Trapped Under the Christmas Tree (Christmas Tree, PA Sweet Romcom #1)

Chapter 6

Tessa

I try not to run away from Jake. I feel like he might not realize that he’s even hurt. Perhaps his brain has locked out the pain. Nevertheless, there is also the very real danger of him getting hypothermia, if not going into shock, since the temperature is below freezing, and precipitation is falling from the sky. I always prefer snow over ice, but today doubly so. And normally, I love snow. This might be the first time in my life where I hope that we actually don’t get any.

I know that’s not good for our town, but I’m concerned about Jake. I rush to my apartment, my brain scrambling for the things I might need.

My phone, definitely. There’s always a chance that calling 911 will get us somewhere. I grab it and throw it in my back pocket. Even if I get through and they send someone, he should be sheltered from the freezing rain, and I wrack my brain to try to think of something that will work. A garbage bag?

My eyes scan around my apartment, and I see the blankets that I had bought for my two sisters for Christmas. Those along with the comforter on my bed will work to cover him, keep him warm, and maybe even get something between him and the cold stones.

I grab them, figuring that if I have to buy new gifts for my sisters, or if I have to tell my sisters what happened to their gifts, it’ll be okay.

What else?

I see the hot chocolate on the counter, steam still coming off the cup.

I had made enough for two cups, and I grab travel mugs out of the cupboard, pour the rest of the hot chocolate in them, and snap the lids closed.

What about the rain?

And then I remember my niece. She asked for a tent for Christmas, and while I probably can’t put the tent up and get us in it, since the tree will block that, I can at least get the tent and spread it over top of him to protect him from the ice coming down.

I guess it’s a good thing it’s close to Christmas, and my gifts are lying around my house. I grab the tent from the closet where I had stored it, and with my arms full of things I think will help, I hurry back out of my apartment, trying to juggle the blankets and the coffee mugs and the tent, but the phone is probably the most important thing.

Maybe I should have called 911, but I wanted to get him covered, and I’m glad I hurried. The freezing rain is coming down harder, and the sidewalk is already slippery as I step out.

I can’t rush to him, or my feet will go out from underneath me, so I walk carefully. I’m an old hand at walking on ice. Growing up in northern PA, you get good at stuff like this.

Plus, I love ice skating. Our town might be small, but we have a beautiful ice-skating rink. We don’t even have a hockey team or anything. It’s just a place where the locals love to hang out. It’s open air and frozen from the bottom up, which enables us to ice skate almost year-round.

It doesn’t stay frozen in the summer, but fall, winter, and spring, the rink is open, and I’ve been skating since I was born. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t on the ice, even if I wasn’t wearing skates.

I have plenty of time to think about that as I’m heading across the road. The town square is still deserted, and I’m concerned about Jake as I get closer. He seems to be trying to move, to keep himself warm, I assume.

“I’m back,” I say, a little breathlessly, not because I was rushing so fast, but because I’m nervous. I am not a first responder or anything close, and I hope I’m doing the right things.

“I’m freezing,” Jake says immediately, and I can see that he is clenching his teeth in order to keep them from shivering.

“All right. I brought some blankets and some hot chocolate. I also have my phone, and I’ll call 911.”

“I’ll take the hot chocolate,” he says immediately. He might be cold, but there is a gleam in his eye. Everyone in town knows about my hot chocolate.

“All right. Here you go, and I’ll set these within arm’s reach,” I say as I set the blankets down.

I reach in my pocket and pull out my phone. I dial 911 and wait patiently for someone to answer.

“Christmas Tree emergency center,” a familiar voice says.

“Hey there, Rita,” I say. Rita and I have been friends for years.

“Tessa?” Rita sounds shocked.

“Yeah. It’s me. I don’t suppose you have anyone available?”

“I can patch someone in from the next county over,” she says, leaving her statement open-ended, allowing me to make that decision.

“I don’t know. What I’d really like to have is Bob Turner.”

“He’s at the crash on I80,” Rita says immediately.

“I thought so. The Christmas tree in the town square has fallen down, and Jake Bilmer is trapped underneath it.”

“Is he hurt?”

I lift my brows at Jake, who looks at me and shakes his head no.

“He says he’s not, but the tree is lying on his leg, and it’s in such a way that he can’t get his foot out at all. We even thought about slipping his foot out of his boot, but we just can’t.”

“Oh goodness. That sounds terrible. And it’s freezing rain out.”

“I know. I think we’re good though. I have blankets and hot chocolate and the tent I got Kylie for Christmas.”

“Are you serious?” Rita says, a little bit more relaxed now that she knows that my emergency isn’t a life-threatening thing.

“Yeah. I didn’t know what else to use. I was thinking garbage bags, but I think the tent will be much better,” I say, seeing that Jake has gotten a blanket out and is trying to shift it so that it’s underneath him. I put the phone on speaker, set it down, and help him adjust it.

“I’ll send someone out as soon as I can. I can page the next county, but I’m guessing that Dave probably sent people to the I80 accident as well.”

“Tell them to be careful. The roads are already slippery here in town. I just crossed them, and I could have used my ice skates.” That might be a bit of an exaggeration. But it really is slippery.

“All right. I’ll be sure to warn anyone I talk to. I’ll send someone out as soon as I can,” Rita says.

“Thanks.”

We hang up. I press off on my phone as I continue to tuck the blanket underneath Jake.

“It’s nice to get off these cold stones,” he says.

I can hear the shivering in his voice, and I have to admit, I’m worried. The hot chocolate should have warmed him more.

“I think moving around is probably helpful for you,” I say, hoping that that gets his blood flowing and he gets warm.

“Yeah. It hurts a little when I twist my leg. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just in an awkward position.”

I can see that from the way the tree is lying on it and the way it’s trapped underneath it.

“I think we have this pretty well underneath you. I’m going to set two blankets on top of you, and then I’m going to put this tent over them.”

“What are you going to do?” he asks, looking at me. And something warm unfurls in my heart. He is the one who is trapped under the tree, and yet... He cares about me?

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I appreciate that. I’m not usually upset about being by myself, but... I’ve never been trapped under a tree before.”

Then, an idea comes to me that I really don’t like, but I know will be helpful.

“I’ll lie down beside you. I can share my body heat, and I’ll arrange the tent and the blankets on top of us.”

He pauses for just a moment, hesitating, as though the idea is as foreign and crazy to him as it is to me. “I’m freezing. And that actually sounds really good.”

“Why don’t you drink the rest of your hot chocolate.”

I think that if we’re here for very long, he’s going to have to use the restroom, and that might get awkward, but for now, getting him warm is paramount. We’ll deal with the repercussions later if we have to. I’m not expecting his rescue to take more than a few hours. Even if they have to send someone to cut the tree. Bob might be busy all night at the accident. I don’t even know exactly what’s going on there. Other than it must be big for everyone to be there.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, lifting the travel mug to his lips and drinking deeply. I am still arranging the blankets as he pulls it down and says, “Drinking this is not a hardship.”

I smile. It’s a compliment. “Thanks.”