Winternights Dream (Chapter 1)

    Laney Dobbs locked her hands at two and four o’clock on the Dodge pick-up’s steering wheel.  Despite being in four wheel drive, the tires spun like a roulette wheel on the winter covered back road.  Fat flakes quivered down against the white, snow-lit sky.  At least it had stopped sleeting.
         
    She tried to stay in the tracks of another large pick-up, while chugging up the hill.  Even though it had been plowed only forty minutes before she swerved and slid onto the road, it was now covered in at least three inches of fresh powder. 

    She was determined to get home to her baby boy, Jacob, who had just turned a year old on Christmas Eve.  Her parent’s would be fine watching him a little longer, but Jacob would want his Mommy before bedtime. 

    Most people she knew had the week between Christmas and New Years off, but she had volunteered to work.  She was saving money for an apartment or small house to rent for her and Jacob.  Laney was a very independent person and being on her own was important.

    As she gassed the truck over the top of the hill, she saw the stalled plow truck a little too late.  It had been coming from the opposite direction, but its rear end was in her lane, tilted into a ditch.

    Time sped up.  She missed the right, front tire of the plow truck and began sliding towards the field on the opposite side of the road.  She held her breath as the rear of the truck made a wild skid back and landed two feet down in a culvert.   

    It was then she let out a scream – of frustration.  “No, no, no, no, no!  She slapped at the steering wheel.  “This can’t be happening!”

    Walking through the beams her headlights cast on the sparkling snow, she could see snow covered footprints to the left of the plow and a faint trail that looked to be made by a snowmobile. 

    “Hm, no one around then.”  She said to the trees.  But in the distance she heard what she thought could be another vehicle.  Yes.  It was the muffled sound of an engine and a moment later its high beams appeared below her.  It was a blazer, making a steady trek up the hill.

    When she was within his view, she began to motion for him to pull over.  He snapped his four ways on and rolled down his window.  She started for his vehicle, but caught a slick spot on the pavement.  Her ankle buckled and suddenly she was staring at the sky while thick snowflakes assaulted her face.
   
    A door slammed and a huge glove appeared before her.  She gladly jammed her own mitten into the glove and was yanked up.  Oh no.  It was Aaron Felding. 

    “Laney?  Are you okay?”  He asked.

    She tried to hide any hint that she was uncomfortable, not to mention her embarrassment.  “I’m fine.  I just wanted to stop you from going any further.  Over that hill, there’s a plow truck across the lane.  They left it like that.  No warning or anything.”

    He glanced around her and made his way up to see it, then skidded back down past her to his blazer.  In the back, he dug out a few flares, lit them and placed them just below the hill, wiping the snow out of the way so they’d be visible to any drivers.

    She pulled her knit hat tightly around her head and silently cursed herself for not taking the longer, less treacherous route home.  Aaron was a nice enough guy.  They were both biology majors and took classes together at the local college on the weekends.  Laney, however, was leaning more toward environmental issues.  They rarely agreed on much while in class.

    Aaron, normally a quiet person would challenge her during their class discussions.  When carrying on a conversation with him, she always felt as though he scrutinized everything she stood for.  Maybe it was the flat tone he used or the way his mannerisms and expressions spoke for him.  Everything about him said “I’m a serious guy.”  So great, all she said or did from this moment on would be picked apart and analyzed.  And suddenly she wondered, Why does my ankle hurt so much?
   
    “Is that your truck on the left?”  He asked, tilting his head in that direction.

    “Well, I wasn’t driving the plow truck!”  She snapped, grumbling to herself.  Then she tried to turn around and lost her balance again.

    He reached out and clasped her elbow.  “Whoa, you don’t need to go down in a heap again.”  His arm hooked through hers so he could support her.  “Your ankle.  Did you twist it when you fell before?”

    She was in no mood to feel stupid for falling, stupid for being out here in the middle of a nor’easter, but she couldn’t deny the dull throb that radiated down through her ankle and foot.  She sighed and bit her tongue.

    He knelt down and took off his glove.  Slipping a hand inside her boot, he grimaced.  “It feels swollen.  Can you walk?”

    “Probably.”  She managed.

    “Is it far to your place?”

    The dull throb turned into sparks of pain; pins and needles of fire when she put any weight on it.  She winced to keep from crying out and then whispered, “I’m about four miles from home.”

