Almost Twins

by Gail Sattler

  Just the thought of saying good-bye made her stomach churn.

  Uncle Bob raised his eyebrows and turned his head toward Dennis, but Dennis spoke first.

  “I don’t think we’re too much different in size. Would you mind if I borrowed your coat? You’ve had a long trip on that snowmobile, and you look like you haven’t completely warmed up. You stay by the fire, and I’ll get the wood.”

  She wondered if Dennis realized that he would still get fairly cold outside, even with Uncle Bob’s heavy parka. And then Dennis would have to sit on the back of the snowmobile for over an hour in the wind, just wearing his thin leather jacket. She didn’t want to think of how cold he would be.

  Uncle Bob didn’t move. “Don’t be ridiculous, you’ll freeze your feet. What size shoes you wear?”

  “Size eleven.”

  “Hmmm. . .I wear a size nine, but I buy a size ten boot so I can fit extra socks in there. You might get away with it with regular socks.”

  Dennis looked down at his sock clad feet, and wiggled his toes. “Regular socks are all I have.”

  “I always wear good wool socks in my boots when I’m out. Not those funny acrylic ones, but real good wool. And then I have my regular socks underneath so my feet don’t get itchy.”

  “I’ve never worn wool socks. Never needed to.”

  They both studied Dennis’s feet.

  “Those should be okay. Nice socks, by the way.”

  He wiggled his toes again. “Yeah. They’re new.”

  Adelle nearly wanted scream. She was fretting about him leaving and never seeing each other again, and Dennis and her uncle were discussing socks.

  She cleared her throat. “So are you going to borrow Uncle Bob’s parka and boots, or not?”

  They both looked up at her in unison. Adelle felt her cheeks heat up at their perusal.

  At the same second, they both turned away from her, and back to each other.

  “By the way, do you have gloves I can borrow?”

  “In the pockets.”

  As Dennis slid on Uncle Bob’s parka, he turned to her. “So, Adelle, do you want to help me?”

  She couldn’t stop her smile. “Yes!”

  Fourteen

  Adelle bit her bottom lip. It stopped her from laughing, but it didn’t stop her from smiling. Dennis was trying so hard to be brave, but she could tell that even with Uncle Bob’s boots and parka, his teeth were still chattering. The parka was a little snug and the sleeves were a little short, but he was covered much better than if he had been wearing the leather jacket. She also suspected the boots pinched his toes, although he said nothing. But the gloves fit okay.

  The snow was powder-fine since it was so cold, but the sheer volume was daunting, especially since they had to dig through four feet of it to get to the woodpile. Since the door to the shed was completely covered all the way to the top, they decided the lesser of two evils would be to dig for the firewood by hand. The only reason they needed to get into the shed was if they ran out of wood and had to cut more, but Uncle Bob claimed he had enough wood piled up to last through the winter. All they had to do was get to it.

  Dennis stopped digging and pressed his fists into the small of his back. He arched and blew out a long breath, which came out in a cloud of steam. “I feel like I’m digging for buried treasure. If I ever think of moving away from Vancouver, I’ll remind myself of this.”

  “You have a bad attitude, you know that? Snow is fun.”

  “Snow is cold.”

  “Snow is pretty.”

  “Snow was prettier when I was inside and it was outside.”

  “You have to make up your mind to make the best of it. Think of all the wonderful things you can do outside in the winter. You can go skating, make snowmen when the temperature is right, and there’s always snowball fights. Best of all, you can make snow angels and tractor treads.”

  He grunted, slapped his hands to his upper arms, and mumbled something she didn’t think she wanted to hear.

  “You’re being such a cynic.” Adelle grabbed his hand and tugged to lead him away from shed and to a flat area they hadn’t messed up. “Watch me.” She walked as carefully as she could for a few steps, trying to disturb as little of the pristine surface as she could. When she was a few steps way from Dennis, she spread her arms and fell backward, landing flat on her back in the snow. She swished her arms and legs to make the wings and the angel’s skirt, and then climbed out of the indent as carefully as she could. Next, she would show him how to make tractor treads out of bootprints.

