Page 11 of A Cuddly Christmas
“Thanks for taking such good care of Paprika,” I say as I grab her stuff. “I’m going to go straight home so I can unload Tilly’s truck and send her back before it gets worse.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
I think about it for a second and ask, “Will you be okay getting home?”
“Oh yeah,” he chuckles. “My daughter, Tilly’s mom, lives just up the road. I could walk if I had to, but she’s on her way.”
“Good to hear. Hopefully it’s not as bad as everyone is saying.”
The old man chuckles. “In my experience when the people in town warn you about a storm, you should pay attention.”
Dread fills my stomach as I tell him goodbye and go out to my car. Tilly being caught in this because of me is making me feel sick. Once Paprika and I are buckled in, I head toward my farm. The snow is coming down really heavily now, and not only that, the wind has also picked up. Big bluffs of snow blow across my car, and a couple of times I have trouble staying in my lane.
By the time I get to the farm, the road is completely covered, and it’s all I can do to get down my driveway.
Dominick is out in the field playing in the snow. He loves this time of year where he can frolic and burrow in it, but I’ll need to make sure the barn is stocked for him tonight when it gets cold.
I take Paprika inside, and she crawls right into her bed and goes back to sleep. She must have really had fun with Tilly today because she didn’t meow once on the way home. When she’s settled, I go out to the barn and check on Dominick. He lets me scratch behind his ears and feed him a few carrots before he runs off to play in the snow again.
I’ve done everything I can think of to waste time, and now I’m pacing back and forth across the porch, waiting for Tilly to arrive. I thought about calling her but didn’t want to distract her from driving, but now I’m to the point that I’m worried something happened to her. If something does, it will be all my fault.
I’m about to take out my phone and dial her number when I hear the rumbling of her truck in the distance. As soon as it comes around the bend, I step off the porch and sink into the snow that’s already over a foot deep.
Tilly’s truck comes around the curve, and my heart stops when I see it slide. She’s able to keep it from slipping too far down the hill as she comes to a slow roll behind my car and stops. My own vehicle is already mostly covered by the fresh falling snow, and it’s like a blizzard out here.
Running through the heavy snow as fast as I can, I go around to the driver's side and yank the door open. Her eyes are wide with fear, and on instinct I lift her out of the truck, into my arms.
“Are you okay?” I have to shout over the loud wind.
“I think so,” she shouts back. “They're closing the roads down.”
The wind blows so hard I almost fall over in the snow while holding her but manage to plant my feet and stay on course. By the time we get to the porch, we’re both wind-blown and covered in snow, but I’m not worried about making a mess.
Carrying Tilly inside, I go straight for the fire and sit her down on the hearth. It’s already roaring with heat, but I can see Tilly’s lips are a shade of blue like she’s been in the cold too long.
“I’m okay,” she says, but her teeth are chattering and her body is shaking.
“You’re not,” I tell her as I go into doctor mode. I know being a vet isn’t the same, but they both involve basic anatomy. “We need to warm you up.”
“P-P-Paprika?” She stammers the question out because the cold has seeped into her body so deeply.
“She’s here, see?” I nod to her bed beside the couch, and that seems to make Tilly feel better. Looking down, I see her jeans are soaking wet from the knees down. “I need to take your pants off.”
“W-what?” Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head.
“You’re freezing, Tilly. This is the warmest place in the house, so you can do it here, but I need to get you out of these wet jeans.” I see she’s only wearing a sweater, and I curse. “Do you not even have a jacket?”
“’S-s’not so bad,” she slurs.
I take off my own jacket and wrap it around her. Luckily that’s dry, but the jeans have got to come off. I would let her do it, but she’s shaking so badly I doubt she could undo the buttons.
“Eyes on me,” I say, and her eyes automatically snap to mine. We stay locked in as I reach for her waist so she knows I’m not trying to sneak a peek. When I have her jeans undone, I push them down a little. “All right, now lift up for me.”
Sliding the jeans over her ass, I can’t help but feel how soft her skin is. I want to look; god knows I’ve never wanted anything more in my life, but I keep my eyes on hers as I pull her jeans completely off and then cover her with a blanket.
“I’ll lay these out to dry,” I say, my voice sounding deeper than usual. Probably because I’m so fucking turned on.
“Thank you,” Tilly breathes, now close to sounding normal again. “I d-didn’t realize how bad.”
