Snowbound - Harlequin.com

JANICE KAY JOHNSON
55
“Fine. But they won’t have made their beds, either, and
we’re not doing that for them.”
She sounded so fierce, a trace of amusement stirred
in him. He hardly recognized it. He’d lost his sense of
humor along with so much else in Iraq.
Climbing the stairs, he asked, “Are you going to be
in trouble over this?”
“With the school, you mean?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know. I hope not. I did call my principal
before we left Redmond, and he agreed that it made
sense to take the alternate route. And it wasn’t snowing,
and forecasters were off by hours about when the storm
was supposed to reach this far north.”
She wasn’t trying to convince him, John guessed, but
rather herself.
Her voice went quiet. “Maybe I deserve to lose my
job. We could have all died. I used poor judgment.”
He’d been harsh yesterday, and now felt like the
worst kind of hypocrite. His own misjudgment had
resulted in horror. Maybe she’d been lucky, but her
error had been mild in comparison.
Besides… He’d been surprised himself yesterday
afternoon to walk out of the grocery store and see snow
falling so soon. His own drive back to the lodge had
been treacherous.
They’d reached the hallway above.
“I suspect there are travelers stranded all over. You
may not be the only Knowledge Champs team that got
in trouble. From what you said, high schools all over
Oregon had sent kids.”