Snowbound

(Chapter One)

© January 2015

(Evening; Dec 18th…)

At home, in Los Angeles, Leah DeSoto was getting more and more excited as she packed clothes for Gage and Gracie. She had already packed for her and Roy for the fourth time that morning. She was watching the weather report and it was getting colder in Denver. As the temperatures there continued to drop, the weatherman was calling for two feet of new snow in area.

"Ok, Leah, how many times does this make for the kid's suitcase?"

"Don't start on me! Roy DeSoto!" she laughed as he flopped down on the bed. "I keep watching the weather for Denver and as each new inch of snow is called for, I feel compelled to add another layer of clothing to the bags!"

"Honey, we live in Los Angeles, you can't even buy the proper clothing here for that kind of weather."

"Oh yes you can! Jillian and I have been shopping several times and we have accumulated quite an array of fashion for this trip! Wait until you see the sweaters I have for you."

Roy groaned, "I don't like the sound of that, but as long as there aren't any knitted penguins or animals with antlers on them, then maybe it won't be too bad."

"Well..." said Leah teasingly, while Roy gave her a worried look, "No, there aren't; I promise. I'm just really excited to take the kids to the ski lodge, they have never seen snow, except on TV, and I'm just trying to pack enough warm clothes for them so that they can play outside in it for as long as they want."

"It sure was nice of Pete's mom and dad to rent the chalet and invite us to come along with Pete and Jillian...and I get two whole weeks away from the station."

"Since Pete and I have become as close as a brother and sister, I'm finding that I'm getting so close to the entire Malloy family. You know, like having a Mom and Dad of my own. Your parents are great to me, but they are still my in-laws...oh I'm just rattling on and not making any sense."

Roy got up from the bed where he was lying there watching her hazel eyes flash with excitement and as she was tossing her auburn hair, and drew her close to him. He lovingly gave her a kiss, "I know you're excited, and you have exactly eight hours to get the suitcases packed and in the station wagon, because it, and whoever is inside, leaves at 7 a.m."

"Then get out of here and let me finish up!"

Roy laughed as he left the room and went to the family room to study the map one more time. "Two feet of new snow; wonderful" he said to himself out loud. "Sixteen hours of drive time! Am I crazy? We should have flown, but oh no, the girls thought a road trip would be so much fun!"

"Roy, who are you talking to?"

"No one Leah, just looking at the map, planning our adventure!"

"I'm so excited!" came the shout from the bedroom.

"I know, you've told me" Roy whispered under his breath.

He studied the map even closer. They were going to drive it in two days; first, to St George, Utah, where they would stay for the night, and then the next day on into Denver. Following that would be eight days in snow country, with two days drive home, and then two days of rest before going back to work.

Roy smiled as he thought about Leah's excitement, and how the kids' eyes lit up as she told them about the trip. He also thought to himself of how much fun they were going to have and how Pete Malloy was going to pay big time for getting him into this little adventure!

He laughed, and mused, "Well, at least we're not camping!"

(Meanwhile at the Malloy house)

"Hi Honey, how was your shift?" Jillian inquired as she greeted Pete at the door. She was already in her favorite cozy housecoat and slippers, ready for a good nights' sleep and an early start the next day.

"It was long, quiet, and uneventful." He replied, as he bent to kiss his wife.

"Hmm, that's and interesting answer…quiet, and uneventful, huh? Isn't that about the same thing in your line of work?" Jillian followed Pete as he headed towards their bedroom.

She waited as he stopped midway down the hallway and quietly opened the door to the nursery and tiptoed over to the twin bed against the wall. Bending, he placed a kiss on Clara Rose's forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, Sweetie, Daddy loves you." He lightly stroked her cheek, marveling at the softness of her little cheek. He then quietly strode across the room to the baby bed on the far wall and bent to place a kiss on little Joey's forehead. "Sweet Dreams, Big Guy, Daddy loves you." Straightening, he reached in and gently pulled the lightweight blanket up around his son's tiny frame, thinking that soon he would be too big for the baby bed and would need a twin bed, as well. His heart was full of pride as he reflected on what a blessing their children were. He could hardly believe that Clara Rose had just turned three years old and little Joey had recently turned two. It seemed to him that it was just yesterday that Jillian had told him, in an unusual way, that he was going to be a daddy in the first place.

Pete crossed the room and quietly closed the nursery door before answering, "Nope, not tonight. Tonight the 'uneventful' was just that, uneventful; and the quiet was Jim's sulking the entire shift. He's still pretty bummed that he and the family aren't able to go on this trip with us."

