Page 2 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

A single tear slid down my cheek as I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

This wasn’t the first time I had started my life over, but I would make sure it was the last.I didn’t have a plan until I thought about the last place that I truly felt safe and knew that was where I was going.

Two

Gage

Iwas headed to thegarage to look for a tool when a dark figure showing through the frosted window of the front door startled me.I stopped and furrowed my brow as I watched the doorknob rattle as if someone were picking the lock.It was a brave thing to do, especially since we were in the middle of the woods and I didn’t welcome visitors.

I flung the door open, ready to dismiss whoever was on the other side, but stopped when dark green eyes stared at me.They widened in disbelief as a reddish color tinted the cheeks that were pale from the frigid cold.A gust of wind pushed past us, sending an icy chill down my spine but I was frozen in place as I stared at her.

“Julie?”I asked, my voice sounding gruff and unwelcoming.“What are you doing here?”

“I...Um...”She pressed her lips together and then blew out a heavy breath as she stared back at me.

“Mommy, can we go inside already?My toes hurt,” a little voice said, immediately pulling my attention to the small child.

My heart leapt in my chest as I saw the little girl, her features almost identical to her mother, who still stood there, staring at me.

“Come inside,” I said, ignoring every question that was racing through my mind.

The little girl smiled at me and bounced inside as if she had been there a thousand times.

“Can I watch TV?”she asked, completely oblivious to her mother.

“Sure,” I replied cautiously.I had no idea whether Julie wanted her to watch TV or not.But that was because I had no idea what was going on.All that I knew for sure was that my former best friend’s little sister was standing in front of me with a bruise on her cheek that made my blood boil.“Get your ass inside the house, Julie.”

Suddenly, it was as if something snapped her out of her thoughts as she grabbed the suitcase beside her and came inside.

I closed the door and locked it, an uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach.

“Is it okay if I put something on the TV for her?”I asked, wanting to make sure the little girl was taken care of as she curled up on my couch and petted my dog.

“You don’t have to do that,” she rushed out quickly, her eyes scanning the room until they settled on her daughter.“Daisy, we aren’t staying so don’t get too comfortable.”

“But, Mom, there’s a doggie,” Daisy whined.“He likes me.Why aren’t we staying?You said this was where we were going to spend Christmas because it was magical when you were a chi—”