Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
ADAM
Iwalked out of the school toward my truck, exhausted from the surge of adrenaline seeping out of my muscles after I’d realized I was going to be late to pick up Danny. Ever since Danny’s mom left, he hasn’t done well when he thinks he’s been forgotten—understandably so.
Danny’s backpack slipped on my shoulder as I helped him navigate around the icy patch on the sidewalk.
The relief I felt when Margo told me he was waiting with Ms. Faith was almost palpable. Maybe that wasn’t fair, but I knew Danny didn’t handle unexpected changes well, and I could tell he felt safe when he was with his teacher.
As we crossed the parking lot, Danny reached up and took my hand. I stiffened at the unexpected physical touch and tried not to react. He rarely sought any physical contact, and that he did now made me want to scoop him up in my arms. I squeezed his hand gently as I helped him into the truck.
I thought about Danny and his problems with eye contact and being overwhelmed. I probably should look up the neurodivergent thing, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to admit that something might be different with him. Then I would be faced with the questions of why or what it meant.
I closed down that thought process and focused on buckling Danny.
“I’m glad Ms. Faith makes better cookies than Grandma.” He smiled, showing his gapped tooth grin. He’d lost another tooth last weekend.
“Let’s keep that info just between us.” I winked.
Danny got a serious look on his face as his eyebrows scrunched together. “Like a secret mission?”
“Sure, bud.” I shut the door and started walking around the truck.
I’m not sure that asking for Faith’s…I mean Ms. Faith’s number was a good idea.
I kept replaying the feeling of her hand in mine as she stepped down off the chair.
She smelled sweet, like flowers or something, and was close enough to me that I could feel her breath on my skin.
I shook off the thought. Maybe I was just craving physical attention?
I opened the door and climbed into the truck. I thought back to Jessica’s hand on mine. The feeling I got was definitely different.
What was I expecting out of this? Surely not dating Danny’s teacher. I started the truck.
Then what? I continued to search my mind for a reasonable excuse to rationalize my behavior and feelings.
A friend?
A friend to Danny or to me?
I put the truck in reverse and backed out of the parking lot. I shook off all thoughts about Ms. Faith and focused on the little boy beside me.
“Are you excited for tomorrow?” Danny didn’t get excited about a lot of things, but picking out a Christmas tree was one of them.
“Yep!” His little legs swung off the bench. “Do you think Ms. Faith knows to dress warm?”
“I’m sure she does, Champ.”
“I think she will like getting trees.”
So much for keeping my thoughts away from Faith. My thoughts swirled like the snow flurries drifting across the windshield. I came up with a bunch of reasons it was a bad idea to spend time with her based on how I was drawn to her, but I couldn’t deny I was still excited about tomorrow.
The morning air was sharp in my chest as I loaded the four wheeler in the back of the truck and strapped it down. I loaded the ramp for later. There was a skiff of fresh snow, which meant we probably had a good foot or so of new snow in the hills.
I walked inside through the tight hallways that brushed the side of my jacket as I made my way to Danny’s bedroom. He was still on his tablet and hadn’t touched his clothes, let alone his breakfast I set at the table. I sighed.
“Hey, bud, let’s focus up, okay.” I paused his tablet. I pointed to the layers of pants, socks, and a sweater on his space-themed bed. “I need you to change into these and eat. I’m going to go grab the winter gear.”
Danny’s bright blue eyes met mine. “Did it snow?”
He had been so bummed when the current snow froze over and couldn’t be used for snowmen.
“Yeah, just a little, but there will be more where we’re headed.”
Danny fist pumped. “I love snow!” He reached for his tablet.
“Not right now. We’re getting trees, remember.” I grabbed the tablet to take with me and remove the temptation.
“Oh yeah!” He nodded and reached for a sock and pulled it onto his foot.
I was grateful I had Faith’s number now; we were going to be later than I planned. I opened my phone and clicked on contacts. I scrolled down to Faith. I pursed my lips. Should I change it to Ms. Faith instead?
