Double Forté by Aaron Paul Lazar

Author:Aaron Paul Lazar [Lazar, Aaron Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cThriller, amazon
Published: 2015-10-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 37

I pulled on my winter gear and slung the backpack over my right shoulder. I’d decided not to tell Camille or Siegfried about the phone call until after our day on the hills. It would be useless to worry them.

Camille had unbuckled Sadie from the back seat and was helping her out of the car when I reached her side. The little girl was bundled so heavily she could barely raise her arms. Siegfried and Johnny both emerged from the barn similarly dressed for sledding. Siegfried pulled two long toboggans behind him.

“Morning, men. Ready for some fun in the snow?” Camille asked.

“You bet! Hi Sadie.” I bent down to her level and squeezed her mittens.

Only her eyes showed above the lavender scarf covering her nose and the hood pulled down over her forehead. Her eyes crinkled with smiles. I took her hand and walked her to Johnny, who danced impatiently beside Siegfried.

Johnny threw his arms around my neck when I crouched beside him. “Mornin’, Opa.”

I hugged him close, enjoying the feel of human contact. Straightening, I turned to both children. “Would you two like to ride on the toboggans while we climb the hill?”

Sadie and Johnny hopped over to the toboggans. I pulled Sadie’s sled and Siegfried grabbed Johnny’s rope. My ribs still ached where Baxter had so strategically placed his boot during the attack on the porch, causing a slight fracture on two of the bones. The thigh wound from the snowmobile, however, had healed nicely over the past few weeks, allowing me to regain my former strength as I trekked through the wintry landscape.

Johnny squealed with delight when Siegfried trotted a few steps. The big man exploded in laughter, then slowed and waited for us to catch up, matching our pace.

Camille walked between us. “So how far is this famous Thrill Hill, Siegfried?”

“Not so far.” He tossed his long blond ponytail behind him, leaning forward to pull the sled. We reached the bottom of the ridge and started to ascend the west side.

“About a fifteen-minute climb.” I flashed a smile in her direction.

She smiled back with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes.

My insides whirled in spirals and a fluttery warm feeling trickled down to my toes. Whether I’d imagined it or not, we’d connected for a brief moment, exchanging smiles on that cold hill. My spirits soared.

The rising sun scattered pink and blue clouds in the eastern sky. Streaks of orange and purple slashed through the red sphere when it slowly crept above the horizon. Our goal had been to make the top of the hill by sunrise. We crested the ridge and stood quietly for several moments, inhaling the beauty of the landscape.

A perky male cardinal chirruped from a branch, heavily bowed in a snow-covered spruce high above our heads. “Weeka, weeka,” he twittered.

Johnny began to chatter, excited about the prospect of his first adventure in sledding. The sun continued to rise, as it’s been known to do, transforming from a reddish-gold orb to a blinding white ball of fire in a cobalt blue sky.

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