Christmas Kiss

Chapter 2 - How Did It End Up Like This?

Emerson kicked her tire repeatedly and cursed under her breath. By the time she'd told Jacques goodbye and had gotten to her car, it had begun snowing outside. She was thankful to be heading home to a warm fire, a good movie, and some hot cocoa, but her dreams were smashed when the thump of a flat tire filled her ears.

She was livid to discover that Crispin had never replaced her spare tire when he had her last flat fixed, so she was stuck halfway home, with no way to fix her car. This was the last time she'd depend on a man to do something for her. I shouldn't have been so dependent on him in the first place, she scolded herself silently. Staring down the winding road, she pulled her puffy, cream jacket more tightly around her and pulled the fuzzy hood over her head. Shoulders back in determination, she began carefully walking down the street, praying her stilettos didn't cause her to slip and fall on the now slick roads.

Three blocks later, she was shivering with cold, and the visibility on the street was minimal. The falling snow had grown thicker, and a blanket of white lay on the ground. The further she walked, the more miserable she became.

Her ankles began to hurt, freezing in the wet snow, and Emerson began searching her surroundings for an open storefront. She pulled out her cell phone to look at the time, and to call Jacques to see if someone could rescue her, but she almost screamed when she realized her battery had died. It was Christmas Eve, and she was going to freeze to death, alone in the snow, after the torture of watching her ex-boyfriend propose to his new, perfect girlfriend. Emerson wanted to cry, but she feared her tears would freeze to her face. She shook her head in anger at herself. It hadn't been smart to leave her car behind. At least, in her car, she would have had heat until she ran out of gas, and her toes wouldn't have felt frostbitten.

Her steps slowed the further she walked, and soon she had to stop, unable to see more than a couple of feet in front of her face. Just as she was ready to give up her fight, the noise of a car engine broke through her thoughts. Excited at the chance of rescue, she turned to see a dark sports car nearing her. She thrust her thumb out like she had seen hitchhikers do in the movies, hoping she wasn't inviting a serial killer to finish off the miserable evening that had been her Christmas Eve. She grinned as the car began to slow. The driver flashed his lights twice, and then rolled down his passenger window as he neared her.

"Need a ride?"

She would recognize that velvety voice anywhere. He had already rescued her once that evening. She guessed it made sense he would be her rescuer once again.

"Th-th-thank y-y-you," she chattered, her jaw stiff from the cold. She stepped to the car and opened the door, sliding into the luxurious seat before speaking again. She sighed as the seat warmer immediately began to heat her body.

***

Thaddeus rolled up the passenger window and turned up the heat. He looked at the Eskimo beside him. He felt sorry for the girl. She shouldn't have been walking around in the freezing cold, although he couldn't blame her. Even he had been caught off guard. When he'd stepped into Napoli's Pizza, the air had been clear, and the ground had been clean. When he walked to his car twenty minutes later, snow was already on the ground, and the air was white with the thick-falling fluff.

In his ten-minute drive, the winter storm had grown worse. When the radio announcer had claimed a sudden blizzard was visiting and to avoid the roads, if at all possible, he had been shocked to see a girl walking by herself down the road. He pictured Genevieve stranded, and he knew he had to help the stranger. Thankfully, she hadn't put up much of a fight.

"So, where to?" he asked the woman in his car.

He watched, mesmerized as she lowered the hood of her jacket.