  As she rejoined Dennis she brushed the snow from her coat and swiped what she could from her hair. “See?”

  Instead of laughing at her childish artwork, he grasped her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze through the layers of mittens and gloves. “It suits you. You really are a little snow angel.”

  Adelle tilted her chin up to reply, but the words left her. His dopey little smile and the tenderness in his eyes caused her heartbeat to quicken and her brain to go blank. She didn’t have a lot of experience with men, but behind the grin, she doubted he was thinking about anything that had to do with making snow angels.

  He gave her hands a little tug, which made her step a little closer, close enough to kiss her.

  Adelle yanked her hands out of his and placed them in the center of his chest. “Your turn,” she called out, and pushed with enough force to catch him off guard.

  He flailed his arms, but it was too late. Dennis landed flat on his back, followed by a pouf of snow that flew up in the air on impact, then settled around him.

  She looked down at him. “Did you know that, even though angels depicted throughout the years are always shown as women, in all the Bible references where angels appear, they’re always men?”

  He blinked and looked up. “So?”

  “So it’s much more fitting for you to make a snow angel than me. Consider it a guy thing.”

  He didn’t move, but he didn’t get up, either. “I feel silly.”

  “Think of it this way, if you don’t do it now, you may never get the chance again.”

  “Pardon me?”

  She rested her fists on her hips. “Do you ever get enough snow in Vancouver to make a snow angel? This right kind of fine-powder snow? Even if you did, do you have a place where you could do it with no one watching?”

  “Okay, you win. Tell me if I’m doing this right.”

  Dennis swished his arms and legs in the snow and made the biggest snow angel she’d ever seen.

  “How does it look?”

  “First you have to get out of it so I can see it.”

  “If I move, I’ll wreck it.”

  “Just the bottom. Come on, I’ll help you.” She extended both hands and he reached up, first with one hand then the other. She held tight, and pulled.

  She didn’t want to ask him how much he weighed, but since he was ten inches taller than she was she had to assume it was a lot more. She couldn’t budge him.

  Suddenly, he grinned. A dreadful feeling washed over her. Without warning, his grip on her hands tightened and he pulled. Hard.

  Adelle flew forward, and just as she thought she would land face first in the snow, he extended his arms and she landed with a thud on top of him. To lessen the impact, his arms closed around her and he rolled them both through the snow a few times, ending up with her beneath him laying on her back.

  Dennis grinned down at her, supporting himself on his elbows beside her head. “How does it feel, smarty?”

  Adelle grinned back. “Not bad. How does this feel?” Before he could figure out what she was doing, she grabbed two mittfuls of snow and swooshed them up and rubbed them into his hair. The powder snow flew everywhere, including into her own face, but she didn’t care because she was laughing too hard.

  “Hey!” he called out.

  His weight thumped down on her as he came off his elbows and grabbed her wrists, but before he squashed the breath out of her, he rolled the two of them
over until he was on his back and she was lying on top of him.

  He continued to hold her wrists, immobilizing her above him. “Apologize, or you’ll be sorry.”

  She didn’t like his sly little grin. He was up to something, and she would probably get the worst of it, but she was having too much fun to stop.

  “Never!” Adelle shook her head so the snow fluttered out of her hair and into his face.

  Panting from the exertion, his mouth was open. Some of the snow from her hair landed in his mouth, making him sputter. His mouth snapped shut. “That does it,” he grumbled, fighting the grin, speaking with his lips barely moving. “I’m through being Mr. Nice Guy.”

  Before he could roll again Adelle spread her legs, bracing herself with her knees, preventing his movement. She’d played enough games in the snow as a child that she knew all the tricks.

  Since he hadn’t expected her to prevent whatever he was planning, his grip loosened for a split second. Adelle took advantage of it. Before he could think, she pulled her hands free, grabbed more snow, and mussed it into his hair, laughing the entire time.

