Page 32 of When the Snowman Whispered
I’m sorry, my friends, but this is war.
When they came alive, they would have a tiny bit of space to walk on the left and right, but nothing more. There were no doors or windows, just bars.
Hopefully, this keeps them in. But what will I do after that? We’ll have to talk. I guess.
Daniel drove up in his personal truck, just as I finished the last cell.
Great. If he doesn’t think I’m crazy after blow torching Santa, then he’s knows I’m a lunatic now.
I set the chain saw down and brushed all the snowflakes out of my hair. Even with the gloves on, my fingers had gone numb.
In fact, once Daniel pulled up, it jolted me back to reality. Cold rushed in my whole body. I hugged myself to keep in as much warmth as I could. I should’ve taken a break and gone inside to warm up.
Waving at him, I coughed and winter smoke left my lips.
Daniel parked near the jailed Santa and mermaids.
His truck was a huge, green beast that fit him perfectly. And if he had a favorite color, it was surely green. I’d never saw the man without green on or around him. He lived in nature—hunting up in the mountains, fishing down in Parker’s lake, and hiking through the woods.
He’d been that way ever since he was a little boy. It was why he’d refused to leave the state. Everything he needed, was right around him—in the bark of the trees and hum of the wind blowing through the branches.
Even with that dark green jacket on, the bulk of his body was obvious. It was in his walk and the way he held himself as he got out of the truck. “How’s your day going?”
“Fine.” I patted the ice to make sure the jail’s walls were reinforced.
Snowflakes clung to my curls, hat, jacket, and boots. I probably looked more like a snow woman and less like me. “What brings you by?”
“Just checking up on you.” That beachy scent of his wrapped around me.
Daniel took in the property. His gaze fell on the jailed Santa and mermaids. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t hear anything else last night or today.”
I didn’t hear anything, but I did have a snow pervert climb into my bedroom and sexually invade my dream. I won’t be making a complaint because that was the most sex I’ve had in two years. Therefore, I’m just going to self-reflect and try not to end up in the looney bin.
“Faith?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t hear anything. I think you were right. It was probably deer.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Deer?”
“Yep. Wolves or deer. But if I hear anything else, I’ll call you.”
“Good. Use my personal number.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper where he’d already written the information down. “I’m off for the rest of the week, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
“I’m fine, Daniel. Thanks for looking after me.”
“I want to do more.”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
Daniel wanted to do more of what? Guard me? Fuck me? Love me? Maybe he wasn’t even thinking in that direction. Perhaps, he thought I’d lost it and needed some mental help that he didn’t think he was experienced in addressing.
We stood in silence for a few more seconds, until I broke the quiet. “What are your plans for tonight? Merry Christmas by the way.”
“Merry Christmas to you. I’m doing nothing. It’s my ex-wife’s turn to have the boys for Christmas. We switch holidays each year. If I have them for Thanksgiving, then she gets them for Christmas.”
“Interesting. How has that worked?”
“We don’t kill each other, so that’s good.”
