Let It Snow Read online

  Let It Snow is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  2019 Debbie Macomber Ebook Edition

  Copyright © 1986 by Debbie Macomber

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Debbie Macomber Books, an imprint of Debbie Macomber, Inc.

  Distributed by Random House LLC.

  DEBBIE MACOMBER BOOKS is a registered trademark of Debbie Macomber, Inc.

  Originally published in paperback in the United States by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, New York, in 1986.

  Ebook ISBN 9781941824207

  randomhousebooks.com

  Cover design and illustrations: Kimberly Glyder

  v5.4_r1

  ep

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Dedication

  Ballantine Books by Debbie Macomber

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Window on the Bay

  Chapter 1

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.”

  Shelly Griffin’s fingers compressed around the armrest until her neatly manicured nails threatened to cut into the fabric of the airplane seat. Flying had never thrilled her, and she avoided planes whenever possible. It had taken her the better part of a month to convince herself that she’d be perfectly safe. She told herself that the Boeing 747 would take off without incident from San Francisco and land unscathed later in Seattle. Flying, after all, was said to be relatively riskless. But if it wasn’t Christmas, if she wasn’t so homesick, and if she’d had more than four days off, she would have done anything to get home for the holidays—except fly.

  “Seattle reports heavy snow and limited visibility,” the captain continued. “We’ve been rerouted to Portland International until the Seattle runways can be cleared.”

  A low groan filled the plane.

  Shelly relaxed. Snow. She could handle snow. She wasn’t overjoyed with the prospect of having to land twice, but she was so close to home now that she would have willingly suffered anything to see a welcoming smile light up her father’s eyes.

  In an effort to divert her thoughts away from impending tragedy, Shelly studied the passengers around her. A grandmotherly type slept sedately in the seat beside her. The man sitting across the aisle was such a classic businessman that he was intriguing. Almost from the moment they’d left San Francisco, he’d been working out of his briefcase. He hadn’t so much as cracked a smile during the entire flight. The captain’s announcement had produced little more than a disgruntled flicker in his staid exterior.

  Shelly had seen enough men like him in her job as a reporter in the federal court to catalog him quickly. Polished. Professional. Impeccable. Handsome, too, Shelly supposed, if she was interested, which she wasn’t. She preferred her men a little less intense. She managed to suppress a tight laugh. Men! What men? In the ten months she’d been living in the City by the Bay, she hadn’t exactly developed a following. A few interesting prospects now and again, but nothing serious.

  As the Boeing 747 slowly made its descent, Shelly’s fingers gripped the armrest with renewed tension. Her gaze skimmed the emergency exits as she reviewed affirmations on the safety of flying. She mumbled them under her breath as the plane angled sharply to the right, aligning its giant bulk with the narrow runway ahead.

  Keeping her eyes centered on the seat in front of her, Shelly held her breath until she felt the wheels gently bounce against the runway in a flawless landing. A burst of noise accompanied the aircraft as it slowed to a crawl.

  The oxygen rushed from Shelly’s lungs in a heartfelt sigh of relief. Somehow the landings were so much worse than the takeoffs. As the tension eased from her rigid body, she looked around to discover the businessman slanting his idle gaze over her. His dark eyes contained a look of surprise. He seemed amazed that anyone could be afraid of flying, and he was utterly indifferent to her apprehension. The blood mounted briefly in her pale features, and Shelly decided she definitely didn’t like this cheerless executive.

  The elderly woman sitting next to her placed a hand on Shelly’s forearm. “Are you all right, dear?”

  “Of course.” Relief throbbed in her voice. Now that they were on the ground, she could feign the composure that seemed to come so easily to the other passengers.

  “I hope we aren’t delayed long. My daughter’s taking off work to meet my flight.”

  “My dad’s forty minutes from the airport,” Shelly murmured, hoping that he’d check to see if her flight was on time. She hated the thought of him anxiously waiting for her.

  The other woman craned her neck to peek out the small side window. “It doesn’t seem to be snowing much here. Just a few flakes floating down like lazy goose feathers.”

  Shelly grinned at the verbal picture. “Let’s hope it stays that way.”

  She remained seated while several of the other passengers got up and left the plane. The businessman was among those who quickly vacated their seats. From what the captain had said, they wouldn’t be in Portland long, and Shelly didn’t want to take a chance of missing the flight.

  After checking her watch every ten minutes for forty minutes, Shelly was convinced that they’d never leave Oregon. The blizzard had hit the area, and whirling snow buffeted the quiet plane with growing intensity. Her anxieties mounted with equal force.

  “This is the captain speaking.” His faint southern drawl filled the plane. “Unfortunately, Seattle reports that visibility hasn’t improved. They’re asking that we remain here in Portland for another half-hour, possibly longer.”

