Page 22 of His One True Wish

I looked up to see Axl standing in front of me. Sipping his tea, a huge grin crossed his face. “Wow, that is bright,” he said, pretending to shield his eyes. “Obnoxious, even.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, exhaling and sticking my hands deep into my puffy pockets. “I shouldn’t have said that about your Jeep.”

“It’s all right. I’ve heard it all before.” He took another sip of his tea. “You need a hat.”

“I have a hood,” I said, pulling the purple hood over my head.

“I’ll get you a hat,” he said, walking down the hall. He returned a minute later holding a gray knit cap. “Take this.”

“I don’t need it.”

“The wind is going to whip your hood off faster than you know,” he said.

I glanced outside and listened to the howl.

“Fine,” I said, pulling the hat onto my head.

“Good girl,” he said.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“You missed.” He pointed to my hat. “It’s crooked.”

I fumbled with it while he watched.

“Can I?” he asked, pointing to my forehead.

“Fine,” I said.

He reached out and shifted the beanie on my head. His fingers touched my cheek as he pushed a stray lock of my hair back under the cap. My skin tingled at his touch. Axl stopped for a second, his deep-green eyes locked on mine, and I wondered if he felt it, too, but then he glanced away. The moment was gone, if it ever happened at all.

“There you go. It’ll keep you warm. You ready?” He paused at the back door, his hand on the knob. I nodded and followed him outside into the storm. Cam trotted a few steps behind.

Holy shit. The wind howled and felt like a small cyclone the second I stepped outside. Axl was right. I was so glad I was wearing a hat. The hood of my coat whipped back like a windsock. Snowflakes blew sideways, stinging my cheeks. Trudging across the yard felt like traveling somewhere remote and unwelcome. The weather was so much worse than when I arrived. I could hardly believe it. Axl led the way to the truck. Cam’s black-and-white fur stood out against the snow in front of us. She stayed close to us both.

The blue tarp across the truck bed bowed heavy with snow. I trudged forward squinting as snowflakes stung my eyes. The real problem with this weather was the wind. Snow wasn’t the problem in a winter storm. It was visibility and fast-falling temperatures. Most cars could get traction on fresh powder, and I knew I had chains. With no visibility, it didn’t matter if I could drive on a road if I couldn’t see.

“I’ll open the barn!” Axl shouted. “Stay close, Cam!”

The dog jumped and darted through the snow, never far out of sight.

I unhooked the tarp and got it off the truck. It whipped and flapped in the wind like a wild, winged creature. I managed tocrumple it in my arms as Axl passed, carrying a stack of four boxes as if he were Hercules. Cam was right behind him. A load that size would have taken me multiple trips.

With the barn door open, light from inside made it easier to see the entrance. I grabbed bags from the front seat and got moving. The sooner this was over the better.

It didn’t take as long as I expected to empty the truck. Axl slammed the back gate closed and waved me inside. “We need some of the boxes. They aren’t all on the pallets,” he said, wiping his forehead. His cheeks flushed, green eyes sparkling, he looked energized, like someone enjoying a hard day’s work.

“Wait,” I said, a sinking feeling crept through me. “What pallets?”

He pointed to a pile of boxes close to the door, sitting on the dirt. I knew that those boxes were part of my haul.

“Oh, so you meanmyboxes are in the wrong place.”

He shrugged. “I’m not saying anything, but we should move all the boxes to those pallets.”

“Sorry,” I said, exhaling and looking at the ceiling. “We didn’t have those on the floor last time I was here.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I made improvements to the barn. If you are going to store your mom’s shit here, let’s make sure it doesn’t get wet or ransacked by raccoons.”

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