22. Jared

22

JARED

J ared was standing in the woods after another long hike, gazing at the frosty branches overhanging the creek when his cell phone buzzed.

Cora

It's okay for you to come by and put a gate in the fence. We can talk afterward.

His heart thundered and his hands shook as he held the phone, reading and rereading her message.

She was ready to talk to him after he put a gate in her fence. But there was no indication here if the talk would be a good one or a bad one.

Panic struck and he glanced at his phone again. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and it was two days before Christmas.

He needed to buy hardware to make that gate and he had no idea if Michael, who owned the hardware store in Trinity Falls village, had already closed up shop for the holiday. Michael usually opened up so early that sometimes he decided to close after lunch.

Jogging back through the woods toward the house, Jared tried calling the hardware store. But no one picked up.

That could mean that Michael had closed up, or that he was with a customer, or even that he hadn't heard the phone over the radio playing and the chatter of customers. The man ran an incredible shop, but he wasn't online and he didn't have a cell phone.

"Please pick up," Jared mumbled as he started his truck.

In addition to wanting to support the local hardware store, Jared knew Michael would know exactly what he needed for the project since the contractor had probably purchased the materials for the fence job from him in the first place.

If he had to go to the big box store up on Route One, it would take a lot longer, and the employees would know less than Jared did.

He switched the phone to the car speaker and tried his cousin Aidan.

Aidan was living in the city these days with his little boy, doing high-end custom carpentry in the kitchens and libraries of his wealthy clientele. But he had grown up in Trinity Falls and learned his trade here, so Jared figured he'd know plenty about cheap wooden fencing.

"Jared," Aidan said, picking up on the first ring. "What's up?"

"I need to know what supplies to buy to put a gate into a six-foot pine shadow-box fence," Jared told him .

"Wow, Merry Christmas to you too," Aidan chuckled.

"Sorry, man," Jared said. "I normally wouldn't call you like this, and I know it's hard to believe, but it's really important."

"I think I need to know what the stakes are that have you desperate for this information on Christmas-Eve-Eve," Aidan teased. "What's this for?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it's for true love?" Jared asked.

There was a slight pause.

"You know what?" Aidan said seriously. "I just might. Listen, I'm a little tied up or I'd come take care of it myself. But I can text you a list of everything you'll need. Is Michael still open?"

"He's not picking up, but I'm heading there now," Jared told him. "If he's closed, I'll hit the big box on Route One."

"Sure," Aidan said. "I guess it's worth it for true love. See you on Christmas? And your lucky lady too?"

"I really hope so," Jared said, feeling a little bubble of optimism lift in his chest.

"Drive safe, man," Aidan said.

An hour later, Jared was driving back toward the countryside, with everything he needed from Michael's hardware store in the back of his truck.

Michael had sighed when Jared came sprinting in at the last minute before closing, but he had brushed his hands off on his overalls and helped him make his purchases. And he even smiled when Jared slid a few bills into the jar on the counter collecting for Michael's pet charity, St. Jude's, on the way out.

Now Jared just had to get to Cora's place and hope the tools he'd thrown into the back of the truck, along with the extra fence panel and paper bags of fence hardware would be all he needed to get the job done.

Jared had never been a patient man, and just the idea of waiting until New Year's to talk with Cora and find out if she was going to let him make things right was almost enough drive him out of his mind.

He wasn't sure she meant it literally when she said that he had to put the gate in before she would talk with him, but he was determined to do everything exactly the way she had said it, so he could show her that he was listening. If that meant putting in this gate today, then he was going to do that.

Pulling up out front of Cora's place, he was greeted with the sight of the Christmas tree glow from the front window. He longed to run up the porch steps and into the house to see what Sylvester was up to and help with dinner.

But he had work to do right now.

As he carried everything over to the fence, he tried hard not to look in the direction of the house. By now, Sylvester would have heard the truck. Jared didn't want to get either of them in trouble by waving or smiling at him when Cora wanted space and to talk.

It was getting cold, and the sun would be going down soon, but he'd brought a battery powered light, so at least he'd be able to see .

He rubbed his hands together to warm them, and got to work.

It was just before dusk when his work was complete. Thanks to the tips from Aidan and Michael, he'd been able to put the gate in by himself in just a few hours.

He opened and closed it a few times, hoping that Cora would appreciate that he'd installed the hardware up high on the fence, so it would be harder for Sylvester to open on his own, if he ever got any big ideas.

The sound of light footsteps behind him had Jared's heart beating a little faster as he got ready to show Cora his work.

