, banging her left shoulder and hip hard before landing on the ground.
She ended up in a pile of snow next to the pathway.Not soft, fluffy snow, but compacted, icy snow.Though it was brutally cold, Amy had no thoughts of trying to stand.Her wrist was still screaming—or was thatherscreaming?She cradled her left arm close to her chest and drew her legs up to a fetal position.
The pain was all-encompassing, wave after wave hit her.Please don’t let my wrist be broken, she prayed without hope.It hurt so much, how could it not be broken?She told herself to take a deep breath.She needed to collect herself.Get back in the house, somehow, and call Chet for help.But it wasn’t just her wrist that had been injured.Her shoulder, her hip, those ached too, though not as badly as her wrist.
Then she heard her name being called, not once, but twice, by two different men.Her husband and her brother.
Then Chet called again.“Amy, are you conscious?Damn these stairs are icy.Hang on, I’m coming.”
And then he was by her side, laying a coat over her body.“What hurts, sweetheart?”
“M-mostly my wrist.”
“Is your back okay?Your neck?”This came from Carson, who appeared on her other side.
“Fine, I think.My shoulder and hip are pretty sore though.”The pain was strong but not excruciating anymore.She rose up to sitting and felt Chet’s arm come around her back.
“Let’s carry her inside,” Carson said.
“I can walk.I think.”
“Don’t rush it, Amy.Just sit for a minute.Your heart is going a mile a minute.”Chet turned to Carson.“That top stair is solid ice.There should be a bucket of sand on the porch somewhere.”
“On it.”Carson raced up the stairs, avoiding the icy patch.Grabbing the pail, he sprinkled a thick coating of sand over the top step.“Weird that just this stair is icy.”
“Yeah, especially when we haven’t had any snow since Robert cleared the stairs yesterday morning.”Chet put his face close to Amy’s.“How are you feeling now?Want to try and stand?Or should we carry you inside?”
“I want to stand.”
“Hang on.Carson, get on her other side.”
With both men supporting her, Amy was able to get her feet under her and stand up.“My legs are good,” she reported with relief.
“Lead her inside?”Carson asked.
“That was my first thought,” Chet said.“But her wrist is already swelling.I’d better get her checked out at the medical clinic.”
“But Robin!”Amy cried.“He’ll be waking up any minute.He may well be awake right now.”
