Page 6 of A Cozy Holiday
- Dr. Winters
From: Jamie Wilder
Now that you mention it, it does seem a little scam artist-y that you went to Harvard. Sounds made up.
From: Joy Winters
You’re joking?
P.S. How old are you? Who still uses Craigslist?
From: Jamie Wilder
Guess you will just have to test my Harvard knowledge in person. I’m thirty-three and obviously both of us still use it, so I’d say we are about the same age.
From: Joy Winters
I’m thirty-two, thank you very much.
From: Jamie Wilder
My sincerest apologies. What do you say, Doc? You wanna help an “old” man out?
I tap my fingers on my chin.
So he’s a man.
And…is he flirting with me?
Maybe he’s hot, like one of those bodice-ripper books in the grocery store I’ve never made time to read.
From: Joy Winters
I could be there tomorrow. There is a flight that gets into Portland around 10 am. Send me the address. I’ll book the flight. If I go missing, make sure they use the photo on my résumé. I’d hate for my mom to pull one out from the past.
From: Jamie Wilder
You do have that perfect “I save animals, so save me” face. I’ll arrange a car from the airport. Thanks, Joy. I was really desperate to get some help out here.
“Parker who?” I hiccup at Jubilee.
I buy my ticket, pour another glass of wine, and pack all my belongings into six crammed suitcases.
I can survive anything for one month. I’ve worked thirty-six-hour shifts. I’ve removed a tennis ball from a Rottweiler’s intestines at three in the morning. I once talked a hysterical pet owner off a ledge when their hamster ate a Lego.
How hard could a few reindeer possibly be?
Chapter 2
Welcome to Nowhere
Thirty-Two Days Until I Can Go Back to Work
“This is you,”Gary, the guy Jamie sent to pick me up, grunts.
After a four-hour drive from Portland, we’ve just lurched to a stop in front of what looks like a glorified doghouse.
I yank off my headphones. “Uh, where’s the cabin?” My voice edges toward a pitch only dogs can hear.
