Evening by Les Pendleton

Author:Les Pendleton [Pendleton, Les]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Women's Fiction, Contemporary Women, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Fiction
Amazon: B00SW6Y0GO
Publisher: Essie Press
Published: 2015-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

11

Six Years Later – New Bern

November had been unusually cold. Ian couldn't remember an ice storm this early the entire time he had lived here. It started around midnight and continued throughout the night. As the ice built up on the tree branches, they would bend toward the ground with the additional weight of the ice blanket. When there was no bend left in them, the branches started to snap. Some of the larger ones made a crack that sounded almost like gunfire when they finally broke in two. These new, unfamiliar sounds scared Freddie. Normally he slept in the kitchen, but Ian made an exception for him this evening.

"You are quite the little fraidy cat tonight, Freddie. I'm shocked at you. God only knows what you'd do if somebody ever tried to break in. You'd probably hide under the bed 'til they left. Oh well, I don't love you for your guard dog abilities. You're just an affection sponge and that's good enough for me. Let's see here... Three a.m. We better get back to sleep or we'll both be the walking dead in the morning."

Around seven Ian woke up to discover the power had gone out during the night. "Lord, it's cold in here. Freddie boy, we're going to have to go outside and get us some firewood. If we don't get some heat going inside here pretty quick, we're going to freeze. I'll get your breakfast after we get the fire going."

Ian grabbed his jeans, shirt and overcoat from the chair by his bed. As he buttoned his shirt he looked over at two photos that sat side by side next to his bed. He smiled, put his coat on and started for the door. "You coming, boy? Don't tell me it's too cold for you. You love to run around when there's snow on the ground. This is almost the same. You'll just slide a lot more. Come on, let's go get some wood."

When he opened the front door he was taken with the beauty of the ice-covered trees and bushes. They were bent over until many of the branches touched the ground. The sound of branches breaking and ice falling to the ground was constant.

As he walked from the porch he noticed that the entire yard was covered in ice as well. It was very slick and walking was treacherous. Freddie walked beside him gingerly at first and after he got his footing he went to the side of the woods and took care of his morning business. Ian gathered a load of wood that filled both arms and started back to the porch.

"Are you coming back in, Freddie. Come on boy, it's cold out here. I'm about to freeze."

Freddie made no move toward the porch. He started down the drive toward the highway and turned to wait for Ian.

"You're kidding me. You want to walk out to the mailbox and get the paper? I don't need to read it 'til I get warm. Come on back in, boy.

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