Jillian let out a sigh, and continued to follow Pete to their bedroom. She sat down on the bed as he began to undress. "I know Hon; I talked to Jean today and she is pretty disappointed too. She said that she talked to April the other day, and April told her that Johnny has been sulking around all week."

"Well, I guess sooner or later it was bound to happen that we couldn't all get vacation time together. I just wish it would have been later, but that's just how it is this time."

"Yeah, I guess." Jillian sighed again. "Oh, by the way, your mom called. She and your dad will get to Denver the day before us. She couldn't stop talking about how excited she is to see her grandchildren."

"And us too, I suppose?" Pete asked.

Jillian let out a laugh, "No, she didn't say that. As a matter of fact, Pete, I have noticed that since we have had kids, she doesn't complain so much about not seeing her 'baby boy' as much as she would like to. Now she complains that she never gets to see her grandbabies." Jillian chuckled again, "I think you have been replaced."

"Hmm, I would've gotten married years ago and given her a dozen grandkids if I would have known that was all it would take to get her to stop worrying about me so much."

"No…I don't think you would have." Jillian countered.

"Why wouldn't I have?" Pete inquired as he sat down on the bed and bent to remove his shoes.

"Because your 'Mrs. Right', me, didn't come along until a little over four years ago, that's why."

Pete let out hearty laugh, earning him a poke in the ribs. He laughed again and gave Jillian a quick kiss, "And I wouldn't have it any other way, Sunshine."

Standing up, Pete began to undo his belt. He stopped when he glanced over to the corner of the room where three large suitcases sat. From the looks of them, they were beyond full; they appeared to be overstuffed. He figured Jillian probably had to sit on them to get them zipped. "Uh, Jillian, exactly how much stuff did you pack?"

"I packed ten outfits for each one of us, and I threw in a few extra pieces for the kids. After all, we don't want to run out of clothes."

Pete reached out and pulled Jillian up off of the bed and placed his arms around her. "Honey, if I were a betting man, I would have to wager that they have washers and dryers at the chalet. We can probably get away with half of what you have packed."

Taking a step back, out of Pete's arm reach, Jillian looked thoughtfully at the suitcases, as if contemplating the words of wisdom offered up by her husband. She then looked back to Pete and said, "Well…I suppose we could; but then again, if I take the time necessary to re-pack, I won't have the time or energy to kick off our vacation the way I had planned."

Having seen that look in her eyes many times over the past four years, Pete felt himself becoming aroused as he asked, "And just how did you plan to kick off our vacation?"

With a sexy, sultry look at her husband, Jillian slowly untied the belt on her robe, allowing it to part slightly open as she carefully slid it down passed her shoulders and into a puddle at her feet. Pete was speechless with desire as he gazed at his wife standing in front of him, in nothing but a black lace teddy that was cut high at the thigh, and very low at the bosom.

"Oh my…" Pete sucked in a deep breath, stepped forward and gathered Jillian into his arms, kissing her passionately on the lips and then moving his mouth to her nibble on her ear, followed by kisses down her neck and back up towards her mouth once again. Between each little nibble and kiss, as his hands roamed a pattern of their own all over her from her bottom on up, he muttered, "I think…ten changes... of clothes…for each of us…is absolutely…perfect. And I hope you threw in a few more of these little treasures." Pete knew it was going to be a short night of sleep, followed by a long day ahead, but he was sure it would be well worth it.

(The next morning, Dec. 19th…)

Pete rolled over and glanced at the clock; 5:45 a.m. He reached for Jillian and realized that she was already out of bed. Moaning, he threw back the covers and got up. He knew that the morning would fly by; they planned to be at Roy and Leah's house by 8:00 a.m.

Heading down the hall, Pete stopped at the bathroom before moseying out to the kitchen where he found Jillian, already dressed for the day, bent over and packing the cooler with sandwiches, drinks, snacks, and child friendly finger foods, for the trip. The smell of freshly brewed coffee met him and he sighed in appreciation before commenting, "Ahh, now that's how I like to start a morning."

Jillian stood up and greeted him. "Well good morning to you too, Hon. I trust you are referring to the view that you walked in on just now? Or perhaps you are referring to our late night rendezvous that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning?"

Chuckling, Pete chose his answer carefully. "Yes, to both of those, and to the freshly brewed coffee. I'm going to need about a pot of it."