    Without further question, he slung her arm around his shoulder and began veering her off the road.  This brought her within close proximity of his neck.  Heat radiated off of it in the chilly, damp air, bringing with it the scent of his aftershave.  Mmmm.  She thought.  Where is he taking me?
   
    “My Dad’s house is about eight miles that way.”  He gestured to their right.  “My uncle owns this property and I believe his hunting cabin is just beyond those pines.  I would say we could sit in the blazer, but I think we should elevate your ankle.”

    The roof of the cabin became visible as they inched closer.
    “Easy, easy.”  He told her gently as he grabbed a handful of material from her coat to keep her upright.

    The steps were a challenge.  The front door was locked and he tried slamming his weight into it to get it to give, but it wouldn’t budge.  “Let me try the side door.”

    She waited and suddenly she heard movement from inside the cabin.  Within a few seconds, he jiggled the door open.

    As they were shaking off the snow, she saw a recliner and love seat in front of  a huge, stone fireplace.  He got her situated in the recliner, elevated her feet and then told her he’d be back, that he had to find something to burn in the fireplace. 

    She scanned the small, chilly room.  Next to her was a tiny end table with a picture on it and the love seat had a sheet and an afghan draped over it. 

    Aaron worked quickly and the fire was soon snapping and popping.  He seemed to know just how to build a fire and knew his way around the cabin as well.

    “Have you been here recently?”  She inquired.

    He looked around.  “It’s been a year or two.  It doesn’t look like my uncle used it this season either.  Luckily he didn’t use all the fire wood the last time he was here.  We’ll have enough for tonight.”

    Laney’s heart dropped.  Jacob needed her.  She should be home with her baby.  Her eyes clouded over, but she tried to distract him by changing the subject.  “It’s a nice place, really.”  She said pretending to take another look around, hoping the tears would dry up.

    He grabbed the afghan off the love seat and laid it across her lap.  Then he took off his coat and shook off the droplets of melted snow.  “Here, you can use this too if you get cold.”

  “What about you?”

  “It’s gonna warm up in here soon.  I’ll be fine.”  He said, with a wave of his hand.

    “Thanks.”  She answered, not knowing quite what to think.  He was acting so different.  Didn’t he think she was just another dumb kid from college?

    “So, you were working tonight of all nights?”  He asked, reaching down to undress her foot.

    Great.  Yep, here’s the part where he makes me feel stupid for being out tonight.  “Yes, I was working.  She answered with a hint of irritation in her voice.  But he’d been out in this too.  “What were you doing out in this?”  She asked, testing him.

    Without looking up from her foot, he said, “I was going to check on my dad.”  Then he cleared his throat.  “My parents are divorced, but my mom still worries about him taking his meds.  He lives alone, about eight miles from here, like I said.” 

    Hm, so he had good reason to be out.  Of course he did.  The guy never made mistakes.

    “We need to ice this.”  He told her and then returned quickly with a blanket full of snow.  She watched in amazement as he wrapped it in such a delicate manner so that none of the ice touched her skin. 
     
    “Why are you doing this?”  She asked, just above a whisper.

    He didn’t look up, but she could make out a smile through his pursed lips.  He appeared to be amused by her question.  “I couldn’t leave you out there on the road.”  He said in a low murmur.

    “You couldn’t leave me period.”  She retorted.  “Still, you didn’t have to take care of my ankle.”

    He finished fixing her wrap and then took a seat on the love seat, clasped his hands together, and rested his elbows on his knees.  He looked like he didn’t know how to respond.  Imagine that.  She thought.  He’s speechless.   

    “I’ll take that off in a bit, but if it starts to get uncomfortable, just let me know.”  He told her and he started to poke at the fire.

    She watched the flames pick up and the room brightened, then the light flickered down again.  She felt the surge of heat and heard the hiss of air as a log cracked in half while the fire devoured the dry timber.

    “You have a baby, don’t you?”

    Would he judge her for being single, so young and still in college?  “Yeah.”  She shifted uncomfortably in the chair.  “His name is Jacob.  He just celebrated his first birthday last week.”

    Aaron was quiet for a moment, staring at the fire.  “Is his dad - ”   
   
  “Still around?”  She finished defensively, knowing he’d ask.  “No.  Nick went off to college.  His parents pay support on Jacob for now.  Anything else you want to know?”

    Tension hung in the air like a sheet between them.  He looked at her, not batting an eyelash and asked, “Are you hungry?”

