Santa's Posse (17 page)

She conceded the
point with a nod.  Suddenly, she remembered that she didn’t like driving in the
snow, regardless of the distance.  “I just thought of something.  I’m not
comfortable driving in the snow at all.”

“Who’s planning on
driving in the snow?” 

Kellie and Jill
turned to Miles, who stood in the doorway.  “Lots are clearing out fast,” he
remarked, and then gave a relieved smile.  “No cars, no theft of cars, or
contents of said cars,” he said, weighing the remark with a side to side shake
of his head.

“Well, that’s good
news,” Jill commented, and then perked up even more.  “Miles, this weather’s
going to keep you from going to your sister’s tomorrow, isn’t it?”

He nodded.  “Yep,
it’s too dangerous to be on the roads—even with four-wheel drive.”

“Come to my
place!” she said eagerly.  “You can drive Kellie over with you.”

He turned to
Kellie.  “Does that work for you?”

She nodded.  “If
it works for you.”

“Are you sure
you’re up for additional guests?” he asked Jill.

“Absolutely.  I
always buy more food than we’ll ever eat.  I have plenty.”

He ventured a
glance at Kellie.  “Can I drive you over then?”

“That would be
great,” she told him.  “I really don’t like driving in the snow.”

“You?” he said,
feigning surprise.  “I half-expected to see you out in the parking lot, doing
cookies in the snow.”

“Why would you say
that?” she said, laughing with surprise.

“Oh, I don’t
know,” he said with a shrug.  “Maybe it’s your daredevil tendencies.”

“I don’t have daredevil
tendencies,” she declared with a huff.  “I have never done a ‘cookie’ in my
life.  Just so you know, I take driving very seriously.  It’s a privilege, not
a right.”

He chuckled good
naturedly.  “Well, that’s something, anyway.” 

Kellie wasn’t sure
what he meant by the remark, but didn’t have time to ask, since he turned back
to Jill.  “Thanks for the invitation.  We’ll be there.  What time do you want
us?”

She paused in
thought.  “We’ll eat at five, so why don’t you come by around three so we can
visit for awhile before the meal.  George’s daughter and her family are coming
then.”

***

“Brrrrrrr,” Kellie
said as she climbed into the cab of Miles’ truck the next day. 

He closed the door
behind her and climbed into the driver’s seat.  “It’ll warm up in just a second
or two,” he assured her.  “You probably should have brought a warmer coat.”

“Couldn’t find it,
or my other coats,” she said.  “I was fortunate I found this one a few weeks
ago.”

“Other coats still
in boxes?” he asked with surprise.

“Maybe,” she said
honestly.  “But I can’t find the boxes.”

He gave her a
sideways glance, chuckled, and started up the truck.  Shifting into four-wheel
drive, he carefully steered out of the condo parking lot.  Once on the roadway,
Kellie noted that the roads were practically devoid of cars.  In fact, they
didn’t see another vehicle until they pulled onto a major thoroughfare. 

Miles adjusted the
heat, sending the vents toward her.  Despite the heaters, her teeth chattered. 
“Scoot over here,” he told her, watching her with concern. 

“Oh, I’ll be
fine,” she told him.

“Really, you’re
going to catch a cold.”

She gave him a
hesitant glance.  Should she scoot closer to him?  She knew from experience
that having his arm around her wasn’t without its perks, and she
was
freezing.  She hoped she wasn’t fighting a cold.  The thought took her by
surprise.  She desperately hoped she wasn’t coming down with something, because
she was about to expose a room full of people to it.  Heck, she was currently
exposing him to it.

“Really, move over
here.  You’re going to get sick.”  He winced.  “I should have given you one of
my coats.”

“I’m fine,” she
assured him.

He glanced at her
briefly.  “Move closer.”

This time, she
unbuckled her belt and slid closer to him, hurriedly belting herself in again. 
He draped an arm over her, pulling her close.  Suddenly, prickles of pleasure
warmed her skin.  There was just something about being close to him that warmed
her heart and body. 

Good grief, she thought,
what was happening to her?  Was she … falling for him?  She had decided she
wasn’t interested in a relationship, had made the decision to avoid anything
and anyone that might lead to one, yet, here she was.

