It was yet another morning on the side of a mountain, and Ava was pacing restlessly, her gaze fixed on the windows as she watched the first rays of sunlight struggle through heavy clouds above the forest. The storm had finally stopped, but left behind a world covered in white. The silence of the morning was broken only by the occasional groan of the trees under the weight of the snow. She turned to see Jack watching her, probably sensing the turmoil that was swirling around in her gut.
"I think it's safe enough to go ahead and take my Jeep to start looking for Millie," he said. "The storm has passed, and I know my Jeep can get through these roads. Besides, I think the city has probably already started clearing many of them."
She turned to him, feeling hope welling up within her again. "Really? You think we can?"
He nodded. "I promised we would look for her as soon as it was safe, and it is safe. So, get on some warm clothes and grab whatever you're going to need for the day. We'll cover as much ground as we can."
Ava quickly gathered her oversized coat, gloves, and a hat, all of which she had borrowed from Jack, and then they headed out to the Jeep. Jack quickly ran around the Jeep and looked at the tires and made sure everything looked okay before they headed out. He threw some extra chains in the back in case they ran across any other stranded drivers along the way. They climbed into the Jeep, and Ava felt a mix of anxiety and hope. There was always the possibility that she would never find Millie, that she would never know what happened to her beloved dog, and that would break her heart into a million pieces. Millie had been the only constant in her life, especially in recent weeks and months. She needed a beacon of light to give her the hope that Millie might actually be alive out there. That she might have survived such a terrible snowstorm.
Jack turned the key in the ignition, and it came to life with a reassuring rumble.
"So we're going to start with the area where you got stranded," Jack said. "Millie might've tried to make her way back there to find you."
Ava's stomach churned. The thought of Millie standing on the side of the road by the truck looking for her made her want to cry. She nodded, trying not to well up with tears as they pulled away from the cabin out onto the road. Jack navigated it with confidence like he'd done this drive a million times, and he probably had.
As the Jeep wound its way through the forest and toward the place where she had gotten stranded, Ava crossed her fingers in her lap, hoping that when she got there, Millie would come running from the forest, lick her in the face, and they would be reunited once again.
She needed her sweet doggy to get her through the next phase of her life, whatever that was going to be.
* * *
As the Jeep made its way up the winding mountain road, Ava was surprised to see just how furious the snowstorm had actually been. The landscape was dotted with vehicles that had veered off path at some point, their drivers underestimating the storm severity just like Ava had. She hadn't even been able to see these vehicles because of the whiteout when she was on the side of the mountain. Now wrapped tightly in her coat, she watched anxiously from the passenger side as she scanned the dense woods, hoping that she would see any sign of Millie.
Jack was focused on the stranded cars and their occupants, his obvious sense of duty evident in his every move. He pulled the Jeep over near the first stranded vehicle, which was a small sedan that had skidded into a snowbank, much like Ava had done.
"Stay here. This won't take long," he said, his tone reassuring. She didn't know this man at all, really. He was still a stranger to her, although he had been kind. But when he said something, there was such a sense of authority and assuredness in his voice that she took him at his word, trusted him. She'd never felt that from any other man before.
Her dating life had been a collection of men who never made her feel particularly safe. She hadn’t been abused or anything like that, but she’d always felt like she was on her own in the end. There was no one there to back her up and defend her if the time came. Jack felt like a man who would back up the woman he loved, even if it meant risking his life in the process.
She watched as he retrieved the tow-rope from the back of the Jeep and approached the stranded car. The grateful driver jumped out. She didn't know how long they had been there, probably not nearly as long as she would've been had she stayed in her truck. Jack efficiently tied the rope to the vehicle and guided it back to the road, which had been cleared by the county. His actions were methodical and confident like he had done this so many times he could do it with his eyes closed. He moved from one stranded vehicle to the next, and Ava's admiration for him grew. He was a man who, without any hesitation, lent his strength to those in need.
She found herself distracted from her own worries for a moment, caught up in these profound acts of kindness that Jack displayed when he didn't have to. He wasn't getting paid for this. There was nothing in it for him. He just did it to be kind to other people. It made her think that maybe she should do the same. When was the last time she had done something kind for someone else without anything in it for her? People should do more of that.
Every time he returned to the Jeep to move on to the next vehicle, Ava would look out into the woods in whatever area they were in, hoping that Millie would be out there. But between those moments where she was staring at the woods, she found herself fixated on Jack, watching him work. She saw more than just a rugged exterior of a man who was obviously strong and very capable; she saw a man with a big heart, maybe bigger than the broad shoulders that she couldn't stop staring at.
