Second Snowfall (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 2) Read online

  I headed to the parking lot and gave Kingsley a call.

  “Hey, babe,” he answered.

  “I’ve been thinking about you.”

  “Oh yeah? Can you hold on a second?”

  He must have pulled the phone away from his face, or covered it, because his voice was muffled. However, it wasn’t muffled enough, and I could just make out what he was saying.

  “Yeah, Karen, hold on. No, I need it now. Last night I needed it and I didn’t get it. Now I’ve been feeling off all day today. I promise I’ll get you what you need if you just help me out.”

  My heart was breaking. What the hell was he asking Karen for? Was she more willing to hook up than me? What if she and Kinsley used to hook up back in the day? Seriously, who talked to the girl he was banging while on the phone with the girl he was seeing? Maybe Violet was right. He was a man of action.

  “Sorry about that. Um, this is not the best time. Maybe we can talk later?”

  “Kingsley, I really think we should—”

  “I can’t right now, babe,” he said, cutting me off. “I’ll call you later.” Then he hung up.

  I climbed into my car and tried not to cry. He and I weren’t together. It was kind of like what happened with Violet and Trent. They weren’t a couple and he was hooking up with his ex-girlfriend. Now, Kingsley was trying to do the same thing. My only hope was that Karen turned him down. I wouldn’t be with a guy who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

  I jumped, like, five feet in the air when someone knocked on my window. I turned and saw Violet. She had two cups in her hand and a smile on her face. I unlocked the door and she climbed in.

  “Hey, girl, I brought you some coffee.” She handed me the cup and took a big sip of her own.

  “I thought you didn’t drink coffee,” I said.

  “It’s hot chocolate. I don’t like cold.” She started talking about random things, her mood cheerful as ever.

  I responded in short sentences and nodded when it seemed appropriate.

  “So, things seem to be heating up with Kingsley. How’s that going?”

  I looked forward and ground my teeth a little. It was crazy how happy I’d been with Kinsley last night and how upset I was now.

  “You going to tell me why you just tensed up at the mention of last night? Earlier, you were practically glowing.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it now. Let’s just go to Christie’s. I could use some comfort food at the moment, and brownies definitely sound good.”

  Violet didn’t ask why I was upset again. Instead, she talked about her classes, EET, and some things she and Berneli planned to do. I could tell she was trying to distract me, well, at least I thought she was. This girl would talk to a wall. Either way, I appreciated that all I needed to do was nod and focus on the GPS.

  In about ten minutes, we pulled into Christie’s driveway. It was a beautiful Cape Cod style home painted a bright yellow. There were flowerbeds all around the front of the house and a giant tree with a tire swing hanging from one of the branches. It looked homey and welcoming. Christie was standing at the door, waving as we walked up the front path.

  “Hey, come in quick. It’s freezing out there.”

  “I know. It smells like snow,” I said as I walked in.

  “What did you just say?” Violet asked, a little exasperated. “How can you smell snow?”

  “I don’t know, it’s a thing. Google it. Don’t you get a lot of snow in Maryland?”

  “Yeah, tons of snow. I think last year we got, like, six inches. My high school was closed for two days. It was awesome.”

  Christie and I looked at her for a second and then back at each other before breaking out into giggles.

  “What? You guys don’t like snow days?”

  “Oh, no, we love snow days,” Christie assured her. “But six inches of snow is nothing. We’ll probably still have class on days when it snows that much. At least that’s how it was when I was in high school around this area.”

  “Really? I don’t think I even have snow boots,” Violet grumbled.

  “Yeah, we’re gonna have to go shopping for that,” I promised her. “Besides, I think we’re overdue for a girls’ shopping trip. Christie, you’ll have to come with us.”

  “Definitely, I am actually quite the skilled shopper.” She laughed a little and led us into her kitchen. “Okay, so I started a batch of cookies. They’re in the oven now, and I figured you guys could make some brownies.”

