Chapter 7
Steph
There was considerable community support for the race, with people along the route even setting up unofficial aid stations and cheering as people went by. The Jingle Run welcomed not only runners but walkers, many of whom wore some sort of festive costume to add to the spirit.
Truth be told, Steph loved the event and considered it the official kick-off for the Christmas season.
Correction: every year before this year, she loved the event.
Nothing was as it should be this year. The decorations were still put up—maybe even more than usual—and she’d heard from more than one person who lived along the route how they’d be outside cheering.
Steph understood what they were really doing was waiting for a glimpse of the almost-Olympian Jack Swisher.
Like he was some kind of big deal or something.
Newsflash, he’s only a big deal in his own mind.
Steph pulled into the parking lot at 1:50, her full-size SUV pulling an enclosed utility trailer and taking up several spaces.
She kept the supplies needed for putting on a fundraiser run in a corner of her garage.
She’d been accumulating things over the years, with a plan of one day putting on a major race.
So much for that.
Jack Swisher swooped in and ruined those plans.
And where was Jack now that there was work to be done? Not there, that was for sure. Steph was there alone, doing the setup, just like every year.
She shook her head. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get to work.”
She took a deep breath and thought through her plans.
She’d done this enough times to have a system.
There’d be volunteers arriving closer to the start time who would mark the course.
Since they were using public streets, it was best to save that for later.
She would focus on setting up the start corral, followed by the registration table and snack station.
They chose the park as their start specifically because of the covered picnic area with electricity.
A winter run demanded hot coffee and cocoa, though she held off preparing them until everything else was ready.
After that came the finish chute, the barricades, and the lighting along the final stretch, where the ground dropped just enough to be a hazard for tired runners in the dark.
She was halfway through the barricades when her phone buzzed. It was a text from one of her volunteers. Car trouble. He was sorry. He’d donate double next year.
She typed back that it was fine and kept moving.
Another text arrived a few minutes later. A sick child would prevent the person in charge of registration from attending.
Steph let out a breath. She could move people around. Brooke and Tyler could handle the registration table where they handed out the bibs and goody bags. They were supposed to be stationed on one of the corners, directing people on which way to go. She could put up an arrow instead. It’d be fine.
Most years, Brooke was among those who ran both the mile and the 5K, but this year, she was standing down to volunteer with Tyler.
Tyler was also part of the running club, thanks to his relationship with Brooke, but he was recovering from a serious injury.
An injury unrelated to running that nearly cost him and Brooke their lives.
“Hey, Steph!” Rachel called out as she approached. “Wow. Things look great.” She gave Steph a wide smile. “I heard you’d make it look nice, but it’s even better than I expected. It’s really going to be amazing when it gets dark.”
Steph nodded as she followed Rachel’s gaze. She’d put up Christmas lights around the starting corral and lined the various pathways with either battery-powered lights or glow sticks, everything ready to be turned on when the time was right. “Thanks. We try to make it festive.”
“It’s great. I guess the extra money this year didn’t hurt anything either, right?”
She pulled her mouth tight. “Extra money?”
“Yeah, from Jack Swisher’s company.”
“Steph didn’t use that money for decorating,” Phil Davies said as he strode toward them. “That all went to Windy Basin Youth as a donation. Steph bought these decorations out of her own pocket over the past several years.”
Smiling at Phil, Steph gave a nod. “Hey, good to see you here.” She wrapped him in a hug. When she stepped back, she gestured toward Rachel. “Do you know Rachel Newton?”
Phil shook his head as he reached out his hand. “I don’t think so.”
“Rachel has a hair salon on LeClaire Street.” She turned slightly toward Rachel. “Phil is Brooke Davies’s brother.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Rachel’s smile widened as she said, “Nice to meet you, Phil. You don’t come to running club?”
Phil made a face. “I’m not a runner. I walk the Jingle Run 5K each year, but only because I’m on the board of directors for Windy Basin. The Jingle Run and Basin Bolt are our big fundraisers and are always a huge success, thanks to Steph.”
“It does look amazing,” Rachel said before pausing. “I’ve never actually run at night before. I didn’t even know there were night races.”
“The route is well lit,” Phil said. “You’ll do fine.” He turned toward Steph. “You want me to mark the mile route?”
“Please. I’ve had a few volunteers call off. I need to find someone to man the turnaround spot.”
“For the one mile?” Rachel asked. “I could do that if you think I would be finished before the start of the 5K.”
“Take your car down there and you will be,” Phil said. “Want to walk with me to flag the route and I’ll show you where you can park?”
Steph watched for a moment as they walked away. Phil was a fixture in Irma. He owned the print shop started by his dad years earlier. When his dad retired, after the death of Phil’s mom, he took it over.
