Page 58 of Take My Heart
‘We better get up.’
‘You two are going to freeze to death!’ Mrs. Greenfield yells.
‘She’s coming over,’ Kate says, moving off me.
‘We’re fine, Mrs. Greenfield,’ I yell so she’ll hear me. She’s 70 and doesn’t hear well.
‘Brody?’ She makes her way over to us. ‘Is that you?’
‘Yeah.’ I stand up, brushing the snow off me. ‘Hey, Mrs. Greenfield.’
She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a disapproving scowl. ‘What are you doing out here?’
‘Just taking a walk.’
‘In this weather?’
‘You know me. I like the snow.’
Mrs. Greenfield looks at Kate. ‘Are you okay, dear?’
‘I’m fine.’ Kate smiles. ‘I’m Kate. I’m staying with Brody.’
Mrs. Greenfield looks back at me. ‘I thought you were seeing that little blonde girl.’
‘Kate’s just a friend. Her car went in a ditch and she needed a place to stay.’
Mrs. Greenfield loves to gossip. There’s a good chance this will be all over town by tonight. Brody Kanfield has a girl living with him and she’s not from around here. That’ll have people talking for weeks.
‘You two need to get inside.’ Mrs. Greenfield shivers. ‘This wind is bitterly cold. You could get frostbite.’
‘We’re heading in soon,’ I tell her.
‘You better, or I’ll be calling your mother,’ she huffs, before hurryingback to her house.
I hear Kate snickering and look over at her. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘That lady saying she’ll call your mom. Doesn’t she know how old you are?’
‘To her, I’m still a kid. She was my kindergarten teacher. She still sees me as a five-year-old.’
‘That lady was your teacher?’ Kate pauses. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen any of my teachers since I was in their class.’
‘I see my teachers all the time. That’s just how it is in a small town. You’re always seeing people you know.’ I dust the snow off my jeans. ‘We should go inside and put on some dry clothes. You must be freezing.’
Kate’s looking up at the sky, smiling, as big snowflakes land on her face.
‘C’mon. Let’s go,’ I say.
‘Just give me a minute.’ She twirls around, staring up at the falling flakes.
‘You really like snow.’
‘It’s magical,’ she says with a dreamy sigh.
‘Are you always like this when it snows?’
‘No. I’m usually annoyed by it.’
