Snow Day

by Shannon Stacey, Jennifer Greene

  But he couldn’t picture himself in Tucker’s Point, either. Sure, he’d bonded with people again. There were old friends, like Donnie Cox. His parents and his sister and Mike. And there was Noah. The kid had weaseled his way under his uncle’s skin and visits to the kid would be frequent. He’d make sure the boy could Skype before he could even talk.

  But nothing changed the fact Tucker’s Point was a place he’d left behind for a reason and he’d never intended to look back.

  * * *

  WEDNESDAY MORNING MIGHT have been quiet and slow, but Wednesday evening was anything but. Delaney and Alice had barely gotten the dinner mess cleaned up when they got a call over the radio. One of the market’s generators was failing and they were shutting down the freezers in an effort to keep the other one going.

  One of the road crews was coming in for a much-needed break and they were bringing an impromptu ice cream party with them. Jenny, who ran the market, had even donated some toppings and whipped cream, and the kids were practically losing their minds over the build-your-own-sundae buffet they’d set up.

  Sure, it was a lot of sugar, but most of the parents were so relieved to have a fun distraction they weren’t even thinking about bedtime yet.

  “Maybe an adult should be in charge of the jimmies,” Brody muttered to Delaney.

  “That’s no fun.” Spending hours sweeping up chocolate sprinkles wasn’t going to be fun, either, but at least it was something to do.

  “Only in Maine do we have an ice cream party in the middle of an ice storm.”

  She laughed, then gave Jason a subtle shake of her head to signal enough with the whipped cream. His leaning tower was going to end up on the floor if he wasn’t careful. “I wonder what the rules are on using the pots and pans sink as a bathtub. There aren’t enough paper towels in Tucker’s Point to get these kids unsticky now.”

  “If it has a sprayer attachment, I say we line them up and hose them down.”

  There was a lot of laughter, more than a few spills and chocolate stains abounded, but everybody had a great time. They really needed it, Delaney thought. The adults were worried about their homes. They had jobs they weren’t getting paid to do and bills they’d have to pay. There were trees down and Delaney had heard a lot of worry about property damage voiced. And the kids just wanted to go home.

  Tonight, though, spirits were high. Delaney even helped herself to a second serving of the strawberry ice cream. They’d be throwing away what was left, anyway, as the cartons were already starting to melt through. And she’d burn off the excess calories cleaning up the mess.

  The fun went on for well over an hour before the little tummy aches began and the adults did a little groaning themselves. The mostly empty cartons of ice cream and all the paper bowls and plastic spoons were disposed of and all that remained was dealing with the sticky mess left behind.

  “I think we’re going to break out the bleach water for this,” Delaney said, eyeing the gobs of melted ice cream covering the tables.

  “Does that mean a trip to the supply closet?” Brody whispered in her ear.

  “Are you offering to help clean up?”

  “I’ll wash anything you tell me to if it gets me two minutes alone with you.”

  They made the most of those two minutes, too. Their kisses were fervent and sweet like strawberry ice cream. They were both breathing hard when she finally took him by the shoulders and pushed him away. “The longer we’re in here, the harder it gets to scrub the ice cream off the tables.”

  “I don’t care.”

  She cared. Not about the ice cream, but about the fact they didn’t have a condom and she was this close to doing something really stupid and irresponsible. “Your two minutes is up.”

  “One more.”

  “Just a quick one.”

  But Brody apparently didn’t do quick kisses. His mouth was firm and demanding and he kissed her until every care and worry she’d ever had slipped away. All that mattered was this moment—his lips on hers and their breaths mingling—and she didn’t want it to ever end.

  It was a no doubt scandalous ten minutes before they entered the gym with the buckets, and thankfully Brody had stopped her in the hall to straighten her sweatshirt. They hadn’t done anything irresponsible, but he’d stretched just one quick kiss into a full-fledged make-out session that had her feeling both exhilarated and frustrated at the same time.

  It was tempting to ask Mike to give them a ride to her house. His truck would make it, and she didn’t even care if she had heat or not. Brody would keep her warm.

  But she couldn’t ask the father of a newborn to risk life and limb so she could have sex. That would be wrong. Instead, she channeled that unspent energy into scrubbing all the evidence of their ice-cream party away.

  They’d had to shove some of the cots out of the way and put up some extra tables to hold the frozen bounty, and Brody enlisted the help of Donnie Cox to put them away as Delaney cleaned them. With Alice running the dry mop around the floor, catching stray jimmies, the cleaning up wasn’t as bad as Delaney had anticipated.

  “Rumor has it the storm’s supposed to let up tonight,” Donnie said after they put the last table away and straightened out the cots for the people who were using them. “Bet you’ll be glad to get out of here.”

  Brody snorted. “You got that right.”

  His words hit Delaney square in the heart, almost taking her breath away. He hadn’t even hesitated. He was so eager to leave Tucker’s Point he hadn’t had to think twice about his answer.

