Lydia's Pine Harbor Christmas, стр. 27
With no sightings of Lydia’s car, Marco was relieved to arrive at the train station entrance. The train was there waiting, so rather than waste time parking, Marco pulled up to the drop-off point and got out. As he ran up the stairs, he called Lydia’s name, but the train pulled away before he reached the platform.
He had missed her. Fool that he was—Jack had pegged him correctly—Marco looked behind every pillar, as though she might appear. When that failed, he went back to his car and drove past every car in the parking lot. What he hoped to do once he found her parked car was unclear even to him. Perhaps seeing her car would reinforce the hopelessness of his situation.
He drove around the lot twice before he was convinced. Lydia’s car was not there.
Marco pulled out his phone. “Eve? Hi, it’s Marco.”
“Hi, Marco. How are—”
“Where’s Lydia?”
“I thought you knew. She’s going to Bryce’s. She left for the train station a while ago. The train will have left by now.”
“I know.” He hesitated to confess. “I’m here at the train station.”
“Oh.” So much was packed into that single word. It sounded surprised, intrigued, and ultimately sorry for Marco. He could think of no reason to be there that didn’t sound pathetic. But Eve was kind enough not to inquire.
“Eve, her car isn’t here. I thought maybe she changed her mind and decided not to brave the weather.”
“Not that I know of.” Eve’s voice sounded increasingly tense. “If she’d changed her mind, she would have called me. We always call each other—especially in weather like this.” Eve’s voice became muffled. “It’s Marco. Lydia’s missing.”
In the background, Dylan said, “Tell him we’re leaving right now.”
Marco looked out at the whiteout conditions. “Eve, no. The roads are bad. Visibility is close to zero. I’m already out here. I’ll look for her.”
“Dylan’s here with his truck. We’re on our way out the door.”
It wasn’t Marco’s place to object. Besides, another two sets of eyes couldn’t hurt. “Okay. Keep your phone handy.”
“You too.”
He pulled out of the train station. She must never have made it to the train station, so he kept his eyes peeled on that side of the road. Barely able to see in the blizzard conditions, he crept along slowly, desperate to find her yet afraid for what he might see when he did.
It was bad enough to lose her to Bryce, but death was unthinkable. Lydia was such a good person. She deserved a full life, even if it had to be with Bryce. With a bitter laugh, he realized that, as usual, Lydia was right. Marco couldn’t sustain a relationship, not even with the woman he’d finally realized he loved. It must be some sort of poetic justice—the ladies’ man finally fell in love then got dumped. Although you couldn’t really be dumped if you had never been together in the first place. So he couldn’t even inspire a good poem.
Nearly halfway home, he spotted the faint snow-covered remnants of tire tracks where a car appeared to have skidded off the road.
He pulled over and called Eve. “I found some tracks skidding off the road on the side going from the station toward town. They’re on the wrong side to be Lydia’s, but I’ve got to make a quick stop to see if someone needs help.”
Marco backed up to the point where the tracks left the road. The fading dusk and the blowing snow made it almost impossible to see anything. He stood outside of his car and looked down at a roadside embankment. Mounded snow almost concealed the shape of a small car, but a tiny red light blinked above it and drew his attention. He half climbed, half skidded down to the car, where he discovered that the small red light came from a necktie fastened to the antenna. Adrenaline surged in his chest as he climbed through the deep snow to the driver’s-side door. He pounded on the window. “Lydia!”
“Marco!” she called through the fogged-up window.
He struggled to open the door, and she pushed from inside. When the ice-encrusted door opened, it threw Marco backward into the snow.
He’d expected to see a lot of things when he found Lydia, none of them good. But he didn’t expect to hear her laughing.
She reached down. “Here, let me help you get up.”
“Why would I when I can provide you with so much entertainment?”
“I’m sorry. Here, take my hand.”
He reached out and pulled her down into the snow with him. They laughed together.
“You scared me,” he said.
“I’m okay.”
“I thought we’d lost you.”
“You haven’t lost me.”
His lips parted, then Lydia looked up at the road as a truck pulled up behind Marco’s car. “Dylan?”
They both stood, and Marco said, “When I didn’t see your car at the station, I called your mom.”
“Lydia!” Eve started down the embankment.
Lydia called, “Stay there. I’m fine. My car is a little banged up, but…”
“I don’t care about the car! You’re all that matters!”
“Wait there, Mom. I’m on my way up.” She turned back to the car. “I just need my purse and my overnight bag.”
“I’ll get them. You go up to your mother.”
Once everyone was reunited, Eve said, “Hop in the truck. Let’s get out of this weather.”
Lydia replied, “You two go home. I need to talk to Marco.”
That got Marco’s attention, but he had no objections.
“Besides, there’s more room in his car for my baggage.” She turned to Marco. “Do you think you could take me back to the bar and make one of those coffee drinks of yours?”
Puzzled, Marco said quickly, “Sure.” His eyes darted toward Eve and Dylan. “The roads will only