Laughing, Jillian retorted with, "Ditto."

Pete grabbed a cup from the dish drainer on the counter and poured coffee for himself before re-filling Jillian's nearly empty cup that was sitting on the table nearby.

"Thanks Honey." She said, reaching for the cup and taking a sip.

"Yep." Pete took a long draw from his cup. "Do you need any help with that?"

"Nope, I've got it. You go ahead and get showered before the kids wake up. I am hoping to get everything pretty much squared away and the car packed before they wake up."

Running a hand down his face, Pete yawned and then took another swig of coffee. "I'm going to throw on some sweats and a t-shirt and go check the fluids in the car before I shower. I need to let this coffee kick in."

Satisfied that everything was in its' place in the cooler, Jillian placed the lid on it as she said, "I did that yesterday. I added some washer fluid, but the oil, brake fluid, steering fluid, and transmission fluid were all okay. Oh, and the radiator water level is fine, too."

"Oh…well, okay then." Pete gave her a thoughtful look. "You didn't happen to check the tire pressures, did you?"

"Of course I did." Jillian answered. "The left rear was about ten pounds low so when I went to the gas station to top off the tank, I went ahead and put some air in it. The spare is all pumped up too; just in case. We should be good to go."

Pete smiled. He enjoyed the competence and efficiency in which his wife seemed to handle the routine necessities. Teasingly he asked, "Is there anything that you need me around for?"

Without missing a beat, Jillian batted her eyes at him and answered, "Why yes, as a matter of fact there is; I need you around for your stellar performance in the bedroom, and for your brute strength. After all, those three big suitcases aren't going to carry themselves out to the car…and neither am I. I could barely move them off of the bed after I got them zipped."

Laughing, Pete bowed slightly, "My pleasure, me Lady; your every wish is my command."

Jillian laughed and picked up the dishtowel, intending to toss it at Pete. The phone rang and she dropped the dishtowel and ran past Pete, saying, "Oh, that's probably Leah calling. Scoot out of my way; I have to answer that before the ringing wakes the children!" She let out a screech when Pete swatted her on the rump as she ran by him.

Reaching the phone on the third ring, a breathless Jillian answered. "Good morning, Leah!"

Jillian listened intently and then answered, "Yep, Pete and I are up, and he is getting ready to shower and then pack up the car. I'll get the kids up and get them fed, and dressed while he's doing that, and then we'll be over."

After another short pause, "Yeah, I agree, it's too early to eat right now. The kids will be ready for a short break from the car in a couple of hours, so we can stop for a late breakfast."

Jillian listened to something Leah and said and then laughed, and threw a look in Pete's direction, "No, I think he can hold out for a couple of hours before he turns into a hungry grizzly."

Pete gave her an amused looked, mouthed 'Very funny', and then headed toward the bathroom for his shower.

Jillian held the phone with one hand as she put away the dishes that had air dried in the drainer overnight. "No, we didn't ask Jim and Jean to take care of the cat; it almost seemed too awkward to ask them to watch Scrappy while we were off on vacation and skiing in the high country. Pete suggested that we have Billy McDonald come over and feed Scrappy and take in the mail since he is home from college on break. He had Mac ask him about it the other day and he was happy to help out. Pete dropped off the key on his way to work yesterday."

Jillian paused to listen, then gave a short laugh. "No, I don't think Scrappy will miss us too much. And I know he won't miss being chased around the house by the kids! He may even be able to take his twenty hour cat nap every day, without needing to sleep with one eye open!"

The girls continued their conversation until a few minutes later when Clara Rose came toddling around the corner, crying, "Mama, I pee'd the bed."

"Oh, Leah, I gotta go! Clara Rose is up. She wet the bed and I'll need to throw the sheets in the washer and get them hung up on the clothes rack to dry before we leave. We'll be there by eight o'clock, though. See you soon."

Jillian quickly hung up the phone and scooped Clara up in her arms. "Oh Sweetie, its okay. C'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

"Mum, mum, mum, mum, mum, mum" Jillian heard coming from the nursery as she headed down the hall with Clara Rose. With each 'mum', Joey became louder and louder.

"Wonderful!" Jillian muttered, and then blew out a sigh of relief at seeing Pete coming out of the bathroom.

"Well thank you." Pete beamed, thinking that his wife was referring to his towel-clad appearance.

