wouldn’t be too much trouble, there is a fabulous spa up here not far from our house and I think yo u would really enjoy it. Monica can book you a room and arrange for a massage and…”
“Wait a minute,” she interrupted. “You want me to drive up to the mountains and bring you the papers in person?”
“I know, I know, poor planning on my part but I would be extremely grateful to you Emma if you could help me out with this.”
“I don’t know, sir,” she admitted honestly. “I’ve never driven up there and it’s getting late…”
“Nonsense!” he boomed. “You’re only two hours away! If you leave now and go home and throw some things in a bag, we’ll take care of the rest. I’ll send you the directions to your phone or you can just use your GPS; whichever is easier for you.”
As much as Emma wanted to refuse, the thought of a night at a deluxe spa was quite tempting. “I guess I could do it, but don’t feel like you have to book the spa for me,” she said, trying to make it seem like she wasn’t doing this simply for the perk of a massage.
“Are you kidding? You’re doing me a huge favor! You can have two nights there if you’d like!”
Now that got her attention and before she could stop herself she squeaked, “Really?”
“Absolutely,” he said, sounding more than a little thrilled. Turning to his wife he told her to make all of the arrangements before returning his attention to the phone and Emma. “Consider it taken care of. We’ll give you all of the information when you get here.”
“Thank you, Sir,” she said, relief and anticipation filling her voice. “I’ll call when I’m on my way.”
“Don’t stick around the office too long. I’d feel better knowing that the majority of your drive was while the sun was up. These November days seem to be getting shorter and shorter.” They firmed up their plans and as soon as they hung up, Emma grabbed up the envelope and placed it in her briefcase and then walked over to Rose’s desk to give her instructions for the remainder of the week.
Within fifteen minutes, Emma Taylor walked out of Montgomery’s for the first time in two years before six o’clock, a wide grin on her face.
****
“It’s going to be treacherous driving on your evening commute tonight. Snow is expected in the area early this evening and it’s going to come down fast and furious.”
“Damn weather,” Lucas cursed under his breath as he pulled into his driveway. He was returning from his monthly trip into town to stock up on food and supplies. That was something new; he used to have everything delivered but with a couple of days of stubble on his face and a ball cap pulled down low, no one bothered him.
Glad that he was fully stocked, it took a little time to get it all from his truck and into the house. Once it was all inside and put away, he looked at his supply of wood. While he had a generator and knew that if the storm got bad enough to lose power, he ’d be fine; he liked to be well prepared. Looking at the clock and seeing that there were several hours of daylight left, Lucas headed out into the back yard and toward the stack of firewood that was waiting to be cut.
The physical exertion felt good; Lucas knew that it wasn’t in his best interest to just simply sit around the house. Swinging the axe had him using more muscles than he did in the average day and while at first his body protested a little, it didn’t take long for him to get into the swing of things (literally) and feel good. Even in the cold, he worked up a sweat and once all of the cutting was done, it was another chore to move all of the wood to the shed that was built on to the back of his house.
By five o’clock, Lucas felt a satisfied sense of exhaustion as he stepped back into the house; prepared to settle in for the night. The first flakes were already falling and it didn’t take long for the weather to change