I tipped my head in thought. I mean, she calls me Adam, so Faith is fine.
Right?
Adam: Hey Ms. Faith, looks like we might run a little late. It’s going to be pretty cold, so bring layers.
I checked that Danny had grabbed his pants and was getting dressed before I walked toward the hall closet. My phone dinged, and I grabbed it out of my pocket.
Faith: That’s okay, no rush. Just let me know when you’re heading my way.
The difference between Faith and Cassie was far reaching, it seemed. I texted mom.
Adam: Hey Mom, just a reminder-I’m getting trees and will be outside cell range today. I should be back by nightfall.
Mom: Sounds good. Be safe. And don’t forget to grab a tree for me too. And HAVE FUN!
Subtle mom, really subtle. I stuffed the snow clothes and extra gloves in a duffel bag to take to the truck. Mom usually came with us to get trees, but when I told her our plans to bring Danny’s teacher, she decided she might be coming down with a cold and shouldn’t risk coming along.
I went out to the truck and placed the duffel bag behind the seat and checked that we had everything we needed. Hand saw, work gloves, tarps, extra gas, and rope. Once satisfied, I went to check on Danny.
He was playing with his matchbox cars, one sock on, and no sweater.
Seriously. I sighed.
“All right, Champ, let’s focus up.” I clapped, and Danny looked up at me, startled, like this was the first time I asked him.
I rubbed a hand down my face and went and sat on the floor beside him. I put on his other sock.
He moved his foot away from me. “No, not like that.” He reached down and spent several exhausting seconds readjusting the line in his sock so it hit the spot he wanted.
I knew better than to rush him. I learned early that it only stressed him out and made him slower. After the sock was in the perfect place, we added the sweater and boots, and I grabbed his breakfast to take with us and some extra goldfish and granola bars.
Loaded in the truck, I texted Faith we were on the way.
Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to Faith’s little duplex. I shifted the truck into park. How was I already exhausted and it wasn’t even eleven in the morning?
Danny threw open the door and jumped out of the truck, rushing toward the doorbell.
I hopped out to follow. “Danny, only once!” I hollered as his little finger pumped the doorbell button. Great.
The door opened, and Rose Torres grinned up at me.
“Good morning.” She raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, sorry, Danny gets excited to ring doorbells.” I shrugged.
“Oh sure, Danny’s the only one excited about today.” She smirked.
What did she mean by that? I didn’t take the bait, but I took a subtle sniff of my cologne. Had I put on too much? I remembered Rose a little; her older brother Lucas was in my graduating class, and I think she was in elementary school then.
I flinched. I hated when I got those unexpected reminders of my age. I was only thirty-three, but somehow it felt drastically older than Faith when I thought about high school. I think there was about eight years between us.
Is that okay? Or is this creepy? Not that I was doing anything or expecting anything. I shook my head.
“Faith, your Christmas date is here,” Rose called into the house.
“We are actually not a date.” Danny stated with no pretentiousness, just facts.
“He’s right,” Faith hollered back from inside the house.
She appeared in the hallway behind Rose, her cheeks flushed bright pink.
Her blond hair was pulled up in a pony tail and the blue of her sweater matched her eyes and fitted her small frame.
She grabbed her jacket. “We’re not on a date.
” She glared at Rose as she passed her, grabbing her hat and gloves.
“Sure you aren’t.” She dragged out the first word and then winked at me.
I gestured to the truck. “Do you want to come?” I asked Rose, showing her this wasn’t an exclusive event. Part of me really hoped she said yes; it would keep things from getting too “family-ish,” but if she did, it would be a tight fit on the four wheeler.
Rose took a step back. “Go freeze and walk around in the snow for hours to find a tree infested with bugs? No thanks.”
Wow, tell me how you really feel.
