by Brian Quest
Andrew stood at the top of the hill on the edge of the ranch. He had gone out on his normal perimeter check, and paused just long enough to look to the sky. In the distance he saw the clouds moving toward the ranch and a chill rushed through his body. Just like the last storm, and the storm before that, the clouds were dark and ominous. The only difference this time was the temperature of the wind that pulled the clouds along. It was bone-chilling, and nearly took his breath away. He pulled his jacket tighter, tilted his head down to block his face from the wind, and turned back toward the main house.
Since the last storm, Keith and Stewart had been living with the family because a tree had fallen on their bunkhouse. While they had started to rebuild, it was nowhere near completion. So it became obvious they would have to stay in the main house until spring returned. He knew they probably longed for their privacy, but he was happy to have them there; the girls loved having more people in the house, and Andrew felt better knowing they were there to help keep an eye on them.
“Everyone, come out here!” Andrew shouted when he stepped up on the porch. He stuck his head in through the front door and spoke again, “Hurry, come look.”
“What is it, Dad?” Connie asked. She was the first one to step outside. The instant she walked out onto the large porch, she shivered. “Holy cow, it’s cold!”
“Go get your sisters, please.”
“Okay.” Connie went inside, grabbed her coat and called for her sisters to follow her outside. Stewart and Keith were right behind them. Thomas was the last one out onto the porch, and when everyone was out there, Andrew spoke again.
“It’s that time again,” he said, pointing out over the hill. “The first winter storm is on its way and we have work to do.” He looked to the girls and said, “Connie, Debbie, you two bring in as much wood as you can fit along the wall by the windows, okay?”
“Sure, Dad,” Debbie said.
“Great. When you are done, a large pot of stew would be perfect for dinner.”
“Okay.”
“Amy and Beth, I need you to gather all of the blankets and pillows you can find. It will be very cold tonight, and it will be best if everyone stays in the living room by the fireplace until the storm passes. Can you do that for me?”
“Of course, Daddy!” Amy was excited. She hated thunderstorms, but she loved snowstorms. She loved the sound of the wind howling through the trees, and she couldn’t wait to make her first snowman of the winter.
“What do you need me to do, Boss?” Thomas asked.
“Can you go check on Emma and see if she needs anything?”
“You know she will say she is fine.”
“I know, but still…go see. I would prefer if you could get her to come stay with us until the storm passes. She’s too old to be out there in that tiny cabin alone.”
“I’ll try, but you know what will happen.” Thomas knew Emma was stubborn. He also knew she wouldn’t ask for help. So he prepared to fight the old lady as hard as he could to get her to let him help her.
“Thank you.” Andrew then turned to Stewart and Keith. “I’m going to feed the horses and close up the barn. I want you to gather as much of the wood from the wood pile as you can fit on the front of the porch. We will need to keep it covered, so grab a few tarps from the shed, too.”
“You got it, Boss,” Keith said.
“What did I tell you about that?”
“About what, Boss?”
“About calling me that…Andrew will work fine.”
Keith laughed and said, “Sorry, habit.”
Keith and Stewart went right to work after bundling up. Amy and Beth had fun running around the house finding all of the blankets and pillows. By the time they were done, there was a mountain in the living room, and after goofing around, rolling down the hill of blankets, they set to the task of folding everything neatly and making piles wherever there was room. Connie and Debbie put on a couple of layers of clothing and went back outside to start bringing in the wood. They grabbed it and brought it inside as fast as Keith and Stewart could pile it on the porch. Pretty soon there was enough wood inside, and the guys continued bringing wood onto the porch, covering it as the piles grew.
Thomas hopped on the four-wheeler and headed out to Emma’s cabin. He brought with him a supply of food and a few blankets, just in case. If he didn’t run into problems on the way out there, then he would be able to give the items to her to use. He made it there with no problem, as usual, and knocked on her door.
“Hey, Emma. How are you?” he asked when she opened the door.
“I’m okay.”
“Andrew sent me out here to let you know the first winter storm is rolling in. Is there anything you need?”
With half a smile, and half a look of annoyance, Emma replied, “I’m fine. You all need to stop making such a fuss.”
“Well, Ma’am, if I may be so bold, you are no spring chicken. Everyone needs help sometimes.”
“Well, Thomas, that was bold! No spring chicken you say…that is funny. What are you, twenty years younger than me? Fifteen?”
“I know, Ma’am.” They both laughed and then Thomas asked, “I guess there’s no way I can talk you into coming back to the house with me?”
“Absolutely not. I will be just fine here, just like I have been for the last million years.”
“Wow, you’re older than I thought! Can I at least bring in some more wood for you?”
“If it means you will leave sooner then, yes, you may.”
Thomas knew she wasn’t completely serious, and secretly loved having company, but he walked away from the cabin to gather wood. When he had a sizeable pile, he knocked on her door again. “Where would you like me to stack the wood?”
“You can bring some inside and the rest can sit just outside the door.”