  “So, just an FYI,” Violet warned us, “I’ve never baked anything before.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll help you,” I told her, but I was a little afraid to let her make anything. Berneli told me about the time she tried to make him dinner and the fire department had to come put the fire out. Though, if the fire department came, maybe it would ruin Kingsley’s evening plans and he’d have to come rescue me.

  “I bake constantly, so I can help too.” Christie handed me a recipe for double chocolate devil’s brownies. “All right, let’s get to work.”

  We had been baking for about ten minutes when Violet was forced into clean up and DJ duty. I was struggling to fish all the egg shells out of the batter. The sad part, it was the second time it had happened. She really was a disaster in the kitchen but she tried so hard. I had to give her an A for effort.

  Christie, however, was like Housewife Barbie and I was crazy impressed. Her long hair was pulled up into an elegant bun on the top of her head with a ribbon tied to it. Her makeup was flawless and her apron had a ruffled skirt. She expertly mixed, whipped, and decorated all different kinds of sweets without the slightest bit of flour on her face.

  “So, how was your day?” Christie asked me.

  Violet spun around and looked at me, concerned. There was an eagerness in her eyes, and I knew she wanted to hear what happened, but she was staying quiet. The more I thought about it, the more I realized thinking about Kingsley was eating me up inside. It was time to get it off my chest.

  “All right, so here’s what happened.” I filled Christie in on Kingsley and Jason while Violet stayed quiet in the corner. She was giving me the reins to tell my own story. Normally, she would be cutting in and providing her two cents, but now she was silent. I began to wonder why she wasn’t saying anything. Did she know something I didn’t? Was there something she observed that I had missed?

  “Well, I think it’s obvious that Jason is in love with you,” Christie stated.

  “Thank you!” Violet shouted, and flung her arm up in the air.

  “Whatever, I don’t believe you guys. But that’s not what this is about.” I told them about the phone call and both of their mouths fell open.

  “Shut up,” Violet finally managed to utter. “Are you sure he said that?”

  “Yeah, I heard it. His voice was a little muffled, but I still could make out the words.”

  “Okay, I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves,” Christie cut in. “He didn’t say he was looking for sex. Besides, maybe he needed notes, or he lent her money. There could be tons of reasons he needs to see Karen immediately.”

  “Maybe there’s an explanation and I jumped to conclusions. Do you think there could be a reason that doesn’t involve him cheating on me?” I asked, feeling hopeful. Maybe I’d misunderstood the conversation, but I couldn’t imagine what else it could have been.

  “Well, maybe he had her pick a present up for you or something. Didn’t you say Kingsley had a surprise for you? Maybe he wanted advice from her. They’re old friends so it makes sense,” Christie suggested.

  Violet tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “Um, I don’t think that’s it. But it makes me think about what Kyle said. What if he was buying drugs?”

  I whipped around and glared at her. I couldn’t believe she had the nerve to bring that up again. I had already told her that he wasn’t a druggie. “Violet, he isn’t on drugs. I spent the last two nights with him and he was fine. He didn’t take anything and we were together pretty mu
ch the whole time.”

  “Are you sure about that? He didn’t seem irritated, sweaty, or maybe a little hyper?” Christie asked me gently.

  “Sometimes he’s, like, bouncing up and down, but it always seems like it’s because he’s excited. Kingsley is unbelievably sweet with me. It can’t be drugs. The only time he was sweaty was when we were hookin’ up,” I said, smiling a bit, thinking about his face when I touched him.

  Christie shrugged. “Well, didn’t he say he didn’t get it last night? He may not have used when he was with you.”

  “I think I just need to talk to him about it. It’s probably something silly and I’m making a big deal about it. Let’s talk about something else,” I insisted. I wanted to make it work with him but I just couldn’t ignore the pit in my stomach.

  Violet held her finger up to try to speak but I quickly cut her off. “No, Violet. I don’t want to start this thing thinking the worst of him. I’m aware that something may be up, and my eyes are open to it. I’ll talk to him about it, but until then, I’m gonna be mature and stop speculating.”

