Page 8 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

“I had them changed twice before he informed me that if I changed them again, he would fire me for destruction of company property.”

“But that’s not company property—that’s your fucking apartment.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too.And then he showed me that he had taken over the monthly rent on my apartment, starting that month.He claimed that because I worked from home, that space was my office and the company was required to pay for it, just as they would for office space for any other employees.”

“Do other employees work from home, too?Does he pay their rent?”

“I don’t know.I’ve never been to the office, so I’m not sure if there are any other employees.It turns out I don’t know a lot about the man I’ve been supposedly working for the past four years.All of our video meetings were always just the two of us.I do data entry for him, so it’s not like I’ve had any reason to meet with anyone else.My job was always simple and he said it was to help him stay organized and on track.”She let out a nervous laugh.“I wouldn’t be surprised if the company doesn’t even exist and I’ve just been being played this entire time.”

“Julie, that’s fucking scary,” I said in disbelief.I scrubbed a hand down my face and let out a shaky, frustrated breath.“Where did you meet him?Didn’t you go in for an interview or something before you got the job?”

She shook her head as a few tears slid down her face.

“I met him right after Mike’s funeral.It was a few days after the service, and I was sitting at a café looking at job listings while Daisy slept in her stroller.I had dark sunglasses on to try to hide my grief, but I was so consumed by it.I didn’t know where to go or what to do.I didn’t want to end up a homeless, widowed, single mother wandering the streets with a baby she couldn’t afford to keep.I was desperate, and he must have sensed it.He sat at the table across from me, and when I started crying, he came over and offered me a tissue.He seemed so nice that I didn’t think twice before I told him my life story.I expected him to walk away, but instead, he offered me a job and it felt like the grief lifted slightly.There was hope when I thought I would never feel it again.I was so relieved to have a job that I accepted without asking any questions.”She tipped her head forward as more tears spilled down her face, as she covered it with her hands.“I was so stupid.So fucking stupid, Gage.After last night, I knew I had to leave.”

“What happened last night?”

“He came into my apartment uninvited, asking for a report I had been working on.When I went to get it, he made himself at home at my computer and was looking at my recent search history.He was pissed that I was looking at rental cabins in the middle of nowhere and attacked me.He hit me, and I fell to the ground as he stood over me, yelling about how I could never leave.I lied and said I was looking up places to take Daisy on vacation.I don’t know if he bought it or not, but it got him to stop.He left, but he said that I should remember he sees everything.I waited an hour or so after he left, then I grabbed what I could and we left.I drove straight here, not even giving it any thought that someone might be here.”She stopped for a second as tears welled in her eyes.“I just always felt safe here, and I wanted to feel that again.”

She closed her eyes and let herself cry as I scooted across the couch, closing the small gap between us, and pulled her into my arms.I held her as she fell apart, letting all of the weight of her emotions go as she wept against my chest.

I wanted to promise her that everything would be okay and that I would take care of them, but I didn’t want to do something stupid, like fall in love with my former best friend’s little sister.

Loving Julie was easy.It always had been.

But trying to keep myself from falling for her right now would be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

Five

Julie

Ihad slept so goodafter falling asleep in Gage’s arms that I hadn’t even noticed that he had tucked me into bed beside Daisy until I woke up to her arms wrapped around my stomach as she snored soundly beside me.I rubbed my eyes and looked around, feeling comforted that we were in the same room I had spent so many years of my childhood in.

The sun peeked through the sheer curtains, letting me know that it was time to get up.I didn’t want to wake her, so I gently pulled her arm off of me and slipped out of bed, thankful that it didn’t creak.The house was old, but it had been well-maintained over the years.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and crept out of the bedroom, pulling the door behind me.I didn’t want it all the way closed so I could hear her, but I also didn’t want anything to wake her up until she was ready to start her day.It had been a long day yesterday, with her being restless on our way up here and not sleeping in the car like I had wanted her to.