They continued on up the mountain, and Ava started to realize that Millie wasn't coming out of the woods. She wasn't anywhere to be found. It made her want to burst into tears, but she was too embarrassed to do that in front of Jack. He was so strong and confident helping other people she couldn't break down like a weakling and burst into tears. So she just watched him and tried to focus on his positivity. He believed they would find Millie somehow, some way, and she just had to hold on to that for a little while longer.
* * *
Clemmy stood in her kitchen wearing her thickest white bathrobe and holding a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. She watched as the last snowflakes started falling from the gray sky like a farewell to a storm that had been something to behold.
It was a tranquil scene, but she knew that there were probably people out there without power or stranded on the side of the road. She said a quick prayer for them every time she thought about them. She’d had the same thing happen to her many times living in the mountains - power outages and being broken down on the side of the road. But the great thing about Jubilee was that there was always a good Samaritan somewhere to help. People took care of each other in these mountains, and that was something she was grateful for. It was the reason why she would never ever leave.
At her feet was the boxer dog that she had taken in the night before. She looked up and wagged her tail, her gaze fixed on Clemmy with hopeful anticipation. Clemmy smiled down at the dog.
"All right, let's get you fed," she said. She prepared a simple meal for the dog, placing the bowl of food and some water on the kitchen floor. Obviously, she didn't have dog food available since she didn't own a dog herself, so she had boiled some chicken and white rice. The dog seemed to appreciate it greatly.
She had to admit to herself that she enjoyed the companionship. Clemmy only had one child, a grown son who didn't keep in touch as often as she would like. Their relationship had been a bit of a complicated one at times, and she hoped one day they could repair things, that he would come to Jubilee and spend some time with her. But for now, she found solace in her friends and patrons at the bookstore. This dog was filling a space that she didn't know was open, someone to just be glad to see her in the morning, to love her, to want to snuggle with her on the sofa. It was pretty sad when she thought about it, to be in her sixties and feel so alone, yet surrounded by people. Sometimes there was just a need to be loved by somebody in that special way that everyone desires.
She hadn't dated in a while, and she knew she should get back out there. But it wasn't like the dating scene in Jubilee was exactly hopping with excitement. She was starting to feel a bit old, to feel a bit outdated. Clemmy tried not to think about such things because she maintained a positive attitude, but this morning was a little different as she stared out at the snow and realized just how much this dog was starting to mean to her. She couldn't get too attached because she needed to find her owner. Millie had obviously been well taken care of, and she was probably missing the person who loved her, but maybe she would get her own dog one day. Maybe she needed a little bit of extra love in her life.
She decided that once they got ready for the day, she would print out some flyers to spread the word about the dog in hopes of finding the owner. She couldn't let this bond form any longer than she needed to.
"Once it's safe, girl, we'll find out where you belong," she said. She continued sipping on her coffee. As Millie finished eating, her tail wagging slowly, a silent gesture of gratitude, she kneeled down, stroking her head gently. “I’m going to take care of you until I find your owner,” she said, even though the thought of giving up this companion broke her heart just a little.
* * *
Jack maneuvered his Jeep along the snow-covered mountain roads, his vehicle's tires crunching over the fallen snow. He had done this hundreds of times in his life, either as a deputy or just as a volunteer. Rescuing people on the side of the road was something he was used to. He didn't even give it a second thought. What he was giving a second thought to was the fact that this beautiful redhead was sitting next to him, wrapped up in one of his favorite thick coats, her gaze fixed out on the passing trees and underbrush, looking for any sign of her beloved dog.
Hours had passed since they had started their search, and the sun was climbing higher in the sky with no trace of Millie anywhere. He'd promised that he would find her, and he was starting to regret that promise. What if something had happened to the dog? Maybe he was wrong about the fact that she was still alive.
He was a former deputy and used to tracking people and managing search operations, so he understood the odds and the challenges that they faced. The snow would have erased any tracks Millie might have left. He watched Ava out of the corner of his eyes, noticing that her hope was starting to turn to despair with each passing minute.
"We've covered a lot of ground," Jack finally said, breaking the silence that had settled between them for the last few minutes. "If Millie is out there, she is sure doing a good job of staying hidden. But it's more likely that somebody has probably taken her in. People around here look out for each other and their pets."
She looked at him, searching his eyes to see if he was actually telling her the truth. "I hope you're right, but there don't seem to be very many houses around here. Who would have taken her in? It's not like people were driving up and down the mountain during such a terrible snowstorm."