  She held both her hands up to indicate she was backing off. “Okay, whatever you say.”

  “So, Christie, where are your parents?” I asked her as she pulled another batch of perfect cookies out of the oven.

  “They went to visit my aunt and uncle. I told them you guys were coming over and they wanted to give me some space.”

  “That was nice of them.”

  “Yeah. I’m trying to convince them to let me live on campus next semester. I feel like I’m missing out on the real college experience.”

  “Well, you’re welcome to crash on my floor any time,” Violet offered.

  “Sounds good.”

  We spent the next half hour cooking and talking about past EET events and who we hoped would perform for the concert later in April. We were having a good time until Violet came back from the bathroom.

  “You guys gotta see this. It’s snowing like crazy.”

  We all rushed to a window in the living room and jumped on the couch so we could see. Everything was covered in snow. There was at least four inches on the ground.

  “Wait, hold on.” Christie grabbed a remote off the coffee table and turned the television to the Weather Channel.

  The reporter was just beginning to talk about this storm. We listened carefully and stared in disbelief as they called for another five or six inches in the next couple hours. The flakes were supposed to be coming down pretty heavy.

  Christie paused the show and looked at the two of us. “That’s crazy. I can’t believe it’s snowed this much already,” she said in shock. The window in her kitchen was over her sink and was a little high for us shorties to see out of. We really hadn’t noticed it was snowing.

  “Still feel comfortable driving in the snow?” Violet asked me, and I frowned at her.

  “No, you guys can sleep here. I don’t want you going out in that,” Christie insisted.

  “Are you sure that’s okay?” Violet checked with her.

  “Yeah,” I added. “We don’t want to put you out.”

  “Oh, stop. It’s totally fine.” Christie waved a hand. “I bet my parents aren’t going to come home, so it’ll be nice to have the company.”

  “Sounds good,” Violet said. “We can have an old-school sleepover with some of the cookies, movies, pillow fights, boy talk, and…”

  “Lots of alcohol,” Christie finished. “I’m Irish, so my dad keeps the good stuff in the house. Since he won’t be home, it sounds like a good time to get into it.”

  Violet nodded and I kind of grimaced. I’d never had alcohol before. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to try it. People did stupid things when they drank, plus it was illegal for us. But then again, we were going to stay inside. Maybe it was time for me to branch out a little. I didn’t need to get trashed but I could have a little bit.

  “Okay, so what do you guys like to eat?” Christie asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  I turned to look at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Dinner. It’s getting late and you guys are probably hungry. I can make us some food before we get our drink on.”

  “Whatever you have,” both Violet and I said at the same time.

  “Uh,” Christie mumbled, and opened her fridge. “I could make chicken parm. Do you ladies like pasta?”

  I snorted a little as Violet practically screamed at her, “I love pasta!”

  “Great, why don’t you put the sweets into the decorative bags I got for the fundraiser and I’ll get started.”

  When we finished eating, Violet carried her plate to the sink and turned to look at Christie. “All I gotta say, Christie, is that if you ever want to bat for the other team, I’d totally wife you up.”

  “While that’s a great offer, I wouldn’t say yes unless the carat size was equal to my shoe size,” she responded, continuing to clear the table.

  “I like that philosophy,” Violet commented.

  “I don’t want a big rock. I’d be afraid to leave my house with it,” I said. Fancy bling wasn’t really my cup of tea. “I like the idea of a solitaire and a simple wedding band. I’d rather have the big wedding,” I added, grabbing my plate and walking to the kitchen.

  “You all can just leave the dishes in the sink, I’ll get to them later. Why don’t we head to my theater room and grab the booze?” Christie grabbed some Sprite, lemon and lime juice, and two other things I didn’t recognize. “How do you all feel about an Irish Redhead?”

  “Blondes are more my thing,” I joked since they were both blonde.

  “Well, I guess you’re going to have to settle.” Christie laughed.

  We followed her to the basement where both Violet and I stood in awe for a moment. “This is one hell of a room,” Violet gasped.