But when he turned, it wasn't Cora standing there.

"Hi, Jared," Sylvester piped up excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "Can I see the fishing hole?"

"Hey, Rocky," Jared said, his heart warming when the little guy smiled harder at his nickname. "It's really good to see you. I'd love to show you the fishing hole, but we have to make sure it's okay with your mom."

"She said it's okay," Sylvester told him.

"She did?" Jared asked. He was super excited to show the boy the place that was so special to him, but it didn't sound like Cora to allow it.

"She said I can go with you," Sylvester told him, nodding up and down and smiling excitedly.

"Wow, okay," Jared said. It still seemed out of character for Cora, but he wasn't going to question her, especially not today—and especially when she was letting them do something so close to his heart.

This is a good sign, he told himself.

"Well, let's head in, then," he told Sylvester. "Now, I'm opening this gate and you can come with me since you're with a grown-up and you have your mom's permission. But you will never, ever try to open this gate yourself. Right?"

"Right," the boy agreed with solemn eyes.

Jared smiled at him and led the way into the trees.

"There's a bit of a trail here," he pointed out. "It's easy to see now since it's wintertime. In the spring, everything blooms and then by summer, the trees and shrubs are so thick and lush we'll have to clear parts of the path all over again if there aren't enough people walking on it all the time."

"Maybe we'll walk on it all the time," Sylvester said hopefully.

Jared smiled down at the boy, noticing that he had his hand shoved in his pocket, fiddling with the football keychain he loved. He normally fooled with it when he was feeling uncertain, but he looked happy now to Jared. Maybe it was just that this was such a new experience. That would be enough to make him feel a little nervous.

"Now that's a tulip poplar," Jared heard himself say, pointing at the big tree as they passed it.

"How do you know?" Sylvester asked, eyes wide as he gazed up at it.

"My grandpa told me," Jared said fondly. "He taught me about all the stuff I'm showing you today. He loved nature and he wanted to make sure I loved it too. "

"And you want to make sure I love it," Sylvester said. It was almost like a question.

"I want you to love it, sure," Jared said. "But I want you to keep loving all the stuff you already love and showing it to me too."

"We can have a book club, if you want," Sylvester said hopefully.

"I'd like that," Jared told him. "I didn't finish The Incredible Journey yet."

"You were too busy," Sylvester said.

"No," Jared told him. "I guess I wanted to wait until I saw you again so we could talk about it."

"I didn't finish Treasure Island either," Sylvester confided. "I missed you, too."

Jared swallowed over the lump in his throat, impressed at how the boy could just say I missed you , like it was the easiest thing in the world to admit.

"Look, there's the fishing hole up ahead," he said, pointing to a clearing in the trees, where the little creek they had begun following opened up.

"Hey, that's a really big tree," Sylvester squeaked, running ahead a little.

"Stay close to me, Sly," Jared chuckled, jogging after him. "Yeah, I used to love that tree. Grandpa made up stories about the elf who lived in there. His name was Warbles."

"Not a real elf," Sylvester giggled.

"Nope," Jared said. "At least I don't think so. I can't prove there isn't an elf in that tree who steals people's lunch if they leave any trash around the fishing hole. "

"Wow," Sylvester said, turning from the tree to face the water.

It was just a widening in the creek, but willows bent over the water on the opposite bank and there was a pleasant gurgle of water moving over the rocks. When Jared read The Once and Future King as a boy, he had thought the scenery of King Arthur's childhood was a lot like the fishing hole.

At its deepest, the water here was no more than waist-high, but that was deep enough to catch a fish or two, even if most of them had to be thrown back. And the creek was always stocked a few times during trout season, which usually led to some good dinners if they were lucky.

A huge rock jutted out of the bank and into the water. For a moment, looking at the scene, Jared was a child again, kicking off his shoes and darting off onto the big, sun-warmed rock and dangling his feet over the edge with a pole in his hands and his grandfather's gentle voice in his ears, telling him a funny story or asking him an interesting question.

"Look at that rock," Sylvester said, darting toward it. "It's humongous."

"Be careful," Jared warned him, following quickly behind.

But before he could react, Sylvester tripped slightly on an indentation in the granite and the keychain slipped out of his hand.

Jared watched in horror as the little football twinkled in the air for a moment before falling toward the dark water .

"Don't—" Jared began.

But it was too late, Sylvester had lunged after it. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion.

" No ," Sylvester cried, leaning out suddenly, as if to snatch it from the air.

