Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)

“No.”


Disappointment weighed heavily in her belly. She wanted to say that Fool’s Gold was a great town and the people were really friendly and that if he stayed they could... What? Fall in love? Gabriel didn’t want that. He didn’t want a wife and a family. He believed the risk wasn’t worth the reward. If he stayed she would want to spend time with him and doing that would most likely lead to getting her heart broken. Better for them both that he disappear while she was still in emotional control.

“You’re going back into the army?” she asked.

“I haven’t decided.” He looked up as it began to snow again. “According to my dad, I don’t get to leave. I owe them until I’ve done my twenty.”

“He doesn’t want you to choose?”

“Sure. As long as I choose what he wants me to.” He pointed straight ahead. “Trees,” he said.

She wasn’t sure if he was excited about the find or simply wanted to get her to change the subject. Regardless, she kept moving her legs through the thick snow, and watching for the perfect tree.

Chapter 9

Noelle shook her head.

Gabriel wanted to complain that this was the fifth tree she’d rejected, but he couldn’t blame her. Trees that grew in nature had a lot more flaws than groomed trees grown specifically for the holidays. One had an entire side missing, while another’s branches were oddly twisted. She would have done better picking one from the lot. Not that he was about to say that. She was getting more dejected by the minute.

Even though she was wearing a thick coat and a scarf, he could see her shoulders were slumped. Her hat had lost its jaunty angle and now simply hung down by her ears. He wanted to tell her that they would find what she was looking for, but he wasn’t sure it was out there. The perfect Christmas tree had been elusive this year.

Snow fell harder as they waded through the heavy drifts. They’d both worn heavy boots, but were getting soaked from boot tops to knees. The temperature was dropping.

“Noelle,” he began, not wanting to disappoint her, but unwilling to risk their safety. “We need to go back.”

She nodded without speaking.

“Hey,” he said, reaching for her. “You don’t have to—”

The rest of his sentence was swallowed by a rumbling sound as the trees above them suddenly lost all their snow. Huge clumps fell on top of them without warning, nearly burying them. Noelle screamed, then slid to the ground where she disappeared completely. He managed to stay standing, but found himself in waist-high banks.

“Noelle!”

He dove into the snow, reaching for her with both hands. She’d landed on her butt but had already pushed up her arms and was digging her way out. As he dragged her up, she pushed against the ground and managed to stand.

“You okay?” he asked as he ripped off his gloves, then brushed snow from her face. “Are you hurt?”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. “I was attacked by snow.”

“Or trees. Either way, I’m thinking nature isn’t your friend.”

“What happened?”

As she spoke, he checked her eyes and then urged her to take a couple of steps. Her balance was steady and she didn’t seem to be in pain.

“The snow got too heavy for the trees and it fell. It happens. At least it wasn’t an avalanche.”

She shivered. “I got snow down my back and in my boots.” She drew in a breath. “Okay, I’m done. There’s no perfect tree. I’m not going to win the window competition. We’ll just go with what we have.”

He drew her against him and kissed her cheek. “We’ll find you a nice domestic tree back in town.”

She nodded. “Okay. Sure.”

He didn’t like the resignation in her voice. His Noelle was exuberant and excited. She wanted to win the best Fool’s Gold window, or whatever the hell the contest was called.

“What happened to showing up with joy?”

“I’m too cold and I was attacked. My joy is temporarily beaten.”

“Let’s get you back to the truck,” he said, putting his arm around her waist and helping her wade through the drifts. The ax was heavy in his free hand. “You’ll feel better when you’re warm.”

She nodded, but didn’t speak. He felt her shivering. The cold seemed more intense and the snow fell harder. They used their own trail to make the going a little easier but eventually it filled in completely.

It was only when they were within sight of the house that Gabriel realized his mistake. It was snowing. They weren’t in town or even right off a highway. They were a quarter mile from a regular road that was three miles from a well-plowed highway. The little he could see of the truck wasn’t good. Snow came up past the bumper and it was getting dark.

Noelle looked up and saw the truck. “That’s a lot of snow.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Are we going to be able to drive out of here?”