Did she want to
fall for him? she wondered with alarm.  But then, he had told her he had
feelings for her, and she hadn’t tried to squelch his hopeful declarations that
he wanted to get to know her better and spend more time with her.  What harm
would come from getting to know him better? she wondered.  How would she know
if she wanted to spend time with him if she didn’t spend time with him?

“Kellie, are you
all right?” he asked.  “You look a little…”

“What?”

“Confused.”

“Oh, no, I’m
fine,” she assured him.  “Just thinking.”

“Anything you want
to talk about?” he asked, pulling her even closer to his side and briskly
rubbing her arm to warm her up.

“Uh…”  She
couldn’t manage a coherent thought, so she certainly couldn’t manage a coherent
sentence. 

“Kellie, are you
okay?” he repeated, watching her with concern.  To her dismay, he pulled the
truck to the side of the road, shifted into park, and then checked her forehead
for fever.  “You’re burning up!”

“I am?” she said
dazedly.  She checked her own forehead.  “Are you sure?”

He felt her
forehead again, this time touching her cheeks too.  “Your cheeks are purple.  You’re
on fire!”

She hurriedly
unbuckled the belt and launched herself to the other side of the truck. 
“Miles, I am so sorry!  I didn’t even realize.  I thought I was cold because
it’s … cold outside.”

“I know you didn’t
know,” he assured her.

“But what if you
catch it?!”

He gave a rueful
chuckle.  “I’ll take a day or two off work.  Heck, it’ll be like a vacation.”

She gave him a
dubious glance.  “Right.”  She sighed.  “Do you mind taking me home, and then
you can drive over to Jill’s.  I can’t risk getting her or George’s family
sick.  I feel bad enough that I’ve exposed you.”  She frowned.  “I haven’t been
sick in so long, I guess I just didn’t even realize I was coming down with
something.”

“It’s going around
the mall,” he told her, and pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket. 
“Do you know Jill’s phone number off hand?”

She recited the
number and he dialed, filling her in on Kellie’s illness.  “Yes, she has a
fever,” he told her.  “I’m going to take her home.”  He was silent, listening. 
“Yes, I plan to stay with her.  She probably needs a bowl of chicken noodle
soup and hot lemon.”  He flashed a smile.  “Yes, I can heat up a can of soup,
Jill.”  He laughed.  “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

“Miles!” she
cried.  “You are
not
staying with me!  You’ll catch it for sure then. 
I’m not going to risk exposing you further.  Besides, I won’t be the reason you
miss Jill’s delicious Thanksgiving dinner.  I won’t have that on my
conscience.”  She pulled her coat up over her face and cracked a window. 

“Close that
window!” he insisted.  “You’re going to catch pneumonia.”

When she didn’t
comply, he simply closed the power window from the driver’s side door panel.  She
gave him a chagrined glance.  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Okay, I’ve been
warned,” he said with a chuckle, as he turned the truck around and headed back
to her place.

Kellie lay on the
couch, wrapped in a blanket, attempting to stave off the chills.  She had just
eaten a partial bowl of canned chicken soup, and was sipping the hot lemon
Miles had made for her.  She had implored him to leave, but he had refused to
go.

“You’re going to
get sick,” she muttered, for the umpteenth time.

“I never get
sick,” he declared smugly.  He reached across the couch, checked her for fever
again, and then settled onto the couch with the remote in his hand.  “What
looks good on TV?”

She shook her head
and yawned.  “I have no idea.  But whatever you decide to watch, it should be
on your own television set.”

“You are bound and
determined to get rid of me,” he said with a bemused expression on his face.

“I don’t want you
catching this,” she declared with frustration. 

“So you’ve said,”
he said, ignoring her pointed look.  He channel surfed for awhile, finally
settling on an old movie Kellie hadn’t seen for some time.  “I’ve always liked
this movie,” he commented, easing himself back on the couch and settling in to
watch.

She felt her
eyelids growing heavy.  She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but wasn’t
comfortable sleeping in front of him.  Her nose was plugging up, her whole body
ached, and she was certain she wouldn’t be a pretty sight if she were to fall
asleep.

