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“Ha,” I laughed. “It looks like I’ve gotten a promotion from farm hand.”
Her eyes met mine and she furrowed her brow quizzically. It was her turn to wonder whether I was serious or not. “Farm hand?”
“And groundskeeper.” I opened the door and her hair whipped in the wind, and into my face.
“The cabin is…out there?” she pointed to the darkness.
“On a clear night you can see it from here, but it’s just on that ridge overlooking the river.” She paused on the bottom step of the mudroom and glanced into the house. She seemed nervous.
“I can give you the flashlight and the towels, if you’d rather get settled by yourself.”
She looked from me to the darkness. “It’s alright. I don’t want to take a wrong turn at the fence post and end up on the morning news. Unless you’re a serial killer.”
Her biting humor was as refreshing as the wind whipping in between us. “No. My job description only includes guide, farm hand, groundskeeper, and now, concierge.”
Her smile was wry and her eyes sparkled, even though they looked tired. “Lead the way Mr…”
“Lumber.”
“Mr. Lumber.” She scratched her cheek and I waited for a quip. It didn’t happen.
Her boots slipped and slid as she walked behind me, the light from her flashlight bobbing over the field as her arms swung wildly while she tried to keep her balance. As we reached the ridge, the clouds parted and the moon shone over the field.
She paused and turned in place a full circle. “Oh my God.”
I strained my eyes to see what she was looking at. Deer often made their way through the field and down to the creek, but I didn’t see any movement.
“It’s…beautiful.” She was breathing in steamy puffs. “It’s like diamonds.”
I had grown up in Chance Rapids, and even though I’d been away for years, I’d grown accustomed to the beauty in my own backyard. Seeing it through a newcomer’s eyes, I stopped to appreciate the raw beauty that I’d stopped seeing years ago.
I scooped up a layer of frozen crystals from the top of the snow. “They call this hoar frost.” I poked at the jagged snow on my glove.
“Well, then.” Henri stepped into the cabin. “I think I’ve got it from here.”
I chuckled. “Not whore-frost, hoar, like boar with an h.” It happens when the snow gets dehydrated, it’s beautiful, but it can be dangerous when you’re up in the mountains.
“Fascinating.” She murmured, clearly more interested in getting some sleep than learning about hazardous snow conditions. “I’ll remember that the next time I’m spelunking.”
Was she fucking with me? We either had great banter or both of us were idiots. I didn’t know her well enough to tell.
“You should see your face.” She grinned. “I might be a city girl, but I know what spelunking is.”
“Oh, thank God.” I shut the door behind me and put my other hand to my chest, as though greatly relieved.
“This is cute.” She sat on the bench beside the door to unlace her boots.
“I’ll get the fire and the sheets and then you can enjoy it. I left the curtains open, but if the moon shines too brightly, you can close them.” What a dumb thing to say, she didn’t need lessons on how curtains worked.
“That sounds like a song.” Henrietta reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny notebook and a silver pen. Then she scribbled something on its pages and tucked the notebook back into her coat. “I can do the sheets. Thank you, Jack Lumber.”
“You’re welcome, Henrietta…”
“Page.”
I made a mental note to replace Scissorhands with Page in my brain. “Page.” I nodded.
“Jack.”
