Warm Stranger

I watched him work. His black hair was pulled up in a bun to keep it out of his face but, after about 30 minutes, it started to fall down. It was strangely sexy seeing a messy bun on a guy. The loose strands of hair either stuck to his sweat-drenched face or blew gently in the afternoon wind. His focused expression never left his task. He's so dedicated and determined. I couldn't help but be reminded of his situation as I stared at him.

Two days before...

"Hey, Dad, how long before we get there?" I asked as we drove along the highway early in the morning.

I sat in the passenger's seat leaning towards the only source of heat this broken-down pickup truck offered. The frozen temperatures outside continued to seep through the truck's interior, making the heater practically useless. I breathed on my hands and rubbed them together to release the blood flow.

"Probably another 30 minutes or so. Just hang in there, Ash. I thought you liked winter?" my father teased.

"Yeah, when it's not blowing through me at 80 miles an hour!"

Up ahead on the side of the road, a person walked in the freezing cold. I tapped my dad on the arm and pointed to the figure.

"Huh, do you think he needs help?" Dad asked.

"Obviously if he's walking in this weather! You're not thinking of picking him up, are you?"

"So what if I am?"

"He's a complete stranger!"

"Maybe he is, but I have a feeling he's not out here by choice."

"So? Hasn't Mom told you not to talk to strangers?"

"Ash..."

Dad looked at pleadingly. A few seconds later, I smiled at his silliness and gave him the okay. He pulled the truck over to the side of the road and honked the horn. The man walking in front of us stopped and turned around. He was surprisingly young--in his early twenties I assumed--and his hood the was pulled up around his head flapped wildly in the winter breeze. Dad got out of the truck and walked over to him. I watched them talk for a few seconds, I figured Dad did most of the talking because the guy kept nodding. As if thinking about the offer, the guy spoke. Of course, I couldn't hear a word but Dad took his frozen bag and the guy followed him to our truck. As they approached, I met the guy's glance. Instantly, I was caught off guard by the icy-blue sharpness of his eyes. Those were the kind of eyes that hide a lot of secrets--the kind you probably don't want to know. The guy immediately broke our focus as he opened the door and squeezed into the back. He sat there, cramped amongst Dad's collection of junk, hunched over trying to catch a bit of heat. It was then that I noticed a scar on his neck, it's pink-white hue reflected by the truck's radio light. Once again, our eyes met. This time, he knew what I was staring at and quickly zipped up his jacket more to hide the scar. Dad cleared his throat.

"So, this is my daughter, Ashlyn...I never got your name, son."

"...Nicholas," the boy said quietly.

"Well, Jason, headed anywhere in particular?"

"Not really. I've got nowhere to go now."

"I see. Well, I know the owner of a bed and breakfast that's in dire need of some guests. Think you can deal with that for the time being?"

"I don't have enough money to pay for somewhere to stay."

"Will you work for it then? The owner's hired me to build a shed on their personal property but the old one that's there now has to be torn down. I can take you on if you'll work for me. I'll pay you the amount I think your work is worth. Deal?"

"...Yeah, thanks."

Nicholas became quiet and proceeded to stare out the window. I could feel Dad's glances as he drove to town. Shut up. I know he's cute. Just don't embarrass me please.

We dropped Nicholas off at the bed and breakfast with plans for him to start work in the next two days. Of course, on the way home, Dad prodded me about my 'interest' in Nicholas.

"He's still a stranger," I admitted.

"But you like him already?" Dad teased.

"Shut up and drive. You're swerving all over the road."

Two days had passed and Nicholas kept true to his word as he found himself out in the cold once more helping my dad. I paused a moment to glance at him, noticing the sweat--despite the winter air. The sound of cracking wood brought my attention back to the pile of rotted wood Dad was throwing down to me from atop the rotting shed. I picked them up and focused on carrying them to a burning woodpile we had started. Even though I was a girl, my dad had never had a problem with me wanting to help him with his construction jobs. I was usually the one to do what Nicholas was doing--leveling the ground from where we had torn it up removing pieces of the shed. Morning eventually passed and the sun shone brightly on us, making us sweat even more. I tugged on Dad's arm as he finished tearing down the shed and pointed to the hill beyond the enormous yard. Dad nodded and I ran to the large oak tree that stood in the yard by itself. Grabbing the branches effortlessly, I hoisted myself up to the top of the dry tree. Looking out over the rolling forest-covered landscape, I drank in the beauty that was nature. I had climbed this tree nearly every day since I was a little girl just to get a glimpse of something like this. Movement below me caught my attention. Looking down, I saw Nicholas staring up at me. I thought I could sense envy in him from way up here.

"Come on! The view's amazing up here!" I shouted.

Nicholas glanced back at Dad who gave an approving nod. Dropping his rake, Nicholas easily climbed the tree and perched next to me. As he looked at the same view, I could hear him catch his breath. Up here, the air was unusually quiet. In the distance, you could hear the faint rustling of the branches and what few leaves remained on the trees swaying in the wind. Other than that, there was nothing but complete silence. We sat there for a while until I heard Dad tell us to come down and 'quit slacking off.' I stuck my tongue out at him before beginning my descent.

"You coming?" I asked Nicholas.

He jumped as if forgetting I was there. Then he began to descend behind me. As our boots hit the snow, I couldn't help but smile.

"It was beautiful, wasn't it?" Nicholas nodded. I could tell he was still thinking about the view. "I've been doing that since I was a kid almost every day. Only in the winter is it like that--quiet, somewhat lively, and sprinkled with patches of snow. It reminds me of something you would see in a painting or a magazine."

"...Breathtaking."

"Really? 'Breathtaking,' huh? Yeah, I guess that sums it up. Anyway, we better get back to work before old man blows a fuse when he sees us 'slacking off.'"

We returned to working on the shed, the impression of freedom was left in our hearts and our lives became rapidly intertwined in Fate's labyrinth that is life.

Reviews

[hi]

ok i like the plot and i plan on reading the next chapters later,
it gives a sense of mystery but i still expect it to be a love story.

but i got to ask who is JASON in the book, or was that a misprint because i took JASON as
Nicholas.

and i love how you started the book, not often it starts off with a winter scene


oh and by the way i love your profile pic of the cage and anime,
that pic speaks 1000 words to me for some reason.

[Brooke]

Thank you! And yes, Jason and Nicholas are the same person. If it helps, look at it as like one person knows him as Jason and the other as Nicholas. Do you think it's too confusing?

Thanks for taking the time to review this. I really appreciate it!

[hi]

well i just took it confusion because it didnt really say if we was know as JASON is all.