Winter Falls (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 17

seventeen

I heard the door open and voices along with dog nails clicking on the floor out in the main office. I jumped up to go and see who had arrived.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Paulie was on her knees and a rambunctious little puppy was squirming around her and jumping up trying to lick her face.

A woman I’d never seen was laughing along with Paulie.

"Hi! Who is this little darling?" I asked.

“Ellie--she's one of my rescues. And I hope it's OK to bring her in the office," the woman said.

"Of course, we are pet friendly," I assured her.

"Even lizards?" Paulie gave me a side glance.

"Oh, I heard about that over at the pet rescue. That was you!" The woman looked at me.

I nodded. "Yep, that was me making a complete fool of myself."

“That would have totally been me as well. If I was you, I wouldn't fret it." She reached out her hand. "I'm Tess Chambers, from Dogs on a Plane in Ontario, Canada."

"I've heard about you--I'm glad you made it." We shook hands.

"Me too.”

“Will you be staying in Evergreen at all?” I asked.

“Likely, it looks like there's weather coming in so I might be grounded for a few days. In fact, that's how Dogs on a Plane began last year. Our founders, Beca and Barrett, were bringing home a plane loaded with dogs from northern Ontario when they got stranded by weather and had to land in the middle of the bush and ended up spending a few days holed up in his cabin."

"Weather, huh? That's exactly what I've been worried about. Do you think this storm is gonna arrive?" Who better than a pilot to give an opinion on that?

She pulled a face and glanced out the window. "All I can tell you is that I've changed my flight plan and it looks like I'll be here over Christmas."

I peered down at Paulie, who was still petting Ellie, giving her stern look. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. So much for feeling it in your bones and caterpillars, I thought to myself.

Tess chuckled. "I feel like I've missed something." She glanced between us.

"Just a discussion about this potential storm over the last few days. I've been worried it was going to come and cause all kinds of problems. But Paulie here didn't think it was anything to worry about. Especially since her grandpa had old wives’ tales that said it's going to be a minimal snow winter."

"Ah, I see. I'm only going by the weather forecast and I'm not a fan of flying in sketchy weather. Especially with a load of dogs on a plane ."

"That's clever!" Paulie stood. "What a great name for a rescue service."

"I thought so too. And it all came about with Beca and Barrett and the 11 dogs they had on his plane," Tess explained.

"And because they got stranded in the wilderness?" I asked.

"That's right. And now we have pilots all across Canada and hope to expand into the US."

"Do you mean they don't charge for their time or anything?" I inquired.

"Yes, that's right. Most of them are commercial pilots and have their own planes. When they're not flying, we can schedule them to do pick-ups with our volunteers in the local area."

Ellie had finally settled down and had found a cozy spot on the chair by the window.

"A great service. I hope you're able to do your expansion. But I imagine there's lots of red tape." I went over and petted Ellie. Her tail pumped on the chair and her eyes barely opened to look at me. My heart melted.

"All that rigmarole and red tape I leave to the management team. Beca and I were friends before she started up the business. Her background gives her a lot of insight into nonprofits and making things happen."

"Ellie is the sweetest thing. Are you picking her up or dropping her off?" I didn't want to stop petting her.

"She's like a mascot. Plus, it’s exposure for her to get used to traveling. But, she is available for adoption." Tess added with a smile.

"She is? Oh no." I laughed. "I think I may have fallen in love."

"Yay!" Tess exclaimed. "But seriously, no pressure, she will be loved no matter where she is."

"No doubt." I stood. "You've come to visit us, so I'm wondering if there's anything we can do for you."

"Actually, there is. Jordan mentioned that you might let me put a couple of brochures here. If not, it's no problem since I know we've not officially expanded into the US. But we’re just gauging the interest levels." Tess walked over to the brochure stand.

"Of course, anything to help pet rescue. Feel free to put out what you have. Also, if you'd like to leave me your contact information, I can add it to our members’ directory on the website. You never know what may come of that."

"Fantastic. I really do appreciate that. Would you like me to put the brochures out or..." she asked?

"I'm happy to do it for you," Paulie offered. "I'll give you a prime spot."

“Thank you." She gave the brochures to her and then turned to me with her card. "Here's my info; it's been great to meet you guys."

