Page 24 of Cookie
Ryan
I felt better once I had the new boots and jacket on, and as we climbed back into Charlie’s truck, I relaxed. “Every day is an adventure here,” I said.
He turned to me with a grin. “I guess it has been. Don’t worry, by next year this will all be old news.”
As we got closer to town, it became more and more clear this was not going to be a normal day.
Even with the snow, I hoped I’d be able to open and put away the order that had arrived yesterday.
The road ahead was covered in a thick layer of undisturbed snow, which seemed strange since all the way here we’d seen other vehicles that had made a path ahead of us. “Why are there no tracks?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” He glanced at the time before focusing back on the road.
We made the last turn to the street we both worked on, and there in the middle of the road was a snowplow and about ten people crowded around it, blocking the traffic that was on the other side of it.
“Wait here,” Charlie said before jumping out of the truck and walking over to where everyone was.
“I have boots,” I said and hurried to catch up to him. “What happened?”
“The snowplow died. I’m not sure what’s wrong, but it broke down in the worst place it could happen,” a man said that I’d never met before, but based on the way he was dressed, I guessed he was the driver. “What do you think, Charlie? Can you get it going? I drive it, but I don’t work on it.”
“I’m not sure. You know this isn’t really my specialty,” Charlie said as he opened a panel that revealed the engine. “Try to start it.” He stood there poking and prodding while the other guy got into the cab and did something, but all that happened was a faint clicking sound.
“Sounds like the starter might be out or it might be your battery,” Charlie said and jiggled some wires before giving the guy in the cab the signal to stop trying.
“Shit, I doubt I can get another starter today,” the man said. I still had no clue who he was, but obviously everyone else did.
“Let me see what I can do,” Charlie said and wiped his hands off on a cloth the man handed him.
“Appreciate it,” he said as he took back the cloth from Charlie and shoved it in his pocket.
“Once I saw how much it snowed, I was in a hurry to get the streets plowed, so I didn’t let it warm up enough.
I pulled to a stop at the four-way because I didn’t want to go through the first car on the other side.
” He glanced at a man who must have been in the first car.
“Thanks for that,” the man said, making a few of them laugh.
“Let me try a jump and see if that’ll do it,” Charlie said and jogged back to his truck.
“Are you the guy that bought the bookstore?” another man asked.
“Yes, I’m Ryan Stone,” I said and held my gloved hand out.
“Nate Brenner. I’ll be stocking up on books before winter really hits. Do you have puzzles too?” he asked.
“Yes, and we just got an order yesterday that has more puzzles, lots of new books, some adult coloring books, and a few puzzle books,” I said as a few more people walked closer to where we were talking.
“Will you have them out later today?” a woman holding a baby asked.
“I hope so. It’s just me there today, but I’ll try to get most of it on the shelves.”
“I can help after lunch,” Charlie said as he connected the jumper cables to the snowplow that were now connected to his truck.
“Give it a minute, Gary, let me rev up the truck,” he said before jogging back and making his engine roar.
“Charlie’s a good one,” the woman said and glanced between the two of us.
“He really is. I’ve been so unprepared for everything to do with living in the mountains,” I admitted.
“I was the same way five years ago. Now it’s all a habit. Don’t worry, you’ll get there,” Nate said as we all now stood and watched if it would start or not.
“Gary, see if you can turn it over,” Charlie yelled over the engine. Gary turned the key or pushed the button or whatever it took to start a snowplow. At first it only clicked, but then Charlie revved the motor on his truck even more, and this time it gave a small signal of life.
“Come on, old girl,” Gary yelled while trying it again, and this time it sputtered and ground until it finally started with a big puff of black smoke out of the smokestack.
Everyone shouted and I shouted along with them, then it hit me.
I wasn’t an outsider. I was part of their community.
They all accepted me, whether they knew me or not.
Charlie hopped out of the truck and checked that Gary was good to go before he gave him a thumbs up.
He hurried over to me and kissed me. “Ready to go to work?”
“I’m ready,” I said. Everyone went back to their cars and moved out of the way as Gary slowly made his way down the street.
Charlie followed right behind while thoughts of how much I already loved this town floated through my mind.
When we were in front of the bookstore, Charlie came to a stop and turned to look at me.
“Is this okay? I’ll stop by after lunch and help you with that order.”
I leaned across the cab and kissed him. “This is perfect. Love you. See you later.” I jumped down to the now cleared street and hurried to the door of the store.
“Hey, can you call me when you have everything unpacked?” Nate, the guy who’d asked about puzzles, asked as he walked toward me.
“Sure, I’ll try to find them in the order this morning,” I said and took the piece of paper he’d written his number on.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” he said and continued down the street.
Unlocking the door, I stepped inside. It was freezing cold since the fire had died, and apparently the power had gone off, but it didn’t matter.
I walked over to the woodstove and stacked it the way Charlie had shown me and within an hour the place was warm, and I was halfway through the first box of the order.
It was official. Grace was my home and my community, and I could build a fire by myself.