Snowed by Pamela Burford

useless. That’s gotta be job one when you get back, Leah, replacing it.”
     “I don’t know what to say, Miguel.” Leah swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t have had to deal with this alone.”
     “It’s like you dropped off the edge of the world,” he griped. “You couldn’t check in with us down here, couldn’t find one working phone in all of New York City?”
    Shame rose up from a place deep inside her, dark and ugly and persistent. What on earth was she doing in New York? Her place was back home, taking care of Mama and Daddy, taking care of Harmony Grits. Her business. The business she’d broken her back to create and build, had sacrificed for. The business she was so proud of, her security for the future.
    The fire might not have happened if she’d been where she was supposed to be. What if someone had gotten hurt? She pictured Miguel, wheelchair-bound, trapped in the burning warehouse and she shuddered. Back home, she grimly reminded herself, was reality. This expedition to New York was silly and self-indulgent, obsessive even. It wasn’t like her to do something like this. It had been a mistake to come here. After all, nothing could bring Annie back.
    Miguel’s gusty sigh intruded on her thoughts. “Don’t worry, I didn’t bother Merl and Doug with this. No sense getting them worked up when there’s nothing they can do about it anyway.”
    “I appreciate that, Miguel.”
    “Look at it this way. It could’ve happened in November.”
    “You’re such a Pollyanna, you know that?” He was right, of course. If this had happened to her fledgling business during the holiday season, it could have wiped her out, insurance or no insurance. It was a sobering thought.
    “When are you coming home, Leah?” Miguel sounded worn-out.
    “As soon as I can. In a day or two. Just hang in there, okay?”
    “I’ll try.
Adiós
.”
    “What is it?” James asked when she hung up. He looked worried. She explained about the fire.
    He said, “And you feel responsible because you weren’t there.”
    “Am I that transparent? Oh yeah, I forgot,” she said bitterly. “I’m a lousy liar.”
    He didn’t take the bait. “I can tell how much you’re hurting, Leah. This happened in the middle of the night. What makes you think you could’ve prevented it?”
    She propped her elbows on the table and massaged her forehead, frustration and self-reproach making her reckless. “I shouldn’t have come here in the first place.”
    After a strained minute of silence, she felt his hand on her arm. “Why did you come here?” His voice was soft, with no trace of rancor.
    She looked up into his eyes. Sincerity and concern shone from their aquamarine depths, and she had to look away again. The truth was like a poison threatening to destroy her, and she ached to purge it. But she couldn’t do it. Not now. Not while she was still reeling from Miguel’s bombshell. The last thing she needed was the renewed hatred she knew James would feel if she were to reveal all. She settled for a partial truth.
    “I came to the party because...because I thought a certain person would be here...someone I needed to talk to.”
    “A man?” His voice sounded strained.
    “Yes.” She knew he assumed she meant a lover. Not a father. “It was stupid and...and pointless. As I say, I never should have come here.”
    “I’m glad you did.”
    She stared at him, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.
    He said, “Who would’ve protected me from the bunny rabbits? If you hadn’t gone out there for me, the little beasts would’ve had me staked out like Gulliver in Lilliput by morning.”
    Her grin was lopsided. “You’re really twisted, you know that?”
    His eyes twinkled. “You make that sound like something bad.” He squeezed her hand. “I know I haven’t exactly been the host with the most, Leah. I can be hard to get along with sometimes. All I can tell you is that I have good reasons for being that way.” He lifted her