Wanting You

Chapter 31 The Snow Day

          

Aiden rolled over in the bed. His arm reached out and touched, expecting to feel something warm and soothing. He slid over, thinking that he must have been too far away. He reached again, only to feel a cold sheet. Aiden's eyes fluttered open.

"Jas?"

There was no answer. He glanced over at the clock—it was three a.m. Maybe she's in the bathroom. He lay there drifting in and out of sleep, waiting for her to return. The next time his eyes opened it was four a.m. and still no Jas. Aiden panicked. Had she passed out somewhere while trying to get out of bed?

He pulled himself from the bed. The room swirled around him as he stood. It had been a while since he'd been on his feet. His body ached less now that the flu was entering its passing phase, but his head still throbbed.

Aiden shoved his feet in his slippers and then walked into the bathroom. "Jas?"

He grabbed his robe and put it on. Aiden leaned against the wall, still feeling lightheaded. When things settled, he made his way downstairs. He made a full search of the house and Jas was nowhere to be found. 

"Where is she?"

Aiden's heart was beating wildly. He walked over to the kitchen and picked up the house phone to call Anna.

"I hate to disturb you and Ted, but have you seen Jas? She's not in the house."

Anna sat up, alarmed. "No, Aiden. I haven't seen her.  I'll be right over."

"Please don't. It's no need in everybody being awake."

Anna was already out of the bed and slipping into some warm clothes. "I won't hear that. I'll be right over."

Aiden immediately called Jas' phone after he called Anna, but she didn't answer. He called several times before Anna arrived but there was no answer. He felt sick.

***

Aiden opened the door.  "She's not answering her phone."

"Don't panic, the phone is probably dead." Anna's heart sank when she saw his distress. "Aiden, I want you to lie down on the sofa, you're still sick."

"I can't, Anna."

"Did you check for a note?"

"Yes, she didn't leave anything.  Anna, how could she vanish in the middle of the night? No window or doors are open and the security system hasn't been breached."

Anna walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, there is an explanation. We've got to calm down so that we can think this through." She took his hand and led him to a chair. "I want you to sit down and I'm going to make us a cup of coffee. Wherever she is, I am sure that she's safe."

***

Jas slammed her hand against the steering wheel of the bright red, four-wheel-drive truck that she was driving. "I should have listened. Why am I always so stubborn?" She could hear Aiden's voice in the back of her head: You're the most stubborn woman that I know. 

The snow and ice on the road had made it impossible to drive. She landed in Atlanta after midnight and had gone to the rent-a-car facility and rented a truck. At least she'd listened to the advice to rent a truck, otherwise she'd probably would have gotten a smaller car and plunged off the side of the slippery mountain heading to Ellijay. She gave a hacking cough and turned the heater up higher. Jas' mind drifted to the scene.

"Ma'am, I beg you to wait. You can go in the morning. They say this is the biggest snow they've seen in thirty years in those mountains."

"I've lived my entire life in Ellijay. I know those mountain roads. I can handle the drive."