CHASING TROUBLE

“There will be no gist to tell,” said Caroline, although even she could hear the doubt in her voice, ”

“I’m confused. Are you trying to convince me or convince yourself?”

Caroline had had enough, “Bye Kate,”

There was another round of laughter from Kate, “Fine. Goodbye. Have fun, and do everything I would do,” she said before she hung up.

Caroline stared at the phone in her hand for a few seconds. Do everything Kate would do? She knew what that meant, but there was no chance in hell that she was going to take that advice.

_________

“I thought you said it wasn’t going to snow,”

“Okay, so it turns out I was wrong.” Nicholas scowled darkly as he sat behind the wheel of the Range Rover, trying to see the road ahead through the heavily falling snow.

They had set out very early that morning, stopping off somewhere for lunch before continuing the drive. It was dark as the snow began to fall softly almost as soon as they drove over the border, that snow becoming heavier the further they drove towards his aunt’s home.

“Perhaps you should have checked the weather forecast before we set out,” he added impatiently.

“I should have? You gave me the impression that you had everything about this trip under control,” Caroline murmured dryly.

“Unfortunately, even I can’t control the weather!” It really was foul, Nicholas acknowledged grimly as it occurred to him he could see barely six feet in front. Their progress was becoming slower by the minute. “If it doesn’t let up soon, then we may have to look for somewhere else to stay for the night.”

He could feel Caroline’s gaze on him as she gave him a sharp look. “Is it really that bad?”

“You can see that for yourself.” He nodded in the direction of the road ahead. The grass verge and the road were hardly distinguishable from each other now; the road itself was rapidly being covered in a treacherous layer of slippery snow.

Not that the Range Rover wasn’t up to dealing with it, but it was no good if Nicholas couldn’t see where he was going. The fact that he hadn’t seen any traffic coming down the road the other way for some time now told him that the way ahead was probably even worse than it was here.

“I have no intention of sleeping in the Range Rover, so look out for somewhere we can stop for the night.”

Nicholas grimly kept his concentration on the road in front of them. Caroline turned her attention to looking through the falling snow for any sign of habitation, especially for the lights of an inn or a hotel where they could rest until the snow eased. She felt overwhelmingly guilty because she hadn’t checked the weather forecast and wasn’t more prepared. Feeling disgruntled with Nicholas was really no excuse.

“Over there!” she suddenly cried, pointing to a light ahead of them on the left-hand side of the road. “It could be an inn, or-No, it’s just a street lamp.” She grimaced her disappointment.

“A street lamp has to mean habitation of some kind.” narrowed his gaze in the direction she had pointed. “Yes! A short way down that lane-at least, I hope it’s a lane.” He frowned darkly as he turned the vehicle in the direction of the lights, the covering of snow obscuring everything but a flat blanket of white that he sincerely hoped had some sort of firm surface beneath.” It’s an inn,” Nicholas added with satisfaction as he saw the sign, bearing a thistle and a stag, swinging in the gusting wind. He turned the Range Rover into what he hoped was the otherwise deserted car-park, easing the tension in his shoulders as he gently put on the brakes and brought the vehicle to a stop. “Not a very big inn, but it will have to do.” He grimaced out of the window at the small, barely discernible building.

“Feel like making a run for it?” Ruefully, he turned to prompt Caroline.

She grimaced. “Do we have any other choice?”

“No-but I thought I would ask anyway,” Nicholas baited her as he reached in the back of the vehicle to get their coats, handing Caroline’s to her before pulling on his own. “Don’t get out until I come round for you,” he advised firmly as he braced himself for opening the door and facing the freezing weather outside. “If I lose you in this, I might never find you again!”.

Caroline shivered as she felt the blast of ice-cold wind when Nicholas quickly opened the door and climbed out, before closing it again. The snow was falling so thickly now that she couldn’t even see him as he made his way round the vehicle to her side; she was only aware that he had done so when the door was wrenched open beside her.

It had only been a few seconds, but Nicholas was already covered in snow, his coat hidden beneath the icy flakes, the darkness of his hair bearing a frosting of the fluffy whiteness too. “Careful; it’s icy,” he warned as Caroline lowered her feet to the ground.

His warning came a little too late as her feet slipped from under her and she had to reach out quickly to grasp the front of Nicholas’ coat to stop herself from falling. “Sorry,” she muttered between gritted teeth as she tried to steady herself. The wind and snow were so icy-cold that her face and jaw already felt frozen, her hair whipping about her face in wet tangles. “This is terrible!” she attempted to shout above the roar of the wind, knowing Nicholas hadn’t heard her as he gave an irritated shake of his head, dislodging some of the snow in his hair so that it dripped down the grimness of his face and quickly melted against the heat of his skin.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Nicholas took a firm hold of her hand and turned to fight against the wind as they began to struggle towards the inn. The going was slow, and Caroline was surprised at how far away it still looked when she glanced up, the icy wind beating against them so remorselessly that it seemed to deliberately hinder their progress. Almost as if it didn’t want them to reach the shelter and warmth the inn promised. Caroline couldn’t breathe properly through her nose, her throat burning when she attempted to breathe through her mouth instead. All the time the snow beat against her face, hard and painful as it stung against her flesh.