He knew that she was worried about her dog, but he could sense that there was something else weighing on her, some distraction that went beyond her concern for Millie. "Listen, dogs can travel long distances, especially if they're running. There's no telling where Millie ended up. Did she have a tag?"
Ava closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat. "She had a tag that had her name on it, but it didn't have my phone number.” He wanted to ask her why. That was a simple thing to do, but he didn't want to make her feel any worse than she already did. "In case you're wondering," she finally said, "I always meant to get my phone number put on the tag. The machine malfunctioned, and that particular day, I was in a hurry, so I just took the tag. I was always going to go back and get a new one. Now I wish I would have."
He looked at her, trying to reassure her. "Look, it's not your fault. You didn't expect that you were going to get stranded in a snowstorm, and your dog was going to run out into the forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Everything is going to be okay, Ava."
"How do you know that?" she asked, looking at him. Gosh, he had a sudden urge to pull her close to his chest and protect her from anything the world could throw at her. Where did that come from?
"I don't know. Call it years of experience. I've seen a lot of things that happened that other people would call miracles."
"And you wouldn't call them miracles?"
"Well, yeah, I suppose I would. But let's just say I've seen a lot of hopeless situations turn out okay. You just have to believe that this one will do the same."
She quietly turned her head and looked back into the woods, and he swore he could see some tears welling in her eyes. There was nothing he liked less than seeing a woman cry. It was the one thing that would get to him every single time, and unfortunately, he had had some women in his life that used that as a manipulation tactic. Ava was certainly not doing that.
"Hey," he said, gently pulling the Jeep to a stop at a scenic overlook. “We'll keep looking for her, okay? But you've got to take care of yourself too. Worrying isn't going to bring her back any faster."
"I know. It's just hard," she said, facing him with a vulnerability he hadn't seen. It caught him off guard. "It's not just Millie, it's everything. There's a lot going on in my life, and I didn't expect to end up here with a stranger. No offense, of course. It's just all a bit overwhelming."
He understood that Millie's disappearance was probably just one part of a larger turmoil that Ava was grappling with. The pieces would eventually fall into place, but he didn't know exactly what they were.
"You're not alone in this," he found himself saying. "Whatever's got you running, you've got a friend here. We'll figure this out together."
She looked at him with a flicker of surprise and something else, maybe relief, flashing in her eyes. "Thank you, Jack. That means a lot," she said, genuinely smiling.
They resumed their journey back over the mountain, but Jack couldn't shake the feeling that their search for Millie was turning into something much deeper, and that was the kind of thing he tried to stay away from. No matter how gorgeous this woman was, he was going to help her find her dog and get her out of town as quickly as possible. He had decided long ago to live his life alone. It was just a lot easier and a lot less heartbreaking.
* * *
As the afternoon light started to fade, Ava noticed Jack hunched over the open hood of her truck, his hands moving with a skilled precision as he worked to fix a few things that had broken when she ran into the snowbank.
She stood a short distance away, leaning against the doorframe of the garage, looking at him with her arms crossed. Something was deeply comforting about watching his hands move so confidently and capably over the parts of the truck that had so much history and meaning to her. It reminded her of her grandfather helping her restore the truck all those years ago.
"You know, that truck's more than just a vehicle to me," Ava said.
Jack paused and turned to look at her, listening. She walked closer.
"My dad started restoring it before he passed away when I was really young. This was his project, his dream. He didn't get to finish it." She swallowed hard, the memories bittersweet and vivid. "After he died, it just sat there in my grandfather's garage, collecting dust. When I was old enough to take more of an interest, my grandfather allowed me to help him restore it."
Jack nodded. “It sounds like it has a lot of sentimental value.”
She smiled. “A lot. I guess that’s why I wanted to take it with me when I left. Finishing it with my Pops meant I always got to keep a little piece of my dad with me, you know? Like I completed something that was important to him, and then I got to keep something important to me in the process.”
“I’ll take good care of it. I promise.”
“I know you will,” she said.
Jack returned to his work. She was struck by how much he seemed to know about trucks. There was an intuitiveness to his movements. He never looked anything up on his phone or in a manual. She supposed living out in the remote area he did, he had to know how to fix things.
“You seem good with your hands,” Ava heard herself say. She felt her face flush as she realized how that sounded.
“Pretty good,” he said, looking up and smiling. “I had a great dad and grandpa, and they taught me everything I know.”
“Well, I’d better get out of your hair,” she said, turning to go back into the cabin.
“No, don’t. I enjoy the company.”
