Chapter 9 #2
“This is no time for jokes,” she fumed, and stormed back to her bedroom. “I’m already sick of this place, and it hasn’t even been a week.”
You told Bernie that you wanted wild. Well, looks to me like your wish has been granted. Her mother’s voice was loud and clear in her head.
***
“It’s never ending.” Tripp wiped snow from his face as he tried to clear the windshield on Knox’s truck.
“We might as well stop trying to get it all off. The snow is coming down faster than we can get it swept away,” Knox said.
“Think you can drive to the Paradise basically in the dark since the wipers will have a devil of a time keeping up?” Tripp asked.
Knox raised his voice over the howling wind. “No, but I’ll give it my best shot. We might have to walk if I don’t make the two turns, but it will beat staying here.”
“Okay, then,” Tripp started back to the house. “Thank God for the tall rubber boots that we bought when we were on the farm.”
“Yep,” Knox agreed, and slogged through the wet stuff that came halfway to his knees.
Willa Rose must have heard them coming because she opened the door and stood back. “Daddy called and said he has a bag packed and is ready to go.”
“I’ll go get him and then drive as close to the porch as I can to pick up y’all,” Knox said.
“I’ll get some things ready to go and we’ll come out as soon as we hear you,” Tripp said and then turned to Willa Rose. “Will you please make sure all the faucets in the house are dripping? That might save us from having busted pipes.”
“Us?” She raised an eyebrow.
“You just spent the night with one Callahan and woke up with another. That should be enough to warrant an us , don’t you think?”
“I hope you haven’t bet too much money on me staying in this town,” she shot back at him.
He headed back down the hallway, but stopped long enough to turn back and say, “Who says that I made my bet in that direction?”
Tripp was packed and ready when he heard a honk. “This is it,” he said and handed Willa Rose a pair of sunglasses. “Put these on.”
“Why?”
“Woman, why do you have to question everything? They are to protect your eyes from the blowing snow.”
“Where’s yours?” she asked.
“I only have one pair.”
“Do you have a coat to throw down for me to walk on?”
“No, but I’ve got a plan. Just don’t fight me.” He scooped her up in his arms, opened the door, and made a beeline for the truck. He shoved her into the back seat beside Hank and then went back for his bag.
By the time he reached the truck the second time, he was covered with snow. “Okay, Brother, let’s see if you can navigate a blizzard and get us to the Paradise.”
“Why did you carry Willa Rose out here?” Hank asked.
“The snow would have been up to her knees, and this is not going to be a short trip. Her shoes would have gotten wet,” Tripp answered.
“Thank you,” Willa Rose and Hank both said at the same time.
“Was there another reason?” Knox asked out the corner of his mouth.
“It was my turn to be hero.” Tripp grinned.
Knox pulled out slowly. “I can’t see where the yard ends and the road begins.”
“You do it by feel, not sight,” Hank told him. “The road will feel different. The trouble will be in finding the turns.”
Knox was going a little too fast and slid forward half a city block when he finally made it to the road. “That was a close one,” he whispered when the truck came to a stop, and he eased on at five miles an hour. “If there weren’t fences, we could just drive between the trees.”
“Oh, no!” Willa Rose gasped. “What about Remy and Ursula’s cows, and poor little Pansy pig?”
“They’re all in the barns. The cattle are in stalls at Remy’s, and Pansy has been moved into the barn on Audrey’s property.” Tripp rolled down the window and stuck his head outside. “Turn now. This is where we go left.”
Knox let up on the gas and took the corner in a long, greasy slide.
“Good job,” Hank said from the back seat.
“Have you ever had to drive in this kind of weather?” Tripp asked.
“Couple of times when I was making a haul up to Vermont in the wintertime,” he answered, “but I had the weight of an eighteen-wheeler working for me. Just take it slow and easy. Are there any signs that we can use to know when to turn at the Paradise?”
“I can barely make them out, but there’s lights on the fences,” Knox answered. “There will be a small break where the lane is. Tripp, help me watch for it.”
“I will never pray for snow again.” Willa Rose’s voice sounded strained and scared. “A white Christmas or even a snowman isn’t worth all this.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t a layer of sleet and ice underneath it,” Hank assured her. “We’re closer by the minute. Every few feet means that we won’t have to walk that far. And you’ve got some big strong men to carry you if we do.”
“I can walk,” she protested loudly. “I’m tough enough to take the snow.”
“In those cloth shoes?” Hank chuckled. “You’ll have frostbite before you reach the house. We’ve got to get you some rubber boots before winter is over.”
“Hopefully, this won’t happen again for another decade or more. I can see a break in the lights, so I’m going to give it a try right here.” Knox made a hard right and only fishtailed for a minute before he got control and finally brought the truck to a stop at the edge of the back porch.
“Just when I get the hang of doing this, the trip is over,” he said.
“You aren’t fooling me one bit,” Tripp said with a long sigh. “You were just as nervous as the rest of us.”
“No, Brother, you are wrong. This drop in adrenaline testifies that I was twice as nervous as any of you,” Knox admitted.