"And you too. Where are you staying while here?" I asked.

“I found a B&B through Jordan that welcomes dogs. I had to find a place that would welcome my little Ellie.”

We all looked at her, still sleeping on the chair, and she tried so desperately to open her eyes, but it was like they were down with cement. Her little tail gave one thump, and she let out a big sigh.

"Oh, my God, she's adorable." I was smitten.

"She is at that. Well, I guess I'll leave you both to it. Thank you so much for everything and hopefully we’ll be in touch." She picked up the pup, cradling her in her arms.

"Yes, I hope we are. Please come out to the events--here’s a schedule."

She tucked it into her pocket.

"Thanks, see you around." Tess left in blast of cold air and snow that blew into the office. It was still coming down, and I refused to acknowledge it was getting heavier.

"That was interesting." Paulie looked at the brochures and then shuffled a few around to put them on the top row.

"It was. And wasn't Ellie the cutest?"

"Darling, and I think she liked you. Maybe she needs a new home, and a sister named Cuddles," she hinted.

"Don't tempt me." I smiled and waved to Tess as she walked by the window.

I went to the office and grabbed my coffee. It was getting cold now, so I put on a fresh pot. "Do you need a top up on your coffee? It's almost ready."

"Yes please, thanks."

In the kitchen, I arranged cups, cream, and sausage rolls on a Christmas tray along with some Christmassy napkins. I carried the tray out to the cluster of chairs in front of the window, and sat in the one that Ellie had curled up in.

"I think we've done enough, to be honest. We've double and triple checked our lists, so far everything is going according to plan. And I think we deserve a little downtime to enjoy the view out the window. Come on, Paulie, have a seat."

"Anything you say, boss." She settled into the overstuffed chair with a groan, pulling a Christmas pillow onto her lap.

I sighed and gazed out the window. We both fell silent, and I was pretty sure we were both still feeling the after effects of too much wine.

We drank coffee and ate our sausage rolls. The street was bustling with people shopping and it was only morning. I took that as a good sign.

I heard the train whistle in the distance. It was heading up to Winter Farm for the morning run. Also a good sign--that meant there was no snow on tracks. I decided I would take the afternoon train. Not because I wanted to see him or anything, just you know, doing my duty as Chamber of Commerce manager.

Nope, nothing at all to do with Amos.

Amos heard the train whistle. It’d be departing shortly. He'd been working on some of the fences with Jack by his side. He was getting a bit chilly so he decided to walk over to the fire pit and grab himself a hot chocolate.

"How'd you make out?" he asked Asher, who handed him a steaming mug. Which reminded him of Holly yesterday, burning her lip.

"It was busy. It was good to see too." He looked up at the sky. "She's a threatening. I think this weather's gonna sock us in soon."

He sipped the hot chocolate, thoughtful about Asher's comment. Amos shrugged. "It may, but we're prepared."

"Will the train still run?" he asked.

"It should be fine, I don't think we'll be getting that much snow if we get much at all. Everybody is so wound up with this damn weather. Half the time, the weather forecast is wrong anyways. You just need to look outside to know what's happening." He snapped off a piece of candy cane in his hot chocolate and gave it to Jack.

"You sound like Dad, always thinking you know what the weather's gonna do and not trusting the weatherman. And you shouldn't give him candy," Asher warned him.

"Pfft, whatever. How many times has the weather prediction been wrong? Too many to count." Amos glanced over at the bonfire which was roaring nicely. "I'm gonna warm up."

"What have you been doing?" Asher mixed up some more hot chocolate in the jugs and carried them over to the cauldron.

"Running some fences, just the ones on the far side of the house. I noticed some of the poles had come down."

"Lazy deer." Asher chuckled, as did Amos.

"Would you look at that, just in the last few minutes the snow is getting heavier."

"For crying out loud. Go make your hot chocolate, I'm gonna warm up." Amos stood by the fire and inhaled. Snow was on the air, no doubt about it. He could smell it and that, mixed with the scent of wood smoke, never got old.

He glanced down the path through the trees, where many footsteps had trudged along the way to the train platform. The train engineer had been given orders to text him if the snow was getting too deep on the tracks. So far there had been no messages.

But that wasn't to say it couldn’t change in the blink of an eye.