Snowbound Security. Beverly Long
her backpack and trotted back toward the bedroom.
He followed her, wincing slightly. His ankle was sore from the driving. Laura was probably right. He better use his crutches for a while.
By the time he got there, she had the backpack unzipped and was dumping it out onto the bed. There were some clothes, all in grays and dark blues, a few books, colored pencils and construction paper, and a big plastic sack full of trolls. There must have been six or seven of them.
“You like trolls?” he said.
“They’ve never seen snow.”
He heard the front door open, thought that Laura was likely to come charging down the hallway with a shovel in her hand. “I’ve got her,” he called out. “She’s showing me her trolls.”
“Okay,” she yelled back.
“You know what you can do in snow,” he said.
She shook her head.
“You can build a snowman. Or a snow lady. Or a snow kid.”
“A snow family,” she said, proving that she was tracking with the conversation.
“A snow dog,” he said.
She giggled. “A snow cat. With a big long tail. And mittens on his paws.” She clapped her hands together.
She really was a cute kid.
And when Laura came in five minutes later, after bringing everything in and putting away the groceries, he and Hannah were sitting on the floor, drawing said cat.
“It’s a snow cat,” Hannah explained.
“With a tail long enough to wrap around that apple tree?” Laura asked, examining the drawing.
He’d been responsible for the tree. “Longest tail in the world,” explained Rico.
“Of course,” she said. “Hannah, if you want to go outside and play, we probably need to get you dressed. It’s going to get dark in an hour or so and then you won’t be able to go outside.”
Hannah reached for the sack that held her new outside clothes. She yanked everything out and tossed them in Rico’s direction. “Get me dressed,” she said.
He glanced at Laura and could see the indecision cross her face. But then she nodded. Didn’t leave the room, but simply stayed by the doorway.
He held up the snow pants and Hannah stepped into them. Then it was the new coat, the mittens, the hat. He removed the tags as he went. Finally, he put her boots on. She immediately started stomping around the room. “Let’s go,” she said.
“I’ll take you, sweetheart,” Laura said. “Rico has a sore ankle.”
“Did you hurt it?” Hannah asked, her little forehead scrunched in concern.
“Yes,” he said. “You two go outside. I’ll start something for an early dinner.”
Hannah kept up the stomping while Laura got ready. It took her just minutes and then they were out the door. Rico went to the window, the same one he’d stood at just that morning when Laura had driven away. The same one he’d been standing at ten minutes later, when she reversed directions and he’d decided to follow her.
Sometimes things worked out well.
He’d been surprised that she’d agreed to come back to the cabin. He thought it had a great deal to do with the fact that she perceived him to be somewhat of an invalid. Good grief, he hadn’t even been allowed to carry in a sack of groceries. Made him feel a bit emasculated but if it gave her some comfort, then he wasn’t opposed to keeping up the pretense.
There was about an inch of snow on the ground. Not enough to build a good snowman, or even a snow cat, but plenty to lie in and make snow angels. They did a bunch of that and then caught flakes with their tongues and ran around, laughing and giggling.
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