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Xavier
Idon't see the message until I'm back at home in Yuletide. After my meeting with Mitchell, I went straight to the hotel and packed for my flight. I didn't see any messages from Cherry and ignored the rest until I was back in the mayor's office.
I found Josephine's message at the bottom of a list of texts and voice mails from various townspeople, with a variety of predictable issues. Yes, there'd been a fight over the sledding hill, and the parking lot, and there'd been a power outage on the East side of town and, for some reason, fifty people had called my private line instead of the power company.
I never should have given anyone my private number.
Luckily, I don't chuck my phone across the room the way I want to, because I'd have missed the voice mail from Josephine.
My heart pounds and my chest aches as I call Josephine back. "What happened? Is she okay?"
"She tripped over a box some idiot left in the middle of the aisle in the big barn. She hurt her shoulder and her arm, but the doc said she'll make a full recovery."
My heart doesn't calm. "Her shoulder and her arm?" I picture her alone and in pain. I should have been there. Cherry was so excited about her plans for the farm and I should have been there instead of wasting my time flying all the way to Denver to see one over-priced potential store, because I was too excited about the prospect of expanding to ask the right questions.
"She's okay, Xavier."
"Where is she? Is she at the hospital?"
"She's at my place for the night. She's sleeping upstairs."
"I'm on my way."
"You don't need to do that. She's fine."
"I'll be there in five minutes."
Shoving my phone in my back pocket and grabbing my keys off the desk, I sprint out of the office and down the stairs. Three people shout my name as I fly past, but I ignore them. Whatever the latest crisis is, it can wait.
I hit main street during the afternoon daily Christmas parade and curse so loudly a few people walking by glance over at me. I give them a teeth gritted smile and swing my truck down an alley that will take me to a side street.
A side street that's packed with all the cars and trucks and shuttle vans of the other people trying to avoid the parade route. The daily tourists in December quadruple our local population and our roads just aren't designed for a ton of traffic.
I grip the steering wheel tight to keep myself from honking at the cars in front of me. It won't help, and it's not a good look for the interim mayor. When traffic comes to a complete standstill, I do the last thing I should do.
"Sheriff Napier." The sheriff answers his phone with a sharp, annoyed sounding bite to his words. "What do you need, mayor?"
"Anything you can do about the back-up on Jinglebell Way? I've got somewhere I need to be."
The line goes completely silent, and I'm certain he's cursing me or laughing at me. "Well, substitute Mayor Shaw, we've got a fender bender at the intersection of Jinglebell Way and Gingerbread Street. Officers are on the scene, but three cars are involved. We've got a person with minor injuries, and we're waiting on tow trucks that have been busy pulling tourists out of snowy ditches all day. We'll get traffic moving just as soon as we can, but in the meantime, I'll request your patience and understanding."
"Cherry's hurt, Ned. I need to get to her."
"Oh, I see. In that case, I'll call in the National Guard to move things along more quickly so you can be reunited with your fruitcake."
"She's not a fruit—"
But the line is dead. Sheriff Ned Napier has hung up on me.
If I was the actual mayor and not the town grump, I might be worried the conversation has lowered Ned's opinion of me. Luckily, I don't give a fuck what Neddie Napier thinks of me.
The traffic moves forward just enough for me to swing a right and dart down another side street, but this one is a dead end. I park in the first available space and jump out. I'm wearing boots, not running shoes, and I left in such a hurry that I don't have my coat, but I don't care.
I need to see Cherry. Need to know she's okay and not in any pain.
Unfortunately, the snow is too deep for me to take the straightest route to Josephine's, so I run as hard as I can up sidewalks and roads until I reach the bottom of Josephine's driveway. I pause to catch my breath and then I race up that gnarly, steep drive as fast as I can, grateful every moment for all the hours I've spent building my cardio endurance.
At least the exertion keeps me from freezing my ass off.
