“Me, too.” The smile she flashed him disappeared the moment she turned away from him and headed back to her car. She was screwed if she didn’t find her phone. Her phone was her life. It contained all her contacts, all the notes she was working on for work, her whole life was on that phone. Her breath shuddered through her body as she inhaled the cold, crisp, snow-laden air. All her photos were on that phone, it was as if someone had stolen her memories.
“It’s okay.” She breathed deeply. “Everything is backed up to the cloud. Nothing is lost.”
As she got in her car and dropped the phone that wasn’t hers on the passenger seat, she bit her bottom lip. That wasn’t true. She did have a device that wasn’t hers. It was right there on the seat next to her with no lock on the screen, she could use the phone. Not to call anyone, but to locate her own phone. All she needed was to log into the Find my Phone app and it would tell her exactly where her phone was.
She grabbed the phone and stared down at it. Surely the person who owned this phone would want her to bring it back to them.
Tapping the screen, she ignored the pictures of the smiling couple with the kid. Swiping the screen, she disregarded everything on the phone, it was none of her business what apps he had running or what music he had downloaded. She simply needed to get on the internet and log into her account.
“Done. Where are you, my friend?” She stared at the phone as a map of the area came up. She could see the road she was on, and there was her phone, a small blip flashing in the middle of nowhere.
Perhaps whoever had her phone had realized their mistake and thrown it out of the window. But as she zoomed in on the area, there was no road there. There was nothing there. A whole vast area of nothing.
Choices. She could either forget about her phone and go buy a new one, or she could drive to the place on the map and retrieve her phone. Zooming back out, she calculated the distance between her present location and the blinking blip on the stranger’s screen. Forty or fifty miles. A round-trip journey would take a couple of hours if she factored in actually getting out of the car and finding the phone. Ducking her head, she looked up at the sky, the moon now obscured by the ominous clouds building up, carrying the threat of snow. A lot of snow.
She tapped the phone screen once more and checked the weather forecast. No snow until tomorrow evening at the earliest.
She could either spend a couple of hours finding her phone now or else spend a couple of weeks cursing as she downloaded and logged into all the sites and apps she regularly used.
Groaning, she started the engine and headed in the direction she’d originally come from. The guy in the gas station watched her as she pulled onto the road, unaware that she could see him in her rearview mirror. Something about him gave her the creeps. This could all be a setup, she could be driving into an ambush. She’d watched enough movies to know how these things went. Stupid woman getting lured to a secluded location while the audience all shake their heads in despair. But she wasn’t too stupid to live.
If this were an ambush, they would be the ones begging for their lives. Or begging her not to break a few bones in their bodies. Gina could handle herself.
The miles dragged by as she closed the distance between the gas station and her phone. If the phone was still in someone else’s possession, they were staying put. The flashing blip hadn’t moved since she’d first located it. With only ten miles to go before she needed to turn off the road, she was confident someone had thrown the phone out of a car. Sure, there was no road nearby but there might be a dirt track that led to a cabin or something. A holiday home, somewhere to escape from the hectic world. Gina could relate.
Peace and quiet would be perfect, she had a big project to finish. However, when her brother got stranded away from his family, she had promised to spend Christmas with her sister-in-law and her nephew, Scott, who had boundless energy and a zest for life.
With only two days to go before Christmas, she’d gotten in her car, planning to outrun the snow as it covered the country in a thick white blanket. The detour for her phone was one she could do without.
“Wishing Moon Bay.” She read the sign as she drove past it and squinted at the phone’s flashing dot. There was no town by that name marked on the map. The mystery deepened as she passed the next sign. The turn-off up ahead to Wishing Moon Bay would possibly take her right to where her phone was.
If the turn-off was there. She certainly hadn’t seen a similar sign when she’d driven along this road a couple of hours ago. There’s no way she would’ve missed the sign and not noticed the turn-off since there was little else out here. This was one of the longest uninhabited stretches of road she’d traveled on today.
“But there you are.” She slowed the car and came to a stop at the turn-off. The road was narrow, the trees crowding in as if trying to hide the access to town. Maybe from the other direction, the signs were covered with foliage, and the entrance completely concealed.
Gina stared at the app on the phone that was not hers. It still hadn’t moved.
And she’d come this far.
Putting her foot down on the gas pedal, she turned down the road that led to her phone. That’s what she focused on when a tunnel loomed up ahead. A long dark tunnel that surrounded her in absolute darkness, only her headlights provided any light and even they seemed to be muted by the darkness. For a long moment or two, she contemplated stopping the car and backing up, all the way to the beginning of the tunnel. This wasn’t right, why wasn’t the road or tunnel on the map?
Then she saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The pinpoint grew bigger and she kept her foot on the gas, kept the car moving forward.
She broke out of the darkness into the light, the crescent moon hung low in the distance. Strange, she hadn’t been able to see the moon at all as she’d driven along the road leading to the tunnel. The heavy clouds had drowned out the moon and the stars, and yet here it was.
