Fumbling for my phone, I pulled up Sage’s number and hit the call button. The phone rang and rang, each tone sounding more miserable than the last.
“Hello, Delia? Is that you?”
I sniffed through the handset, nodding until I realized she couldn’t see it. “Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry. I know it’s Christmas and you’re still on your vacation, but I messed up, and I needed someone to talk to.”
“Del, what happened? I thought everything was going well. I got the report. Shouldn’t you be celebrating your promotion? I was going to call and congratulate you, just not this early.”
“There is no promotion. I ruined everything. I deviated from the case file and activated the client memory clause. I don’t know what to do. I tried to stop it. I’m literally sitting outside the empty office building as we speak in the middle of a snowstorm.”
The phone went quiet, and then Sage asked, “Del, didn’t you get the memo?”
“What memo? Did I get fired?”
“No. Wait a second. Let me check my email.”
Sage whispered something intelligible, then came back onto the line. “The memo’s still sitting in my outbox. Technology was supposed to save us! But the service in these mountains is so spotty. Plus, there was the blizzard and the avalanche, and then I got distracted by a sexy ski instructor. Sidebar, if your hot as coal, Mr. Know-it-all ski instructor tells you not to go down the black diamond slope, just listen. It’ll save you a ton of trouble and—”
“Sage. What does the memo say?”
“Oh, right. So the thing is there was a mixup in the case file which is why Simon got sent out. Two files got merged and someone in the analysis department messed up big. Not naming names—cough, Tom—but Becky was never Jack’s miracle. You were. It got messy because agents don’t work their own cases, and if you remember, I was supposed to work the case originally. But then you were kind of nailing it, so upper management figured they’d let it roll, and sent Simon out to handle Becky’s case. It’s all in the memo.”
“I was Jack’s miracle?” I said, stunned.
“Yes, and the good news is they didn’t wipe his memories. So maybe you could hightail it from the office and slip back in unnoticed to try and salvage Christmas?”
“Salvage Christmas?” I yelled into the phone. “I just traveled three hours into the city after completely ghosting Jack for no other reason than spotty mountain service!”
“You’re getting a raise.”
“What?”
“I just thought letting you know would help. Extra money in my pocket always helps me. Oh, and the office is yours, though I expect you’ll be working remotely most of the year.”
“Sage, I’m hanging up. I have to figure out what to do, and how I’m going to explain things. But—” My voice softened. “Merry Christmas, Sagey.”
“Merry Christmas, Del. I’ll see you soon. And boy do I have a story to tell you. Let’s do New Year’s at that restaurant downtown you like. Make it a table for four.”
I smiled. “It’s a date.”
Ending the call, I stored my phone and wiped the snow from my jacket. I needed to head back to Wood Pine, and I had a few hours to figure out what I was going to say. But the worst had been avoided, Jack and I could be together, and I was definitely going to read the rest of that handbook.
With a lightness in my step, I turned toward the train station.
“Delia?”
The sound of Jack’s voice made me freeze in the middle of the sidewalk. He was here? In the city? Jack walked through the falling snow toward me, pausing under the street lamp. Exhaustion lined his face, but there was something in his gaze, and it was so intense I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to leap into his arms or in front of an oncoming taxi. Since the streets were empty, I was counting on the first one or we might be here a while.
“Jack, how did you find me?”
“Grandma Jean told me everything. All of it. How you’re a witch she hired from the agency, and how you’ve been trying for weeks to set me up with Becky. She said you wanted to tell me the truth, but thought I’d react poorly. Do you know how many Delia Frosts there are in the city?”
I shook my head.
“Too many. It’s a good thing I tried your office first, or I’d be spending Christmas searching the city for you. Nothing you did over the last few weeks changes anything. I’m the one who tried tooth and nail to push you away, and if you’d actually listened, I don’t know where I’d be. Your job is eye-opening, but also inspiring, and we’re going to have a serious talk about how you use your magic.” Jack paused and stepped closer until there was no distance between us. His warm fingers brushed my face. “But the thing I can’t get past is why you left?”
“I thought I ruined your life, and I needed to fix it. Coming here was the only way, except the office was empty, and there was nothing I could do. I thought I failed.”
“You didn’t ruin my life, Delia. Far from it.”
