A Chilling Storm
Amanda stood at the window, mouth parted slightly in shock. Just staring at the swirling snow buffeting the cabin and listening to the howling winds chilled her.
“A blizzard in April?” She turned to face Jason, who stood at her side, staring out the window right along with her.
“You’ve lived in Colorado your whole life. We both know it happens.”
“I can’t remember the last time it did.”
“I can. Probably about fifteen years ago.”
Cold, icy tendrils of fear tightened her stomach. “You should go check on my mom. Make sure she can find her way to our cabin. It’s white out right now. I can hardly see anything but snow.”
“To think, you were planning the garden yesterday.”
“I was not planning it, I was just starting to think about it. May is a long way away, June even further. It never hurts to be ready.”
“None of us saw this coming. It wasn’t in the forecast.”
“Did you check your phone? Sometimes they issue a special weather statement. I’ll go look on the computer.”
“It’s pretty obvious it’s here now. Must have come up in the night.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t even wake up.” Amanda shuddered. The night before had been peaceful and serene, the snow continuing its melt, giving way to the warmth of spring. Now winter was back with a vengeance. Another fear twisted her insides. “Jason, what if something happens and we can’t get out of here? I mean, maybe this is supposed to last for a couple days and then they’ll need to come plow the roads and we’ll have to plow our own way out to the highway. What if I went into labor?”
Jason’s face paled. All the color drained out leaving his normally bronze complexion ashen. “You still have two weeks to go yet. Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen.”
“We both said a home birth was not going to happen. Please tell me that it would never happen.”
“It’s not going to happen.” Jason reached out and tucked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. He lifted his other hand to rest gently on her belly. “You hear that, little one? No coming out until you’re due. We have to get through this snow storm first.”
“I feel like we should have been prepared for this. We should have been watching the weather, maybe rented a room in the city at a motel or something so that we could be there just in case. At least we have the damn crib and everything ready. Blankets and clothing to dress the kid if he decides to come out early.”
Jason’s shoulders heaved with a sigh. “Please don’t say that. I can’t think about that all morning. I have enough worries without that picture in my mind. As to the other, I guess that’s easy to say in hindsight. We hadn’t planned on being in the city when your time got close. Our plan was to leave right when you first went into labor. We all know how long it could take and it’s only an hour drive. We thought it would be fine.”
“Yah, that was the plan, but this makes me realize how naïve we were in thinking that nature and the larger world would cooperate with us.”
“Don’t worry.” Jason assured her. “Nothing is going to happen. This blizzard will probably wear itself out this afternoon and the roads will be clear by tomorrow morning. We’re going to be fine. There is not going to be any kind of lake birth here.”
Amanda managed to laugh. She knew Jason was just trying to make her feel better. She didn’t like the tight knot of anxiety forming in her chest. It was a struggle to even draw a deep breath. It felt trapped in her lungs, like they didn’t want to expand all the way.
She tried to laugh the whole thing off but the sound was nervous, not at all like what a real laugh should be.
“Are you going to brave it and find my mom? Tie a rope to the door and one end to your waist?”
Jason grinned. “It’s not that bad. I’ll find my way. I’ll send your mom here and then I’ll go feed the chickens and do the other chores.”
“What about breakfast?”
“I’ll go with brunch again. Ask your mom if she can whip up some of that French toast. That was amazing last time.”
“Better than anything I’ve ever made?” Amanda feigned hurt.
“Definitely.” Jason dodged away to avoid her swat. “I’ll go see about maybe doing some clearing too. So the snow doesn’t pile up.”
“Seriously? It looks awful out there. You’re really going to attach the plow the truck? It seems pretty pointless at the moment.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Jason promised. “If it’s too bad, I’ll come back in, but like I said, I think we’d both feel better if I was pushing snow throughout the day just to be sure.”
He left the bedroom and even after Amanda heard the front door open and shut a few minutes later, she didn’t move away from the window.
Jason’s parting comment really made her realize that he wasn’t as unfazed as he seemed. Despite all his big talk and his reassurances about their having two weeks, she’d made him nervous. She didn’t like the idea of him out in that blizzard any more than she liked the idea of it happening at all. She just hoped he was right and it would be over soon.
Minutes later, Amanda was shaken out of her reverie when the front door opened and slammed shut, the wind reaching out to pull it back harshly. She ventured from her room and was happy to see her mother standing in the living room, clumps of snow melting from her hair and eyelashes and her clothing, boots already making a huge puddle on the rough hardwood planks.
“Mom! Can you believe this blizzard?” Amanda charged forward. She helped her mother remove her coat.
“I know! You’d think that April would be a little gentler. It feels like spring is never going to get here.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. Jason and I were just talking yesterday about how we wanted to lay out the garden.”
“Be patient, we have to assume it’s coming. Hopefully this is winter’s last grasp.”
“Hopefully. Did Jason tell you he was going to try plowing some snow before it piles up?”
Joan shuddered. “I can’t believe he’d try it in this. You can’t see two feet in front of you.”
“He probably knows what he’s doing.”
“Still, this came up out of nowhere. I think it would be better if we were all tucked safely inside the cabin.”
“He did request your French toast so maybe he’ll be back shortly. He said it was better than anything I could make.” Her mother’s cheerful laughter let Amanda know just what she thought about that.
“I better teach you how to make it then. If we do something, it will take our minds off the blizzard.”
“I’m going to check my laptop or my phone and see if I can find out how long this is supposed to last.”
“You’re assuming you’re going to get a signal in this?”
Amanda nearly groaned. “Damn it, I forgot that I won’t. You’re right, this stupid blizzard probably knocked out the satellite signal. I’ll still give it a try.”
“Then I’ll start whipping up breakfast.”
Twenty minutes later, frustrated that she hadn’t been able to get the internet up and running on her laptop or her phone, Amanda followed the rich smell of fried toast and maple syrup into the kitchen. Her mother, as usual, had whipped up a miracle.
“Jason better get in here soon or he’s going to miss out. There won’t be any left.”
Joan whirled away from the stove, flipper in hand. “No chance of that. I’ll have a whole loaf made soon.”
Amanda smiled. As usual, her mother’s presence, warm and cheerful and commanding, never failed to reassure her.
She walked quickly across the kitchen to inspect the plate on the stove-top, obviously there to keep the food warm. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the spicy, rich scent. Her mouth watered.
“I’ll set the table.”
She turned towards the cabinets to get down the plates and that was when she felt the trickle of wetness down her thigh. She froze mid stride and glanced down in horror. It was only a minute before that trickle turned into an outright rush, soaking her jeans and puddling on the floor at her feet.