Gina wasn’t here to look at the moon, she was here to find her phone, and then she would turn around and head back out of town. A town that was not on her map. Maybe the app needed updating. Although, the buildings looked as if they had been here for hundreds of years. This wasn’t a new town that had grown up overnight. When she got her phone back, she’d complain to the people who made the app and tell them they needed to check their data.
“Right. Where exactly are you?” She stopped the car and checked the location of her phone. With no roads marked on the app, she’d have to figure out her own route.
A quick scan of the area gave her a direction to start in. She needed to head north.
Turning left, she steered the car down quiet streets, always correcting her course as she used the moon to guide her. The houses were spread farther apart, and the streetlights petered out as she drove toward the dot on the small map. Her confidence in the app failed as the road narrowed and headed uphill. Twisting and turning, the route took her past large houses that were set back from the road, their lights welcoming beacons in the dark, until they disappeared, too.
She was alone out here in the dark, her destination uncertain. Maybe her phone had been picked up by a bird that had dropped it from a height on the side of the mountain.
Gina would soon find out, she was very close. To her left, she spotted a narrow driveway, more of a track really, bordered by shrubby bushes that hid whatever was at the end of the trail. She stopped the car and assessed the situation. She’d come this far. Turning around now would be plain stupid. Or maybe driving down a narrow trail to a property hidden from view was a dumb move. She was too far away from town for anyone to hear her scream if things turned bad.
Wait. How did the person who took her phone know she would find them? It was a long shot that she would track them down.
She put the car in drive and crept forward, her headlights illuminating the way as the blip on her phone pulsed faster the closer she got. On either side of the car, the shrubby bushes thinned out until they opened to reveal a two-story log cabin
. Next to the cabin was a truck. The same truck that had been parked at the gas station when she left the first time. She’d noticed it as she’d pulled out onto the road to continue her journey.
It hadn’t been there when she arrived, the gas station clerk’s story added up. It seemed that this was simply a case of two people switching phones by accident.
Steering the car around in a half circle, she parked next to the truck, her vehicle facing away from the cabin in case she had to make a quick getaway. Sure, the mix-up with the phones hadn’t been anyone’s fault, but that didn’t mean the person she was about to confront was happy about the switch. Especially since she’d used his phone to enable her to track him. Some people got mighty angry about anything that threatened their privacy and whoever lived here must like their privacy. The cabin was tucked away and surrounded by trees and shrubs, the equivalent of a high wall if you lived out in the wild.
“Here goes nothing.” Gina picked up the phone, logged out of the app, and removed it from the device. She’d still have to explain how she managed to get here, how she’d managed to track the phone. As long as the person who opened the door was reasonable. If anything about the situation seemed odd, she’d simply swap phones and leave.
The first snowflakes drifted lazily down from the sky as she got out of the car. So much for the weather forecast.
Each breath she took produced a cloud of vapor as she walked to the cabin and mounted the steps. It was cold, very cold, the house was set high above the town, maybe higher than she’d calculated. It might be snowing here but the town might be clear. If she hurried, she could swap phones and get back on the road before she also got stranded.
Large, fluffy snowflakes drifted into her face as she stepped onto the porch and raised her hand to knock. Movement within alerted her to the presence of someone on the other side of the door and she tensed, her hand held up mid-knock as the door swung open. She let out a sharp breath, inhaling rapidly as a sense of unease covered her. She was totally overreacting. It made sense that he’d heard the car pull up outside and come to see who was there, the sound of the engine shattering the quiet seclusion of the cabin.
“Hello.” She flattened the palm of her hand, turning her knock into a wave, instantly felt stupid, and dropped her arm to her side. “I have your phone.”
“My phone.” He looked at her kind of weird, his eyes a little crazy and she instantly regretted her decision to come all the way up here alone.
“Yes, somehow they got swapped around at the gas station.” She held out his phone to him. “I put my phone down on the counter and forgot to pick it up.” She was in babbling free flow now. “And you must have put yours down and picked up mine by mistake. The cashier saw what he thought was my phone and put it behind the counter, but it turns out it was your phone. When I went back because I realized I’d forgotten my phone, he gave me your phone.”
“And you brought it back.” He reached out and took the phone, his forehead creased as he asked, “How did you find me?”
“Oh, I used an app. It tells you where your phone is if it gets stolen.” She held up her hands to him. “Not that I am accusing you of stealing my phone.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know, they just got mixed up. Anyway, the app led me here. I hope you don’t mind, I put it on your phone, I didn’t know what else to do, but I’ve deleted it now.” She took a gulp of cold air and breathed in snowflakes.
“Come in, I’ll get your phone.” He stood back, holding the door open for her to enter.
“Oh, I should get going, I have somewhere I need to be.” She half-turned to look at the snow. “I’m trying to outrun the snowstorm, the weather forecast said this wasn’t due until tomorrow, but here it is.” Here it certainly was, it was as if the heavy clouds had decided this was the perfect time and place to dump their entire contents. The snow was falling so fast she could hardly see her car even though it was only parked twenty feet away.
“You can’t drive in this.” He stepped out of the house and stood next to her on the porch. “You’ll get stranded. The cold could kill you.” His concern was sincere. Perhaps too sincere for a man she’d just met.
