Page 92 of Just One Kiss

"Really? Is it serious?"

"It could be. We're going to spend New Year's together in Aspen."

"That sounds romantic." She felt an unexpected wave of jealousy. She had a feeling her New Year's Eve was going to be another night alone or watching her friends fawn all over their boyfriends and husbands. Aside from Keira, the single circle was getting quite small.

"I plan on pulling out all the stops," Tyler said, an excited sparkle in his eyes.

"Good for you. When do I get to meet her?"

"We'll see how New Year's goes. What are you doing that night?"

"I have no idea. I can't think past Christmas or Kelly." She let out a sigh. "I feel so frustrated, Tyler. I want to go out and find her."

"Black Falls is a huge area. Where would you even start looking?"

"I don't know, but I feel like I have to do something. This inaction is driving me crazy."

Tyler gave a big yawn, then gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry. You're not boring, I just need some coffee. I had to get up at three thirty this morning to catch my flight."

"Why don't you take a nap? You can use my room. Mom is planning to spend the day and evening here. She can watch Brett if I run out for a bit."

"Where are you going to go?"

"Maybe nowhere. I'm still thinking about it."

"Well, let me know what you decide," Tyler said, as he got to his feet. "In the meantime, I'm going to make some coffee."

As Tyler left, she felt a restless urge to do something; she just didn't know what.

Part of that restlessness had to do with Jake. She hadn't talked to him all day, and she found herself missing him. That was crazy, since she was the one who had told him they needed to be done. Now, less than twenty-four hours later, all she wanted to do was talk to him, kiss him, wrap her arms around him. Her body still tingled with memories from last night. It would have been a lot smarter to break up with him before she had sex with him, but then they wouldn't have had sex, and it was very difficult to regret those hours together, which had been some of the best hours of her life.

Forcing her mind off Jake, her thoughts returned to her sister. It was almost two, ten hours until Christmas, and only another eight hours after that before Brett would wake up and expect to get his Christmas gift from Santa.

Where could Kelly be? Had there been some other clue that they'd missed?

She'd gone through the suitcase and Brett's backpack a dozen times.

Was there anything at the cabin she'd overlooked?Adam had gone through the house and said they'd found nothing of interest.Could there have been something there only she would recognize, like the unicorn necklace?

Jumping to her feet, she knew where she needed to go. It was a thirty-minute drive to the cabin. But she had nothing else to do this afternoon, and she'd be back before the storm hit.

As she went to grab her coat, her mom came down the stairs.

"Brett fell asleep before I finished the story," her mom said.

"That's good. Are you going to stick around for a while?"

"I'd like to." Her mom gave her a quizzical look. "Unless, you'd rather have Tyler to yourself?"

"No. Actually, I was going to run out for an hour, and I'm not sure Tyler will be able to stay awake to keep an eye out for Brett. He got up early this morning."

"I'll be here. Where are you going?"

"I just have a last-minute Christmas errand to run," she said vaguely.

"Well, don't be too long. The weather is supposed to turn."

"I'll be back before that." She grabbed her coat and gave her mom a smile. "Thanks for helping out so much."

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