“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea,” he murmured, standing up. Mia watched as he walked to the kitchen and began turning off all the lights. When they were practically in the dark, he was standing in front of her, holding out his hand. “Come on, beautiful girl. Let’s go to bed.”
It was the first time in…well…ever…that those words didn’t inspire any sexy time. She knew they would go to bed and simply hold each other while they took turns crying.
It was the perfectly depressing way to end an even more depressing day, but she wasn’t going to fight it. Deep down, she knew he was right. Maybe if she let herself cry it out, tomorrow she’d be able to hold it together when all the decisions had to be made. So with a sigh of resignation, Mia put her hand in his as she came to her feet. Together, they slowly made their way to the bedroom.
Neither said a word as they went through their regular routines–brushing their teeth, getting undressed–and when they crawled into bed and met in the middle, she found that she felt utterly lost and yet completely comforted at the same time. Together they had weathered so many things, and they’d handle this as well. It was the first time, however, that Austin was just as emotional as she was and it was heartbreaking to watch her strong man crumble like this.
So for tonight, they would hold each other and shed all their tears. And maybe–just maybe–tomorrow would be a better day.
The sound of a phone ringing woke her up.
Mia slowly sat up and pushed her hair away from her face as she tried to get her bearings. She knew she’d turned her phone off last night, but apparently Austin hadn’t done the same with his. She turned to ask him where his phone was, but he wasn’t there.
“O-kay…,” she murmured as she rose from the bed. The phone was still ringing and he hadn’t answered it, so she was more than mildly concerned. “Austin?”
No answer.
Now she was definitely concerned. Walking out of the bedroom, she called his name again and received no answer. By the time she found his phone on the kitchen counter, it stopped ringing.
Where on earth could he go?
Even with only a glance out the back doors, Mia could see it was still snowing. It wasn’t until she walked by the doors again that she saw the footprints. It took a moment for her to spot him, but she did. Somehow Austin had managed to clear a small path across the deck and was standing near the steps that led down to the beach. Even without seeing his face, she could read the tension in his body.
It was far too cold for her to open up the doors while she was still in her pajamas, so she shuffled back to the bedroom and slipped on a pair of leggings, a sweatshirt, socks, and her Uggs. She wasn’t fashionable, but she would be warm.
“Or I will be once I grab my coat and gloves,” she told herself as she went to grab them from the closet.
He didn’t turn when she slid the doors open, and she shuddered at how icy the air was. It wasn’t until she was standing beside him that he moved.
“It doesn’t seem real,” he said, his voice oddly void of emotion. “I couldn’t sleep and I went out to the living room and stood and watched the sun come up. I kept thinking that maybe it was all a trick–like maybe I was seeing things because I was inside.” Then he shook his head. “But as soon as I stepped out here, I knew I was just crazy.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” she told him, slipping her arm through his. “I think it just hit me as I walked through this path you made just how real this is. Yesterday wasn’t a dream or a nightmare. This snow is real and it hasn’t stopped yet.”
He didn’t look at her. “Later today. The last report I watched said it’s expected to stop by mid-afternoon. Not that it’s going to do us any good.”
And then something snapped in him. A primal roar came out that made her jump. She’d never heard anyone make that kind of sound–it was part pain and part anger and it seemed to go on and on. When he finally stopped, his shoulders sagged, and that’s when he finally looked at her.
“I wanted to come out here and find a way to make things right–to make it up to you.” His voice was hoarse and raw and Mia was certain his throat must feel like it’s on fire. “I used a damn cookie sheet to shovel this path. It took me an hour to go the ten feet, and for what?” He shrugged. “We’re stranded here with nothing. And now…ow!” He frowned at her as she shook out her hand. “What the hell?”
She’d punched him.
Partly to get his attention and partly because she was just so damn frustrated with this entire situation and him taking all the blame.
“That is enough,” she snapped. “We can choose to keep sitting and wallowing in our rotten luck, or we can go inside where it’s warm and behave like two intelligent adults and figure out where we go from here.” She huffed out a breath and started walking back toward the house. “Are you coming?”
He didn’t respond, but she heard his heavy footsteps behind her.
Thank God. Another five minutes out in the snow and she would be a human popsicle. It was amazing how she grew up with winter weather like this, yet a few years away from it and it bothered her so much.
Once inside with the doors firmly shut, Mia walked over to make them some coffee. “Someone called you but I didn’t get out here in time to answer it.” While their coffee was brewing, she walked over to her own phone and turned it back on.
And saw she had fifteen missed calls.
“It’s only a little after eight and it’s already begun,” she sighed. As much as she wanted to look and see exactly who called and when, she needed her coffee first. And maybe something to eat.
Within minutes, she placed two mugs on the kitchen table and sat down. Austin was scrolling on his phone and never responded with who his missed call was from, but she didn’t let it bother her. Instead, she took a scorching sip from her mug and picked her phone back up.
Meet Me at the Altar had called eight times.
Sydney had called twice.
Her mother called three times.
Jill had called once.
And Mrs. Henderson had called.
Just the thought of her beautiful cake going to waste was almost enough to make her start crying again, but she mentally talked herself out of it. No more crying, she told herself, at least not now. Later, after all the calls were made and all the arrangements settled, she’d go and take a hot bath and cry all she wanted. But for right now, it was time to be responsible and take care of things like a big girl.
As soon as Mia got on her first call, Austin rose from the table with his phone and coffee and walked upstairs to his office. He sat down at his desk and let out a long breath as he resigned himself to having all the awkward conversations with friends and family today. Thankfully, this first one would be the least painful of the bunch.
Pulling up his missed call log, he hit the last number and got comfortable.
“Hey, Austin. I didn’t call too early, did I?”
“Hey, Ryder,” he replied, and did his best not to sound overly melancholic. “You’re fine. I couldn’t sleep and was out on the deck when you called. Where are you?”
“Peyton and I flew back late Thursday night and we’re currently at my rental. Well,” he quickly amended, “our rental.”