we had a goddamn heater, then yes, we'd be fine, but soon we'll lose body heat, and sitting here won't do us any good."
"What do we do, then?" When I glanced up at him, his jaw was clenched so tight I was afraid he’d break a molar. "I'm scared, Daddy."
"I know you are." He kissed the top of my head. "If I was better at being a Daddy to you, we wouldn’t be driving in this death trap on such a snowy night."
"You're the best Daddy I've ever had."
"Then the others must have been a real piece of work because I ain't much."
"You are—"
"We need to move. We can't go back to town. It's too far. We have to walk to the ranch."
"In this snow?"
"We don't have a choice." His voice came out gruff. "We’ll wait until most of it stops and then we head on to the ranch on foot. It should just be twenty minutes away. We’re not close enough to the main road for any vehicle to pass us unless it’s already headed for the ranch. We’re on our own.”
29
Lawson
Lawson
We waited a few hours until the snowfall eased up and every minute that passed, I was aware of how cold it was getting in the truck. I had to push open the doors on either side of us every so often to prevent the snow from building up and getting us stuck inside. Unfortunately, it also brought in the cold air.
Opie snuggled as close to me as he could get for body warmth but it wasn’t too long until he was shivering against me. We barely talked as I preferred us to conserve our energy for the trek to the ranch. Although it wasn’t look, trudging through snow could get tedious fast. Opie didn’t have my kind of bulk.
“We need to move out now,” I told him when the weather started to check. “It’s not too far before we’ll be warm again.”
He just nodded and followed me out of the truck. We started out well, Opie determined and keeping up. Then he started lagging behind. The cold was brutal, and the wind was picking up, the snowfall starting again and didn’t help visibility. I was only thankful the flashlight I kept in the glove compartment of the truck worked. Though I worried about the paleness of the glow and how long the battery would last.
Had I made the right call insisting we leave the truck behind and go on foot? Maybe we should’ve waited some more, tried again to call someone, but my battery was dead, and Opie’s phone had no signal.
“Come on, Opie. We have to move faster,” I said gently. “You can do it, baby.”
“S-so c-cold.”
Tears sprang into my eyes at his strangled words. They were difficult to hear over the howling of the wind. With my height and weight, the cold was biting. Him being so much smaller, the elements had to be punishing. I wanted to bundle him up in my arms and curl up with him in the snow. But that wouldn’t save him.
We had to get to the ranch.
“I can’t do it.”
He stopped and tugged his hand out of mine. His shoulders slumped, and he looked at me, hopelessness shimmering in his eyes.
“Opie, listen to me.” I pulled him close. “I love you. We can make it. You can make it, baby.”
“I can’t see anything, Lawson. I feel like we’re walking in a circle. What if we get lost? Make it worse. We should’ve stayed in the truck.”
“Do you trust me?”
When he said nothing, I shook him a little. “Dammit, Opie, do you trust me?”
“Y-y-esss.” His teeth chattered, and a tear slipped down his red cheek. “But I’m so c-c-cold. I don’t know i-f-f-f I can do it-t-t.”
“Just a little bit farther. And the more we talk, the more we lose our energy. Let’s go on as far as you can. I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”
“But I’m s-s-slowing you down. You should g-g-go.”
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not leaving you.”
“P-p-promise you’ll go on if s-s-something happens to m-m-me.”
My hand tightened on his wrist, and I pulled. “Let’s go.”
Was he kidding me? There was no moving on without him. Not after I’d made us leave town when Cole offered us to stay the night. Logically, I knew we would have been fine hadn’t we hit the deer, but I couldn’t help feeling responsible.
If something happened to Opie…No, he would be fine. We would be fine.
We slowly trudged along