Once the wood was where she wanted it, he brought in the food and blankets and set them on the small table in the corner of the room. “It’s just a few things, but we just wanted to make sure you were warm and fed.”
“You know, I can take care of myself,” Emma said, and then looked at the supplies he brought. “Thank you, though. It was very thoughtful of you all.”
“Well, if there’s nothing else you need, I should get back.”
“Of course, Dear. Be safe, and keep that family warm. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We’ll come check on you soon.”
Emma watched Thomas ride away, and then went back inside. Thomas hurried to the house and warmed up by the fire with a cup of coffee. “I can’t believe how fast it went from being fall to winter! It is so cold out there!”
Debbie laughed, “I think you say that every year.”
“Well, it IS cold out there!”
“Yes, it is. I take it Emma refused to come stay with us?”
“Of course she did. Don’t worry, she’s old, but she’s tough. I brought her a ton of firewood and she has food and blankets. She’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Debbie said, concern written all over her face.
“The stew smells incredible. Did you do something different with it?”
“Why, did it usually smell bad?”
Laughing, Thomas said, “No, no, no…it just smells different.”
“I used chicken and beef this time. And I seasoned it a little differently.”
“Well, I can’t wait to try it.”
Smiling, Debbie responded, “Well, then go get Dad and the guys and let’s eat.”
While Thomas went out to get the guys, Debbie dished out the stew and set the bowls on the kitchen table. Connie sliced the corn bread and put a big piece at each place at the table. When the guys all filed into the kitchen, they were more than happy to sit down to a warm, delicious dinner.
“So, things look about as ready as they can be for the storm. Thank you all for doing your part. It’s going to get bad before it gets better.”
“We know, Dad,” Connie said. “You give the
same speech each year.”
“Well, you know me, consistent and thorough.”
“Yep, and even a bit predictable.”
“Predictability can be a lifesaver sometimes. Don’t knock it!”
They all laughed and settled into their seats. Debbie watched as they each took a bite of her new recipe. Relieved to see them smile, she took a bite of hers and then relaxed as the warmth of the stew spread through her cold body. Even with the fireplace roaring, there was a chill in the house that they just couldn’t get rid of. She could tell this storm would wind up being one of the worst season openers in a very long time. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the family sitting around her. Like her father said, things would get worse before they got better, but until then, she just enjoyed that moment, and felt the warmth of family spread over her.
Chapter Twelve
While they sat eating their dinner, the wind slammed against the door to the back porch. Everyone looked up from their food and Andrew got up to open the door to take a look. The sun had tucked itself almost completely away for the night, but in the quickly fading light, they all could see the snowflakes drifting down to the ground. It wasn’t snowing hard, but the fact that there were any flakes falling at all was enough to excite Amy.
“It’s snowing!”
“Yes, it sure is,” Andrew said back to her, closing the door to keep the bitter cold outside. He could tell by the way the wind was whipping across the ranch that it would be a really long and bad storm. He went back to the table and sat down, the wind still pushing hard against the house.
“How much snow do you think we’ll get, Dad?” Debbie asked.
“There’s no way of telling. It could just blow over, or we could get a ton.”
“Come on, Dad. You always guess, and you’re always right.”
“That is true. Nobody ever gets it right but me!” He grinned as if he were rubbing it in everyone’s faces that he always seemed to know just what a storm would do. What they didn’t realize was that it used to be a combination of the news and his weather app that gave him the most accurate guess. Since the EMP it all had been just wild shots in the dark.
“So, do you think we’ll get a lot of snow?” Debbie was persistent. She really wanted to see if her guess was right. “I think we will get about a foot of snow.”
“I am pretty sure we will get about four feet of snow,” Andrew replied. “I think it’s going to be the biggest first snow of the season since before you all were born.”
Connie looked over at her father and said, “No way, Dad. I think we will be getting about four inches of snow.”
“Four inches? That’s it?”
“Yup. That’s it.”
“Well, Beth? What do you think? How much snow will we get?”
“I have no clue! Maybe ten inches?”
“Is that your final answer?” Thomas asked.
“Yes, it’s my final answer. What’s your guess?”
Amy jumped up and said, “It’s my turn! No fair! Thomas always goes AFTER me!”
Thomas laughed and said, “Okay, smarty pants, what’s your guess?”
“I think we are gonna get three feet of snow! And I think we will get drifts that come halfway up our door!”
“Well, that’s a mighty tall order! I don’t know about the drifts, but I’m with your dad. I think we will get four feet.”
Amy said, “No, no, no! You have to have a different guess.”
“Okay,” Thomas chuckled, “I guess three and a half feet.”
Beth looked at Stewart and before she even could open her mouth to ask for his guess, he said, “Two inches.”
“That’s it? There’s probably that much already! You are so going to lose!”
“Yeah, he is,” Keith said, “because I’m gonna win. I think we will get twenty-eight inches.”
