Page 1 of Wish Me Home

Chapter One

Emmett

Thishadtobea cruel joke.

The departure screen flipped over and another set of flights clicked to show canceled. Running a hand through my hair I let out a huff of frustration, kicking at the air. A week ago, there hadn’t even been a chance of snow in the forecast when I booked this damn flight. Now? Now there were two feet on the ground and more fat flakes fell from the sky, adding to the piles.

Carts raced around the tarmac outside spraying deicer on the runway and on the few planes that were still going to attempt to get out before things got worse. I knew better than to book a last-minute flight home for Christmas, but my aunt wasn’t having it.

I’d moved to Chicago for this stupid job over the summer. At first, the change wasn’t that extreme. San Diego was known for its hot summers, and while things were probably more humid around the Great Lakes, it didn’t feel that different. But no one prepared me for winter. As soon as fall came, the temperatures plummeted.

“Mommy! Mommy!” A little girl cried as she ran past me with her red and green dress billowing behind her. She jumped into the arms of a woman dressed similarly. An equally dressed-up man joined them and I grunted in annoyance before finding an empty bay of seats to sit in. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find places to sit as they grounded more flights. I never understood why anyone dressed up to fly. I’d rather be comfortable. My loose sweats were evidence of that.

Thankfully, my flight wasn’t canceled yet, but they had delayed it for an hour. And then it had been delayed another two on top of that before that hour was up. I was pretty sure at this point I was going to be joining the long line of people trying to fly out of here. I had better prepare for sleeping at the airport tonight because fuck if I was going home in this mess.

More people moved around me, bumping into me occasionally, trying to get to their gates or to ticket counters to get on different flights. But it was a lost cause because I had already tried. It would be a miracle if I got out at all at this rate.

“Attention in the terminal, flight 913 departing Chicago for San Diego. Your flight has now been delayed another hour. There’s been a problem detected with the engine. We hope to get the problem corrected quickly and on your way soon.”

The attendant sounded much too chipper. I rolled my eyes before pulling my phone from my coat pocket and pulling up my text thread to my aunt. She’d been planning on picking me up at the airport. I hadn’t wanted her to. It would be easier for me to get an Uber or a rental car for the two weeks I was planning to be there.

Emmett:Another delay.

Aunt Sadie:No worries. Just get here safely.

I shoved the phone in my pocket once more and looked around the terminal again. More and more families were packed in. Snow continued to fall in sheets outside. I stared out the window, and if I had any lingering hope I would get out of there, they were dashed away.

My parents had died when I was a teenager, having been in an accident with a drunk driver. Aunt Sadie, who was mom’s sister, had taken me in without question. Living with her had been an interesting adventure. It was as if Aunt Sadie hadn’t wanted to grow up. She’d never had kids of her own, and she was more of a friend than an actual parent, but she’d taken care of me when no one else seemed to care. No one wanted my parents’ grumpy gay teenager.

The problem was that I was grumpy because no one was accepting of who I was. The only people to accept me were Mom, Dad, and Aunt Sadie. Aunt Sadie had never married and was the black sheep of the family, so we meshed well together.

Closing my eyes, I tried to rest but between the noise from the passengers and bad Christmas music pipping in the overhead speakers, rest wouldn’t come easy.

My bag was nestled into the seat next to me, and I realized it was probably a dick move to take up an extra seat as spots to sit were becoming more limited, but I didn’t care. I hated airports as much as I hated flying.

“Excuse me?”

I startled slightly at the words but refused to open my eyes. It wasn’t an announcement that my flight was finally boarding, so this asshole could fuck off.

“Excuse me?”

He obviously wasn’t taking the hint that I was ignoring him, so I popped one eye open to look at who was bothering me. The man in front of me was a shock to my system and just like that, both eyes were open and I was sitting up in my seat.

“Hi. Sorry about that. There are no more open seats, and your bag is there. I was wondering if I could sit?” He motioned to my bag. I blinked at him and then to my bag in confusion for a second. I looked at him and blinked a few more times.

He was tall and handsome. His blond hair was brushed into a side part and he was clean-shaven. His dress slacks were pressed within an inch of their life and his shirt was pristine white with a navy tie that had an airline pin attached to it.

“Uh…” Words failed me as I stared at him. It didn’t help when a wide smile broke across his face, showing perfectly straight white teeth. He motioned again to my bag and like a dumb, stupid idiot, I hurriedly snatched it from the seat.

“Thank you,” he said before turning and sitting in the vacated spot. I dropped my bag at my feet and continued to stare at him. It probably wasn’t appreciated, but his grin stayed in place as he offered his hand. I took it and he shook it vigorously before letting me go.

“I’m Cody Summers, by the way, and hopefully helping on this flight to San Diego today if this weather lets up.”

I nodded stupidly.

“So, where are you headed? Or hoping to get to?” His brown eyes twinkled as he spoke.

Damn. Customer service jobs were killer. I’d hate life if I had to deal with people day in and day out. I’d been lucky enough to land this job right out of college. The tech company that recruited me pressed hard to get me on board after I got my degree in engineering. I got to stare at components and parts all day. I didn’t have to talk to people.

---