Page 1 of Delayed
Chapter One
Anna Montgomery shivered as she pulled thesides of her navy wool peacoat together. Negative six degrees. Ha!Even the birds were smart enough to head south during Michiganwinters. Bolting to the United Airlines check-in counter at theGerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids didn’t evencause her to break a sweat.
As a born and bred Floridian, temperaturesunder sixty degrees chilled her, but temperatures with negativesigns froze her to the core. She now understood the phrase—to thebone—because the cold had reached hers.
Anna had been up before the crack of dawn.Her anxiety had given her a fitful night of sleep in the hotel. Shenever slept well while traveling for work, and this trip was nodifferent. A late dinner and weeknight drinks, a bed that wasn’thers—every noise disturbed her. Plus, a looming presentation thatmorning woke her every hour to check the clock to verify she hadn’toverslept with drowsy presses of the snooze button. Caffeine—andlots of it—was the only thing keeping her from curling up on thefloor in exhaustion.
Her presentation to several insurance agentsand trade organizations had been the first for her. Why such anevent had to occur in Michigan in early February was beyond hercomprehension.
Despite the frigid weather and nearlyfrostbitten fingers and toes, she’d return to Florida a success,albeit in need of serious thawing.
With luck, she’d be out of Michigan beforeanother wave of a winter storm blew through as forecasted. The lastthing she wanted was to be snowed in.
From the limited parts she’d seen, the citywas lovely, but the negative temperatures and thick coating ofwhite on everything made her yearn for the warmth of the Floridasunshine. Perhaps she could revisit in the summer.
She rushed to the check-in desk. Hercarry-on rumbled behind her. Her black and white Coach bag, theonly high fashion piece she owned, thumped against her side.
Boarding should be starting soon if ithadn’t already. She stamped her feet to warm them. She needed toget on that plane and watch out the window as they left the frigidtundra of Michigan, bringing her one step closer to her home andsixty plus degree temps.
Her heart plummeted when she reached thecheck-in desk and read the board behind the agent: Flight numberfive zero three six to her layover in Washington D.C.—DELAYED.
Ugh!
“Excuse me.” Anna approached thecounter.
A short woman just over five feet with jetblack curls cropped around her pale-skinned face glanced up fromthe computer. The edges of her dark brown eyes crinkled withfrustration.
“How can I help you?” she snapped.
Anna skimmed the area. A few stragglersstood around. Several people grumbled on their cell phones.
“I see the flight to Washington is delayed.Is it weather related?” She tried to keep her voice soft to notbother the woman any further, but the idea of getting stuck in theairport to weather out a winter storm sent her heart rate to thestratosphere. She needed sunshine. Blue skies. Warmth. Another dayunder the dreary cold winter skies of Michigan, and she’d need ananti-depressant. Seasonal affective disorder was a real thing.
“Not yet,” the woman said with littleoptimism. “The plane is coming from Washington D.C. and just tookoff due to a minor mechanical issue. It’s expected to land around4:30 or so.”
“So there’s a chance of getting out ofhere?” Her fingers grasped the edge of the countertop and herknuckles turned white.
“Yes, there’s a chance.” The attendant’smouth twisted up on one side. The woman didn’t think anyone wouldbe leaving on this flight any more than she did.
Her shoulders slumped.
“If you give me your ID, I can check you inso you’ll be ready when the plane arrives.”
Anna rifled through her purse and slippedher driver’s license from her wallet. Sliding the ID across thecounter, she tapped her foot on the ground. The agent typed andclicked through some screens on her computer.
“Will you be checking a bag?” Theattendant’s gaze bounced between Anna’s face and her ID.
“No. Just a carry-on.”
She smiled tightly at Anna. A few minuteslater, the agent pushed the printed boarding pass and Anna’s IDacross the counter. “Safe travels.”
Anna bit her lip.Safe travels.Ha!How about just “travels”?
She needed to be more optimistic. The flightwasn’t cancelled … yet.
Boarding ticket in hand, she’d head to thesecurity line and then her gate, where she’d wait and flip throughher Instagram feed until her plane arrived. Turning on her heels,she bumped face first into a wall of solid muscle. A clean,outdoorsy scent swathed her and immediately made her lightheaded.She stared for a moment at a tan quilted vest jacket lying unzippedover a hard chest, exposing planes of chiseled muscle under thenavy-blue long sleeve t-shirt that readDog Tired Breweryinwhite script. The picture of a dog lying on its side asleep withits tongue hanging out completed the logo—one she recognized, asthey made her favorite seasonal stout.
She clutched his t-shirt, trying to keep herbalance. His hard abs flexed under her hands. Heat radiated fromhim and warmed her frozen fingers, which had been numb for the lastseveral hours.
