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“Perfect. And by the way, you don’t need to clean my room. I can do that myself,” he said, before heading down the stairway.
It was nice of him to let me off the hook, but no matter what, he was still a guest here, and after seeing how he made a bed, he needed my help, even if not as much as I needed his.
CHAPTER5
Mark
I didn’t care what we were doing. Just like last night. I mucked horse stalls just to have time alone with Adilyn. Cutting your own Christmas tree was something I’d done many times with my family. But this was different. We weren’t on someone's tree farm. She and I were hiking through the woods looking for the right tree.
“How about this one?” I asked.
She examined it closely, then shook her head. “It’s uneven. Won't look good.” She walked a little further into the woods and said, “How about this one?”
It was at least nine feet tall, and its girth was massive. “How do you expect us to get that back to the lodge? That is if we can even find our way there.”
“I know these woods like the back of my hand. But if you don’t think you’re...strong enough to carry it, we can look for another,” she teased, reaching out, giving my bicep a squeeze.
Even at college, I started my day with an hour at the gym. I wasn’t a bodybuilder, but a good workout somehow energized me for the day. Guess I got that from my dad who used to get up at four in the morning to go out for a run.
But this wasn’t about my health. This was a challenge, and I wasn’t about to turn it down.Strong enough. Ha. I’m plenty strong. I’ll carry the tree and you back to the lodge.
I pulled the protective sleeve off the axe and said, “You might want to stand back.” Then I took a couple of forceful swings hitting the trunk of the tree just right. Within minutes, the tree started to sway, and I gave it a push and it fell to the ground. “How was that?” I asked.
“Not bad,” she said, but I knew she was impressed. “I mean for a city slicker.”
I laughed and enjoyed seeing the sparkle back in her eyes. This was the Adilyn that I wanted to see all the time. One who was stress-free and happy. Even if it was just for the afternoon, I planned on keeping that smile on her beautiful face.
Putting the protective sleeve on the axe, I handed it to her. “You can carry that, and I’ll get the tree.”
“Wait. That's going to be heavy. Why don’t we carry it together?” she suggested.
Because you questioned my manhood. No way am I letting anyone help. The least of all you.
“Nope. I got this.” She watched as I bent down and lifted the base of the tree onto my shoulder. As I went to stand back up, I regretted my arrogance. It was damn heavy. But I didn't care how badly my back and the rest of my body hurt later. I was out to prove a point and was just too stubborn to admit I was wrong.
The lodge seemed so much farther than before, and with each step, I could feel my legs threatening to give out. The rough bark was digging into my shoulder even through my heavy sweatshirt. It wasn’t just the weight of the tree, but we were hiking in at least eight inches of snow. Great for skiing or cross-country skiing but sucked when you were carrying something.
“Sure, you don’t want my help?” she asked when we were halfway.
“Do I look like I need help?” I said, flexing my arm.
“Honest? You look like you’re about to drop. But if you insist on doing it your way and spending the rest of your vacation laid up recovering, who am I to offer to help?” she said.
I stopped and let the trunk of the tree roll off my shoulder and rest on the ground. “Who said anything about being laid up?”
“Oh, that would be me. Mark, you’re being ridiculous. You have nothing to prove to me. But if you want to hurt yourself, be prepared, Iwillsay, ‘I told you so’,” she stated.
“So, it would be better if I let you get hurt?” I asked.
“No. But what I have learned is that things are easier when we are working together. Why should one person carry the load when there are two of us?” she questioned.
Because I’m stubborn and it is a Henderson trait that I hate.
But I hadn’t missed her comment aboutusworking together. She’d agreed to let me in and help. Shutting her out now because my ego would take a hit was wrong.
“Okay, I’ll let you help but under one condition,” I said.
“I’m afraid to ask what that is,” she said.