    It was a poor attempt to change the subject and Laney slapped both hands on the recliner’s armrests, her eyes brimming with tears.  She was ready to bail, storm or no storm.

  “Who, wait, Laney!  What are you doing?”  He asked, jumping up to catch her. She struggled for a moment against him and finally made it up, but a pain far worse than expected went surging up her leg.  She sat back down with both of her hands still latched around his arms.  Hot tears threatened to boil out of her.  She wasn’t sure if it was more the pain now edging up her calf or from the heartache of not being able to be home with her son.

  “What is it Laney?”  He whispered, watching her crumble.  “I’m sorry if I pried.”

  “No, I just miss Jacob.  And it’s this stupid ankle.  What a mess I’m in.”  She said, as a sob rolled up from the back of her throat.  “I’ve never been away from him for this long.  And my parents – I don’t want them to worry.”  The tears flowed like water off icicles in a January thaw.  They pelted the shoulder he offered until finally, she leaned into him and accepted comfort.     
   
  Once again, the delicious scent of his aftershave permeated the air around her and she breathed it in, feeling soothed.  A wisp of a thought nudged her from the back of her mind.  Aaron may not be as bad as she first thought.

  Pulling away, she met his brown eyes.  Awareness crept into her.  They were so close, he on the edge of the recliner and her with her arms around his shoulders.  Strong shoulders.  She didn’t need this, as nice as it was and she couldn’t yet read him.  Did he feel something too?
Heck, an hour ago, she would’ve sooner sat in her cold truck than be stuck with him.

  He let go and stood, walking to the large window near the love seat.  “I’ve seen you with him you know?”

  She watched him as he opened the curtain, peering outside at the snow.

  “You’re a good mom, Laney.  Another plow will come through and tow you out of that ditch.  We won’t be here too long.”  He opened the curtain further.  “See those pines out there?       
 
  She perked her head up and nodded.  They were tall, dark and loomed over the cabin in rows on the one side.

  “It used to be a Christmas tree farm back in the sixties.  The guy who started it passed away.  No one took it over and tended to them, so they just grew and grew.”

  “He didn’t have any family that he could pass the farm on to?”

  “Nope.”

  She thought for a moment, staring out at the tall, black, triangle peaks.  “How sad.”

  He grinned slightly.  “Not for the trees.  I thought a tree hugger like you would appreciate that story.”

  She made a hmph noise and threw her hands toward the fire to warm them. 

  “You getting cold?”

  “No, but I could go for a big bowl of popcorn right about now.”

  He smiled.

  She explained.  “My grandma used to pop it in her kettle over the fire place.”
   
  “It’s not popcorn, but I think I have some trail mix in the blazer and maybe some aspirin for that ankle too.”  He reached over and took his coat as she held it out for him.
 
  “Do you have to leave?”  She hated the vulnerability that leaked into her voice right then.  I’m a big girl.  I’m Jacob’s mommy.  I’m strong.

  His mouth pulled into a slight smile, but it didn’t have a patronizing feel to it now.  “I’ll come back as quick as I can.”

  She followed him with her eyes as he slung his coat around his shoulders and pulled his scarf around his head.

  The fire crackled and the heat lulled around her, soaking into her bones.  As she laid her head back on the warm recliner, it felt as though a thousand tiny hands were massaging her.  Her mouth opened in a wide yawn.  If she were home, sleep would be simple.  Jacob would be in his crib across her room and her radio would be sending out a barely audible lullaby of country tunes.

  Her view of the small, log warmed cabin became narrow and hazy until the door creaked open and Aaron walked in with a bag full of trail mix, a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water.

  She grabbed the bag from the crook of his elbow as he made his way by, and then wrinkled her nose while reading off some of the ingredients.  “Dried apricots, peanuts, and yogurt covered raisins.  No banana chips?  I love banana chips.”  But her belly rumbled at the thought of food – any food and she dug into the bag.

  “First food, aspirin and then sleep.”  He said firmly, handing her the bottles of aspirin and water.

  “Oh, I don’t think I could sleep.”  She said with another yawn.

  He sniffed.  “Yeah, that’s why you were almost unconscious when I walked in.”

  “I was playing possum.”  She smirked, munching on a dried strawberry.  Who would’ve thought dried strawberries would taste so good?     

  “You’re way cuter than a possum, Laney.”

  She smiled.  He’d called her cute!  “Have you ever seen one up close?”

  When he nodded, she made her best possum face, bearing her teeth.
   
