Page 59 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
Is he just going to leave me up here?
It occurred to her while they rode down Main Street that this might be the last time she saw Kade Behar. Ending on this sour note wasn’t the way she pictured leaving Hendricks. A lump formed in her throat as she gripped the bench’s armrest and stood.
“Need a hand?”
He hadn’t forgotten her after all.
Fallon moved toward him, navigating the uneven floor of the wagon. But then her bootheel caught on the edge of the footrest and Fallon stumbled forward. Kade’s eyes widened as she lurched out of the sleigh almost head first, but his arms were there to steady her, and plant her firmly on the ground.
“You okay?” he drawled.
“Yes.” Her breath puffed out in quick, white clouds.
Snow swirled around them now as the sky finally let loose. The wagon decorated with Christmas greenery, their North Pole-inspired outfits—it was as if they lived in their very own snow globe. A snow globe she wanted to leave ASAP.
Scowling, Kade looked ready to ditch his Santa suit and personally escort her out of town himself. She’d bungled the parade, managed to yoke the Behars to the Clevelles despite a Hatfield-McCoy-style fight brewing, and offered the lamest representation of Mrs. Claus this town had ever seen. She’d treated long-standing traditions as if they were frivolous customs. She didn’t blame Kade for defending his family’s ways. She would have done the same.
That is, if she had traditions worth defending.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Kade finally kicked off the covers and sat on the edge of his bed.
It was a little past four o’clock in the morning. He’d tossed around until well after one o’clock, hoping that every time his phone lit up in the dark room it might be a text from Fallon.
His head buzzed from lack of sleep, but getting any more rest was futile. The cold wood floor bit the bottoms of his feet as he trudged into the hallway, down the stairs, and into the dark kitchen. The little light above the sink cast an eerie glow on the top of his head as he stared at his reflection in the window.
What he wouldn’t give for a do-over of yesterday.
He’d lost his temper with Fallon and now regret ate at him. Even as they argued, Kade knew it wasn’t the direction he wanted to take, not on her last day in town. But he couldn’t stop himself. She’d jumped on the defensive, calling him out for not respecting the role she was hired to fill. In his pursuit of proving Fallon wrong, he’d crossed a line. Fallon had tried to keep their relationship professional all along. He’d been the one who’d pushed for something more. Now their paths were taking them in separate directions.
But how he wished to be walking that same path now.
Kade rushed through the chores in the barn just as the fingers of sunrise painted the sky pink in the east. He hurried back inside, showered, dressed, then warmed the truck.
He couldn’t let her leave Hendricks without at least an apology. Maybe she felt the same way. Heprayedshe did.
Should he text her or just show up?
This crossed his mind as he jumped in the truck and sat there staring at the dashboard, his mind still foggy. What if he called her and she didn’t answer or worse, refused to see him? At least he’d have a better chance with a face-to-face.
His body made the decision to just go as he shifted to drive and steered down the lane toward the highway. Snow dusted the road as he turned toward town. A deer crossed in front of him a moment later, and Kade braked too hard, causing the truck to fishtail on the slick surface.
Slow down.She’ll still be at the motel even if you make it there a few minutes later.
But Fallon wasn’t there when he arrived. He circled the motel parking lot, searching for her SUV, with a hollowness pressing against the inside of his chest.
He parked next to the office and rang the silver bell on the counter when he entered the lobby.
A woman came out of the back room with her hair wrapped in thick plastic curlers.
“Can I help you?”
“Fallon Gale. Has she checked out already?” He hoped she’d just left to get coffee.
“She left yesterday afternoon. Forfeited a whole night’s stay too.” The woman raised her eyebrows that disappeared underneath the curlers on her forehead.
His frustration must have showed. The woman cocked her head with a sympathetic smile.
