Page 20 of All I Want for Christmas Eve

Chapter Eight

We both turn to look at the nightstand.

Turns out, there was something useful there.

The phone keeps ringing, loudly and annoyingly.

It saves my life in this moment. Or at least saves my uterus.

“That could be important,” I say, darting out from underneath Adam with great dexterity, and grabbing the phone. “It’s my mother,” I explain, pulling the nightgown up and back over my chest and arms, as if my mother will somehow be able to tell I was topless through the voice call.

When I answer, I also turn around so that I’m not looking at Adam’s naked body.

I clear my throat to try to get the sex out of my voice. “Hey, Mom?”

“Hey, baby,” she says, and her voice sounds slightly frantic. Or like she’s been crying.

“What’s wrong?” I ask with concern.

“It’s your dad. He wandered out into the snow again last night… but this time, he was barefoot.”

“Oh no, Mom,” I say, reaching up and running a hand through my hair. “Barefoot, really? Is he okay? Did he get frostbite?”

“He’s fine, sweetie. But he just… I don’t know. I caught him this time, but I can’t keep an eye on him 24/7. I really need one of you kids to come back here and help me out. But I know you’re snowed in, and I can’t ask either of your sisters… I know you guys all planned to come home for Christmas, but I worry that we won’t last that long without some help.”

“I’ll find a way to get home as soon as possible,” I tell her. “Don’t worry, Mom. Literally as soon as the final snowflake has fallen, I will be out there shoveling, and trying to get my car on a road. And as soon as I can get my car on a road, I will get to the nearest airport, and head home to Snowflake Creek.”

“That would be so amazing, sweetie,” my mother says.

“I’ll come with you too,” Adam says. “I’ll do anything I can to help out.”

I turn back around to look at Adam with surprise. “Do you even know where Snowflake Creek is?”

“No, but I don’t care,” he responds. “You’re going there, and I want to be there too. You saved my life, the least I can do is help you through whatever’s going on.”

A smile warms my face at how kind this offer is.

“Who is that?” my mother asks.

“That’s Adam,” I explain.

“The nice young man who crashed his plane?” she asks.

“Yes, Mom.”

“Are you two shacking up yet?” she asks teasingly.

“Not yet,” I say, with a blush tinting my cheeks. Literally if she had called a minute later, I’m sure there would be a very different answer to that question.

“But there’s a possibility! That’s wonderful news, dear. How long can you stay for?” she asks. “Will you be returning to Alaska in early January?”

“No,” I say with determination on my face. “No. I’m going to pack up all my stuff and bring it with me. I’m going to come home to Minnesota to stay.”

“Oh my goodness, Evie. You don’t know how happy that makes me,” she says, and I can tell she is close to tears. “Text me the details of your flight as soon as you know.”

“I will,” I promise her. “I love you, Mom. And send my love to Dad.”

“We can’t wait to have you home, baby!”

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