Page 95 of Brides and Brothers
Aiden stood uncomfortably outside in a flurry of white, his thoughts somber and concerned. His parents had died in a car crash. If anything happened to his brothers and Camille’s friends, it would be his fault. The cold numbed his face and hands. It froze his jeans and crept through the fibers in his coat and shirt until it reached his skin. Where were they?
Pulling out the gloves from his pocket, he shoved them onto his hands. He grabbed the shovel that was half-buried in the snow and leaning against the house. He shoveled and plowed through the snow, making a path to the porch steps from the driveway. He looked down to see the snow whipping around his feet and covering the path in a fine blanket. What wasn’t falling from the sky was being blown from one side to the other.
He couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to do something. He went back into the warm house and stomped his boots on the doormat.
“Camille!” he hollered from the door. “Camille, I need to talk to you!”
Camille came jogging around the corner, her sleepy eyes trying to snap into focus. “What’s going on? What were you doing outside?”
“I was shoveling the snow. I—”
“Shoveling?” Camille interrupted. “At this hour?”
Aiden took a hat off the hook on the wall and pulled it down over his ears. “The storm has turned pretty severe. It’s a whiteout; anyone driving is going to have a hard time seeing the road and the other cars. I need to go look for my family.”
“Family?” Camille’s eyes were awake and alert now. “I thought they weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“My brothers took the ladies in apartment 206 to the Playmill Theatre tonight. They were supposed to come here afterward.”
“And they’re out there right now? In this weather?”
“I’m worried something has happened.” Aiden put his hand on the doorknob.
Camille grabbed his arm. “You can’t drive out there and look for them. It’s as dangerous for you as it is for them. You need to wait until it blows over. Did you try calling?”
“I texted them, but you’re right. I should try to call.” He pulled out his phone and checked for reception. “I don’t have any bars.” He hit the call button anyway, but the connection wasn’t there.
“Maybe they decided the storm was too crazy and staying longer wouldn’t be a good idea. They could be home by now.”
“No, this is closer. They would’ve stopped to wait out the storm, if nothing else.” Camille’s face took on a panicked look, and he reached out to squeeze her hand. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll go find them.”
Camille’s blonde hair whipped back and forth in an adamant no. “You can’t leave me here. If you go, I go. Besides, I haven’t told you—”
Aiden put his hands on her shoulders. “I can’t take you.”
The doorknob behind him started to jiggle, and Aiden moved out of the way as the door swung open.
Easton stood in the doorway, carrying Emma in his arms, and the others stood behind them. Aiden swallowed the lump in his throat. They had made it. He didn’t know if he should be angry or relieved. He felt a little of both.
“Hey! What took you so long? Did you stop and get married?”
“Married?” Easton asked, putting Emma down.
“You’re carrying her over the threshold,” Aiden joked, his relief overtaking his anger.
Easton rolled his eyes. “She stepped in a waist-high drift and lost her boot. We’ll have to come back in the spring and look for it.”
The others pushed inside behind them until the small foyer was packed with bodies.
“Take your shoes off, and come into the family room,” Camille ordered. His wife always knew what to say. He had picked a good one. A sleepy one, but a good one.
Shod in socks, they all shuffled into the family room. Aiden grabbed Benson’s arm on the way in. “What happened?”
“We slid into the fence at the end of the road, and it popped the left front tire. The car is stuck in the ditch. We’ll have to dig it out in the morning. The funny thing is I wouldn’t have seen the driveway if we hadn’t slid off the road.”
Aiden whistled. “It sounds like divine intervention.”
Benson was somber. He looked at the others and in a subdued voice said, “Someone was lighting up the road, and it wasn’t the headlights.”