“Can we just swap phones? Then I’ll drive back into town. It might not be so bad down there. If I can get back through the tunnel, I might be able to outrun the snow.”
“Your phone.” He looked at her as if she were talking in a foreign language.
“Yes, I came here for my phone and gave you your phone.” Gina pointed at the phone in his hand. “So, if you could get my phone, I can leave you in peace.”
“No.” He put up his hand. “The snow is getting worse, it’s not safe.”
“Look, I need to get going.” The snow blew across the porch, the visibility was down to ten feet. He was right, she might need to get going but the weather had other ideas. She was stranded with a stranger in the snow.
Chapter Three – Dash
He had to figure out a way to keep her here. Although, the snow seemed to have taken care of that for now.
“Come in, I’ll grab your phone and you can wait out the storm here.” He stepped inside the house and she looked at him, unsure if she should simply run. Dash couldn’t blame her, he was a stranger and her parents probably taught her not to talk to strangers, let alone go into their house.
“I can wait it out in my car...” She planted her feet hip-width apart with no intention of moving.
Smart lady, his reindeer said. Stepping into the cabin could be the worst mistake of her life.
That’s not true, stepping into the cabin would be the best thing she’s ever done, we’re supposed to be together forever.
She doesn’t know that. I suspect she has no idea about shifters, let alone mates and everything that means. His reindeer was right, but Dash had to change her mind.
“I’ll get your phone.” He went inside the cabin and crossed the living room to the dresser where he’d placed her phone for safekeeping. “Here.” He handed her the phone. If he wanted her to stay, he had to give her the option to leave. Stepping into his house had to be her decision. If he lured her in with the phone, he would just arouse her suspicions.
And it’s not her suspicions we want to arouse. His reindeer snorted as he laughed at his own innuendo.
“Thanks.” She didn’t step forward to take hold of the phone, instead, she reached out as far as she could, her fingertips curling around the phone before she stepped away from him.
Snow swirled around her as she stood on the edge of the porch. Surely, she could see that there was no way of driving down off the mountain safely. Even with his knowledge of the road and terrain, he wouldn’t risk it.
Perhaps she really does need to get somewhere. Someone could be in danger or they could be sick in the hospital. There are numerous reasons someone has to be somewhere.
Then it’s our duty to help her. But helping her does not involve letting her get into her car and drive in treacherous conditions, the chances of her getting anywhere other than driving into a ditch are slim.
“You won’t get phone reception up here. Not in this weather.”
“Oh.” She looked up from her phone. “I wanted to text my sister-in-law and tell her I’m okay.” She tapped the screen and scrolled through to her messages. “She’s texted me a couple of times already to check up on me.” She half-turned to look over her shoulder at the snowstorm swirling around the house. “She’s expecting me tonight.”
“I’m sorry.” He inclined his head toward the house. “Please, come inside, it’s freezing out there.”
“I need to send her a message. So even if I drive back to town and send a message from there...” She stepped away from him. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
“I’ll come with you.” He couldn’t let her go.
“You don’t have to do that.” Fear flickered across her face.
“I can drive you in my truck. I have snow chains I can put on. My sister lives in town. We can drive ther
e and at least if we get stranded, you’ll have somewhere to stay.” It was the best plan he could come up with. Not ideal but at least they would be together.
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble. You’ve just gotten home, you have a fire going... I can’t ask you to come out into the cold.” She stepped down off the porch, but the wind buffeted her, and the snow settled on her coat and turned her hair white.
“Please, trust me. If you get in your car and try to drive down the road to town, I’ll be pulling you out of a ditch, or worse. The road surface is treacherous on the steep curves. Believe me, I’ve lived in Wishing Moon Bay my whole life, I’ve lived in this cabin for the last ten years, I know what I’m talking about.”
She sighed and shook her head as she mounted the steps back onto the porch. “Too stupid to live.”
“Excuse me?” He longed to reach out to her and pull her toward him. He had to be patient.
“When I came here. Before I knocked on your door, I was worried who might answer. If I was being stupid, putting myself in danger.”
“Ah, too stupid to live. I get it.”
She dug her hands in her coat pockets. “Now I’m planning on doing the exact same thing. If I ignore your advice and risk driving down from here, I might hurt myself or worse.”
“Does that mean you’ll come in out of the cold while we figure out a plan?” He arched an eyebrow at her as she stared at him. “I’m Dash, by the way.” He thrust out his hand to her.
“Gina.” She hesitated before she took her hand out of her pocket and slid it into his. “Wow, you have warm hands.”
“And yours are freezing.” He held onto her for one long moment, the touch of her skin against his sending his heart racing and the blood thundering in his brain. The whole world faded away, he couldn’t see the snow, all he could see was her. Gina. Their mate. “Please come inside.”
Gina slipped her hand out of his and nodded. “I don’t have much choice, do I?”
“You always have a choice. You could stay out there and risk freezing, or come inside while we work out a plan.”
Dashing Home for Chrstmas Page 2