  Delaney was a big girl. She knew he was leaving town. The man had a business to run and no doubt things were piling up and putting him behind schedule while he was stuck in the shelter. But, for once, she wanted to be first in his mind when he thought about leaving and she wanted the thought of leaving her to give him pause. For a few seconds, at least.

  The two helpings of ice cream she’d enjoyed turned over in her stomach, but Brody didn’t seem to notice the joy had leeched out of her evening. Donnie was showing him something in a magazine and they weren’t paying any attention to her.

  Unable to think about anything but how eager Brody seemed to be to see Tucker’s Point—and her—in his rearview mirror, she peeled off the rubber gloves and dropped them next to the bucket.

  She needed some air or she was going to have an emotional breakdown. That couldn’t happen. Maybe she wasn’t any stronger now than she’d been five years ago, but she would pretend she was if it killed her.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  BRODY SPENT ABOUT ten minutes looking for Delaney before Alice finally told him she thought she’d gone outside.

  “Why would she go outside?”

  Alice shrugged. “I don’t know. But she had her coat and her boots on.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to demand to know why the volunteers didn’t take better care of each other, but Delaney was a grown woman. If she wanted to go outside, it wasn’t anybody’s business but hers.

  And his. Whatever she was doing, she shouldn’t be doing it alone.

  It took him another few minutes to change into his boots and put his coat on, so he knew she’d been out there at least fifteen minutes. He didn’t like that idea, and he prayed it had nothing to do with him shoving his foot in his mouth earlier.

  After Delaney disappeared without a word to him, it took Brody a little while to figure out what he’d done wrong. When he’d agreed with Donnie he couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there, he’d meant the gymnasium. He was really tired of being in an oversize jail cell with these people, whether some were family or not.

  There was no doubt in his mind Delaney assumed he meant Tucker’s Point. And, yes, he’d be leaving town. He had responsibilities. But he intended to leave in a very different way than he had the first time. Unfortunately, he hadn�
�t told her that, and she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion.

  After telling his old man he was going outside to find Delaney, he also let the volunteer manning the clipboard know and stepped outside into the storm. Rumor or not, it didn’t seem to be abating quite yet, though there was less ice and more snow. That was a good sign.

  The driving wind was so cold he was almost afraid to blink in case his eyelids froze closed. After pulling the collar of the coat a little higher around his neck, Brody looked around. He didn’t see Delaney, but there were tracks leading around the corner of the building, so he followed them. The dusting of snow over ice made for treacherous footing and several times he had to brace his hand against the cold brick to keep from slipping.

  Once he’d reached the corner, he saw the bright red of her coat. She was standing in a semi-enclosed area off what looked like a delivery dock, and she shook her head when she saw him coming. It didn’t stop him.

  Stepping under the overhang with her was a relief not only because he hadn’t fallen, but the walls blocked most of the wind and ice. It wasn’t exactly warm, though, even without the wind chill, so he shoved his hands back his pockets.

  “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

  She shrugged, even though she was shivering a little. “I needed some fresh air.”

  “Kind of hard to tell if it’s fresh when it freezes your sinuses solid every time you inhale.”

  “Wimp.”

  Snorting, he moved closer to her. Maybe it was a subconscious attempt to share body heat or maybe he just wanted to be near her, but he was disappointed when she took a step back. “You should go inside. It’s too cold to be out here.”

  “Why couldn’t you leave me alone, Brody?”

  Her words—and the sound of unshed tears in her voice—sliced through him. “We’ve been trapped in a gym together. There’s only—”

  “You could have ignored me. You could stayed in the corner with your sister and the baby. Talked to your parents and your old friends. You could have left me alone.”

  “No. I couldn’t.” Tears shimmered in her eyes and he cursed himself for being a selfish ass. “Once I saw you again, I couldn’t stop myself from being near you.”

  “I still have the note you left the first time, so don’t bother wasting the two minutes to write another when you leave.”

  He wanted to reject her words—to claim they were unfair—but he deserved her anger. She had no reason to trust he wouldn’t leave her like that again. “When I told Donnie I couldn’t wait to get out, I meant the gym. I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to get the hell out of there at the first opportunity.”

  “But you’re going to leave Tucker’s Point, too.”

  “You know I have to. I have a business.”

  She took a deep breath and the way it shuddered when she exhaled broke his heart. “I know that. I do. I’ve been telling myself that over and over.”

  “That doesn’t mean I have to leave you behind again.” He was winging it, just letting what he felt come out with almost no filter. “Come with me.”

  Her eyes met his, filled with surprise. “I can’t just leave.”

  “Why not? I’ve done it. It’s easier than you think.”

  Now that he’d said it, he felt as if it was the right thing. He could sell his condo and they could buy a nice house somewhere. He’d do his research and find a town with a top school system. They’d have kids and buy a black Lab and live the American dream.

  “It was easy for you because you didn’t want to be here, Brody. This is my home. I love this town. I love the people here. And the ocean. I love watching the fishing boats come in and the tourists walking through town. I take pride in how much they enjoy being here.”

