Winter Woods

by ID Johnson

  She’d called her sister and chatted for a while, though she still hadn’t mentioned Memphis. Her parents had checked in briefly to let them know they were having a marvelous time, and Brett was talking about going back to school earlier because there was a concert Kim wanted to see. At this point, Olivia didn’t even know if she’d get to see her little brother again before he headed back to college. Ruby and Paisley were planning a New Year’s Eve party, though the only people they’d invited so far were their parents—and Aunt Olivia if she could come. While it sounded like a lot of fun, Olivia knew there was simply no way she’d finish her novel in time to get back for New Year’s Eve. At this rate, she wouldn’t finish it before she had to check out, since she wasn’t writing at all.

  With that thought in mind, she glanced down at her laptop and began to read what she’d written earlier that day, before Memphis had swooped in and saved her from her decaffeinated self. Olivia knew exactly what direction the story was headed in, and as soon as she was done re-reading and doing a little editing, she jumped right in where she’d left off.

  She didn’t even notice when the storm began to pick up a few hours later until the lights flickered a few times. “Darn it,” Olivia muttered, looking up from her laptop and gazing around the room, as if she might see some invisible force attempting to steal away her power. Nothing happened, so she tentatively went back to her story. A few minutes later, the power went out completely. It stayed off for almost a minute before it flickered again and came back on. “Thank goodness,” Olivia said aloud. Then, everything went black, except for the fireplace. Something told her it was out for good now.

  “Great,” she said, setting her laptop down on the coffee table. It’d been plugged in while she worked, so at least her battery was full. She wasn’t sure exactly what the generator would run. As tempting as it seemed to sit inside by the fire and wait for daylight, she knew the generator was likely hooked up to the refrigerator, and if she didn’t get that back on, all of the meat Joe had stored there would go bad. Not to mention the coffee pot would also require electricity, though she didn’t know if the generator would help her there. She doubted it returned full power to the house—likely just necessities like the fridge and lights.

  “I guess there’s only one way to find out,” she said to no one, and she pulled herself out of her chair to go get her boots she’d left by the door.

  Before she even reached them, there was a knock, and she knew her hero had come by to rescue her. With a smile she couldn’t contain, Olivia pulled the door open. “Memphis?”

  “Hey! You all right?” He was wearing a red scarf over his face and a stocking cap instead of his Stetson and she wouldn’t have even recognized him if she didn’t see his eyes illuminated by the flashlight he carried. She stepped out of the way so he could come in so she could close the door against the ferocious wind.

  “I’m fine, except it’s dark and all the food will go bad.”

  “You’ve probably got a few hours on that,” he replied pulling the scarf away so she could hear him. “But I’m going to get your generator going. That should at least power the appliances and some of the lights. You have a gas stove, right?”

  “Yes,” she nodded, remembering that Mr. Minter had mentioned that. She hadn’t actually turned it on.

  “Okay. You stay in here where it’s warm, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come and help?” she asked. As much as she didn’t want to go out in the cold, she also didn’t want him to feel like he had to take care of her.

  He smiled. “Nope. I’m your Elliott tonight.”

  Her eyebrows raised, and she wanted to ask how in the world he knew who Elliott was—or that he actually was the hero in her book—but she couldn’t formulate the sentence before he had the scarf rewrapped and was back out the door.

  Olivia ran to the wall of the house where the generator sat outside on a concrete block, near the air conditioner. There was no window that allowed her to see, but she could hear, so she waited until she heard Memphis come around the side of the cabin, praying everything worked well and that he was safe.

  A few minutes later, she heard his footsteps, and it sounded like he might be holding onto the cabin for stability. There were a few mechanical noises, which were hard to distinguish over the wind. After that, she didn’t hear anything for a few moments. She was beginning to get a little chilly since she was no longer sitting directly in front of the fire, but she knew Memphis had to be freezing, especially if he was used to warm Texas weather. It wasn’t long before she heard another mechanical noise and then a soft roar of an engine. The microwave began to beep, and the lights in the kitchen came on. She ran in to see that the refrigerator was also working. The lamp by the fire was still out, but a flip of the switch by the ladder let her know the light upstairs was on. The heat hadn’t come back on, but the fireplace should be able to keep most of the cabin warm enough with the help of a few blankets.

  She heard Memphis’s boots on the porch and ran over to open the door for him. “Thank you!” she exclaimed, as soon as he walked in. “I am so glad I didn’t have to do that on my own.”

  “No problem,” he said, closing the door behind him and unwrapping his scarf again. “I thought it wasn’t going to start at first, but I think now that it’s warmed up, you should be good. There oughta be enough fuel there to last a while.”

  Olivia was so happy, she momentarily forgot herself. “Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I love you right now!” She realized what she’d said about two seconds too late. Memphis’s face was beginning to turn the same shade of red as his scarf. “I mean… it’s an expression…” she stammered.

  “Yes, it is,” he replied. “It was really no problem, Miss Olivia.”