But he was too late, the football sank just out of his reach, breaking the surface of the water, and sending out ripples all the way to the shore.

And Sylvester had leaned out too far.

Jared was already flying to him, trying to grab onto him, his heart in his mouth. But his hand closed around nothing a half-second too late. And the boy fell into the near-freezing water, splashing frigid drops all around.

Jared jumped in without a thought, his legs feeling like they were freezing solid as he snatched Sylvester from the knee-deep water.

" M-my.. m-m-my, " Sylvester murmured, struggling, and shivering as Jared pulled him up into his arms.

"Hug me tight," Jared told him, holding him with one arm as he stripped his coat off and wrapped it around the boy.

" I-I-I.. " Sylvester gasped. A wheezing sound came from his chest as he trailed off.

Fear filled Jared's heart and he almost couldn't take a breath himself.

"Where's your inhaler?" he forced himself to ask calmly as he searched the boy's freezing, wet pockets.

" A-a-at… " Sylvester managed, shaking his head from side to side.

"At home?" Jared asked. "Not in your coat pocket? "

Sylvester nodded, sucking in breath. His stomach was clenching.

"Hold on," Jared told him.

Cradling the boy tightly, he climbed up the bank and ran for the path, moving as fast as he could without risking a tumble down the bank and back into the creek.

He could feel Sylvester struggling for breath in his arms, and fear tugged at the edges of his mind, threatening to overwhelm him. But he pushed it back. This was no time for panic.

Please let him be okay, he prayed. Please let me make it to his mother in time.

"Stay calm, Sly," he murmured to him. "You're going to be just fine."

It hit him as he ran that there was no way Cora had sent the boy after him. She would never, ever forget to be sure he had that inhaler with him when he left the house. Jared couldn't imagine how furious she would be with him for taking him to the fishing hole, but that was the least of his worries at the moment.

I just have to get to her, he prayed. Please let him make it to his mother and his inhaler.

In just a few minutes, the house was in front of them.

"We made it," he murmured. "I just have to get you inside."

Sylvester didn't respond, but his labored breaths were making his whole rib cage suck in and out and Jared knew it was costing him everything to get enough air to stay conscious.

" Cora ," Jared screamed at the top of his lungs as he took the porch steps two at a time. " Cora . "

The door flew open, and he saw the blood drain from her face the moment she realized that Sylvester was in his arms, fighting for breath.

She burst into motion, her body practically a blur as she ran for the kitchen and grabbed something from the counter, then fell to the floor, gesturing for Jared to put Sylvester in her lap.

He crouched down, lowering the boy gently down, so that he was cradled in his mother's lap.

"I have your inhaler," she told him. "You're going to take a puff."

Jared watched, mesmerized as she held the little plastic device to his lips. As soon as Sly inhaled the first puff, Jared remembered himself, and grabbed for his phone.

"Should I call 9-1-1 or my brother?" he asked Cora.

"Wait," she said softly.

Sylvester took a second puff as Cora murmured softly to him, telling him to relax, stroking his arms.

He called Kellan then, not caring if he came out for no reason.

Knowing Cora was trying to calm her boy, he moved to the living room, keeping his eye on the two of them from the doorway.

But for once, Kellan didn't pick up right away.

Jared did his best to leave a coherent message, pacing the living room as he did.

When he was finished, he moved back to the kitchen, where Sylvester seemed to be breathing normally again at last.

He was sitting in his mother's lap, leaning back against her chest, looking smaller than usual with Jared's coat still wrapped around him.

" My keychain ," he whispered softly.

"You're okay," Jared breathed, falling into a crouch in front of them.

"He's wet," Cora said, her voice tight. "What happened to him?"

"He wanted to see the fishing hole," Jared said. "He dropped his football keychain over the water and he tried to catch it. I didn't get to him in time, and he fell in. I'm so sorry?—"

"Get out," Cora said softly.

"I'm sorry, Cora," Jared said, tears prickling his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Get out, right now, and don't ever come back," she whispered in a tone that that even was colder than the freezing water.

Sylvester began crying softly and she turned her attention back to him, telling him he needed to stay relaxed and not cry, that he had lots of treasures besides his keychain.

Jared rose and somehow his feet carried him out the front door and into the frigid air.

He stood on the porch, unable to move, until his jeans began to freeze solid around his legs and he realized he was shaking.

His heart was breaking, and he was drowning in guilt and sorrow. He was never going to see either of them again and it felt like his soul was being torn in pieces.

If that was Cora's decision, then he would respect it.

But there was one thing he had to do first.