I chuckled. “Fair enough.” I turned and headed toward the truck, Danny and Faith already ahead of me. I’m not sure when it happened, but she was no longer Ms. Faith, Danny’s teacher in my thoughts at all. Instead, she was just Faith, our friend.
“Be careful.” This time her voice didn’t hold sass but worry.
I turned back to her. “We’ll have your roommate back in no time.”
She closed the door. I rushed to hold the door open for Faith and Danny. “Are you sure that coat is warm enough?” I nodded to her coat.
She shrugged. “I’m sure it will be fine. Thanks for checking.”
Doubtful, but I had a few extra down feather coats in the back if needed. We turned out onto the main road and headed out of town and toward the mountains. As we drove, I was relieved when I lost cell service and could no longer play Frosty the Snowman on repeat from YouTube.
Danny was on the bench seat between Faith and me. He was unusually talkative. Telling Faith about the new game he downloaded and the different levels he’d beaten. She asked questions and encouraged the conversation.
The road turned rough with potholes and high snowbanks on either side, pushing the rare traffic and slush all to the middle of the road. We drove through several cattle guards, past some broken wire fences, and to a wide turnaround where we would leave the truck behind.
I stepped out of the truck, and the heaviness of silence, pine trees, and snow-covered mountains pressed in on me.
I loved being in the mountains and away from everything.
It was peaceful. It was just you and nature.
We used to fish and camp a few miles up the road when I was a kid.
I went with Grandpa John and Dad sometimes, although Dad wasn’t much of a fisherman.
Maybe Danny would like to go this summer? Not sure he would like the idea of potentially hurting the fish though.
I unloaded the four wheeler and secured the saw to the front along with the tarps and rope.
Faith stared up at the mountains and trees.
“This is beautiful,” she whispered, and her breath billowed around her as it rose.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” I watched her spin, trying to see everything at once.
Her lips parted as she smiled. “Wow.” It was obvious she enjoyed the view.
I shook my head when I realized I was doing the same, only I wasn’t focused on the mountain.
I cleared my throat and went back to the truck to grab an extra coat.
Faith’s cheeks were already turning pink, as well as the tip of her nose.
It was obviously colder outside than what my body was feeling.
I walked back toward her and held out the coat. “Would you like to borrow one of my coats?”
She stopped looking at the mountains and focused on me. I resisted the urge to stand taller.
Her brow furrowed.
“This coat is down feather, and is pretty warm; it can get pretty cold out here, especially with the wind as we ride.” I was stumbling over my words. I set the coat on the four wheeler. “It’s there if you want it, up to you.”
“Thanks.” Faith slid out of her jacket. I pried my eyes away from her. I never felt this pull to be near Jessica, to touch her flushed cheeks. I shook the thought away, but as I turned, Faith held the jacket up to her nose and smelled it.
I smiled and then cleared my throat. “All right, let’s load up.
” I called over my shoulder to where Danny was studying some animal tracks he found in the snow.
They were small, maybe a rabbit. I sat on the four wheeler and Danny hopped on behind me, his arms wrapped around me tight.
Faith stood to the side unsure, the arms of my coat reaching well past her fingertips. She chewed her bottom lip.
“You okay?”
“Um, yeah?” She eyed the four wheeler apprehensively. “I’ve never been on a four wheeler. I thought there might be seat belts or something?”
“Weird.” I couldn’t imagine an existence where I’d never been on one. It was the main mode of transportation for kids outside of town. On the farms, changing pipes, feeding cows, or just driving into town. “Just hop on. You can squeeze behind Danny and hold on to my coat or the bars behind you.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay.”
Danny slid closer to me.
I moved my foot out of the way as Faith climbed on. If she had never been on a four wheeler, it seemed only right I showed her what they could do. “Ready?”
“Umm, yes, I think?”
“Perfect.”
I gunned it. Faith screamed and pulled hard on my jacket as I laughed into the cold, frozen air.