Winter Rescue (I'll Be Home for Christmas) by Dawn Kimberly Johnson Page A
Authors: Dawn Kimberly Johnson
Tags: M/M romance, holiday, Advent Calendar 2011, Nap-size Dream, Dawn Kimberly Johnson, 2011 Advent Calendar
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easier it was to process the film with his eyes
closed, doing it by touch, rather than trying to do it with
eyes wide open, but seeing nothing. It was like his eyes were
trying to drink in as much light as they could, and failing
that, he’d panic.
Then it hit him. The exhaust might be blocked, so….
Fuck! Curt hated the idea of shutting off the engine, but
when weighing freezing to death against carbon-monoxide
poisoning, he opted for freezing to death as that would likely
take longer. He turned off the car and the lights and was
4
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
immediately enveloped in silence—but for the wind whistling
outside the car.
Curt rubbed his face in frustration. He had grown up
here. He knew better. You don’t suddenly stand on your
brakes in a snowstorm, you make sure your car has a winter
emergency kit, and you dress warmly. One out of three is
bad . Could three years in California have really erased all his
winter smarts?
He remembered driving west with Bobby Bianchi, years
ago. They’d driven through Eugene, Oregon, at one point on
their way to pick up another potential roommate for the tiny
San Diego apartment they’d secured. They had watched in
confusion, and then disbelief, as drivers pulled off the road
because of a dusting of snow—literally a dusting. It was the
kind of snow that settled on the ground for about three
seconds before blowing away to melt elsewhere.
Granted, his current predicament was the complete
opposite of a dusting, but Curt couldn’t help wondering if he
was one of those people now. Would his family be ashamed
of his ineptitude? Would they be amused that after only a
couple of years away from home, he was clueless about the
hazards of a Minnesota winter? Or would they simply be
thankful his body was left unaccosted by wild animals?
Curt fumbled over the passenger seat until his hand
settled on his cell. He activated it and checked for coverage.
No bars. When trying to reassure his mother earlier, their
call had dropped. She was worried about him being on the
road in the storm, wanted him to pull off and try to get a
room somewhere, then drive out to the farm tomorrow, but
5
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
he’d insisted everything was fine. He’d made it sound as if he
was just tooling along the road, unobstructed, top down, sun
shining on his face. He sighed sadly and ran a hand through
his wavy blond hair.
He looked toward the backseat and hoped all the gifts in
the trunk were okay. At the law firm, he made excellent
money, and without a husband or children of his own, he
was thrilled to be able to go a bit overboard on his parents,
siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews. Those little ones must
be pretty big now .
During phone calls with the family, which became more
frequent over the years, his parents had gradually thawed,
so to speak, on the whole gay thing. He remembered the first
time his mother had asked if he was seeing anyone. Curt
had been too stunned to respond for several seconds but had
admitted there was a man he was interested in, which ended
that line of questioning until the following month.
Unfortunately, by then, the man Curt was interested in had
made it clear he was not interested in monogamy, so that
ended.
Still, progress continued. Arianna had even written
telling him that Mom and Dad were secretly going to PFLAG
meetings the next county over— but don’t let on you know —
which had prompted him to send his mother flowers and his
father a smoked sausage gift basket, Just because I’m
thinking of you .
Curt smiled and closed his eyes, trying to imagine their
faces, their smiles, the hugs, the cocoa, the blankets, the
logs crackling in the fireplace…. Without the heater running,
6
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
the cold had quickly seeped through the metal of the car and
was poking against his jacket, attempting to gain access to
his
closed, doing it by touch, rather than trying to do it with
eyes wide open, but seeing nothing. It was like his eyes were
trying to drink in as much light as they could, and failing
that, he’d panic.
Then it hit him. The exhaust might be blocked, so….
Fuck! Curt hated the idea of shutting off the engine, but
when weighing freezing to death against carbon-monoxide
poisoning, he opted for freezing to death as that would likely
take longer. He turned off the car and the lights and was
4
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
immediately enveloped in silence—but for the wind whistling
outside the car.
Curt rubbed his face in frustration. He had grown up
here. He knew better. You don’t suddenly stand on your
brakes in a snowstorm, you make sure your car has a winter
emergency kit, and you dress warmly. One out of three is
bad . Could three years in California have really erased all his
winter smarts?
He remembered driving west with Bobby Bianchi, years
ago. They’d driven through Eugene, Oregon, at one point on
their way to pick up another potential roommate for the tiny
San Diego apartment they’d secured. They had watched in
confusion, and then disbelief, as drivers pulled off the road
because of a dusting of snow—literally a dusting. It was the
kind of snow that settled on the ground for about three
seconds before blowing away to melt elsewhere.
Granted, his current predicament was the complete
opposite of a dusting, but Curt couldn’t help wondering if he
was one of those people now. Would his family be ashamed
of his ineptitude? Would they be amused that after only a
couple of years away from home, he was clueless about the
hazards of a Minnesota winter? Or would they simply be
thankful his body was left unaccosted by wild animals?
Curt fumbled over the passenger seat until his hand
settled on his cell. He activated it and checked for coverage.
No bars. When trying to reassure his mother earlier, their
call had dropped. She was worried about him being on the
road in the storm, wanted him to pull off and try to get a
room somewhere, then drive out to the farm tomorrow, but
5
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
he’d insisted everything was fine. He’d made it sound as if he
was just tooling along the road, unobstructed, top down, sun
shining on his face. He sighed sadly and ran a hand through
his wavy blond hair.
He looked toward the backseat and hoped all the gifts in
the trunk were okay. At the law firm, he made excellent
money, and without a husband or children of his own, he
was thrilled to be able to go a bit overboard on his parents,
siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews. Those little ones must
be pretty big now .
During phone calls with the family, which became more
frequent over the years, his parents had gradually thawed,
so to speak, on the whole gay thing. He remembered the first
time his mother had asked if he was seeing anyone. Curt
had been too stunned to respond for several seconds but had
admitted there was a man he was interested in, which ended
that line of questioning until the following month.
Unfortunately, by then, the man Curt was interested in had
made it clear he was not interested in monogamy, so that
ended.
Still, progress continued. Arianna had even written
telling him that Mom and Dad were secretly going to PFLAG
meetings the next county over— but don’t let on you know —
which had prompted him to send his mother flowers and his
father a smoked sausage gift basket, Just because I’m
thinking of you .
Curt smiled and closed his eyes, trying to imagine their
faces, their smiles, the hugs, the cocoa, the blankets, the
logs crackling in the fireplace…. Without the heater running,
6
Winter Rescue • Dawn Kimberly Johnson
the cold had quickly seeped through the metal of the car and
was poking against his jacket, attempting to gain access to
his
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