Page 10 of Sleigh Me Baby

“You know, I might be able to see if Eull can check in on her.” I stand up and go to the desk to grab the walkie talkie we keep charged there.

“Eull this is Klaus. Over.” He doesn’t answer so I try again. “Eull. This is Klaus. I’m in the barn with Natalie. Over.”

“Klaus I’m with Celeste in her cabin. Over.”

I look at Natalie and she relaxes immediately.

“Eull, we’re going to bunker down in the barn until the storm slows down some. Over.”

“Sounds like a plan. Don’t wait too long, you don’t want to risk getting snowed in. Over.” Eull says over the radio.

“I hear you. I’ll let you know when we leave. Over.” I tell him.

Pocketing the radio, I go back to the couch and sit next to Natalie. Once I’m sitting, she scoots closer and lays her head on my shoulder. We’re quiet for the longest time when I start telling Natalie about my childhood. I tell her stories about my Uncle Hans and everything he taught us when we’d come to visit him.

“It sounds like you had a wonderful childhood. Lots of fond memories.”

“Tell me one of your good memories from when you were little.”

“I didn’t have a lot of good memories from back then.”

“Why not?”

She sighs. “I didn’t have a very good Mom and I never knew my Dad. When I was eight, I was placed in foster care. I was never adopted, probably because I was too old by that time. Things didn’t start to turn around for me until I was twelve and Celeste was sent to the same group home I was at.”

“I’m sorry things sucked when you were younger, but it looks like you found your family in Celeste.”

She smiles. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“I’m going to check and see what the storm is doing. The wind doesn’t sound as strong as it did before.”

“I’ll come with you.” She says jumping up from the couch.

I turn the heater off just in case we can go, I don’t want to waste any precious time we have to get to safety. The barn will work if absolutely necessary, but all of my supplies like candles, extra blankets, firewood, food, and water are back at my cabin, which is closer than hers is.

Opening the door, I can tell the wind has slowed down, but the snow is still coming down heavily. The last remnants of light are fading fast. We need to get out of here now. I grab a flashlight that’s hanging on a hook near the door and hand it to Natalie. “We’re going to make a run for it. I need you to stay with me. You can’t fall behind. Are you ready?”

She nods. “I think so.”

I look her over and can tell she’s scared. I hate that we aren’t safe yet. She’s also trembling from the cold and her lips are turning blue. We need to get out of this storm and somewhere we can keep warm.

Placing my hands on her cheeks I look her in the eyes. “We are going to be okay. I promise you Florida girl, I won’t let anything happen to you. Now, are you ready?”

With a bit more determination in her eyes, she smiles. “I’m ready Georgia boy.”

I roll my eyes and she laughs. Grabbing her hand, I open the door and quickly shut it once we’re out. We begin our trek through the heavily falling snow. Neither of us are dressed for this kind of weather, which makes getting through the almost foot of snow that is now covering the ground more difficult.

Natalie shines the flashlight ahead of us while I lead us back to my cabin. At least I hope I’m leading us there. It’s so hard to see that I’m not a hundred percent sure we’re going in the right direction. After stumbling through the snow for a while the wind starts to pick up. With the plummeting temperatures, strong winds, and lots of snow, the walk back to my cabin takes what feels like an hour when normally it would take five minutes. Hell, we could have gotten lost or maybe it’s that time doesn’t feel the same as it does usually.

I could almost cry when I see my cabin come into view. Natalie starts walking faster now that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. We make it to stairs that lead up to my porch and Natalie slips on one of the icy steps.

“Come on sweetheart, we’re almost there,” I tell her after pulling her to her feet.

Grabbing my keys from my pocket, I fumble with the lock but on the fourth try am able to push the key into the lock to unlock the door.

As soon as the door is open, I guide Natalie inside and push the door shut behind me and lock it.

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