Page 1 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

One

Julie

My fingers grippedthe steering wheel tightly as I struggled to maintain control of the car as it slipped on a patch of ice.Even with the heater on full blast, it was cold enough for Daisy to whimper in the back seat as she tried to sleep with a blanket wrapped around her.I hated that I had to wake her in the middle of the night without being able to tell her what was going on, but there wasn’t another choice.It was either leave right then and there or stay and risk something far more dangerous happening.

It had been years since I’d been up to the inn that we used to go to when I was little, and even though I thought I knew the way to it, everything looked different.It didn’t help that I was driving through a blizzard in the middle of the night and couldn’t see where I was going.My hands trembled as adrenaline rushed through me, keeping me alert and focused as I tried to get us to safety.

The car was quiet so Daisy could sleep, but that did nothing to stop the images of Joel standing over me as anger flashed in his eyes from flooding my brain.I knew that our friendship had grown and changed over the years I worked for him, but I never expected things to take a turn the way they had with him.

“Do you think you can just walk away and leave me?”he yelled, standing above me as his fist shook inches away from my face.He’d already hit me once and knocked me to the floor; I knew he would do it again.“After everything that I’ve done for you—this is how you repay me?I gave you everything!”

I shook my head, my lips quivering as I watched the man I thought I knew transform into a monster I’d never seen before.The vein in his temple throbbed as his eyes dilated, appearing darker in the dim light.

“I wasn’t leaving,” I stammered, hoping he couldn’t see the lie on the tip of my tongue.I also didn’t want to agitate him further while Daisy was sleeping in the other room.Thankfully, her door was closed, and the sound machine was on, so hopefully it had drowned out all of this.

“I was looking at places to go on a mini vacation with Daisy.This time of year is always so hard for her.I just wanted to do something special for her.”

“You need to ask formypermission first,” he snarled, extending his hand as I stared at it.

His eyebrows raised as he jerked it toward me and gave me a pointed look.I carefully accepted it, trying to keep my body from shaking as I got to my feet and took a cautious step back.

“I’m sorry that I lost my temper,” he said, shoving a hand through his hair.“But if this is going to work between us, there has to be communication.”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, immediately regretting it.“Ifwhatis going to work between us?I’m not your employee right now, and these aren’t work hours.You came to my apartment uninvited and without any warning.”My voice trembled as I tried to stand up for myself like I had been for the past few weeks.The only difference was that the Joel I had pushed back against and stood up to before wasn’t the same Joel who was standing before me with a look in his eyes that made my blood turn to ice.

“You’re not just my employee, Julie.I thought I’d made that clear?I’ve built a life for you and Daisy, and that includesmebeing part of it.There’s not a single thing you can do to stop me from having what I want.Ialwaysget what I want.I’m a very determined man and you’d do well to remember that.”

I nodded, too terrified to speak.It didn’t matter what I said; it would be wrong unless it were me professing my love for him.

“It’s getting late,” he said, looking at his watch.“Can I trust that you’re going to bed and that we’ll talk about this more in the morning?”

“Yes.I’m very tired, so I’ll be going straight to bed.”

My stomach soured as I felt him lean in and press a kiss to my lips.I dug my nails into the palms of my hands, hoping the pain from it would distract me enough to keep from pulling away from him.I knew how angry he would get, and I didn’t want any more trouble right now.I just needed him to leave so I could gather myself and figure out the next step.

“Sleep tight.I’ll see you in the morning.”He smiled, but it was empty and void of any emotion.“And Julie, don’t forget that I see everything.I wouldn’t try anything stupid if I were you.”

I nodded again, desperate for him to leave my apartment.He turned and walked out, pulling the door closed behind him.I waited a few seconds before I rushed over and locked it, knowing it didn’t really matter because he had a key and could get back in if he wanted to.

I counted to twenty as I slowly made it through the apartment, turning off lights and making it seem like I was getting ready for bed.I didn’t know if he would be back and didn’t want to give him anything else to be upset about.

I laid in bed for an hour, hoping that he had already fallen asleep, given how late it was.There wasn’t much time to do what I needed to do, so I had to act quickly.I got up and reached under the bed, grabbing the duffel bag I had started packing a few days ago.I pulled on a pair of jeans and tennis shoes, then slung the bag over my shoulder, making sure all of the important things were in it.I rushed to Daisy’s room and woke her up, hating that I had to disturb her peaceful sleep.

“Mommy?What’s wrong?”she asked, her voice filled with sleep.

“We have to leave, baby.I need you to get up and put your shoes on for me, okay?”

I grabbed them and pulled a pair of socks out of her dresser before helping her.

“Where are we going?”She rubbed her eyes as she watched me.

“Someplace special and magical.But we have to hurry.”

I stood up and looked at her, her hair a mess on top of her head, as her bright eyes looked up at me with confusion.

“Can I take Uni with me?”

“Of course.”I smiled and grabbed her stuffed unicorn, tucking it into the duffel bag as I picked her up and made my way out of the apartment.She was too heavy to carry, but the thought of anything happening to her had me clutching her tight to my chest as she tried to wrap her legs around my waist to hold on.We got to the car, and I got her situated quickly before I jumped in and hit the gas, getting us out of there as fast as possible.