"Oh Pete, you are wonderful, but your physique was not what I was referring to right now. Clara wet the bed and I need to get her cleaned up and the sheets in the washer, and now it sounds like Joey is awake and the car still needs to…"

Pete stepped forward and put a hand on her cheek and stroked it, "Relax, Honey. We have plenty of time." Pete's tone was easygoing and relaxed. "You get Clara Rose cleaned up and I'll get Joey out of bed and changed and then I will throw the sheets in the washer. It won't take long to pack the car and I can do that while you feed the munchkins."

"But we have to be at Roy and Leah's by eight o'clock Pete, and it's already…," Jillian glanced at her watch, "it's already 6:45!"

"Relax, we have plenty of time." Pete re-affirmed with a quick kiss.

Sighing, Jillian continued down the hall and drew a quick bath for Clara Rose. She knew Pete had walked into the nursery when she heard Joey squeal with delight and shout "Da-dee, da-dee, da-dee!" Suddenly, time issues took a backseat and Jillian focused on the task at hand; she felt a bit more relaxed, and very thankful that Pete was such a wonderful dad and that he was always so willing to pitch in and help out with the kids with no qualms. She had known many men that would have left all of the child care to their wives, reasoning that they put their hours in at work and that home and children were solely a wife's duty.

An hour later, 7:45 a.m. on the dot, Pete carefully backed the station wagon out of the garage. The kids were in their car seats, the luggage and cooler packed securely in the back end of the wagon. Pete had a roadmap lying on the seat between him and Jillian and Jillian had written instructions up in the visor. They set off for Roy and Leah's house, just a few blocks away.

"You see, I told you we would get out of the house on time. You were worried for nothing." Pete commented.

Jillian let out a relaxed sigh and smiled at her husband, before answering in a nonchalant tone, "I wasn't worried; I had it all under control."

Pete let forth a burst of laughter and retorted with, "Sure you did, Sweetheart; sure you did."

Jillian let out a small laugh, and told him, "Drive, Pete…just drive." They were both glad to be on their way to the DeSoto's.

Meanwhile, at the DeSoto's house…

Leah hung up the phone and leaned her back against the wall with a halfway smile saying to herself, "That sneaky little firefighter." She went to the family room where Roy was watching the early morning news. "Roy, I just got off the phone with Jillian. They haven't even left the house yet. She said they would be here at 8."

Roy was halfway listening while he watched the breaking news of a fire at a construction site in Carson, where he knew Station 51 would be responding. "You did? So what time are they going to be here?"

"Roy DeSoto, you're not listening to me."

"I'm sorry I was just trying to see what was going on with the fire..."

Leah marched over and turned off the TV then went and placed her hand on his shoulder "You're on vacation; let it go for the next 14 days."

He smiled up at her and pulled her down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in for a long and passionate kiss. "I'll try, I promise. Now what were you trying to tell me?"

Leah was looking at Roy's eyes and for a moment was lost in them. She remembered that the first thing she had noticed about him was those blue eyes; blue, and so full of compassion and gentleness, and yet strong and determined. She wanted...no needed…one more kiss as she let herself become enveloped in the moment. She could feel herself being fueled by desire and knew that Roy was feeling the same thing. She was the first to break the silence.

"Jillian said that she and Pete would be over in about 15 minutes, around 8 o'clock."

"Why don't you call them back and tell them to come over about 9 o'clock. Another hour with you would be a wonderful way to start this vacation."

Leah smiled, "Roy, last night you told me we were leaving at 7 a.m. sharp, but Jill said that the plan was to leave at 8 o'clock. So...why did you tell me 7 o'clock?"

Roy started smiling. The look on his face was like that of a mischievous boy that had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie about it?"

"Roy DeSoto! The bags are in the car, the cooler is packed, and I've been rushing around here to get the house ready so that when it is time to leave so all we would have to do is grab the kids, do a bathroom stop and jump in the car. And I have been pacing the floor for the last hour wondering where Pete and Jill were! You told me 7 a.m. just so I would be ready on time, didn't you? She didn't wait for his answer and muttered, "And to think I could have gotten another hour of sleep."

She stood up, pretending to be angry when Roy playfully swatted her on the rump. "It worked didn't it!"

Both started laughing. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around and kissing her.

"Mommy, why are you and Daddy dancing?" Gracie was standing at the end of the hallway rubbing the sleep from her eyes with one hand and dragging her favorite stuffed bunny by the ear, with the other.

"Hey sweetheart, we're dancing because Daddy doesn't know how to tell time."

"That doesn't make any sense, Daddy went to school."