She’d known Phil for even longer than she’d known Brooke. While Brooke was away at college, Steph and Phil had dated. It never went beyond friendship, both realizing early on they didn’t quite mesh.
She still thought a lot of him and sometimes wondered if it might be worth a second try. Even if they didn’t have a passionate love affair, maybe they could make a good life together. Build a family.
She shook her head and went back to setting up. Phil Davies was great, but like Chris Hepner, he wasn’t the one for Steph and she knew it. Better to be alone than to settle.
By four o’clock, Steph was short three more volunteers. Everyone had valid reasons for why they couldn’t help, not that it made a difference overall. Things were going to be difficult.
Most of the other volunteers were already there.
Some were setting things up at the park, and others, like Phil, were marking a course.
More than half of those working now would be running the 5K, leaving Steph to make sure all went smoothly.
She’d figure it out. It wouldn’t be the first time she was shorthanded on race day.
Steph grabbed her clipboard and made a few notes on where she could move people and how it would work.
“No problem,” she muttered. “I can be in three places at once.”
She was still staring at the clipboard when she heard footsteps on the gravel behind her.
“Where do you need me?”
She turned. Jack Swisher stood a few feet away in cold-weather running clothes, bundled in a dark jacket and a knit cap. The chill had turned his nose and cheeks red, which, for some ridiculous reason, made him look kind of adorable.
Steph mentally slapped the thought down.
“You’re registered to run,” Steph said. “You’re early, but bib pick up is over there.” She gestured toward the sign-up table. “Brooke probably has things ready.”
“I decided not to run. Thought you might need some help?”
Steph tapped her clipboard. “Why do you think that? Does it not look like I have things under control?”
He smiled, wide and adorable. Argh. There was that word again. She cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Go get your bib. Have a great run.” She forced a smile.
“I heard you’re shorthanded. Some of the volunteers . . . ” His voice faded off as he shrugged. “I’d like to help. Really.”
She didn’t have time to make a point about it. She wasn’t in a position to turn down capable hands, no matter if they did belong to Jack Swisher.
“Can you work the snack table? I have someone there now, but they need to man the finish line and time clock.”
“Sure.” He hesitated for a moment. “What do I do?”
“It’s basically an aid station, but people really like to socialize there.
Make sure the various foods stay filled.
Keep cocoa packets and candy canes out. Those are always popular, especially with the kids.
It’ll start getting busy soon. We usually have a rush of racers about half an hour before start time.
It’ll die down while the mile is happening, and then you’ll have another rush for the people who are going from the mile to the 5K.
I have a few things to do, then I’ll come check on you. ”
“Sounds good.” He smiled and halfway turned before stopping. He gave her that smile again. “This really looks great. It’s amazing how you made it look like Christmas.”
“Well . . . ” She lifted her hands. “It is Christmas.”
“True, and it’s amazing.”
Her stomach did a little flip-flop as he turned away from her. Steph scrunched her mouth. Why was he so incredibly annoying and so cute at the same time? He was making it hard to hate him.
As expected, runners soon began arriving. She recognized most of them. She said hello, asked about their families, and laughed at the jokes people always made about the cold when they’d known full well what they signed up for.
She made a point to introduce herself to anyone she didn’t know and to get them situated and comfortable, make them feel like they’d come to the right place and let them know how grateful she was they were contributing to a great cause.
While she was zip-tying a banner that kept pulling loose, she overheard a conversation near the registration table.
“ —found it up near the north trailhead. Somebody hiked in and reported it.”
“A grizzly?”
“Skinned out completely. Paws were gone. Rumor is the bear was pulled from its den.”
Steph’s hands stilled on the zip tie.
“Why the paws?”
“Black market. Traditional medicine and cuisine. Gallbladder, too, if they can get to it. Worth serious money. This wasn’t a trophy hunter. Whoever it was knew exactly what they were doing and went in specifically for it.”
“That’s a federal crime.”
“Several federal crimes. The game warden I talked to said they’ve been finding signs across multiple areas. They’ve been at it for a while. Even longer than was originally thought.”
Steph finished the zip tie and moved on.
Her Frozen Divide training plan called for an overnight run next weekend.
There was already a decent amount of snowpack at the gate into the park, and the road had been closed since early November.
It was a popular area for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and the perfect place to get in some needed miles and practice with her sled.
The north trailhead wasn’t her route, but she filed the information away. She’d pay attention. She always paid attention. Winter endurance sports required it.
She glanced toward the snack table where Jack was leaning against it, laughing with a group of young girls dressed in elf suits and wearing light-up necklaces.
Even wearing tights and long sleeves, they looked like they were freezing.
They also looked like they couldn’t get enough of the famous Jack Swisher.
Jack didn’t seem to mind the interaction, but for reasons Steph couldn’t explain, it bothered her.