Page 33 of Up to Snow Good
“If we want to be together, this is our chance. But I need you to understand what it means.” I caressed her cheek. She leaned into my touch. Her eyes filled with tears, but also filled with something else. Hope.
“We can’t ever go back. We leave here, and we move forward, always forward with the force of an avalanche if we have to. Nothing can get in our way.” I rested my hands in her lap. “Eventually, they will discover our bodies aren’t here. Your father will scour the valley before giving up. He will know we disappeared, and whether he comes after us I don’t know, but if we go, this is our best shot. It’s your decision.”
“What do you want to do?”
I paused and contemplated her question. I could go back. We could live off of stolen moments. Her father was in a dangerous business. Shit happened to dangerous men all the time. I looked down at her hand in mine, and the realization hit me like a left hook. I didn’t want to be in a worldwhere I couldn’t touch her, comfort her. I leaned in and kissed her. She kissed me back. No. I would not give this up. No matter what.
“I want you.” I stood up. She stood up with me. “Like this. Looking at me like that. I want to tell you every day loud and proud how amazing and beautiful and frustratinglyannoying you can be.”
She smiled, and it warmed my heart.
“I want that, too.” She stood on her toes and kissed me. “Especially the annoying you part.”
I rubbed my nose against hers and kissed her again.
“Come on.” I took her hand and led her into the garage. Inside the door, I pressed the keypad, and to the left, the wall rolled up in the vast white unknown. Three feet of snow fell into the shed. I cleared it away with my boot.
We stood at the door. The cloud cover was disorienting. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them. Nothing but white as far as the eye could see.
“We can get about sixty miles on the snowmobile. That will get us as far as the Baker Mountain resort. From there, we can get a car to Washington.”
“And from there?”
“Wherever you want to go?”
Amari walked around the snowmobile. The garage had tools attached by plank board and hooks to the wall. She turned to the snowmobile and ran her hand down the leather seat.
“As far as getaway vehicles go, it’s not bad.” She hugged herself. “A little cold.”
I walked to her side and ran my hand down the back.
“I’ll keep you warm.” I kissed her cheek. “There’s hunting gear in the shed. Let’s get you geared up.”
“Won’t they notice the tracks and follow us?” She worked it out in her mind, too.
“I looked at the weather, and it’s supposed to snow for the next few days. It will cover our tracks andslow down the rescue efforts.”
“It almost seems like God is on our side.” She squeezed my hand.
We walked back into the shed. I rummaged through the clothes and pulled out gear for Amari and myself.
“Go get cleaned up.” I patted her ass. “I’ll find some stuff for us to wear and then check on the snowmobile and make sure we have enough gas.”
“Okay.” She disappeared into the bathroom. I gathered everything weneeded.
The seat of the snowmobile had a storage compartment. I grabbed my go kit consisting of fake IDs and passports for Amari and me. Her father suggested it in case any of his enemies got too close and we needed to make a quick exit. I opened the gun safe in the back of the garage when Amari appeared.
I took out a 9 millimeter and removed the magazine. It was full. I reloaded the gun and stuck it in apocket on my right leg. It was a tight pocket, and the gunsecured against my thigh and offered easy access.
“You remember how to shoot?” Amari walked up behind me.
“Yeah but...”
I picked up the .22 and checked it too.
“Just in case we come upon an unsuspected bear or coyote.”
She nodded, sat her hat and gloves on the bench, and took the gun. She checked it and secured it in the same right-hand pocket.
