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She hesitated, and Jake knew she didn’t have a good reason, and she was hard up. She could drive herself, but she probably already had a flight booked to come back, so why take her car?
“I . . . I don’t . . .”
“You don’t have a good reason. And unless you’re driving a four wheel drive, you don’t need to be cruising around in this snow. We weren’t raised for it. I’m already going there, and you’re my . . . neighbor. My mama would kill me if I didn’t make sure you got home for Christmas safe and sound.”
Jake wasn’t sure why he was so dead set on her coming home with him, but he knew it was exactly what needed to happen. He could tell she was mulling it over, probably trying to think of an alternative to twelve hours—or more with the weather—in the car together, but this close to Christmas, her options were low.
“You’re right. I don’t really have another option. I can’t miss Christmas with my family.”
“All right then, it’s settled. Are you ready to go?”
“I just have to close up here. I’m the last person in the office. I had planned to Uber to the airport directly from work today and I didn’t find out about the flight being cancelled until I was already here this morning.”
“I’ll go pull my truck around front. It’s gotten kinda shitty outside, so then you won’t have to walk across the muddy parking lot. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Coralee took a deep breath as if she were resigned to her fate. It made Jake laugh, and he tried to keep it subtle. He was already looking forward to the trip and decided maybe Dana was right. It was starting to look like maybe this chance encounter was something more like a second chance.
“Thank you, Jake. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
“It’s a long drive, Coralee. It’ll be nice to have the company.” With that, he tipped the cowboy hat he was wearing in her direction, and headed out into the snow, pulling his jacket a bit tighter.
Not only had the snow really started falling, it had also begun to stick. The brisk wind whipped around him as he trekked out to his truck. When he climbed in, he pulled his phone out and checked the weather report.
Flashing red, a severe snowstorm alert had been issued for the area between Sonora, Texas, and Houston, where they were. He turned the radio on while waiting for the truck to warm up and pulled around to the front of the building to meet Coralee.
“A severe snowstorm warning has been issued in Texas. This one is for real folks. Make sure you have what you need to stay warm and stay home people!” The radio announcer had just delivered the same news.
“Fuck,” Jake muttered under his breath. It looked like the storm was going to be a little more than they bargained for. At least he had a huge truck; they’d be far safer than any other means of transportation at this point, and once they got through the hill country and back into the desert, the snow should dissipate and be no big deal. Jake estimated that the trip was going to take a bit longer than they’d planned, but maybe that was all part of the sign it was meant to be.
Getting stuck in the snow with Coralee wouldn’t be so bad. He hoped she’s warm up to him, regardless of how cold it was outside.
ChapterFour
Coralee
Coralee went back to her office and took a few deep breaths. Trying to channel her inner yogi, she worked to calm her frazzled nerves for a moment.How am I going to spend twelve hours in the car with him? Okay, get over yourself. It’s just twelve hours. It’s a ride home. You can’t miss Christmas. Suck it up.
Her pep talk to herself wasn’t exactly uplifting and became more of a get your shit together lecture to herself. “Ugh, why does he have to still be so hot?”
“Just good genes, I guess,” a voice in her doorway replied.
Coralee sighed, realizing Jake was the owner of the voice, and he was standing in her doorway. She had yet to turn around and face him, and if she’d had the choice, she’d have crawled under her desk and stayed there until the new year.Fuck my life.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” she said as she turned around and pretended she wasn’t absolutely mortified.
“I believe I told you I’d be right back, so is it really sneaking when you knew I was coming?” he asked, chuckling. “You about ready to go? The weather has turned a bit, and it’s gonna be a bit of a rocky start I think.” She noticed the apprehension in his voice. He was concerned. It was Texas, how bad could a little snow be?
“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine. It’ll probably stop any time now,” she said confidently.
“Would they have cancelled your flight if that were the case, ya think?” He smirked.Ugh, his annoying, sexy smirk. Another stupid thing about him that hasn’t changed a bit.
“I don’t suppose they would have, no.” Coralee rolled her eyes at him, and wheeled her suitcase out from behind her desk. “I’m ready. Let’s do this,” she said.
Jake took the suitcase from her and motioned for her to go ahead of him. Always the gentleman, she thought. When they reached the front door and she saw the snow accumulating, she stopped in her tracks. While she had on boots and a jacket, she definitely didn’t have the right attire for what appeared to be a legitimate snowstorm.
“What the fuck?” she said, leaving her mouth hanging open as she turned to Jake.
“Yeahhhh. I told you the weather had turned. I wasn’t kidding. But we’ll be fine. Come on. We should really get going though, and hopefully we’ll be able to just drive right on through it and make it home by tonight.” He opened the door for her and waved her toward the truck. She pulled her jacket tight and ran out into the snow toward his running vehicle, but he beat her there. Opening the door for her, he held out his other hand to help her climb in.
