Page 4 of My Greatest Joy

LEVI

Since one ofthe biggest storms of the season is supposed to hit this evening, I spend most of the day helping my parents at our Christmas tree farm. After I chop a fuckton of wood for them, I go to my twin sister Lucy’s house and do the same for her.

“Thanks, bro!” She waves, already dressed in her pajamas.

I look at my watch. “It’s barely four.”

“So? It’s a pre-snow day.” She shrugs. “Thanks again for the wood.”

“Welcome. Couldn’t let ya freeze. Check in with me after the blizzard passes,” I tell her, knowing I need to get home to do the same. “Come on, Dasher,” I say as my golden retriever begs to go inside with her.

“He wants to stay with me,” she teases. “It’s because he likes me more.” She pets him, bends down, and kisses his head.

“Dasher!” I whistle. He bolts toward me, hopping through the snow, making sure he’s wet and filthy before getting in the truck. I give my sister a wave, then drive the couple of miles to my place.

The temperature is steadily dropping, and over the next few days, we’ll get pounded with over twenty inches of snow alongwith harsh winds. Most of Maplewood Falls and grocery stores have already shut down. I enjoy winter storms and don’t mind being stuck inside with Dasher. It’s Mother Nature’s way of making me rest during one of the busiest times of the year. While it might slightly hurt profits, it’ll pick up again, and we’ll be swamped once we reopen. Last-minute tree buyers aren’t that uncommon.

Once I’m home, I park my truck on the side of the house closest to my shed. Dasher gets out and chases a rabbit to the edge of the woods, and I have to yell at him to come back. He does, then I unlock the door and grab him a few treats for being a good boy on the farm today. Once he’s gobbled them up, we go out to the shed to start working. All my extra wood is stored here, and I chop it year-round to keep it stocked for winter.

I keep a small heater on the floor in here for him while I work. Dasher loves the snow and cold, but he’s also a baby and likes to be warm. As soon as I turn it on, he lies in front of it, watching me with his big eyes.

“This won’t take me long,” I explain, grabbing my axe, and then chop the trunks into smaller, more manageable chunks. While my house runs off propane, I still use the fireplace.

After thirty minutes, I take a quick break. My muscles are sore from working most of the day. Dasher stares at me, and I chuckle. He’s ready to go in and relax, too.

As I look out across the pond in front of my house, I can see the blizzard moving in. Visibility is terrible. I’m not sure how long I’ll be snowed in, but I plan to catch up on some sleep. Then after it passes, I’ll be on plow duty. Once I’ve caught my breath, I continue until I’m finished.

“Okay, boy. Let’s go.”

I turn off the small heater, then grab an armful of wood to carry inside. Dasher leads the way, and as soon as I turn the knob, he sniffs around and starts barking.

I place the logs in a small stack next to the fireplace and notice one of the reindeer in my town scene on the mantel is turned the wrong way. Furrowing my brows, I move it back to where it was.

Dasher races upstairs, still barking his head off as I undress on my way to the shower. I’ll deal with my wet-ass dog after.

I slip off my jeans, push my boxers down, and open my bedroom door, naked. Unbeknownst to me, a woman lies in my bed.

I make eye contact with her as Dasher rushes forward. Quickly, I try to cover myself, not particularly wanting this stranger to see my dick, but I have more questions than answers. Neither of us knows what the fuck is going on. I try to say something, anything, but she screams in horror. She grabs something next to her, then points it at me. Everything happens so fast that I barely have time to react. Pepper spray shoots across the room and hits me directly in my eyes.

“Fuck! You maced me!” I stumble, trip over something hard, and then fall on my ass.

“I’m calling the police!” she shrieks as Dasher sniffs me and continues to bark at the woman.

I press my palms into my eyes as the burn gets worse. “Please do! Tell them you broke in and assaulted me!”

“Broke intoyourhouse? I don’t think so. The last thing I’m going to do is let some man murder me in the middle of nowhere.”

I wish I could look at her, but my eyes are stinging so fucking bad that I can only wait it out. She starts coughing, which means she probably got some residuals from the spray.

“What are you talking about, woman?”

“I’m talking about how you broke into my rental.”

“Listen to me!” My voice booms as tears roll down my cheeks. I have no idea what the fuck she’s talking about.

“Ugh! Get your filthy dog off me.” I can hear the mattress squeak and know he jumped on the bed.

“Dasher.” I snap my fingers. “Downstairs.”

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