  The new formality was immediately recognized, and Olivia wanted to kick herself. What had she done? “Well, do you want to come in and warm up before you head back across the yard?”

  “No thank you,” Memphis said, not even hesitating a moment. “I may as well head back over before I thaw out and have to refreeze.”

  “Right,” she said wondering if he would’ve stayed if she hadn’t made such an idiotic comment. “Okay. Thanks again.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll come by and check on you in the morning. I don’t think the snow is supposed to let up until the early afternoon.”

  “All right,” she nodded. He wound the scarf around again, and she reached for the door at the same time as he did. The touch of his gloved hand made her shudder. They both drew back. “Here,” she said, reaching again. “I’ll get it.”

  “See you later,” he said as he stepped back into the storm.

  “Be careful!” He was already nearly off the porch by the time she got the words out, so she wasn’t even sure if he heard her. Closing the door and leaning against it, she mumbled, “That he doesn’t hear. What is wrong with my big, stupid mouth?”

  As much as she told herself it was an innocent comment and he was smart enough to know that, the way he’d reacted made her heart tear in two. Did he have to be that mortified at a playful suggestion that she might have feeling for him? She had gotten the impression he wanted to kiss her earlier when she was getting out of the truck. Was that all wrong? With a groan, Olivia made her way back over to the chair, realizing tears were running down her cheeks as she sat down, angrily wiping them on the back of her hand. Why was she crying? She hadn’t lost anything—she’d never had Memphis, so how could she lose him?

  She picked up her laptop but thought it would be a waste of her precious battery to try to write anything now. Even if she wanted to concentrate on her story, she couldn’t get that look in Memphis’s eyes out of her head. Rather than torture her characters by introducing her own emotional instability into their story, she decided she’d accomplished enough for one day. She grabbed the blanket she’d been using earlier and wrapped it around herself, sinking back into the chair, staring at the fireplace. After that, s
he’d be lucky if Memphis showed up the next day at all. At least she knew he hadn’t been thinking about her the same way she’d been thinking about him. If nothing else, it would make going back to her regular life a little easier. But then, if this was the easy way, why did her heart ache?

  Chapter Eleven

  The next day, Olivia awoke with a crick in her neck. She was still in the chair, and her shoulder hurt from the way she’d awkwardly fallen asleep on it. She stretched and looked at the time on her phone, which would need charging soon. It wasn’t even 8:00 yet, and for her, that was early.

  The storm was still stirring outside. The wind seemed to have died some, but the snow continued to come down in heavy rivulets. She stood to peer out the window. It looked like there was close to three feet in some places, maybe even higher where the drifts were accumulating. She was glad she had a roof over her porch so maybe she’d still be able to get out her door, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t be going anywhere today. Thoughts of what the chapel must look like right now, filled with snow, made her sad. She wished she could find a way to repair it, maybe even move it to her own property, but in a way she couldn’t imagine taking it away from the mountain either. This is where it belonged.

  Luckily, the coffee pot did have power, so she started a pot and then decided to go see if the hot water still worked. That was a positive as well, and she took a shower, getting ready for her day, pretending like she hadn’t ruined everything with Memphis the night before by making one offhanded comment.

  Drying her hair wouldn’t be possible unless she took her hair dryer into the kitchen, and since that seemed a bit ridiculous, she decided to curl up in front of the fireplace with a cup of coffee and let her hair dry there. She opened her laptop and began to look back over her work from the day before. One scene definitely needed her attention, and she started rewriting the pieces that she didn’t like or that seemed to take away from the rest of the story.

  She hadn’t been working long when she heard footsteps and put her laptop aside to see who was coming to her door. For some reason, she had a feeling it wasn’t Memphis, despite the fact that he’d mentioned coming by this morning. Pulling the door open, she caught the stranger just about to knock. Though this man looked a lot like Memphis, he wasn’t as tall and not quite as handsome, but he had a friendly smile, and she was certain she knew who he was. He also wore a stocking cap instead of a Stetson. “Nash?” she asked.

  His brown eyes were wide. “Are you Olivia?” he asked.

  Wondering what the consequences must be for not drying her hair, she nodded. “I am.”

  “Oh, uh. Hi. Yeah, I’m Nash. Nash Nix.” He offered his hand, and even though the wind was still blustery, she could see it wasn’t nearly as fierce as it had been the night before.

  “Do you want to come in?” she asked, wondering what he might be doing there and thinking it might be easier to talk if he wasn’t standing out in the storm.

  “No, that’s okay. I just thought I’d come by and check on your generator. Everything working okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine,” Olivia replied.

  “Good. Memphis was going to come, but Gramps is beating him at checkers, and he couldn’t get away.”

  The explanation seemed reasonable enough, though she highly doubted that was actually the case. How long could it take to play a game of checkers? All morning? “Well, I do really appreciate it,” she said, forcing a smile.

  “No problem, miss,” he replied. “I’ll go check it out and get back to you.”