  There was a giant sixty-inch television with massive surround sound speakers mounted on the walls and an elaborate lush leather sectional. It was better than a movie theater. There wouldn’t be any small children kicking the back of my seat, that rude, self-centered jerk who answered the phone during the movie, or those ridiculous teenagers who thought it was okay to Snapchat during the show.

  “All right, so my movie rack is over there.” Christie pointed to a wall filled with DVDs. “You girls pick one, and I’ll make the drinks.”

  Violet walked over to the DVD rack, but I looked at Christie. She had three glasses in her hand and I was a little nervous. I was willing to give it a try but I still wanted to take it easy. I went over to Christie as she was free handing the measurements.

  “Uh, Christie, I don’t really drink. Maybe you could go a little easy on mine.”

  “Yeah, no problem. I can make you a virgin, if you’d like.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’m willing to try it, just maybe don’t make it as strong as you make the others.”

  “You’ll barely taste the alcohol. There is so much other stuff in it that it kind of tastes like punch mixed with Sprite, but be careful, they kinda sneak up on you.” She handed me a glass with a silly twisty straw. “If you don’t like it, I can make you something else.”

  I gingerly took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious. I gave Christie a thumbs-up and headed over to the movie rack with Violet.

  We ended up going with a romantic comedy all three of us had seen close to fifty times. The drinks were flowing and we were constantly misquoting the best lines. It was a really good time. Well, it was until my phone rang. I checked the screen and it was Kingsley.

  I rolled off the couch in about the most ungraceful manner possible. But when I stood up, the room spun a little bit. I stuck my hands out to try to balance myself, however, when I did this, I dropped the phone. Around Violet, that was a terrible idea. She grabbed the phone off the ground and answered it for me.

  “Hey, you have some serious explaining to do, mister.”

  “Uh, Anabelle?”

  “No, it’s Violet. Annabelle is right here, hold on.” She
tried to hand me the phone but I kept shaking my head forcefully. I may have overdone it. Who would have thought redheads could be so feisty?

  “Annabelle,” I heard Kingsley calling through the phone.

  Violet grabbed my hand and placed the phone in it.

  “Hello.”

  “What the hell is going on, Annabelle?”

  “Nothing. It snowed and I can’t get back on campus but I get the feeling you won’t be lonely tonight.”

  “Oh really, are you inviting me over?”

  “No, I just heard you talking to Karen. It sounded like you guys were going to, I don’t know, hook up or something tonight.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I was called into the firehouse. I got a migraine and I got a pill. I had to get to the station. Did you expect me to go out and fight a fire when I couldn’t concentrate?”

  “But why does she have to give you the pills? Can’t you just take something, like, I don’t know, over the counter?”

  “Normally, I do. It’s not a big deal. I’m fine. Will you please look outside? I can explain everything.”

  “Outside? What?”

  “I’m outside Christie’s house right now.”

  I grabbed my boots, rushed to the window, and screamed for Violet and Christie. “Guys, Kingsley isn’t with that girl, he’s outside with a big ass plow.”

  “Shut up!” Violet rushed over to the window, drink in hand, twisty straw in her mouth.

  “Did he plow my street?” Christie asked.

  “Looks like it,” I said, staring at in him shock. He definitely didn’t have time to be with anyone. I stuffed my feet into my boots, rushed to the door, and flung it open. Kingsley jumped out of the SUV, and ran to me. “What are you doing here?” I asked him.

  Kingsley reached out and grazed my cheek with his hand. “I got called into the station earlier and saw the impact the storm was making. So I texted Jason and got Violet’s number, then I asked if you all were all right. When she said you were snowed in, I contacted a friend of mine, and, well, let’s just say I owe him a favor.”

  “You didn’t have to do that. We would have been fine here.” I saw Violet on her phone earlier but I thought it was just Berneli. She was really just being sneaky. It felt good that she was looking out for me. I knew she had reservations about him but I liked that she was giving him a chance.