Page 1 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
ChapterOne
Apatch of blue sky poked through the gray woolen clouds when Fallon Gale glanced through her driver’s side window again. She’d been keeping an eye on the sky ever since she left the Twin Cities, hoping for the snow to hold off until she made it to Hendricks. Driving along the North Shore in December was always a gamble. She’d narrowly missed what she thought was a snow squall that had left the highway thick with slush. But now it was snowing again.
“You still there?” came her boss’s voice through the speaker.
Fallon focused on the road again as a semi crawled up close to her bumper. “I am. This weather has made me skittish. And some people drive like they’re the only ones on the road.”
“Tell me about it. I’m dealing with the same thing right now. Got a late start this morning,” said June. “How far do you have to go?”
Fallon glanced at the digital map displayed on the console. “About fifteen miles.”
“Did you ever get a hold of Agnes? She left a message for me, but when I called back, the phone wouldn’t connect.”
“No, I haven’t.” Fallon glanced again at the truck behind her. If he were any closer, he’d be attached to her bumper.
“Have I told you how much Agnes appreciates what you’ve done so far?” asked June. “If I have to hear one more time how wonderful you are—”
“You don’t. She lets me know every time we talk.”
June’s friend, Agnes DeLina, was head of the Hendricks Chamber of Commerce. With grant money to spend, she’d hired June’s firm, Endeavor Publicity, to help attract more attention to the town’s Holly Days Festival.
“Between you and me, I’m not sure how much more attention a little town festival can get in the middle of winter, especially one all the way up the North Shore,” said June.
“That’s what she’s paying us the big bucks for though, right? To figure it out?” The truck drew more of Fallon’s attention than what was ahead of her. She readjusted her grip on the wheel. Her fingers began to ache.
June huffed. “This wouldn’t even be an option if she didn’t have grant money to play with.”
“You know, June, it’s not lost on me that you assigned me to this project despite knowing my distaste for the most commercial of holidays.” She smiled as she said it. June refused to accept this “character flaw” in Fallon as her boss called it. A long-running joke between them, June enjoyed prodding Fallon to embrace all things Christmas as much as Fallon tried her hardest to avoid them.
“It’s good for you,” June said simply. “Besides, Agnes is a dear friend. I’d only send her the best and like it or not, that’s you. Listen, I’ll let you go. Let me know how it goes with Agnes and the alpaca people.”
Fallon giggled. “You make it sound like I’m meeting with farm animals in Hendricks.”
“You’re not?” June snorted at her own sarcasm.
“The Behars have an alpaca farm, yes, but…geez!”
The truck behind her signaled to change lanes. Speeding up, the semi kicked up slush. It pelted the side of her car and covered her window and front windshield with a fury as it passed, blinding her.
Where was the road?
Fallon tapped the brake, slowing even more although she was driving much slower than the posted speed limit.
Big mistake.
White-hot panic seized her when her Bronco lost its grip on the road.
The rear end fishtailed toward the shoulder. She grasped the wheel with both hands, turning it frantically into the spin. But it was useless. Fallon tensed as the slow-motion slide took the car backward, over the shoulder, and into the shallow ditch. There was a muffledwhumpand a deadening screech until the Bronco stopped abruptly. A wave of snow rose up over her hood and coated the windshield.
Fallon let out a shaky breath as her heart raced.
She relaxed her hands from the death grip on the wheel.
I’m okay…I’m okay…I’m okay, right?
It was quiet except for the hum of the engine and someone talking on the radio. Facing the way she’d come, Fallon caught glimpses of the empty road through the windshield as the dirty slush tracked down the glass.
“Wonderful.”
