by Julie Solano
He gives me one more squeeze and lets me go.
The girls are asleep when Brody comes crawling up to the side of my bed. He knows how skittish I’ve been, so he’s careful not to scare me. “Pip. . . Pip . . .” he whispers. “I’m here to check on you.”
I’m glad he’s finally here. I haven’t been able to fall asleep thinking about the crazy game of truth or dare. My nerves calm the moment he wraps his strong hand around mine. I feel him sidle up next to me, and I lean in close so we can hear our whispers. “I’m so glad you came back. I couldn’t sleep. You got past my parents okay?”
“Ya, everyone’s asleep. I asked your brother if I could use his key. I told him I wanted to check on you, but I didn’t want to wake up your parents or scare any of you girls by crawling through the window. He was cool with it.”
I’m glad my brother has come to his senses about us. It was really nice of him to help Brody out like that.
“Ok Pip, I held up my end of the bargain, now I need you to come with me so you can sing me this song of yours.”
I forgot about that part. I have to play for him. How can I get out of this? My stomach begins to tie up in knots. “You know . . . if I play for you in here, we’ll wake everyone up.”
“Oh, you’re not playing in here, Girl. Bundle up and grab your guitar.”
Hesitantly, I slip on my extra warm ski jacket, scarf, and cozy boots. I feel my way to my guitar that I left standing against the doorframe. I need to be cautious. Jenna is sleeping on an air mattress just a few feet away. Careful not to wake her, I bend down and grab my guitar by the base of its neck just as Brody takes me by the other hand and tiptoes me through the doorway.
We sneak through the main room of the cabin and Brody slowly creaks the door open, guiding me out to the front porch with his hand on my back. When I look up, I see flames dancing in the fire pit in front of our cabin. The oversized chair sits right beside it with a big fuzzy blanket waiting for us.
“Thought we could do a little star gazing while we’re at it. The cloud cover just cleared and you can see Orion right now. Come here.” Brody gently tugs me down toward the crackling fire. He takes the guitar from my hand and props it against the chair. Then he sits himself down and pulls me onto his lap. He spreads the fuzzy blanket across us, tucking it in behind him. I feel his criss crossed arms close in on mine. It feels comforting to be wrapped up in his arms. Calm comes over me as we sit silently gazing up at the crystal clear sky. “The snow is beautiful, but I’m glad the clouds have passed for a bit. See, Orion Pip? He’s up really high right now.” He pulls one arm out of the blanket and points into the night sky. “Right there. Look for his belt.”
“Awww, that’s my favorite constellation Bro. The Mighty Hunter.”
“I know. I remember how you used to look for it all the time when we were kids.”
“You remembered that?” I scrunch my face up in disbelief.
Brody tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and pulls his head in close whispering, “When you really care about someone, the little things they say and do tend to stick with you.” The warmth of his breath spreading across my skin, sends shivers through me.
“You’re an amazing boy Brody. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for getting me through this fall.”
“Pip, you don’t owe me anything. You’re my girl. It was selfish, really.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, I need you in my life. And now that I know what it’s like to have you as my girl, I couldn’t get through another minute on this earth if you weren’t the one beside me. If I can keep you safe, I save myself too. See . . . selfish.”
“Brody Tatum, I don’t know what I would do without you.” I stop and shake my head. I wish there was a way to show him how much he means to me. Words just don’t seem to be enough. “So the song you heard me strumming on my guitar earlier?”
“Ya?”
“It was for you.”
“Really Pip? You wrote that song for me?” I hear the flattery sneak into Brody’s voice.
I take a deep breath, gathering my nerve. “Ya . . . It actually has lyrics. You ready to hear it?”
“That’s why we’re here Babe. Well that, and so I can see the stars twinkling in those beautiful blue eyes.” He tickles my belly until I curl over laughing. “I know that was cheesy . . . just had to say it.”
I regain my composure, and take in another deep breath. “Okay, here I go.”
I pull my arms from beneath the blanket and pick up the guitar. Sitting up straight I inform him, “Brody, this is a fair warning . . . I don’t sing in front of people.”
