Page 14 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

“Pat, if my boss calls you again, I need you to promise that you won’t give him any information about me or where I’m at.Okay?”

“No, Julie, notokay.I have no idea what’s going on, so until I’m in the loop, I’m not promising shit.”

“It’s a lot to explain, and I can’t really talkfreelyright now, but please trust that I did what I had to do in order to keep me and Daisy safe.I don’t work for Joel anymore, and I won’t be returning to my apartment.”

“Is he...”

“I don’t know what you’re hinting at, but let’s just say the answer is yes.Whatever the worst thing is that you’re conjuring up in your mind—the answer is yes.Please do not send anything to the apartment, as he has access to it.For now, I will be here with Gage until the storm passes.After that, I will be looking at trading my car in for something different and changing my phone number.I may be off grid for a while, so I need you to understand that and maybe fill mom and dad in as needed.”

“I’m supposed to hear all of this and trust that you’re okay?Do you hear what you just said?”

“Yes.I am well aware of how bad things are right now, Patrick, and I am doing the best that I can.”

“I’m going to look at flights out and see how quickly I can get there,” Pat said.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“You’re my sister, Julie.There’s nothing in this world that will ever stand in my way of protecting you and Daisy.”

“I know, and I love you for that.But I need you to stay where you are for right now.You couldn’t get out here anyway.This blizzard is no joke, and the roads won’t be cleared for days.Just stay where you are, and I’ll keep you updated.Okay?”

“Fine.But I need you to do me a favor,” he said as Gage shifted beside me.

“That depends on what it is,” I replied flatly.

“Give the phone to Gage and take it off speakerphone.I need to speak privately with him.”

The color drained from my face as I let out a small whoosh of air.

“Pat, I don’t really think—”

“It’s fine,” Gage said reassuringly as he held his hand out for the phone.“I’ll be good.I promise.”

“I don’t know thatyou’rethe one I’m worried about.”

I shook my head and handed Gage the phone.

“I love you, Pat.Be nice.”

“I love you too, Jules.Tell my niece that I love her and I’ll see her soon for Christmas.”

I opened my mouth to question him about that, but Gage shook his head, so I let it go.I watched as he pressed the button to take the call off speakerphone and head to his bedroom so I couldn’t eavesdrop even if I wanted to.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly as I went into the living room and plopped down on the couch beside Daisy, where I could get lost in a fictional world for a little while.