  When he caught her hands she couldn’t stop laughing. Snow dotted his face, and the white in his hair almost made him look old and gray. For a second, she thought about how distinguished he would look when his hair started to turn gray with age. Dennis really was a handsome man, even lying on the ground and covered with snow. “Give up? I know all the tricks. You don’t stand a chance.”

  She wiggled her arms and waggled her eyebrows, just to make him think she had something else planned, even though she didn’t.

  “I give up!” he said. “You win!” He released her wrists, raised his hands over his head, and lay perfectly still in the snow, like a submissive dog.

  Slowly, she clambered off him. This time when she offered to pull him up, he rose with only a slight tug.

  At the same time they shook whatever snow in their hair hadn’t melted and brushed what they could off of their clothing.

  “That was a blast. I guess you’re right. Snow is lots of fun, when you’re dressed for it.”

  “Except we wrecked our snow angels.”

  They stood side by side and studied the mess. She couldn’t tell there had ever been snow angels.

  Suddenly, he moved to face her, blocking her view of the carnage. “I wouldn’t have believed it from someone so short, but you did it. You beat me.”

  Adelle grinned. “Well, if I won, then what’s my prize?”

  He stepped so close that he brushed against the buttons on her coat. She could feel his hands barely touching her hips through the layers of her coat, and she realized he was using her to steady himself as he bent his knees to lessen the height difference until his face was level with hers.

  “The prize is that you get to kiss me.”

  ❧

  Dennis closed his eyes, and hoped for the best. He prayed that he was doing the right thing. He wanted was to scoop her into his arms and kiss her thoroughly, but he couldn’t do that. With her history he didn’t want her to think he was forcing himself on her or taking advantage of her in any way. The only reason he touched her at all was to keep his balance in the uncomfortable squat required to stay at eye level with her.

  He hoped her family wasn’t watching through the window, but he really didn’t care. Soon he would be gone, and if he didn’t act now, it would be too late. Just like his chance to make the snow angel, this fleeting moment would be gone forever if he didn’t grab it now.

  The next move was hers.

  Something cold and rough touched his face, but he didn’t open his eyes. He had to trust that she would take him seriously and not do something rotten to him in the snow.

  It took him a few seconds to figure out that the rough texture was her suede mittens, and the cold pressing into his cheeks were little frozen lumps of snow stuck to them.

  And then, in contrast to the cold hard lumps on his cheeks, her soft warm lips touched his.

  Dennis could no longer maintain that ridiculous position, not with his heart pounding in double-time and fireworks going off in his brain. Adelle was kissing him and he was going to kiss her back. Properly this time.

  He raised his gloved hands to her cheeks, not breaking the kiss as he slowly straightened his knees until he was comfortable again. He didn’t want to have to think about maintaining his balance, not when her kiss was short-circuiting his brain. He slid his hands until they were behind her back so he could embrace her fully. A low groan escaped him when her mittens left his cheeks and slid behind his neck. He just might have died and gone to heaven; he was being kissed by the woman he loved.

  Too soon, he felt her starting to pull away, so he reluctantly allowed the separation. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it had to be. They were outside in the middle of the yard, in full view of her family.

  Adelle’s cheeks flushed red, and he knew it wasn’t from the cold. “We’d better get that firewood into the cabin.”

  He wanted to tell her he loved her, but he couldn’t. It was too soon. Everything had happened so fast he doubted she’d believe him, especially since there hadn’t been sufficient time for him to earn her trust. He had done his best to prove himself responsible, honorable, and most important, to live his life by the standards God set before him. He wished he knew that she would take him seriously. “Yeah, let’s get back to the woodpile.”

  They dug out enough wood and trudged back and forth until, again, there was a good healthy pile beside the woodstove.

  “Parka keep you warm enough?”

  “Yes, Sir, thank you.” Dennis smiled at Adelle’s uncle but inwardly he cringed, half-expecting a comment about taking so long, or about indulging in other activities.