Roy laughed and gathered Gracie up and twirled her around, "That's right baby girl, I went to school, and I can tell time, and right now it is time for you to get your pj's changed and then we are going on our snow trip with Uncle Pete and Aunt Jill."

"Don't forget Clara Rose and Joey, too!" Gracie squealed with delight.

"Yep," Leah said, "and we are going to have the best vacation ever. Now, let's go wake your brother so we will be ready when they get here."

Roy watched his girls and they headed into Gage's bedroom. He couldn't keep the smile from spreading wide across his face as he noticed how much Gracie looked like her mommy. They had the same curly auburn hair and flashing hazel eyes.

Thinking that Pete should be pulling up in the driveway soon, he reached for the map lying on the table. He drew a long drink from his coffee cup and stared at the lines on the map that represented the highways that they would be traveling to get to Denver. "I hope this is the best vacation ever and I wish I could shake this uneasy feeling." He whispered to himself as he shuffled his feet back and forth.

A car horn from the driveway broke his train of thought, and he smiled once again as he followed Gage and Gracie who were racing to the door. They were about to be snowbound.

Jillian let out a mortified gasp and then laughed when she saw the wide smile splitting Pete's face as he began honking the car horn while pulling into the DeSoto's driveway. The loud blasts of the horn cut through the quiet stillness of the morning. "Pete Malloy! What are you trying to do, wake up the whole neighborhood?" Her tone was teasingly scolding.

"Nope; that's why I only beeped twice. If I wanted to wake the neighbors, I'd do this!" With an ornery twinkle in his eyes, he laid on the horn for a five second blast, bringing the entire DeSoto family to the front porch and once he had a full audience, he jumped out the car and yelled, "YAHOO! Denver, here we come!"

Jillian rolled down the passenger window and leaned out, laughing and at the same time yelled up to Leah, "Honestly, I don't know what he got into before we left the house, but I'm pretty sure that whatever it was, it's responsible for this behavior; that or he's just excited about this trip!" In the back seat of the station wagon, Clara Rose and Joey were laughing and squealing, trying their best to bounce out of their car seats as they clapped their hands together in excitement. It seemed the whole Malloy family had been in the feather soup that morning.

Pete was still laughing as he walked up the driveway and towards the house, "Roy, do you need any help loading up or is everyone ready to get rolling?"

"No, were ready, and don't give Leah another chance to re-pack anything or we'll never get on the road! Does anyone need a last bathroom break?" Roy looked at the two wives who were standing by their respective vehicles, and then to his two kids climbing into the back seat. He fully expected a mad rush to the house door.

"Nope we're good." Leah replied while buckling Gage and Gracie into the back seat. She was busy arranging their toy bag, their pillows and small blanket each, settling them in for the long trip.

Pete called to Jillian, "How about our crew, any takers?"

"No, we're fine." Jillian smiled at her husband as she reached over the back seat to hand Clara Rose her doll that she had dropped just out of reach.

Roy and Pete glanced at each other, both somewhat surprised by the replies they had just received. "Honey, are you sure?"

"I'm sure, Roy, we're ready to go find some snow. Aren't we kids?"

"We sure are," Gracie beamed at her Daddy, "and I even have my bunny." She was holding up her favorite friend, convincing Roy that if she had 'Fluffy', then all was right in her world.

Gage chimed in, "And I have 'Johnny'!" 'Johnny was his stuffed friend, a dog in the image of a Bassett Hound and named after his own namesake, Johnny Gage. "But I'm hungry!"

They all laughed. "You are definitely your godfathers' name sake!" Leah teased, tickling his tummy. "I have some snacks and we will stop for breakfast in a bit."

"Everything's loaded, everyone's in the car, nothing has been forgotten, nobody needs a bathroom break and it is 7:55 a.m." Pete observed with surprise in his voice. "Are we really ready to roll?"

Roy laughed, "This is one for the record books! Why don't you lead out and we'll follow you, then we can switch after we make our first stop. That way we won't wear out with the navigating as quickly."

"That's a good idea, and if the tail car needs to make a stop, we'll just flash the lights." Pete suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Roy agreed. They each got into their vehicles and backed out of the drive way. Pete, Jillian, Clara Rose and Joey were in the lead car; a blue station wagon, while Roy, Leah, Gage and Gracie were in the tail car; a brown station wagon.

"Are we almost there?" Gage asked from his place in the back seat. Leah and Roy looked at each other and laughed. It definitely was going to be an interesting and exciting trip!