“Well in that case, I feel really special.” He grins, raising his eyebrows. “No judging here. I promise.” As I sit with my back to him, he slips his hands across my lap, tucking them gently behind the guitar.
“I’ll do it for you . . . but this is a once in a lifetime deal. You hear?” It takes me a second to tune my guitar before I clear my throat and start strumming the intro. Everything feels so right sitting here cuddled up in front of the fire with my sweet Brody. His head rests against my back, and for some reason, I can sense him smiling as I begin to sing. Like a snuggling puppy, his head gently moves up and down against my back. As I play into the song, I’m captured by the lyrics. I almost forget I’m playing for an audience, when the emotion comes out and my voice grows stronger. I close my eyes, and imagine every word coming to life. I want him to know I’m singing it to him, and I want him to feel every last word of it.
As I hit the final verse, Brody’s arms tighten around me.
When I finally strum the last line, I hear, “Wow, Pip . . . Your voice is beautiful. I’m the heart that fit your key?”
I set my guitar down on the ground afraid to turn around and see his reaction. “Yes, Brody.” I take in a deep breath. “And I’ve realized something . . . YOU are the reason this fall didn’t break me.”
A moment of silence settles in between us. “Look at me Pip,” he whispers.
When I slowly turn to face him, I see a tear rolling down the side of his cheek. “Look what you do to me. I didn’t know I could want another human being as much as I want you right now. Snuggle in closer. I need you right next to me.” He pulls me into him, tugging the blanket up over our heads. He whispers in my ear, sending shivers across my sensitive skin, “I love you . . . so much my little Pipsqueak.” I feel him trembling beneath me as he presses his soft lips to mine. I don’t know how long we’re under there, holding and kissing each other, sharing an unforgettable night under the stars, before we see the light of the fire go out. When the crackling dies and darkness invades our tented blanket, Brody picks me up and carries me back inside the cabin where he tucks me into my bed, kisses me on the bridge of my nose, and sends me off to dreamland. As I close my eyes, I hear his whisper, “I’ll see you in my dreams Pip, I always do.”
“RISE AND SHINE GIRLS!” BRODY’S voice wakes me from my deep sleep. “We’re going hunting for our Christmas trees this morning, and we need to get an early start.” He jumps on my air mattress and starts tickling my stomach. I curl up in a ball and try to turn my head to the side, so he doesn’t catch a whiff of my foul morning breath.
“Give me a minute Brody. I’m coming, I’m coming.” I groan into my pillow as he continues his relentless tickle assault.
“Why are you hiding under that pillow Pip? Come! Out!”
The tickling finally ceases when I hear the patter of feet, followed by swooshing and thumping noises. I peek out of my pillow to see Jenna and Peyton attacking Brody. He has both arms wrapped around his head, trying to cover his face with his elbows. He’s hunched over the top of me chuckling, as the girls bat their pillows at him mercilessly.
“You know, you really shouldn’t come creeping into a girls cabin at six in the morning!” Jenna snarls as she wallops him upside the head once again.
“Ya . . . what she said!” Peyton pops him from the front.
“Okay, o
kay. I’m sorry. But we’ve got to get going, and Mason was kind of hoping you girls could convince Marissa to come along. She came to our cabin for a while last night and played some poker with us boys after that obnoxious game of Truth or Dare. Mason really wants to hang out with her some more, and we thought it would be good to get her away from those stiff parents of hers. You’ve got to hear this one. They set her phone timer to make sure she didn’t stay longer than forty-five minutes! Geez, you’re only a teenager once.” Brody shakes his head in disbelief. “It was so funny though, she left her phone on her front porch and pretended she forgot to bring it. She stayed for an hour and fifteen minutes, til her dad came knocking at the door to get her back.”
A contemplative look spreads across Peyton’s face. “Well it sounds like she was a lot of fun. Seems like she could be a bit of a rebel if you ask me . . . despite the fact that her parents keep her under lock and key.” She looks at us, “What do you think girls?”
Jenna shakes her head in agreement, “We’ll give it a shot . . . for Mason.”
“Okay,” I agree. “Let’s get dressed and see if we can pry Miss Marissa out of her parents’ clutches for a few hours of back country fun.”
