Chapter 3 #2
Mandy worried her bottom lip, but a new customer stepped forward carrying a basket and the air of someone anxious to get in and out as quickly as possible. I flashed a reassuring smile at Mandy for my sake more than hers, then picked up the three paper bags and strode to the exit.
The weather hadn’t improved in the past fifteen minutes. It didn’t seem worse either, so…I figured I might as well walk. Five blocks was nothing, right?
I set the bags on the ground, secured my beanie, and gave myself a mental pep talk…
which was almost humorous. A week ago, I’d faced down badass linemen whose literal job was to flatten me by whatever means necessary.
Sprained ribs, dislocated digits, and bruises all over my body had been a regular day in the office.
A short walk in the snow—I checked the temperature on my watch—in nineteen-degree weather didn’t compare.
Okay, it didn’t sound like fun either.
Just fuckin’ do it, Anderson.
I retrieved the bags, tucked my chin against the wind, and got my ass in gear.
Just making it to the corner wasn’t an easy feat.
My hands were going to be a problem. They were already red and raw.
I pulled at my sleeves to gather the fabric around my knuckles.
It wasn’t a great solution, but it was better than having no protection at all.
My feet…well, they were frozen solid. Fuck. I wished I’d kept my new boots on.
I scowled in the general direction of the mill, silently cursing my temporary neighbor. If I’d taken the Lexus, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I was a good driver. I could have handled a little snow and ice.
Okay, he was trying to be helpful. But still…
This sucked.
It sucked even harder when I slipped and skidded, my heart tripping over itself. I didn’t fall—close call, though. I had two more of those before I reached the one block mark.
One down, four to go. You got this.
Maybe. I couldn’t feel my toes and my jaw twitched and chattered, the noise reverberating in my skull.
I tried to clear my mind and think positively.
My torso was warm, the house would be warm, and I had soup.
Canned soup, but better than nothing. I had cookies too.
They’d probably be frozen by the time I reached the house.
I should have bought hot cocoa. I liked hot cocoa. I liked…
Fuck, I didn’t know what I liked.
Nope. Don’t do that. Stay with it, watch for ice, put one foot in front of the other. You’re almost there.
Okay, I liked the color blue, and I sort of liked my parents’ music. Mom said she had a crush on that guy from that ’80s group, Duran…something. Duran Duran. Yeah, that was it. I didn’t know the lead singer’s name, but I thought he was hot too. Not that I’d say so.
Except…I could if I wanted.
I could do anything I wanted now. I was unattached, divorced, totally alone. I could flirt with a guy…just to see if I knew how to do it. No one would have to know and hell, even if they found out, what would they do…fire me?
I snickered to myself, swiping my runny nose with the back of my hand. Shit, my face was frozen, my fingers were icicles, and I was afraid to look at my feet. These sneakers were new and expensive and—
Christ, where was I? I had to be close to Vally’s place.
I’d been walking for hours. Okay, more like ten minutes—rough minutes, though.
I wasn’t sure if I’d even passed the second block.
Where were the fucking street signs? There was nothing out here but trees and a winding road.
It might be time to give hitchhiking a try.
Not possible. My fingers had become one with the paper grocery bags.
Just as well. At this rate, I’d get picked up by a lunatic. I could see the headlines now: “Former Pro Football Star Picked up by Mass Murderer in the Mountains.” No, “Football Has-Been Frozen in Vermont—Scoop at Eleven!”
Shit, I was delirious. And I still had to pee.
Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to whip my dick out now.
It would shrivel and fall off for sure. Definitely not funny, but a cartoon image of a blue penis in the snow cracked me up.
I giggled like a delinquent kid, trudging along… hopefully in the right direction.
What was the address? I didn’t know it off the top of my head. If the cops came to the rescue, I wouldn’t be able to tell them where to go. No, not true. I had the info in my cell. I could look it up. Whoa. Even better, I could call 9-1-1.
What’s your emergency, sir?
My balls are frozen! Help!
I snicker-snorted, my eyes blurring as I shuffled, one foot in front of the other. The grocery bags weighed a fucking ton now, and they clipped my upper thighs with every step I took.
Wait. I didn’t have to call 9-1-1. I could call my neighbor. The lumberjack.
He was a nice guy. He would pick me up. And he was hot, too. For an older dude. Nah, he wasn’t that much older than me. I’d bet he was in his forties, though. He had a little silver in his hair…like a silver fox. Yeah…I liked him. No, no, no. This was his fault, ’member?
I stopped suddenly, blinking as I unpeeled my fingers from the grocery bags and let them fall at my feet.
The eggs collided with the tomato soup. That couldn’t be good, but I had bigger worries on my mind.
I couldn’t move my fucking fingers, and my teeth were chattering harder than ever.
I reached into my pocket for my cell, fumbling and almost dropping it.
It took monumental powers of concentration to get my body parts to cooperate.
Scrolling for a number was a nuanced maneuver akin to guiding a plane onto a runway in dense fog.
I rubbed my nose and sniffed, refocusing my vision just enough to read the name I’d added to my contacts a couple of hours ago.
Cooper. I pressed the number, my breath wafting in theatrical plumes as I waited for him to answer.
One ring, two, three—
“Coop.”
“Sss me. No t-t-taxi and…now ssss cold.”
“Hello?”
“Hi. Um…”
“Who is this?”
“Sss…n-n-neighbor.” I squinted against the glare of the falling snow, grinding my teeth and rasping a pathetic, “Help.”