He apparently
noticed her fatigue.  “Go to sleep,” he commanded, and to her surprise, reached
for her and pulled her close to him.  He settled her beside him, checked her
forehead again for fever.  He was relieved to find that the tablets he’d given
her earlier had caused her fever to go down.  He tugged a blanket around her. 
Within moments, she drifted off.

When she woke a
couple hours later, he was watching a ball game.  He turned when he felt her
stir.  “Feeling any better?” he asked.

She shook her head
and glanced at a wall clock in the kitchen.  “It’s late,” she said, noticing
her throat was sore.

He nodded. 

“You should go
home,” she croaked.  “Really, I appreciate your concern, but I’m going to feel
horrible if you catch this.”

He shrugged. 
“I’ve been exposed already,” he pointed out, but relented.  “I know you’d
probably like to go to bed.”

She nodded.  “I
probably will.  And you need to go home, shower, take anything you have in your
cabinets that might stave off a bad cold, and then get some sleep yourself. 
You look awfully tired.”

“I took a quick
nap while you were sleeping,” he told her.  “But I will go home.  Will you call
me if you need me?”

She smiled
softly.  “No, but I appreciate the fact that you’d come if I did call.”  She
reached out to squeeze his arm.  “When you catch this in four to seven days,
I’ll return the favor and make you soup and hot lemon.”

“I don’t get sick,”
he said again, smugly.

“Yeah, famous last
words,” she said.

***

The next day,
Kellie woke early.  She still felt miserable and feverish.  Her whole body
hurt.  She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed for the day, but knew she
couldn’t.  As much as she hated the idea of going to work and spreading her
germs around the mall, she knew she could not miss this particular work day. 
It was Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year.

She hoisted
herself out of bed and walked slowly toward the bay window in her bedroom.  To
her surprise, the snow had melted and the roads were clear.  It was raining. 
Good news for the mall merchants. 

She took a long,
hot shower, drank tea, since food of any kind didn’t appeal to her, and then
headed off to work.  Jill was already in the office when she arrived.  She took
one look at Kellie, who held a scarf across her nose and mouth, and rose from
her desk.

“Oh, you look
awful!”

“I feel awful,”
she said.  “But I’ll try to keep my germs to myself.”

“Go home.”

“I can’t.  It’s
Black Friday.”

“Look,” Jill said,
attempting to reason with her.  “I promise you I can hold down the fort.  Go home. 
If something comes up that I can’t handle, I’ll call you.  You can answer
questions from home as well as you can from here.”

She appeared to be
considering the offer, but finally shook her head.  “I’ll stick around as long
as I can.  Jill, I’m sorry about yesterday.  I really wanted to make it to your
house, but I couldn’t risk infecting you or George’s family.”

“I know.”

“And I wouldn’t
have brought my germs here, if it wasn’t the…”

“Biggest shopping
day of the year,” Jill interjected.  “I know.  Well, you just hang in there and
we’ll get through this day as best we can.”

“I’ll keep my door
closed,” she said.  “And now you’d better grab that can of disinfectant spray
from the storage closet, to assure you kill any pesky germs I leave behind.”        

Jill did comply,
spraying the office, lest someone stop by and suffer exposure. 

Miles dropped by
soon after.  “Sorry we couldn’t make it yesterday,” he told her.  “Kellie was
really sick.”

“I know.  She
looks terrible.  Poor thing.”

“She came to work
today?” he said, surprised.

She nodded.  “Just
couldn’t bring herself to miss Black Friday.”

He groaned with
frustration, shook his head, and headed straight for her office.  He found her
at her desk, her head resting on her arms.  She glanced up and offered a
half-hearted smile.

“What are you
doing here?” he demanded.  “You should be home in bed.”

She blinked under
his riveting gaze and then sneezed.  She promptly waved him away.  “Get out of
this office.  I’m a walking germ!”

“I’ve been
exposed,” he said tiredly.  “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

“Oh, sure, in your
free
time,” she said, waving off the offer.  “What’s on your agenda for
today?  I’m sure it doesn’t include chauffeuring me home.”

He waved off the
question.  “We’re talking about you.”

“Thanks for trying
to nurse me back to health yesterday.  I appreciate it.  Now, get out.”

“You’re testy when
you’re sick, huh?”