Snowed In: Jonah and Cooper

Chapter 1 “Come on, Jonah! It’ll be fun.” I sighed loudly and dramatically, just to make my sister laugh. Ellie obliged and I hid a smile, even though we were on the phone and she couldn’t see. She knew damn well I couldn’t deny her anything, and if she wanted to hang out with me for the weekend at her husband’s family’s cabin, then we would. But that didn’t mean I was going to give in easily. “Seriously, it’ll be great. You and me and the whole weekend to hang out and eat and drink and gossip and talk s**t about people.” I snorted a laugh. “You never talk s**t about people. And if you do it accidentally, you immediately feel bad.” Ellie was about the sweetest person on the planet. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She hummed. “Well, that’s true.” “But, Ellie, love, this isn’t the greatest weekend for me.” I eyed my computer, which I knew had a stack of unproofed documents waiting in my inbox. I loved my work as a copyeditor for textbooks, and I loved that I could work from home, but sometimes, the amount of stuff waiting to be done was daunting. “But this is the weekend no one is using the cabin. Mark says his brothers have claimed it for a bunch of the following weekends. So it needs to be this one.” She made a soft noise, and I knew she was putting on puppy dog eyes, even though I couldn’t see. “I’ll take Friday off and we’ll make a three-day weekend out of it. What do you say?” We both knew I would give in, so I sighed again, and did. “Yeah. Fine. Want me to pick you up?” She hesitated for just a moment, which was weird, but then said, “Sure. That will totally work. Nine? It takes about two hours to drive there, and we can settle in before you make me lunch.” “Oh, is that how it is?” I laughed, because between the two of us, I was the better cook. And she loved it when I cooked for her. At least she was nice enough to always do the dishes. “I want lasagna.” I made a noise. “No. Pick something else. It’s always lasagna. Just no.” She laughed, a musical tinkling noise that made me smile. “Okay, fine. How about Chicken Florentine?” I stopped dead, and sucked in a breath. I hadn’t made that in years. Not since…no. I wasn’t going to go there. Not now. Not after all this time. “I haven’t had it in forever,” she wheedled. “And you make it the best.” I swallowed hard. I wanted to say “no.” But she was my sister. My best friend and confidant. My rock and my support. Of course she could have the food she wanted. “Yeah, okay.” My voice barely came out, but it was enough. She made a happy sound, then kissy noises. “You’re the best little brother in the world. Thank you! I’ll see you Friday!” We hung up and I carefully set my cell on the table. I rubbed my face hard, and blew out a breath. God, why that dish? I was pretty sure she knew what it meant, but it was possible she wasn’t thinking. I could have told her, reminded her, but she really wanted it. I shook my head. I wouldn’t let it get to me. It was just food. I didn’t have to have a special memory attached to it. I could do it, and Ellie’s enjoyment would replace the old memories with a new one. And that would be worlds better. I sighed again, then pulled up the grocery store app on my phone. With a few taps, I had the shopping list complete. Then I turned back to my computer. If I was going away in two days, I needed to get some work done. * * * * The groceries were packed in the car, and I was just grabbing my duffle when my phone rang. It was my sister’s tone, and I scrambled to swipe it. “Don’t hate me,” she said before I could even utter a greeting. “I could never,” I said fervently, then perked up. “The weekend’s cancelled?” “No. Don’t be silly.” She made a whiny noise. “But there’s a couple of things I need to get done for my boss before I can go.” “Oh.” I was both disappointed and relieved. In the past few days, I’d started to look forward to the weekend. “That’s fine. Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll come get you.” “Why don’t you just head up without me? I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me, so I’ll drive up when I’m done.” “I don’t mind waiting. I can get some work done, too.” “No, really. You go. Get settled and get cooking. Then I can have a nice, yummy lunch the moment I arrive. I won’t be far behind you. Probably just a couple of hours.” I squinted, suspicion rising. She wasn’t that fond of driving, so I couldn’t figure out why she was suggesting I go without her. “Ellie, what’s going on?” “Nothing, I swear.” She sounded a little too innocent, but my sister wasn’t a liar, so I took her at face value. “Just head on up, and I’ll be right behind you.” Still, I hesitated. “Are you sure?” “Yes.” She chuckled. “Besides, Mark is home today, so maybe I can get a little something something before I head out. To tide me over.” I made a retching noise to make her laugh, then picked up my bag. “All right. I’ll see you in a while then.” “Drive safely. I love you.” “Ditto, Ellie.” We hung up, and I locked my phone and shoved it in my pocket. For a long moment, I stood there, bag in hand, and tried to decide if I was going to call her back and insist on waiting until she was done. But I knew it would be pointless, so I headed outside and got in the car.