The Dead of Winter (Seasons of Jefferson: Book 2) (26 page)

“Your tongue’s hanging out. Don’t tell me you’re going to lick me next.” She laughs as she nudges me on the shoulder. That’s when I notice my heaviness pressing into her. She’s still holding my balance. This girl is no weakling. She’s been carrying my weight for who knows how long.
Quit being self-centered, Woodley. You don’t want to wear her out before we even get to the first task.

As the hill begins to flatten, I slowly ease away from her hold. Coldness begins to fill the gap where her body has separated from mine. The bone-chilling void has my mind preoccupied, trying to find ways to pull her back into me.
I can’t touch her again. Not while I’m feeling those fuzzy things inside. It would be cheating. Wouldn’t it?
I talk myself out of warming up to her again, barely noticing that we’ve reached the shopping center. Jessie May was right about the shortcut. We’re here in no time.

“There!” Jessie May points, leading the way toward the back of my dad’s store. “The paper says 160. That’s past the pizza parlor. It’s got to be the grocery store. We have to go all the way around.”

I watch her brown curls bob beneath her knit beanie as she sprints along the back alley toward the store. We follow suit, wrapping around the back, rounding the corner, and making our way through the automatic doors. I bend over long enough to catch my breath. Hands glued to my knees, I raise my head just enough to scan the store. There’s no one in sight. It’s Christmas Eve. The aisles are empty.

Finally, a voice comes from behind. “Can I help you?”

“Dash to the Pole.” Jessie May replies.

“Gotcha.” She looks down at her watch. “This must be your first station.” She takes a card out of her smock and reads the instructions. “Your job is to fill this box with Christmas dinner for a needy family. Here’s a list. Check it twice. Don’t miss a thing, or you’ll pay a big price.” Smiling, she adds, “That’s what this clue says anyway.” She hands me a slip of paper. “Come back to customer service when you’ve filled the box, and I’ll give you the signature card and the first toy of Christmas. Remember, the gifts must be wrapped and delivered before you go back to the pole. Understand?”

We all nod and take the list.

“There must be twenty things on here.” I grumble.

“Let’s split up.” Jessie May inspects the paper as she finds the perfect spot to tear the list. “Avery, you take this half. I’ll take this half.”

I feel a bit helpless as I stand by and watch the girls scour their lists. “What about me?”

“Grab a hand basket and go with Avery. She’ll need your help.”

I nod my head. “Okay. No time to waste. Let’s go, Tangles.”

As I chase her through the bread aisle, I can hear her voice drifting back. “You know you're a pain in the ass, right?”

“What?”

“You heard me. And you’re not just slow on the snow. You’re slow on your feet too.”

She grabs some rolls and tosses them back over her shoulder. Thankfully I’m close enough to catch them.

“Can of sweet potatoes.” She begins to pick up speed.

“What?”

“The next thing on the list. It’s a can of sweet potatoes. Keep up, Grandpa!”

She runs down the main aisle, peering left and right. “Back here!” I yell, calling her back to the canned fruit aisle. “Lucky for you I’m
slow
enough
to actually
see
what I’m trying to find.”
I showed her.
I laugh to myself when I see her reaction to her useless speed.

She shakes her head, grabbing the can of sweet potatoes off the shelf and throwing it in the basket. “Why are you so slow, anyway?”

Should I answer that honestly and make her feel bad for being such an asshole? Guess it couldn’t hurt.
“If you must know, I’m still recovering from an accident.”

“Ski accident?” She stops unexpectedly, and looks me up and down.

I shake my head, “Auto.”

I watch her face change. She looks as though she’s really contemplating what I’ve just told her. “So that’s why you weren’t racing?” She mumbles quietly under her breath, likely thinking I won’t hear, but I understand her well enough to respond.

“Yep.”

“Recent?”

“Thanksgiving.”

A faraway look overtakes her face. “Sorry,” she mumbles softly, shaking her head. She reaches out, setting her hand on the shelf, as she takes in a deep breath and releases it slowly. She’s not talking. Not moving. I don’t know what I said that seems to have her so rattled.

“You okay?” I ask, trying to shake her from her motionless state.

She takes a deep breath and pulls the list back up to her face. “Green beans and cream of mushroom soup,” she looks back toward me, dropping her hand from the shelf. Her shaky voice sneaks through her dimpled smile. There’s a bit of a glint shining in her eye. I can tell she’s trying to pull back a tear, but I dare not ask. I know what it’s like to want to hide my sadness, so I simply nod and point her in the direction of the soup.