  Frustration and disappointment erupted from the passengers seated on the plane, and they all began speaking at once.

  “This is the captain again,” the pilot added, his low drawl riddled with wry humor. “I’d like to remind those of you who are upset by our situation that it’s far better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky than to be in the sky praying you were on the ground.”

  Shelly added a silent amen to that! As it was, she was beginning to feel claustrophobic trapped inside the plane. Unsnapping her seat belt, she stood, reached for her purse, and headed down the narrow aisle toward the front of the plane.

  “Do I have time to make a phone call?”

  “Sure,” the flight attendant answered with a cordial smile. “Don’t be long, though. The conditions in Seattle could change quickly.”

  “I won’t,” Shelly promised, and made her way into the airport terminal.

  It wasn’t until she was sorting through her purse for change that she noted the unsympathetic businessman from her flight had the phone booth adjacent to hers.

  “This is Slade Garner again,” he announced with the faintest trace of impatience creeping into his voice. “My plane’s still in Portland.”

  A pause followed while Shelly dumped the contents of her coin purse into her hand and scowled. She didn’t have change for the phone.

  “Yes, yes, I understand the snow’s a problem on your end as well,” he continued smoothly. “I doubt that I’ll make it in this afternoon. Perhaps we should arrange the meeting for first thing tomorrow morning. Nine o’clock?” Another pause. “Of course I realize it’s the day before Christmas.”

  Rummaging in her purse for a quarter, Shelly managed to dredge up a token for the cable car, a dried peach pit, and a lost button.

  Pressing her lips tightly together, she mused what a coldhearted tycoon this businessman had to be to insist upon a meeting so close to Christmas. Instantly she felt guilty because her thoughts were so judgmental. Of course he’d want to keep his appointment. He certainly hadn’t taken this flight for his health. Her second regret was that she had intentionally eavesdropped on his conversation, looking for excuses to justify her dislike of him. Such behavior was hardly in keeping with the Christmas spirit.

  Pasting on a pleasant smile, Shelly stepped forward when Slade Garner replaced the receiver. Abruptly he turned around.

  “Excuse me.” His gaze refused to meet hers, and for a second Shelly didn’t think that he’d heard her.

  “Yes?” His expression was bored, frustrated.

  “Have you got change for a dollar?” She unfolded a crisp one-dollar bill, anticipating the exchange.

  Slade uninterestedly checked the contents of his pocket, glaring down at the few coins in his palm. “Sorry.” Dispassionately, he tucked them back into his pocket and turned away from her.

  Shelly was ready to approach someone else when Slade turned back to her. His dark brows drew together in a frown as something about her registered in his preoccupied thoughts. “You were on the Seattle flight?”

  “Yes.”

  “Here.” He handed her a quarter.

  The corners of Shelly’s mouth curved up in surprise. “Thanks.” She was convinced that he hadn’t heard her as he briskly walked away. Shelly didn’t know what difference i
t made that they’d shared the same plane. Without analyzing his generosity any further, she dropped the coin into the slot.

  After she dialed the number, Shelly shifted her weight from one foot to the other while the phone rang, waiting for her father to answer.

  “Dad.”

  “Merry Christmas, Shortcake.”

  Her father had bestowed this affectionate title on Shelly when she was a young teen and her friends had sprouted around her. To her dismay, Shelly had remained a deplorable five feet tall until she was seventeen. Then within six months she had grown five inches. Her height and other attributes of puberty had been hormonal afterthoughts.

  “I’m in Portland.”

  “I know. When I phoned Sea-Tac, the lady at the reservation desk told me you’d been forced to land there. How are you doing?”

  “Fine,” she fibbed about her dread of flying. “I’m sorry about the delay.”

  “That’s not your fault.”

  “But I hate wasting precious hours sitting here when I could be with you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll have plenty of time together.”

  “Have you decorated the tree yet?” Since her mother’s death three years before, Shelly and her father had made a ritual of placing the homemade ornaments on the tree together.

  “I haven’t even bought one. I thought we’d do that first thing in the morning.”

  Shelly closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of love and security that the sound of her father’s voice always gave her. “I’ve got a fantastic surprise for you.”

  “What’s that?” her father prompted.

  “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it?”

  Her father chuckled, and Shelly could visualize him rubbing his finger over his upper lip, the way he did when something amused him.

  “I’ve missed you, Dad.”

  “I know. I’ve missed you, too.”

  “Take care.”

  “I will.”

  She was about to hang up. “Dad,” she added hastily, her thoughts churning as her gaze focused on a huge wall advertisement for a rental car agency, “listen, don’t go to the airport until I phone.”

  “But—”

  “By the time you arrive, I’ll have collected my things and be waiting outside for you. That way, you won’t have to park.”

  “I don’t mind, Shortcake.”