After we’re dressed in our snow gear, we head down the hill to Marissa’s cabin. We spend nearly a half hour convincing her parents that we know these woods like the backs of our hands and we’re up to nothing more than finding the perfect Christmas tree. Finally, with some hesitance, the Matthew’s agree to let her come with us on the hunt. Mason, Marissa, Peyton, and Caden climb into Caden’s truck, while Brody, Jenna, and I jump into my dad’s truck.
“We just got word that the main road is closed until they get the snowplows out here, so we’re going to take our time driving the back roads. Is that okay with you girls? We can wait until tomorrow if you don’t want to risk getting stuck.” Brody asks our opinions before we begin our ascent up the winding, snow covered road. We shake our heads and reassure him that today’s the day, and we’re up for anything as long as we’re not the ones who have to drive in the snow and ice. I trust Brody completely. He knows how to drive in these conditions better than any of us, being he has to help Mason feed cattle on the family ranch during the winter. He’s constantly driving over Forest Mountain when the roads are blanketed with snow.
At our okay, Brody pulls out behind Caden, and we make our way back along the river toward an old logging road. The fresh snow blanketing the trees and bridges has me in awe of the natural beauty of these mountains. The light shines through the trees, making the snow glisten. It lights the hills along the roadside, giving it a gorgeous aqua glow that radiates through the crevices in the mounds. The beauty and stillness of it all, has me feeling as though I’m traveling inside one of Thomas Kincade’s Winter Wonderland paintings.
As we climb higher up the mountain, the wind begins to pick up. It howls across the roadway, and blows the fresh powder up onto the windshield, causing just enough moisture to streak the glass with grime as the wipers work to swipe it away. It’s making such a mess that its difficult to see Caden’s truck ten feet in front of us.
Nervousness brought on by the treacherous conditions, fills the cab, and I know we’re going to need to break the tension soon. “You girls might want to stop breathing so hard, I know I have a tendency to do that to women, but you’re fogging up the windshield and it’s already hard to see,” Brody watches from the corner of his eye, with a turned up smirk on his face. I can tell he’s trying to elicit a smart aleck response from one of us.
In true Jenna fashion, she comes through with a witty reply, “I’m not the one full of hot air Bro.”
“Ya, I guess I set myself up for that one, didn’t I?” he chuckles
“Uh huh,” I giggle. “Just watch the road Hottie, the snow’s getting a lot deeper. Are you sure we can make it all the way up to our spot?”
“We’ve got this Babe. Just hold on tight.”
And I do. Brody shifts into four wheel drive, and begins to barrel into the narrowing gravel road. It’s getting a little dicey, as we begin to climb off the road, through trees. At one point I cover my face with my hands, peeking through the crack in my fingers. We barely clear the trees on each side of us. The truck bounces to the left and right, and the wheels spin, trying to catch hold of the slick, uneven road beneath us. At one point I think we’re stuck. I giggle nervously as we bounce and spin up the hill.
Jenna sits next to me slapping the seat, yelling, “Giddy up Monster Truck! You got this!”
“Shhh, Jenna, not now!” I screech nervously. “Brody needs to concentrate.”
Brody laughs. “No Pip, I’m fine. We’re fine. Look at Caden up there. If he can make it pulling all those crazy stunts, then we’re all good.” He points up at Caden’s truck making its way up the hill in front of us. He’s fishtailing, spinning out, throwing mud, and taking the sides of hills like he’s skiing Mt. Shasta.
“My brother is a crazy man!” I shake my head.
“Yep, that’s why I let him run in my wolf pack!” Jenna winks at me. “Why won’t anyone let me drive?”
Brody clears his throat and shakes his head back and forth. “Well, Jenna, being as how you can’t even drive a Go Kart, do I really need to answer that? Tell me you didn’t forget about the time we went to the Family Fun Center and you completely jumped the track and ran into the side of the hotdog stand. That was some funny stuff right there.”
“He does have a point Jenna. I mean, they almost revoked your license for that one.” I laugh.
“Man, I’ll never live that down, will I? Do you guys really have to keep bringing that up?”