“It doesn’t really matter, guys, because Dad is always right. He guessed four feet, so that’s probably how much we will get. Now, you all need to eat before the food gets cold.” Debbie talked to them like she was their mother, and it made them all snap to it. Soon the sound of spoons clanking on the porcelain bowls could be heard over anything else.
Then the sounds of eating quickly were overpowered by the sounds of the storm. From inside the house, everyone could hear the wind picking up speed and whipping through the trees and the posts and railings of the wrap-around porch. Sometimes it actually sounded like the wind was whistling, and other times it was howling. The gusts were incredibly strong and a few times they all thought the back door literally would be blown off its hinges.
Andrew stood and went to the door, peeking out the window. From there he could see that Stewart long ago had been wrong with his guess of two inches. “So, two inches is out. It looks like there is already about six or more on the ground, and it is coming down really hard!”
“Do you think there will be enough to build a snowman tomorrow?” Amy asked.
“I think there will be enough to build an army of snowmen tomorrow.”
“Yesss!” Amy said, pumping her fist and elbow.
“Don’t get too excited just yet. If this storm gets worse, we may wind up stuck inside tomorrow.”
“Well, we won’t be stuck in here forever!”
“You never know!” Keith said, and Amy knew a story would be following. “We could get a million inches of snow and be forced to live inside for the rest of our lives. We will have no choice but to become beavers and eat the legs off of the kitchen chairs!”
“Yeah! And after that we will have to eat the cabinets and the coffee table!” Amy said, feeding into the silly story.
“Well, before we move right into eating the furniture, maybe we should finish this amazing dinner?” Thomas said, holding out his bowl for seconds.
Debbie got up and brought his bowl over to the wood stove and scooped another helping of stew into it. She replaced the lid on the pot and turned to walk back to the table when she heard something bang on the wall of the house. “What was that?”
Andrew stood and was at the back door in seconds, placing his hands around his face to block out the lantern light in the kitchen. He didn’t see anything out there and said, “It was probably a branch or something being blown into the house.”
“Well, after dinner we will do a perimeter check and will make sure nothing has damaged the house,” Stewart said calmly.
“No, I think tonight we can put a hold on the perimeter checks. The horses have plenty of food and water. So to be safe, I think we all should stay close.”
“You won’t get any arguments from me, Boss…I mean Andrew,” Stewart replied, catching himself calling Andrew ‘Boss’.
“Amy, after dinner do you think you and Beth could set up beds in the living room? It’s too cold with the wind for you all to stay upstairs.”
“You told us earlier, Dad. We got it, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried, just making sure.”
“I’m going to totally change the subject really quick,” Thomas said. “I smelled something earlier that had me curious.”
“Eeewww!” Amy said loudly, making everyone laugh.
“No, silly. I smelled something cooking earlier and I was wondering what else you guys made? It didn’t smell like stew or corn bread.”
Connie and Beth looked at each other and grinned and then Connie said, “Yes, we made something for dessert. But, nobody can have any until after the dinner dishes are done and the kitchen is clean. We can have it with coffee and hot chocolate later.”
“What did you make?” Thomas asked.
“Not telling,” Beth replied.
“Totally changing the subject again,” Andrew started, “did you make sure Emma had enough wood for at least the night?”
Thomas turned and looked at Andrew, “Yes. In fact, that woman has enough wood for the next week! She also has enough food ready to go and her water tanks are full. She should be fine. She seemed slightly under the weather, but on the
mend.”
“I hate that she is out there all alone. That woman is one of the most stubborn people I know!”
“Yeah, but for her age, she is definitely tough. But, don’t worry, she has everything she needs to make it through the night, and even the next few days.” Thomas never sugarcoated things when it came to someone’s safety and well-being.
Relieved, Andrew replied, “Okay, good. I still wish she would have come here to sit out the storm.”
Debbie entered the conversation by saying, “Me too, but you know how she is.”
“Yeah, I do.” Andrew still secretly worried about Emma being all alone on such a cold and stormy night. He hoped her cabin wouldn’t get buried in snowdrifts and made a plan in his head to go check on her first thing in the morning.
As everyone finished eating their dinner, the wind continued to pick up. In the silence, between the chewing and the clinking of silverware, the sound of snow and ice could be heard hitting the windows of the kitchen. The house was old, so there were drafts with each gust of wind. Every now and then, another thud could be heard out on the porch and that made them all think the storm was getting really, really bad.
It was customary for everyone to stay at the table until the last person finished their meal. So once Thomas finished his third bowl of stew, everyone stood and began cleaning up in the kitchen. The sink had been filled with warm water, so after scraping the dishes into the garbage pail, they soaked the dishes in the sink. Amy was wiping down the table, and the guys were standing near the wood-burning stove enjoying the warmth and picking the last pieces of meat and potatoes out of the pot. Everyone was comfortable with the storm, having listened to it rage for the past couple of hours. When they heard the sounds on the porch they really didn’t think much of it, assuming it was the wind.