  “I know, but it’ll work better this way.”

  “If you insist.”

  “I do.” Her brothers claimed that their father was partial to his only daughter. It was a long-standing family joke that she was the only one capable of swaying him once he’d made a decision. “I do insist.”

  They said their good-byes, and Shelly disconnected the line. Instead of heading down the concourse toward the plane, she ventured in the opposite direction, taking the escalators to the lower level and the rental car agencies.

  To her surprise, Shelly found that she wasn’t the only one with alternate transportation in mind. The businessman who had given her the quarter was talking with a young man at the first agency. Shelly walked past him to the second counter.

  “How much would it cost to rent a car here and drop it off in Seattle?” she asked brightly.

  The tall, college-aged woman hardly looked up from the computer screen. “Sorry, we don’t have any cars available.”

  “None?” Shelly found that hard to believe.

  “Lots of people have had the same idea as you,” the clerk explained. “A plane hasn’t landed in Seattle in hours. No one wants to sit around the airport waiting. Especially at Christmas.”

  “Thanks anyway.” Shelly scooted down to the third agency and repeated her question.

  “Yes, we do,” the clerk said with a wide grin. “We only have one car available at the moment.” She named a sum that caused Shelly to swallow heavily. But already the idea had gained momentum in her mind. Every minute the plane remained on the ground robbed her of precious time with her father. And from what he’d told her, the snow was coming down fast and furiously. It could be hours before the plane was able to take off. She freely admitted that another landing at another airport in the middle of the worst snowstorm of the year wasn’t her idea of a good time. As it was, her Christmas bonus was burning a hole in her purse. It was a good cause. Surely there was some unwritten rule that stated every favorite daughter should spend Christmas with her father.

  Slade Garner spoke from beside Shelly. “If she doesn’t take the car, I will.” A wide, confident smile spread across his handsome features.

  “I want it,” she cried. His aura of self-assurance bordered on arrogance.

  “I have to get to Seattle.”

  “So do I!” she informed him primly.

  “I’ve got an important meeting.”

  “As a matter of fact, so do I.” Turning back to the counter, Shelly picked up a pen and prepared to fill in the rental form.

  “How much?” Slade asked. His features tightened with unrelenting resolve that negated his manly appeal.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “How much do you want for the car?” His hand slipped into the pocket of his suit coat, apparently prepared to pay her price.

  Squaring her shoulders with angry frustration, Shelly exchanged looks with the clerk. “Get your own car.”

  “There’s only one car available. This one.”

  “And I’ve got it,” she told him with a deceptively calm smile. The more she saw of this man, the more aggravating he became.

  His jaw tightened. “I don’t think you understand,” he said, and breathed out with sharp impatience. “My meeting’s extremely important.”

  “So is mine. I’m—”

  “You could share the car,” the clerk suggested, causing both Shelly and Slade to divert their shocked gazes to the impromptu peacemaker.

  Shelly hesitated.

  Slade’s brows arched. “I’ll pay the full fee for the car,” he offered.

  “You mention money one more time and the deal’s off,” she shot back hotly.

  “Don’t be unreasonable.”

  “I’m not being unreasonable. You are.”

  Slade rubbed a hand along the back of his neck and forcefully exhaled. “Have we or have we not got a deal?”

  “I’m not going to Seattle.”

  He gave her a sharp look of reproach. “I just heard you say Seattle.”

  “I’m headed for Maple Valley. That’s in south King County.”

  “Fine. I’ll drop you off and deliver the car to the rental place myself.”

  That would save her one hassle. Still, she hesitated. Two minutes together and they were already arguing. Shelly wondered how they’d possibly manage three hours cooped up in the close confines of a car.

  “Listen,” he argued, his voice tinged with exasperation. “If I make it into Seattle this afternoon, I might be able to get this meeting over with early. That way I can be back in San Francisco for Christmas.”

  Quickly he’d discerned the weakest link in her chain of defenses and had aimed there. Christmas and home were important to her.

  “All right,” she mumbled. “But I’ll pay my share of the fee.”

  “Whatever you want, lady.”

  For the first time since she’d seen him, Slade Garner smiled.

  Chapter 2

  “What about your luggage?” Slade asked as they strolled down the concourse toward the plane.

  “I only have one bag. It’s above my seat.” Honey-brown hair curled around her neck, and she absently lifted a strand and looped it over her ear. A farm girl’s wardrobe didn’t fit in with the formal business attire she needed in San Francisco, so Shelly had left most of her clothes with her father. Now she realized that having packed light was a blessing in disguise. At least there wouldn’t be the hassle of trying to get her suitcase back.

  Shelly’s spirits buoyed up: She was heading home and she wasn’t flying!

  “Good. I only have a garment bag with me.”

  Shelly hesitated. “I have another bag filled with presents.”