Page 17 of Mr. McHunky

chapter

eight

Jude

I'm not sure how long it takes me to realize that I'm freezing my ass off. I open my eyes and my room is completely dark. I sit up, and that’s when I realize the power is out.

Shit.

I grab my phone and see a series of weather alerts. Then a missed reverse 9-1-1 call. It’s a new program the county started a while back where they send out automated calls with a recording to warn people about impending weather problems. Then a voicemail from the power company that they’re aware the lines are down and they’re working on them.

I stand and pad barefoot to the window and peer outside. It looks like a blizzard. Which is weird as fuck for the hill country of Texas. We get snow. Sorta. Sometimes. It doesn’t stick often. Normally if we get any winter precipitation it’s this slushy mix of ice and really cold rain.

But right now it’s snowing and there are a couple of inches—maybe more—covering my yard.

I head out to the garage and crank up the generator. Hopefully it’ll kick in before my sisters realize they’re cold. Middle of the night girl drama is my least favorite kind.

Shit! Emory. I pull on my discarded sweatpants and t-shirt from the night before, then head to the back of the house. I slip on my pair of work boots, and then I’m out of the door, running through my back yard and into the stand of trees and bush that sits between the house and the barn.

Creating the garage far away from my house made sense when I built it this way. I wanted to keep the garage noise away from my family. But now while my lungs are burning as I suck in the freezing air, I wish it was closer.

But more important than my own discomfort is Emory. And little Rosie, of course. But getting my girl to safety and warmth is my priority.

My girl.

Yeah, it’s time I told her. If she’s hell-bent on leaving Saddle Creek, I might just have to follow her. My sisters will understand, they’ve been wanting me to find someone for years.

I pump my arms harder, wishing the space between me and her was much shorter. Finally the metal siding of the barn comes into view. And then I’m throwing open the door to her van.

She’s curled up on the mattress, Rosie up against her chest. There are several blankets over her, but not enough to make a difference in this van. Feels like a fucking ice cream cooler.

I slide my arms under her body and can hear her teeth clicking together.

“It’s okay, Peaches, I’ve got you. I’m going to get you warmed up. Can you hold Rosie?”

She doesn’t open her eyes, but she does make a noise in her throat and wraps her arms around the pup.

Shit! Why didn’t I wake up sooner? Why didn’t I insist she stay inside my house?

No time for self-doubt, or wishing I would have done thins differently. questions. I step out of the van, Emory in my arms, Rosie in hers and I run out into the snow.

My cabin is closest so I go there. There’s a wood-burning stove inside and only one main room so it should warm quickly.

“Jude?” she says my name like a question. “I’m cold.” Her teeth chatter with every word.

“I know, baby. I'm going to get you warm in just a minute,” I say. I see the cabin up ahead and I’m so damn thankful it’s this close.

“Rosie cold?” Emory asks.

“Yeah, baby, Rosie is cold, but she'll be fine.”

I open the door and shove my way inside with my precious package. I immediately walk to the queen-sized bed and lay her down.

“I’m going to get a fire going. And then we're going to use some good old-fashioned body heat to get your temperature up to normal.”

I close the cabin door but not before I see that the snow is falling even faster now. Like thick sheets that you see when the news covers blizzards in the north.

Snow in Texas is crazy. It often just comes out of nowhere and shuts down the whole damn state.