  “Did I say you were cuter than one?  I take that back.”  He joked.

  When all was quiet and they were settled in, watching the fire, she decided it was time for her to ask questions and she began her third degree with, “So why do you go to college on the weekends?  I pegged you as the type who’d land a scholarship with Pratt or Yale.”

  He frowned.  “I did.  With Pratt, that is.”
 
  She stopped in mid chew.  She hadn’t expected that.  Her hand rose out of the loud crinkly bag.

  Without waiting for her to ask more, he pushed on.  “Things went bad with my parents.  They both needed help, so I stuck around.”

  She admired his loyalty to his family, but he was so bright.

  “You can always transfer your credits later.”

  He shrugged like it was possible, but not yet considerable.  “Besides, my girlfriend lived around here and when I ended up staying, she was more than happy.”

  “Lived around here?”  Laney repeated.  Time to get really personal.

  “Yeah, as in she doesn’t now.”

  “Where’d she go?”

  “Pratt.”  He said after a lengthy pause.  But then he laughed.  It was a nice, deep laugh.  “No, she moved away shortly after I ended up staying in town.  It never worked out, the whole long distance thing.”  His smile faded.  “I think she’s a stripper now.”

  Laney threw a cashew at him.  He caught it and then tossed it into his mouth.

  “So, I take it she’s smart like you?”  She wanted to add that someone smart would be more his type.

  “She’s smart, but fussy and picky.  I don’t know, she was hard to get along with at times.  She only seemed concerned about herself and her problems.  I could never say what I wanted to without worrying about the repercussions.”

  “I know what you mean.  Nick, he could be like that.  I suppose anyone can be.  And of course, he didn’t stick around after Jacob was born.”

  “So Laney, what are you looking for?”

  The question caught her off guard.  She handed him the bag of trail mix and gulped down the aspirin with the water.  “Obviously someone patient and dependable.  I have Jacob to consider first.  But overall, someone I can share a deep connection with.  Someone who listens and someone to share inside jokes with.”

  “Those are some big shoes to fill.”

  “And the reason I’m not looking.  How about you?”

  “Me?”  He set his jaw and looked pensive for a moment.  “Someone who accepts me for me.  Bottom line.”  He cut through the air with his hand to make his point.

  “Do you have any unacceptable traits?”  She asked, half grinning.

  “I fart compulsively.”  He answered without missing a beat and appeared completely serious.
      Laney laughed out loud.  “Oh you do?  I think they make medicine for that, you know.  I can one up you.  I still wet the bed.”

  He drew back, pretending to be appalled.  “You got me there.”  He sniffed and then burst out laughing.

  “Oh, in fact, I think I just wet myself now.”  She added, lifting her butt in the air.  “Do you think we can shampoo this chair?”
 
  He was still smiling.  “Potty humor.  Great ice breaker Laney.”

  “You started it Mr. Flatulence.”

  “At least we’ve established that we’re both single.”

  What was he getting at?

  He sighed and knelt by her feet.  He lifted the wrap and studied her ankle.  It wasn’t just her ankle, she noticed.  Her last three toes looked like cooked, stuffed sausage casings.

  “The aspirin may help with the swelling, but you should see a doctor when we get out of this.  You want this back on?”

  “Yeah, the snow feels good.”

  “You’d better rest now.”  He said and touched the corner of her forehead.

  “Thanks Aaron.  Thanks for being so good to me.”  That was the last thing she remembered saying to him before she closed her eyes.

  The first thing she heard waking up was the crackling of the nearly spent wood and Aaron’s frantic rush to keep the fire going.

  “Sorry,” He whispered.  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  She grabbed his wrist when he got close enough.  “I thought I was dreaming.”  Without thinking, she reached for his other hand.  He sat down in the same spot he had earlier.  She found herself winding her arms around his broad shoulders.  “Thank you for everything.”  She whispered.  She’d been completely wrong about him.

  His eyes were once again locked to hers, but his expression was different this time, softened as compared to the stiff, serious expression he usually wore.  Their lips were mere inches apart and suddenly he leaned in and touched his lips to her forehead, then breathed her name softly.  “Laney.”

  He felt the connection too.  She could tell by his reaction to her.  It felt right and nice.  One more glance at him and their lips were almost touching.

  The snow fell around their secluded little world.  Then the sound of a snowplow cut through the silence.  She didn’t care, at least not at that moment.  He leaned closer.  She closed her eyes and gave in as his lips found hers.