Page 67 of A Cozy Christmas Blizzard
Let It Snow
One
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.”
Shelly Griffin’s fingers compressed around the armrest until her neatly manicured nails threatened to cut into the fabric. Flying had never thrilled her, and she avoided it whenever possible. It had taken her the better part of a month to convince herself that this trip would be perfectly safe. She told herself that of course the Boeing 727 that had taken off without incident from San Francisco almost ninety minutes ago would land unscathed just a little while from now in Seattle. Still, if it wasn’t Christmas, if she wasn’t so homesick, and if she’d had more than four days off, she would have done anything except fly to get home for the holidays.
“Seattle is reporting heavy snow and limited visibility,” the captain continued. “We’ve been rerouted to Portland International until the Seattle runways can be cleared.”
A low groan filled the plane.
She forced herself to relax. Snow. She could handle snow,right? She wasn’t overjoyed at the prospect of having to land twice, but she was so close to home now that she would willingly suffer anything to see a welcoming smile light up her father’s eyes.
In an effort to divert her thoughts from impending tragedy, she studied the passengers around her. A grandmotherly type slept sedately in the seat beside her. The man sitting across the aisle was such a classic businessman that he was intriguing. Almost from the moment they’d left San Francisco, he’d been working out of his briefcase. He hadn’t so much as cracked a smile during the entire flight. The captain’s announcement had produced little more than a disgruntled flicker in his staid expression.
She had seen enough men like him in her job as a reporter in the federal court to catalog him quickly. Polished. Professional. Impeccable. Handsome, too, she supposed, if she was interested—which she wasn’t. She preferred her men a little less intense. She managed to suppress a tight laugh. Men? What men? In the ten months she’d been living in the City by the Bay, she hadn’t exactly developed a following. A few interesting prospects now and again, but nothing serious.
As the plane made its descent, Shelly gripped the armrest with renewed tension. Her gaze skimmed the emergency exits as she repeated affirmations on the safety of flying. She mumbled them under her breath as the plane angled sharply to the right, aligning its giant bulk with the narrow runway ahead.
Keeping her eyes centered on the seat in front of her, she held her breath until she felt the wheels gently bounce against the runway in a flawless landing. She braced herself as the brakes quickly slowed the aircraft to a crawl.
The oxygen rushed from her lungs in a heartfelt sigh of relief. Somehow the landings were so much worse than the takeoffs.As the tension eased from her rigid body, she looked around to discover the businessman slanting his idle gaze over her. His dark eyes contained a look of surprise. He seemed amazed that anyone could be afraid of flying. The blood mounted briefly in her pale features, and she decided she definitely didn’t like his cold attitude, no matter how handsome he was.
The elderly woman sitting next to her placed a hand on Shelly’s forearm. “Are you all right, dear?”
“Of course.” Relief throbbed in her voice. Now that they were on the ground, she could feign the composure that seemed to come so easily to the other passengers.
“I hope we aren’t delayed long. My daughter’s taking off work to meet me.”
“My dad’s forty minutes from the airport,” Shelly offered, hoping that he’d called the airline to check if her flight was on time. She hated the thought of him anxiously waiting for her.
The other woman craned her neck to peek out the small side window. “It doesn’t seem to be snowing much here. Just a few flakes. They look a bit like floating goose feathers, don’t you think?”
Shelly grinned at the image. “Let’s hope it stays that way.”
She remained seated while several of the other passengers got up and took advantage of the captain’s offer to leave the plane during the delay. The businessman was among those who quickly vacated their seats. But since the captain had said he didn’t expect them to be in Portland long, Shelly didn’t want to take a chance of missing the flight when it was ready to take off again.
After checking her watch every ten minutes for forty minutes, she was starting to think that they would never leave Oregon. The blizzard had hit the area, and whirling snow buffeted the quiet plane with growing intensity. Her anxietiesmounted with equal force. Suddenly her dire musings were interrupted.
“This is the captain speaking.” His faint Southern drawl filled the plane. “Unfortunately, Seattle reports that visibility hasn’t improved. They’re asking that we remain here in Portland for another half hour, possibly longer.”
Frustration and disappointment erupted from the remaining passengers, and they all began speaking at once.
“This is the captain again,” the pilot added, his tone one of wry humor. “I’d like to remind those of you who are upset by our situation that it’s far better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky than to be in the skyprayingyou were on the ground.”
Shelly added a silent amen to that. As it was, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic, trapped inside the plane. She grabbed her purse and reached for her cell, then discovered when she tried to turn it on that she must have forgotten to charge it, because the battery was dead. Unsnapping her seat belt, she stood and headed down the narrow aisle toward the front of the plane.
“Do I have time to make a phone call? My cell is dead,” she explained.
“Sure,” the flight attendant answered with a cordial smile. “Don’t be long, though. The conditions in Seattle could change quickly.”
“I won’t,” Shelly promised, and made her way into the terminal. Thank heavens airports still had payphones, she thought as she found two lonely phones sandwiched between a newsstand and a bagel shop.
She claimed the only unoccupied one, then frowned when she saw the “Out of Order” sign taped over the credit card slot. It wasn’t until she was sorting through her purse for changethat she noted that the unsympathetic businessman from her flight was sitting at the other phone. Apparently even someone as focused as he seemed to be could forget to charge his phone, too.
“This is Slade Garner again,” he announced with the faintest trace of impatience creeping into his voice. “My plane’s still in Portland.”
Shelly scowled at her wallet. She didn’t have change for the phone.
