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“If that’s what you choose to be. Knowing you, I bet you’ll find someone fast.”
“Have youmetme?”
“I have. You’re an amazing young woman. When did you start believing otherwise?”
“It started when his mom made fun of my laugh.”
Amma’s jaw dropped. “How dare she. You have a beautiful laugh.”
“Thanks,” I said despite my doubt. “It’s nice to be with family for a while.”
She gave me a warm smile. “As much as I’d love to shower you with more compliments, we do have things to do to prepare for the storm.”
“Yeah. Big storm.”
“Oh, it will be. I can feel it in my bones.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her it would pass over us like most other winter storms. See, Tennessee didn’t do this. Sure, we had some snow some years, but italwaysmissed or ended up being less than the weather person forecasted.
“Let’s get started then,” I said. “What do you want moved?”
“The rocking chairs should go in the shed. I don’t want any snow on them.”
I nodded and put my coat back on before heading outside.
Amma’s rocking chairs were solid wood, and moving them proved problematic since the shed was downhill. I couldn’t pick them up, so I awkwardly pulled them along. The ill-fitting coat was a hindrance and I wished it wasn’t freezing so I could rip it off.
It took me far longer than I wanted to get the two chairs down to the shed and even longer to find space for them. I wound up having to shuffle boxes to make it work.
I was grumbling about how much junk Amma had as I made my way up the hill to her house and to the front door.
But when I reached the top of the hill, I saw a different car had pulled in next to Amma’s.
And it was an old, red truck.
The exact one I lost my virginity in.
TWO
ALDEN
“There you are!”Amma said, a wide smile on her face as I walked into her warm house. “Thank goodness. You made it just in time.”
The second she saw me, she pulled me into a tight hug. It had been a while since I made it over here, but I usually tried to come to find something to help her with. Amma would rather injure herself than let someone else take care of her cabin for her, but I was also persistent.
“Glad I could make it,” I said. “I just got done salting all the paths at the park.”
“Will it be open for this?”
“We’re always open, and people love to hike in ice.” I shrugged. “I have my other ranger, Ryan, staying with me for extra help.”
She patted my shoulder. “Good. Then we shouldn’t waste time.”
“We have about an hour before it starts.”
“I need ... help with something.” The words sounded like they pained her.
I paused. “You needhelp?”