Chapter 2 #2
He’s being evasive. But I haven’t shared much information about myself.
I didn’t even tell him I owned the antique shop.
I don’t know why. Maybe I enjoy being the mystery woman.
Living in a small town where everyone knows all your business, it’s refreshing to stumble across someone who doesn’t know my mother had me when she was fifteen and takes more ownership of her schnauzer than she does of me.
Someone who doesn’t pity me for being left behind to run my grandparents’ shop while all my friends went to college.
For a few years, I felt like George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life , wanting to travel and see the world but stuck running the family business because a relative’s health started failing.
I finally realized that taking care of the antique shop is bringing the world to me.
Bringing history to me. It’s a privilege, not a chore.
If it hadn’t been for caregiving, I would’ve never realized the gift before me.
I smile at Leo. “The perfect hill is right over there.” I point to the edge of the park. “Follow me.”
We pass several displays and weave through to the back region, where it’s roped off.
I see a familiar face and grin. “Mitchell.” I wave over Silver Creek’s deputy.
We only have two, and Mitchell is my favorite.
He’s the older brother of my best friend, Tilly, and has a stache that can rival any actor from an ’80s soap opera.
Mitchell’s gaze swings to the sled in Leo’s hands and then to me. “You seeking permission to go down Killer Hill?”
Leo coughs.
I prop a hand on my hip. “That depends if you’re granting it.
” It’s really not a big deal. This part of the park is only roped off because of the Light-Up festival.
The Christmas program runs on donations, and the chamber of commerce wants all visitors to enter and exit through the main areas.
But Mitchell likes to act like he carries all the authority that can be scraped up in a town with no Walmart and even fewer delinquents.
He sucks air through his teeth and rocks back on his heels as if he’s in great deliberation. After a second or two of this charade, he nods. “I suppose it’ll be okay.” He pauses. “Only if you tell me what Tilly is getting me for Christmas.”
I gasp. “Mitchell! A man in uniform blackmailing me?”
He laughs. “Or suppose I could tell this guy about that sleepover party your freshman year.”
Fear strikes me. “You wouldn’t.”
Mitchell shrugs, but there’s a teasing glint in his eye.
“My faith in your civic integrity is fragile.”
“You’re so easy to toy with. Go have fun.” He unhooks one of the sides of the ropes and lets us through, but halts me with a hand to my elbow. “You know this guy?” he whispers.
“Just met him tonight.”
He frowns. “Be careful.”
“We’re not wandering far.” Seriously, the edge of the park will remain in view. But the brotherly look in his eyes slows my steps. “If I’m not back in twenty minutes, assume I’ve been murdered and avenge my death.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’ll be right here in calling distance. Yell if you need me.”
“Thank you.” I pat his shoulder.
He chuckles and shoos me off.
I rejoin Leo as he shifts the sled to his other arm. “I have so many questions.”
I wince, thinking he might have overheard Mitchell’s remarks. “I bet you do.”
“My main one is why you’re taking me to a place called Killer Hill.”
“It’s relatively tame.” I usher him to the tree line.
“Except for one rough spot. Maybe four.” I never went sledding at night, and it’s kinda thrilling.
A soft glow emits from the park, but I don’t need it.
Not really. The snow is so white, we don’t need a light.
I can easily navigate to the edge of the tree line where our destination is. “Behold.” I sweep a hand.
He steps next to me and studies the slope. It does look a bit intimidating. It has two ridges that, if you hit them at the right angle, can send you airborne.
I feel his gaze on me. “What are the odds of me coming out of this fairly unbruised?”
I wave him off. “If you do as I say, you’ll be fine.” I smile. “You might even love it a little.” The noise from the park is like a steady hum, but there’s a stillness here that I soak in. When Leo doesn’t respond, I glance at him.
“Are you sending me down by myself?” He crouches by the sled and places a hand on it as if testing its sturdiness.
“Of course. You’re the one who’s never been before.”
He stands at full height, and I’m once again reminded of how tall he is.
He blends in nicely among the snow-dotted pines.
The shadow of his stubble gives him a lumberjack feel.
That jawline though? I’ve never understood the appeal of chiseled jaws, but now I can approve such artistry …
and functionality. He could slice through icicles with that thing.
He moves closer. “I’m beginning to think your elf assault earlier wasn’t an accident.”
It takes me a full second before I catch his meaning. I laugh. “I’m not trying to kill you.”
“Prove it,” he challenges, but his tone brims with amusement. He taps the sled with his foot. “There’s room for both of us.”
All of a sudden, the huge sled that had made my left arm sore from lugging it around looks small. A child’s toy. “I …”
“You two okay over there?” Mitchell’s voice booms from behind, and his flashlight gauges my vision.
Seriously? Calm down, Mitchell. It’s only been two minutes.
But before I can answer, Leo says, “I’m trying to convince Greta to sled down the hill with me.”
“You sure about that?” Mitchell’s tone has me glaring at him. “Sorry, Greta, but I feel honor-bound to share about?—”
“No,” I interject. “That was years ago. Go away,” I call. “If anyone is to be murdered tonight, it’s you.”
Mitchell chuckles and resumes his post defending Silver Creek Park from crime.
I turn my attention to Leo and almost groan at the arrested look on his face.
“Is there something I should know, Greta?”
“Yeah, that men can’t be trusted with secrets,” I say loud enough so Mitchell can hear.
I glance back at Leo. “I may or may not … sometimes struggle with …” So much for being the mystery woman.
My most glaring fault (well, maybe not my MOST glaring but definitely in the top ten) is about to be revealed.
“Differentiating between my left and right.” There. My dignity is now forfeited.
To my surprise, Leo isn’t laughing at me. He just shrugs. “I couldn’t tie my shoes until I was eight. I rocked Velcro like a champ.”
I tilt my head. He didn’t have to trade an embarrassing moment, but he did.
I somehow feel warmer. “So there’s this story that Mitchell knows.
In sixth grade, Nick Gerrick fractured a bone going down Killer Hill.
Thing is, it was my fault. I mixed my left and right and directed him wrong.
” The guilt weighed heavily on my little soul for a while, until he was partnered with me for the science fair and left me to do the project by myself.
“Yet you say this hill is tame.” He sweeps a hand toward the slope.
“Fine. I’ll join you.” I glance at my phone.
I still have a half hour. “But I’m steering.
I know the spots to avoid. Which means you have the important job of pushing the sled from behind.
” I position myself on the sled. “Are you ready to become a true Silver Creek resident?” I smile and put my boots on the wooden cross-piece that controls the runners. “And fulfill your childhood dreams?”
“I like that you’re so concerned about fulfilling my dreams.”
Before I can respond, he’s pushing the sled like we’re qualifying for the Olympic bobsled team.