Page 57 of Wedding Bells in Silverwood

She realized she’d been clenching his shirt, her grip firm on the material. Hesitantly, she eased up on her hold. “Yeah. Sorry. I just got frightened.”

The wind howled and whistled in the building, sounding like a train barreling toward them. A crash resonated, and Viola jumped.

“I think a tree branch might have broken a window. At least, I hope it’s just a branch.” He released her, the beam of his light aimed at the stairs. “I’m going to check it out.”

Viola struggled to pull out her phone. She turned on the device’s flashlight and followed Jonas.

“Wait.” She swallowed hard. “I’ll go with you.”

Viola stuck close to Jonas as they traveled through the building. A cold gust of wind snaked around her. They tracked the whistling sound to locate the source of the breach.

They arrived at a conference room near Jonas’s office. Shattered glass littered the carpet. The blinds rattled, and a tree branch protruded through the broken windowpane.

Viola’s hair whipped about her face as she watched Jonas inspect the damage.

“Was that from the Christmas tree out front?” she asked.

“Looks like it.”

He reached for the branch.

“You’ll cut yourself,” she called out.

The warning didn’t stop him. He wrenched the branch free and then forced it out through the opening in the glass. Squinting against the stormy gales, he inspected his hand. When he mumbled a curse, Viola knew he’d been injured.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” she asked.

“In my office.”

They hurried to his office, where Jonas dragged a case out of a cabinet. At first, he attempted to tend to his wound himself, which proved impossible.

“Here.” Viola took the bandage from him. “Let me help.”

They sat on his leather couch while she wrapped his injury, the room quiet as she worked. He aimed the flashlight so she could see what she was doing. With the bright beam practically in her eyes, she couldn’t be certain where his focus was, but she sensed he was staring at her.

“Does that feel tight enough?” she asked once she’d secured the bandage.

He flexed his fingers. “Yes. Thanks. We need to find something to cover the hole in the window. The carpet is already soaked, and that snow’s just going to keep coming in.”

Viola forced the wheels in her head to spin. “The oven trays are big. They should work.”

“Good idea.” He stood. “I’ve got some duct tape in the supply closet. Should hold for now. You think you could get the trays and meet me back here?”

She didn’t want to split up, but she knew the job would get done faster if they did. Standing, she feigned confidence. “Sounds like a plan.”

Jonas faced her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’ll be all right. We can do this. We conquered a mountain. Now, we have to conquer the storm.”

Viola nodded, swallowing so hard she could barely breathe. Jonas squeezed her shoulders before heading out the office door.

It’ll be fine. Just like he said. I simply have to go to the kitchen and grab a couple of trays. Easy peasy.

She gulped down a breath and moved out to the hall. Aiming her phone’s flashlight with one hand and gripping the wall with the other, Viola headed to the kitchen. She flinched at the scraping sounds emanating from somewhere in the building.

It’s branches pitching against the outside wall. That’s all. Get it together.

By the time she got to the kitchen, her leg muscles felt too tense. The wind howled through the exhaust vents. Despite the shakiness in her limbs, she told herself to grab what was necessary and go. The hinges of the industrial oven squeaked as she opened it. After grabbing two trays, she darted out of the kitchen without bothering to close the oven door.

The sense of urgency escalated as she ran back to Jonas. She knew she was being ridiculous; there’d been plenty of winter storms in Silverwood—at least one each season—and she’d survived them all. But there was something sinister about this one that spiked her adrenaline.

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