“Only when you ask to drive,” I smile. “But we’ll let it die for now.”
Just as I’ve had about as much four wheeling as I can take for the morning, we reach the top of the hill, and tuck ourselves into our secret spot where we traditionally hunt for trees.
“That looks like a good place to start our fire,” Brody points to a flat clearing as he jumps out of the truck. “Help me grab some firewood from the back of Caden’s truck.”
“You’ve got it.”
We all work together to unload the wood, set up a small circle of chairs, and build a fire. Marissa sits close to Mason. They must’ve connected a bit on the truck ride up, because they’re looking very cozy. I sit on Brody’s lap, enjoying snuggling in his warmth while I finish up my hot cocoa. Jenna cracks jokes, keeping everyone entertained as usual. And then there’s Caden and Peyton. When I look over, I see that they’ve taken the bag of marshmallows we used for our hot chocolate. They’re playing a silly game called “Chubby Bunny.”
They have us in hysterics. They’ve both got at least seven marshmallows shoved in their faces. With cheeks stretched to maximum capacity, drool and goop runs from their mouths and traces its way toward their chins. “One more,” Caden mumbles, as they shove an eighth marshmallow in and try to say “chubby bunny.” On the eighth one, the marshmallow pops from Peyton’s mouth, plopping onto Caden’s lap. It’s followed by a river of creamy, white, sticky drool. Caden jumps up, and laughs as the blob of disintegrating marshmallows fall from his mouth to the ground.
“Guess we should get cleaned up, huh?” Peyton asks Caden.
“Let me help you guys with that.” I intervene. “I always carry wipes in the woods,” You can never be too prepared for germs and messes. I walk over to the truck and help my brother and his girl get the sticky mess off of their pants and fingers.
When I turn around, I see Mason and Brody pointing up the hill. Yep, they are already scouting for the perfect Silver Tip, I just wish we could get a little higher in elevation so I could get a Noble Fir. They’re my favorites. I’m just waiting to see what happens with this year’s final choices. It seems like we always end up with the Charlie Brown tree, while the Tatum’s make out with the most beautiful tree on the mountain. Well, not if I can help it. Since last year’s tree was so ugly, today, I get the final say. Mom and Dad are behind me one h
undred percent on that one, especially since we had so many catastrophes last year. The needles fell off in less than a week, and the limbs were so small and frail, they couldn’t even hold up the ornaments. Every night as we sat watching the Hallmark Channel, we could hear a few more ornaments slip through the branches and crash to the ground. We picked glass out of the carpet for days.
“Pip, I’ll make sure to help you get a beautiful tree this year.” Brody slips behind me and whispers in my ear. “I spotted a patch of trees up that hill, and I want you to come with me to take a look at them.” He takes me by the hand and walks me up the hill. Dang he looks good from this angle. I don’t know another guy who can look that hot in snow pants. I can actually make out the cut of his muscular thighs through them. I’m mesmerized by Brody, when my foot sinks further than I anticipate, causing me to lose my balance. Sunken into the snow on all fours, I laugh at my clumsiness.
“Help me up!” I reach out to him.
“Oh sorry Pip. You’re just so darn cute struggling down there. I wanted to take it all in for a sec.” He reaches out for me. I grab his hand and give him a good tug, pulling him down next to me. We roar with laughter, as Brody grabs a handful of snow and shoves it into my face, “Brain freeze!” he yells.
“I’ll show you brain freeze!” I begin to climb on top of him so I can shove his head down in the snow, when I notice a trail of fresh footprints. “Hey Bro, I didn’t see any other cars up here. Did you?”
“No, why?”
“There’s a trail of footprints here.” I point to one of the footprints under my hand. “I’m pretty sure, that’s what I fell into.”
“You’re right Pip . . . there are!” He says in a sarcastic voice. “Maybe it’s Sasquatch!” he jokes, starting another tickle fight.
“Stop Brody. Don’t you find it a little odd?”
“Pip, just because it’s our secret spot, doesn’t mean it’s a secret to everyone. People come up here all the time. It’s a logging road for crying out loud. But if it’s bothering you, let’s hurry up and get that tree, so we can get back down to the truck.”