“It’s over here,” I motion. I can see she’s still somewhat distracted, but this is a fun race with an unbelievable prize, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose this thing. I need to help her snap out of it. I sprint down the aisle, grab the soup, and run it back to the basket. “Catch!” I pant, holding the can above my head, poised to make the shot. Avery lifts the basket just in time to catch it midair.

She shrinks back, giving off a slight hint of fear, but something tells me she’s not going to give me the satisfaction of saying I scared her. “Thought you were a boarder, not a baller.”

“Oh, I’m only boarding cuz my injury kept me off the court this season.” I feel my spirits drop as soon as the thought crosses my mind. I hate that I can’t play basketball. I hate that while all my friends are on the court, I have to stand up on a damn, snowy hill, holding a
stupid
flag, for a bunch of
stupid
skiers, who don’t even know that if it wasn’t for that
stupid
accident, I’d be leading my team to the section championships this season. I hate that every minute of every day I have to fight to forget about all this crap.
The accident. Peyton. My arm. Basketball. Pistol. Pistol. It always comes back to Pistol. Where is that asshole anyway?
This race is supposed to be a distraction. It’s supposed to give me something positive to do. So why isn’t it working?
Push it out of your mind, Woodley.

“Earth to, Caden.” Her voice rescues me from my state of self-pity, allowing me to focus on her probing, brown eyes. “You okay?”

No, I’m not. But she doesn’t need to know that.
“One more item checked off the list. What else do we need?”

Avery scans the list. “Let’s see. Brown sugar, marshmallows, butter, and a pumpkin pie.” I stand in amusement as she begins jogging down the aisle, looking left and right. She stops, backs up, searches the aisle signs, takes a few more steps forward, and comes to a stop. Finally, she jogs back to my side. I watch her wheels spinning, when again, she looks down at the list, and back up at the aisle markers that hang from the ceiling. After a few seconds, she shakes her head and takes a deep breath. She’s obviously flustered.

“Are
you
okay?” I ask, returning the same concern she’d just shown me just moments ago.

“Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re counting on me to help you win this thing, but I’m not even from here. I don’t know this store at all.” Her tone becomes increasingly desperate. “I thought if I ran fast we’d find the stuff sooner, but my strategy sucks. I don’t know where any of this is.” She shakes the list in the air. “You probably know where to find these things faster than I can. Want to take the lead on this one? I’ll make it up to you at the next station.”

I look her up and down, examining her posture. I can see by her body language that it took a lot for this girl to admit she needs help. In fact, she looks like she just ate a huge slice of humble pie. She holds my gaze. Something in her eyes tells me that she’s been through a lot recently. Maybe that’s why she’s so ballsy. On guard. Defensive. She’s protecting herself. Well, if anything, it’s clear I’m not alone in battling inner demons tonight. If I can’t beat mine, maybe I can help her beat hers. Rather than give her a hard time about it, I decide to play nice. “Everything should be on this aisle and the next one over.” I point around the corner.

“Got it. Let’s grab the goods and beat Jessie May to the front. If we want a chance at winning this thing, we’ve got to get out of here.”

We grab the last of the items on the list and throw everything in the box. Jessie May is waiting at customer service, jumping up and down. “Hurry, hurry. We need to figure out our next stop.” She motions us forward.

The clerk checks our box, signs us off, gives Jessie May a toy puppy, some batteries, and hands us a card with our next destination. “Oh and here,” she hands me a large cloth sack. “You’ll want this for the gifts you collect at each station.”

I open the sack as Jessie May gently sets the package inside. “I love the giving tree. It’s pretty cool that we can be part of it this year. I’m glad you’re with me for Christmas, Avery.” I watch the corner of Tangles’s mouth tug downward. She bites at her inner lip, and pulls it into a smile. It’s funny though. The smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

We read our card, which requires us to collect fifty dollars for the Salvation Army bell ringer, who’s working outside the store. I laugh and pull out my wallet. “Done!” I cheer. “Best fifty bucks I ever spent.” I throw the money in the pot, collect the second gift of Christmas, and gain access to our next task card.

