Page 29 of Mistlefoe
My heart hammers in my throat as I walk out of the kitchen, and not in the way I expected this night to go. Both of my parents knew about Grammie’s worsening condition and hadn’t told me. I knew she wasn’t doing well in general and that’s why I hatched this whole plan. But for the first time Istart really contemplating the possibility not just of not being able to see her this Christmas, but of not being able to ever again.
CHAPTER 11
CONOR
“It’s a great day to split you up.” I rub my gloved hands together and grab my Stihl ax, hoisting it on my shoulder as I consider the massive block of wood that took me all morning to saw out of a tree, and then haul to my chopping block. I probably sound like a horror movie villain with the laugh that escapes from my throat, but I’m just excited to use all my strength without restraint.
This is literally my favorite thing to do away from an ice rink ever since retirement. It’s a great workout and it also helps me work through whatever is occupying my mind. And right now, it’s a certain event I have to pull off with a certain woman.
I plant my boots at a good distance from each other and from the wood, and drop my ax with the power of my entire body. The hilt buries itself with a satisfying thunk and I already see the first crack. With a jerk to the side, I free my axe and repeat the process.
My plan after this is taking a shower to wash off the sawdust, dirt, and sweat from the morning run and the tree felling. Then I’ll have the world’s biggest breakfast—I havebacon in the oven that is calling my name. Then I’ll bundle up the chopped wood and take it to Gramps and some of our neighbors. After that, I’m hitting the town to scout some potential venues if Conrad’s Rink doesn’t work out. And after that, I’ll watch tonight’s game that will feature Max’s team versus Nate’s—should be fun.
Tomorrow is Sunday, so it’s not like we’ll be able to schedule any visits, but having a finalized list of vendors should help us make all the calls we need starting Monday morning. And once I send it to Sierra, I’ll ask her if she wants to get together tomorrow after church to get started on all the manual work this whole thing will require.
I’ve offered my cottage as headquarters for the operation, since it turns out she lives with her parents. Needless to say, I spent all last night cleaning and making sure the place doesn’t look like a frat house.
Besides, it’ll be cozier with freshly split wood burning in the fireplace.
After three more hacks, the wood splits in two and I shove one half off so I can work on turning the other one into decent sized logs. The more I split, the easier it gets until I can drop the ax down one handed. I rest the ax against the chopping block and walk around it to haul the other half back on top. It’s damn heavy and tears a series of grunts out of me.
“Whew.” I make a pause to remove my glasses and pull up the hem of my shirt. The outside is all grimy and so is the shirt’s neck area, so all I have left to clear the sweat off my eyes is the inside of my shirt.
A cough echoes around me.
I lift my head.
Am I hallucinating? Why is Sierra Fernandez standing some three yards away from me? And also why is she looking down?—
Oh. Right. Lifted shirt.
“You have abs.”
“So have you,” I return like a clown. “Everybody has abs.”
She snorts and folds her arms. “Well, mine don’t look like that.”
My lips twitch and I make a show of looking down at my stomach. “You mean other people aren’t as hairy?” It’s not like I’m covered in a thick carpet of hair, but there’s no doubt I’m healthy on the testosterone.
She doesn’t respond right away and instead squints, still giving her full focus to my stomach as I wipe my face with my shirt. “Eight? Who the hell has eight abs? And why do you even need all of those?”
“To split wood?” I suggest, finally pulling my shirt down and putting my glasses back on. My muscles complain as I bend down to pick up my ax. “What brings you here this early?”
That said, I get back to work on the last half. I think she tries to talk but gives up against all the noise. This time it takes three good thwacks to split the massive chunk and I make a pause just to gather my breath.
“Well?”
Sierra shuts her mouth tight and blinks fast. There’s something in her expression that I like. A lot. It’s almost enough to wipe off any trace of exhaustion in my muscle fibers. As if my body were priming me for something I have no business thinking about with my coworker.
“Um.” She clears her throat and it makes her cough. “Right. You said we could use your shed to store stuff and I have a loaded truck…”
“Oh, yeah. Let me help you.” I bury the ax into the wood and pull off my gloves.
“You should just finish what you’re doing.”
I pause. “I don’t want you to waste your time standing there, though.”
“It’s not a waste, trust me.” Is it just me, or is her voice raspier? “Watching you is giving me an idea.”