  “I’ve been thinking. Since the phone still isn’t working, and I don’t want to just drop you off without having made arrangements. I couldn’t leave you in good conscience until I knew everything was taken care of, and you had a way to get home. Looking at the time, we don’t have a lot of leeway. I can’t be driving the snowmobile in this area in the dark. I don’t want to take the chance that I won’t make it back and leave the ladies alone out here all night. Would you mind staying another night?”

  Dennis grinned. “Not at all.”

  “Oh, and one more thing.”

  Dennis cringed. By now her uncle had no doubt noticed that his parka was wet in spots from rolling around in the snow, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that they were outside much longer than necessary to bring in a small pile of firewood. Not that he had anything to hide. Everything they had done had happened in plain view for her aunt and uncle to see from the window, if they desired to watch. The only thing that bothered him was the lack of privacy, not for himself, but he didn’t want Adelle to be put on the spot for what had happened between them.

  “Yes, Sir?” he asked.

  “Quit calling me ‘sir.’ And don’t worry about this aunt and uncle stuff. The name’s Bob. And my wife’s name isn’t Ma’am, it’s Min. We ain’t old enough for that nonsense.”

  He grinned. “You got it.”

  Min’s voice drifted from the couch. “I heard you talking about making arrangements. When was the last time you checked the phone, Bob?”

  “Me? I thought you were checking the phone.”

  “No, you were supposed to be checking the phone.”

  Adelle picked up the phone. “It’s working. There’s a dial tone.”

  Dennis wondered how long it had been working and no one had known. Actually, he wished the phone lines were still down. Although, with transportation into town now available, he no longer had an excuse. “I guess I should make a few calls.”

  Bob shook his head. “Oh, forget it. It’s too late anyway. It’s nearly suppertime on the day after Christmas. Most everything will be closed. Phone in the morning. The cabin’s awful small, but we can make do for the night. The girls can take the bedroom, and we can sleep, uh. . .”

  Dennis glanced quickly at the
small hide-a-bed, the only other place to sleep in the cabin. “You can take the hide-a-bed. I’ll make do on the floor by the woodstove. To be close to the babies.”

  Bob nodded and smiled. “You play chess?”

  ❧

  Adelle put away the last dish while Dennis drained the sink. She had thoroughly enjoyed her aunt’s special Christmas omelets for breakfast, even though it was two days after Christmas. The best part was that she didn’t have to cook. So, she had offered to do the dishes while her aunt played with Rachel. What had surprised her even more than Dennis jumping in to wash the dishes was that her uncle didn’t protest to being left with a baby in his lap.

  Now that she thought about it, except for the times when she needed to be alone, Dennis had almost glued himself to her side. The strange thing was, she didn’t mind. She had wanted to come to the cabin to be alone, but at the thought of his imminent departure, panic set in.

  It was unrealistic, but she didn’t want him to go. He had fit in well with her family, and when they discovered he was a Christian, they’d opened up to him in a way she’d never seen. Conversation hadn’t stopped until it was time to go to bed, and even then, they’d gone to bed much too late.

  She didn’t envy him the long drive on the snowmobile. As a child she’d always enjoyed the joyrides her uncle took her on, but she’d never ridden it for as long or over such rough terrain as the trip to Blue River required. She knew from experience that any trip was more uncomfortable for the passenger than the driver, especially with the awkwardness of having to hold Raymond in the infant car seat the entire trip.

  Dennis made all his trip arrangements by phone with his credit card. Blue River didn’t have a real airport; it only had a 5600-foot asphalt airstrip, which was completely buried in snow. Therefore, he’d booked a ticket on the bus from Blue River to Kamloops, where they would connect with a flight home to Vancouver.

  There was no delaying him, or he would miss his departure time. Too soon, his suitcase and the diaper bag were by the door, and Raymond was dressed in his baby bunting suit and strapped into his car seat, which sat on the floor at Dennis’s feet. Fortunately Rachel was asleep, so she didn’t have to deal with a fussing infant.