A half hour stint at the Elderly Manor decorating one of their many Christmas trees has earned us another gift and passage to our fourth task, chopping wood for disabled vets.
Finally, something I can really put my heart into.
Luckily, I know a lot of people in this town, and they’re crawling all over the place. I scan the street, finally spotting one of my favorite ladies. I wave my arms wildly, trying to flag her down. I’m not sure she sees me through the crowd, but her distinct, green Jeep slowly pulls to a stop beside me
.
“Hey Sandy Bear, we’re competing in the Dash tonight. Mind dropping us off at the City Park?”

A huge grin covers her face. “Hop on in, Cade Monster.”

I open the door to the back seat, letting the girls load in first. When I jump up front, I’m greeted by an inquisitive smile.

“So, who are the ladies?”

Not sure how to answer that, I remain silent.

“Cat got your tongue, huh? Where’s that little blond you run around with? Is she home with family tonight?”

Boy, way to pull out the challenge questions right out of the shoot.
“Not sure, Bear. We’re done.”

“Oh. I see.” Shock is evident on her face. She stays quiet for a couple seconds, then looks up in her rearview mirror. “So, how did you girls meet this little monster?”

I hear some giggling in the back seat. “Oh, we’ve had a couple
run-ins
here and there,” I finally hear Jessie May’s voice chime in.”

“Run-ins? Do you mean run-overs?” Tangles jokes.

Sandy starts to ask another question, but I turn up the radio, trying to drown it out. I love this lady, and appreciate what she’s doing for me, but I don’t have it in me to sit through
The Today Show with Caden Woodley
. I just don’t have the answers, and we need to get to the next task fast. “Step on it, Bear. This is a race.”

“Okay,” she singsongs, pressing down on the gas and nearly throwing me into the back seat. “Hey, if you need me to, I can be your driver. It might get you around a little faster. I know you’re still not moving as fast as normal after that
terrible
accident. I’m just so thankful you weren’t
killed
.”

Heavy silence suddenly fills the cab. I look back in the rearview mirror and examine the girls’ lack of expression. Avery’s eyebrows are drawn together as she fidgets with her fingernail. Jessie May is turned into her, gently rubbing her on the back. I watch Jessie mouth the words, “You okay?” as Avery nods silently in response. I can’t help but wonder what she’s going through. Something’s definitely not okay with this girl, but she’s certainly fighting whatever it is.

Sandy’s voice draws my attention to the park entrance. We’ve pulled in next to the Upper Lodge. “We’re here. Want me to wait?”

I can’t believe she’s actually doing this for me, but I’m so thankful she is. “Sounds good,” I say, hopping out and opening the door for the girls. “Not sure how much wood we need to chop. You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. It’ll give me a chance to catch up with my friends over there.” She points to a crowd of middle-aged people huddled outside the senior dining hall.

“Be back soon. Come on, girls.” We run toward the lodge to find out where exactly this wood is that we need to chop.

When we enter, we’re greeted by the parade Santa, who directs us to the pile of wood behind the lodge. An old truck sits next to the pile. “We’ve marked a line on the truck bed. Chop and fill the wood to here.” He holds his hand up to the line. “No big air gaps either. I’ll be making sure your stack is solid. When you’re finished, you’ll need to have me check it. I won’t sign you off and give you your next task card unless you do it right. This wood is going to some of my best friends,” he belly laughs. “Ho, Ho, Ho. Good luck.”

He hands me an axe. I look around, trying to find the chopping block. As soon as I spot it next to the front tire, I grab the first piece of wood and balance it in front of me. I stare it down pretty hard before I lift the axe above my head. I haven’t used my arm like this in weeks, and the thought of embarrassing myself in front of these girls has me sweating through my flannel.
Bite the bullet, dude,
I think to myself before I finally raise the axe.
One, two, three.
I count in my head before I finally allow myself to take the first swing. The heavy blade crashes down as two new pieces of wood fall to the sides of the block.

Did it. Phew.
The axe is a lot heavier than I remember. Jessie May immediately starts grabbing the wood and handing it to Avery, who’s now standing in the truck bed. I have to admit, these girls know how to speed things up. Avery has obviously stacked wood before. I grab another piece, repeating the daunting process. This time, as I lift the axe, a tinge of pain finds its way from my shoulder to my elbow. I have to convince myself to work through the pain. I’ve got to get this done, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.
Come on, Woodley. You’re two pieces in. This is nothing you can’t deal with. You’ve got to keep up with these girls or you’re going to look like a wuss.
I watch Jessie May carry the newly split pieces to Avery.