  “Why the hell are you talking about tourists?” Brody had always hated the tourists. They turned their nose up at the smells and the grubbiness that came with the industry that built the quaint little town they’d chosen to spend their vacation in. “I’m talking about you and me, Delaney. I don’t give a damn about watching yuppies buy their kids ice cream and Tucker’s Point T-shirts.”

  “I grew up in my house. This is where I’m from. It’s not as simple as packing a bag and getting in your car.”

  “Of course not.” He blew out a harsh breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean you had to run away with me the second the roads were open. But we could work toward you coming to Connecticut.”

  “You’re from here, too. Your family’s here. Why can’t you come home?”

  Because the idea of living in Tucker’s Point again filled him with dread. Because, on some level, wouldn’t it mean he’d failed? He’d worked so hard to shake his hometown. “This isn’t my home anymore.”

  Brody saw he’d made a horrible mistake when Delaney’s face fell, frustration giving way to resignation.

  Her eyes were sad when she looked at him. “Someday you’ll meet a woman who means more to you than where you live. It wasn’t me five years ago and I guess it still isn’t me.”

  “No, Delaney, it’s not—”

  She shoved by him, nearly knocking him over. “It’s over, Brody. Just...please leave me alone until you can run away again.”

  He called after her, but she didn’t look back. Maybe it was for the best. He wasn’t sure he could say what she wanted to hear, anyway. Going around and around would only make it hurt more.

  Ducking his head against the wind, he made his way back to the gym. He didn’t see Delaney when he walked in and he forced himself not to seek her out. She’d made it pretty clear she had nothing else to say to him.

  Even in the confines of the school gym, she’d managed to leave him just as surely as he’d left her the first time. He’d thought leaving her had hurt. It hurt so much more being on the other end.

  * * *

  DELANEY KNEW FROM the second she opened her eyes on Thursday morning that Brody would leave today.

  There was a stillness surrounding the school and the sun already shone brightly through the high, narrow windows. Mother Nature was over her hissy fit and, as what passed for normal New England weather, it was going to be a gorgeous winter day.

  While it might take the power crews a while to restore electricity to everybody’s homes, the road crews were probably already out. With the streets treated and their parents around to help Sandy with Noah, Brody could probably be on the road by noon.

  The pain was already a slow throbbing in her heart, and Delaney wondered—not for the first time—if she’d made the right decision when she told him she wouldn’t leave town with him. She loved him. She’d never stopped loving him.

  But Tucker’s Point was her home. She’d always felt like the community was almost family and that feeling had only deepened since she’d started working at the town hall. It was a brutal choice. The man she loved versus everything and everybody else she loved.

  With a weary sigh, she pushed back her blanket and, after grabbing her bag, went into the bathroom to clean up. If the power crews came through, it could be a busy day as people left. Delaney and at least one other volunteer would stay until the last person could go home, and then they’d have to put everything away and restore the shelter back to school-gym status.

  She’d just finished brushing her teeth when the door swung open and Sandy walked in. She looked surprised to see her, so at least Delaney knew she hadn’t been ambushed by Brody’s sister. “Good morning.”

  “Morning,” Sandy said, setting her bag on the counter. “I don’t know about good. Not filling the kids with ice cream right before bedtime should be written into the emergency management guidebook for future reference.”

  Delaney laughed. “I didn’t think some of those kids would ever settle down. But at least they slept in a little this morning.”

  “So...want t
o tell me what happened?”

  “Too much ice cream.”

  Sandy rolled her eyes and dug in her bag for a washcloth. “Don’t be a smart-ass. What happened with you and Brody?”

  “He asked me to go to Connecticut. I said no. I asked him to come home to Tucker’s Point. He said no. That’s what happened.”

  She managed to beat back the urge to sob and said the words matter-of-factly. That wasn’t how she felt, though. Inside she was a hot mess and she just wanted to go home and have a good, long cry.

  “You guys belong together. You always have.”

  “I wish you were right, Sandy. But I guess not.”

  “Can’t you compromise? Find some other small town to live in. Closer to Tucker’s Point than Connecticut, but without Brody feeling like he’s back where he started.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  Delaney meant what she’d said to Brody outside. Someday you’ll meet a woman who means more to you than where you live. She desperately wished she was that woman, but he’d made it very clear she wasn’t.

  “It could be that easy,” Sandy said. “But you’re both being stubborn.”

  Said the woman who fell in love at first sight with a man who adored her, and who got the wedding, the baby and cute house without shedding a single tear of heartbreak.

  “I have to get started on breakfast,” Delaney said, grasping any excuse to escape the conversation.

  Alice already had a head start on the coffee, so Delaney broke out the supplies she’d need to scramble dozens of eggs and make several loaves of bread worth of toast. Parents already knew they could help themselves to the cold cereal for any kids who turned up their noses at eggs.

  She heard Brody’s voice before she saw him, talking to somebody in line, and she cursed the spatula for shaking in her hand as she scrambled the third batch. Glancing up quickly, she saw he was still several people down the line, talking with his parents. Groaning mentally, she tried to focus on the pan in front of her.