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“Good. There’s also a generator on the back porch. If you need that for any reason, it should be ready to go. There’s a hundred-foot extension cord you can snake through a window. Just make sure the exhaust doesn’t blow into the house. I keep enough fuel in it for at least forty-eight hours of continuous operation.”
“You do? When did you arrange all that?”
“I always have,” he said briefly. Did she really not know that he handled things like that for the family? “If for some reason the water stops, there are twenty gallons of drinking water in the back of the pantry. There’s also an emergency kit there. Satellite phone, flashlights, emergency radio. Silver crosses.”
“What?”
Jenna gave him a little shove, though he could see she was amused.
“Kidding. Sorry to say, but the house is totally unprepared for vampire attacks. Or zombies. I’m still researching how to prep for those.”
“Cute. When are you guys coming back?” He caught the worried undertone in her usually one hundred percent confident voice.
He caught Jenna’s glance. As much as it came naturally to him, he didn’t want to take charge unilaterally. “What do you think, Jenna?” He held the phone so they could both hear.
“We could try to get as far as Bemidji tonight, if the flights aren’t canceled.”
“But even if we made it to Bemidji, the roads may not be plowed yet. We could be sleeping in my truck.”
“God, don’t do that. Stay where you are.” Annika sounded resigned to the situation. “I’ll tell the clinic not to call me. Don’t worry about us, we’re fine. We’re having fun.”
Jenna’s hand was in his again. From the tightness of her grip, he knew she was stressed by being so far from the boys during a storm. “We’ll try for first thing tomorrow, or as soon as the roads clear. Sorry about this, Annika.”
“It’s fine. No stress. I’m more worried about the two of you and the classic stranded-in-a-hotel-room situation.”
“Two beds, two bathrooms,” Billy said. “Two grown adults.”
She answered with a rueful laugh. “Good point. You don’t need me telling you to behave yourselves there in the big city.”
Jenna snorted. “Oh, we’re behaving ourselves, all right. I already accidentally molested a supermodel and nearly broke both ankles.”
“Take care of her, Billy. No front page headlines, please.”
“You got it.”
The call ended, and Jenna slipped her phone back in her clutch.
“She keeps being extra-nice to me.” Billy rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “It’s throwing me off.”
“I’m telling you, something’s up with her. I’d say she’s in love, except I’m not sure how it happened. There’s this one man she met this summer…” She trailed off, eyes shadowed, her thoughts clearly going back to the storm. “They’ll be okay, right?”
“They have heat, backup electricity, water, plenty of food. We’ll be back tomorrow. Try not to…never mind. I know you’re going to worry. But they’re going to be fine. It’s an adventure they’ll talk about for years, the night they got snowed in with Auntie Annika.”
Jenna nodded, as if she was trying to convince herself he was right.
The sound of applause floated from the ballroom, followed by shuffling feet and chairs being pushed back. “Want to beat the crowds?”
When she nodded, he took her arm to hurry her towards the elevator. Right away she stumbled—those cursed high heels—so he swooped her into his arms and dashed for the elevator. She gave a soft shriek of surprise, then said, “Go, go, go…” as if he was sliding into first base instead of between the doors of the elevator.
They made it just in time before the hordes exited the ballroom.
“Nice!” Still in his arms, Jenna offered him a high-five. “Did that count as a baseball reference, the ‘go-go-go’?”
“Absolutely. Two points to you.”
“You didn’t strain anything, did you? That was an all-out sprint with no warmup.”
“Oh, I was warmed up.” He grinned down at her and winked to take some of the heat out of his comment. It didn’t really work. Warmth flowed between them like smooth liquor down a thirsty throat.