  “Okay. Thank you!” Olivia shut the door as he made his way down the steps. It stung to know that Memphis didn’t even want to be around her at all. At least, before they had been friends. Now, she’d be lucky if she even saw him again.

  She leaned against the door, thinking it wouldn’t take Nash long to check the generator and then head back to report his findings. No reason to leave him standing in the cold while she crossed the room from the couch. She shook her head, almost unable to believe her luck. Just when she’d started to allow herself to think that there was a possibility Memphis might be interested in her…. She thought he had intended to kiss her before she got out of the truck the night before when he dropped her off. That must have been just one more scenario she had misinterpreted.

  Hearing footsteps again, she pulled open the door. It was a bit uncanny how much Nash looked like Memphis. Or was it the other way around?

  “Everything looks good, Miss Olivia,” he called up to her from the ground in front of the stairs.

  “Wonderful,” she said, smiling. “I really appreciate your help, Nash. And please, just call me Olivia.”

  “Right,” he smiled politely. “Well, if you need anything else….”

  “I think I’ll be fine, thank you.”

  “Okay then. Have a nice day!”

  “You, too!” She was getting very good at chitchatting with the neighbors. Too bad she’d thought she’d been doing something else these past few days. She closed the door and went back to work, hoping she could force down her emotions the way she had been doing before Nash came over. Well, at least she didn’t have to make awkward conversation with Memphis. And chances were, she’d never have to do that again.

  ***

  Cal Nix had a real talent when it came to checkers. In fact, he hadn’t lost in over thirty years. Now, with only two reds and one black on the board, Memphis knew there was a real possibility he might be able to pull this off.

  They’d been playing for a couple of hours, ever since Gramps woke up and realized half the house didn’t have power, which meant they’d be reliant on good old fashioned board games for fun. He’d declared today Family Game Day, and since it was almost his birthday, the others agreed to do whatever he wanted. Which meant, technically, Memphis should probably let him win. But an opportunity like this rarely came along, and he wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

  “It’s your move,” he said quietly, staring at the board.

  “I’m thinking,’” the old man replied, sternly, his eyes never wavering as he concentrated on the three pieces left.

  Memphis sighed, but he couldn’t help but smile. He’d missed playing games with his grandfather. If he moved to Virginia, there’d be a lot more opportunities for days like this. He’d get to spend more time with his grandmother, too.

  And then there was Olivia.

  Surely, the comment she’d made the night before had been innocent. After all, he had thought about kissing her in the truck, and before he could even contemplate whether or not to go for it, she’d taken off. So… changes were, she didn’t actually mean she loved him—she’d just been expressing her gratitude. Still, the awkwardness between them after that had been palpable, and when Nash had offered to go over and check on her while he finished his game with Gramps, he’d conceded. There really was no point in getting more involved with Olivia when they’d both be going back to reality soon enough. The next time he had an opportunity to kiss her, he might not be able to walk away so quickly.

  The sound of the front door opening and the consequential banging of wet boots on the entry room floor let them know Nash was back. A few minutes later, he burst into the den, and Memphis glanced over his shoulder to see a ridiculous grin on his brother’s face.

  “Wellll,” Nash said, drawing it out like there were several “E”s and a few extra “L”s in the word. “Someone has been holding out on us, Gramps.”

  Memphis returned his eyes to the game board. “What are you talking about, Nash?” His tone was uninterested, as if he couldn’t care less what Nash thought about Olivia, but he was actually eager to hear his brother’s reaction. Surely, he would think she was just as beautiful as Memphis did.

  “I thought you said she was some sort of a snaggle toothed old woman with awful hair that smelled like a dumpster,” he said, crossing his arms.

  “I don’t believe those were my exact words,” Memphis replied, knowing he hadn’t said anything quite tha
t atrocious.

  “That’s the impression I got from what you said that first day.”

  “I guess you painted a pretty revolting picture then,” Memphis said. Finally, Gramps, who was chuckling but staying out of it so far, made his move. It wasn’t one Memphis had been expecting, so he took a moment to study the game board.

  “Turns out,” Nash said, taking a seat on the couch nearby, “she’s actually quite lovely.”

  “Is she now?” Gramps said, smiling at both of them. “I had a feeling she might be.”

  “Yes. Quite.”

  “Okay, Nash….” Memphis couldn’t complete his sentence before his brother cut him off.

  “With long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes.”

  “She sounds fetching to me.” Gramps began to chuckle again.

  “All right,” Memphis said, “she may have looked a little less… put together the first time I saw her.”

  “Memphis, unless this girl was wearing a Halloween costume of some sort, I can’t imagine her being anything less than beautiful. And I mean no disrespect to my lovely wife—whom I love with all of my heart—but this girl is just the sort of young lady you need to get to know better.”

  “Why? Because you think she’s pretty?” Memphis asked, a bit offended that Nash seemed to think he was so shallow he couldn’t date someone who wasn’t gorgeous.