* * *
It was another night of Ava watching Jack cook dinner. She had offered several times to help him, but the kitchen wasn't that big, and he seemed to have great skills in there. He didn't need her. He told her to just sit on the sofa and relax, watch some TV if she wanted, but all she could think about was Millie. Well, that wasn't true. She was also thinking about all the other things that had led her up to taking off in her father's old vintage truck and heading off in search of a new life.
Her mother must be quite worried about her by now. There was a wedding, after all, and she never showed up at the end of the aisle. She knew that she should make some phone calls, set some things straight, but the longer she went without doing that, the more she felt like she really couldn't.
She could hear Jack in the kitchen, a sizzle here, a steady chop there. It was a comforting sound in the background. This was what she had truly wanted in her life. When she was young, she thought she would just meet a great guy, get married, have some kids, have the whole white picket fence type of life, but somehow she'd gotten off track. She had never found her true soulmate, and that's why she had made the choice that she did. How she ended up being a runaway bride. It was embarrassing, and everyone had seen it. She couldn’t imagine what people were saying on social media right now. She knew she was never going to be able to start over anywhere without facing the music. There was just no way around it. But she wasn't ready yet. She couldn't, especially not when she knew her dog was missing. Millie was like her child and there was nothing else that she could focus on until she found her.
"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Jack said over his shoulder, there was a rich aroma of stew filling the cabin. Ava was quite hungry after a day of looking for her dog.
"It smells amazing. I never would've thought you were a cook," she said, teasing.
Jack laughed. "Is it because I'm such a giant?"
"I mean, you do look like you could play the part of a lumberjack in a community play or something,” she said, hoping not to offend him.
"Well, maybe there's a lot you don't know about me. Cooking is just one of my hidden talents," he said, setting the plates on the table with a flourish that made Ava giggle.
As they sat down to eat, the small talk finally gave way to a much deeper conversation. She really felt like Jack was becoming a close friend. She wondered if when she left here, would she ever be in touch with him again? He didn't seem much like the texting type, and she doubted that he had a Facebook account. Would this just be a memory in her life, a person she'd never see again, but who would know some of her secrets? Maybe it was safe to tell him something.
After all, who was he going to tell? He had a TV, but he never turned it on, that she could tell.
"So Jubilee has always been home for you?" she asked, genuinely curious about this man that had become an unexpected pillar in her life.
"Yeah, always," he said. "Growing up here, it's a unique experience. The Appalachian way of life can be hard at times. We were pretty poor growing up, but you're part of a community that's like a big family. Everyone here looks out for each other."
He chatted a little bit about different times in his childhood in the woods. He talked about community gatherings that felt like reunions and the sense of belonging that had always anchored him to this place. She listened, wondering what it was like to grow up in such a place where you knew everyone and you never had to be alone. It was a stark contrast to the rootless feeling that she had had in her most recent life.
"It sounds wonderful," she said. "To have that type of connection to a place and its people. It's what I always wanted."
"It is great. Although I probably look like a loner back here, I do have a lot of friends in town. They just know that I prefer this lifestyle out in the woods. What about you? What's your anchor?" It caught Ava off guard, the question. Her mind scrambled for a response.
"I'm not sure I have one," she said. "I've been so focused on, well, running away from my problems, I guess that I never stopped to think about where I really belong."
He nodded, his expression understanding. "Running can exhaust you. It takes a lot out of you. Sometimes, stopping isn't about actually giving up. It's about taking care of yourself and finding a new direction."
“I suppose you’re right. I’m just at a place in my life where I’m not really sure where I belong. You’re lucky to know where you belong.”
They continued talking long after the soup bowls were empty and the night wore on. Jack talked about his time as a deputy, the challenges and rewards of serving this community that he loved so much. He also talked about his transition to working in private security.
Ava found herself opening up a little about her own life, her dreams, her uncertainties that had led her to this moment, but she talked around all of it. She wasn’t going to tell him all of her secrets because, for right now, it was nice to have someone who didn’t judge her. Didn’t call her names on social media. Didn’t think she was the world’s dumbest woman.
"Jubilee has a way of holding up a mirror. It shows you who you really are underneath all the noise and the chaos in the world, and it's not always an easy thing to face, but it is where real change can begin. A lot of people come here to find who they are, and they realize they’re so much more than they thought they were."
"You know, maybe that's what I've been looking for," Ava said. "A place where it can reflect the truth back to me and help me figure out who I am."
They continued chatting, and Ava felt more and more comfortable with Jack, but also with this place. She had never been so vulnerable with anybody, and she had to wonder why she felt this way about a man she barely knew.