Neuf

 

Leona tried to avoid Cameron as best she could in the following days. Although during those moments they met in the hallway, or Cameron came to the kitchen, she found it hard to avert her gaze from his vibrant blue eyes. And even harder to resist his warm personality.

Working helped. On Christmas Eve, Leona opened the large oven door and slid that evening’s dinner, Chicken Cordon Bleu, into the waiting warmth. The day had gone quickly.

Cameron had made a couple of attempts to spend time with her, but she'd been too busy to welcome him. She needed to distance herself from him and keeping busy in the kitchen was the best way to do that.

She'd spent the day making Cajun Candied Pecans, Buttery Cajun Popcorn, and Caramel Popcorn. Containers were filled and placed around the lodge for guests to enjoy.

They'd started tonight's dinner early because the guests were taking an evening snowmobile ride after dinner.

For dessert, Leona packed graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars into an insulated bag so the group could make s'mores at the fire ring CG had waiting on the mountain.

"You sure you don't want to go tonight?" Chef wrapped bacon around fresh asparagus spears and layered the small bundles on a cookie sheet.

"No, I'll stay here and get the oysters when the chopper comes in."

Chef shot her a confused look. "I'll be here for dat."

"Not if you go with the group. Miss Coco needs someone to ride with her."

He shook his head. "Not me. She can ride with CG."

"Nope. He's going up early and hauling all the gear."

"What about Bryan? She can ride wit' him."

"I think she'd rather ride with you." She poked her elbow into his rib.

Julian's cheeks heated to a pale rose. "Nah, what would she see in an old chef like me? I think you're drinking your bath water."

Leona smiled while she pulled the smoked Gouda from the refrigerator. "We shall see. How much of this cheese do you need for your mac and cheese dish?" She wanted to spend time away from Cameron. Here alone she could update her journal and then go for a late evening walk to the gazebo.

"I need one-third pound of the Gouda and half pound of cheddar and one quarter pound of the sharp cheddar. All grated." Chef emptied the macaroni into a large pot of boiling water.

"Got it." Leona gathered the cheeses and the grater. She set up on the counter near the stove and began grating the cheese.

Marissa hadn't mentioned their little talk on the balcony several nights ago. The actress had avoided her all the next day and for the last few days. Had she been put off by a female friend showing kindness?

Leona prayed that the tiny seed she'd planted about God had made Marissa think a little differently. Twinges of guilt pricked throughout the day. Should she warn Cameron of Marissa's intentions?

Chef worked on the sauce for the mac and cheese. Once Leona had grated the cheese, he added it to the sauce. The final dish was a creamy pan of macaroni and cheese perfection.

Leona set the table, and Chef brought the dishes in serving bowls and placed them on the sideboard buffet style. Chef had accepted CG's invitation for him and Leona to dine with him and his guests. He'd tried to talk Chef into joining them on their snowmobile ride, and he still worked on him.

"You should go. It's really fun. When was the last time you did something fun?" Leona asked as Chef cut the homemade bread into pieces.

"I don't know." He layered a tea towel with a Christmas tree embroidered on the edges over the bread. "I might do it. I'll think about it some more."

During dinner, Cameron sat on the other end of the table from Leona, so she'd been able to continue avoiding him.

Marissa had said little to her but had been polite.

When Coco sat next to Chef and encouraged him to take her for a snowmobile ride, he'd quickly agreed.

Leona’s heart did a little two-step. She'd have the kitchen and the house to herself except for Max.

After they'd all left, she cleaned the kitchen, sidestepping around Max who lay on the floor at her feet. She kept pushing him out of her way so she wouldn't step on him. "It's you and me, buddy." She leaned over and patted his head.

The clap-clap of helicopter blades sounded in the distance. She went out to greet the pilot. Chef had left an ice chest on the porch for the sack of oysters they delivered. They would have oysters on the half shell and charbroiled oysters for Christmas dinner tomorrow.

She ran toward the chopper and was snow-blasted, so she backed up and waited at a reasonable distance.

The pilot remained in his seat, but his passenger disembarked and retrieved the oysters from the back. The tall, older man approached her. "One sack of oysters."

"Thank you. Can you put them there?" She pointed to the chest on the porch.

"Sure." He trudged through the blowing snow.

She lifted the lid so he could place the sack inside. "Can I fix you and the pilot a cup of coffee? Something warm to drink?"

"No, ma'am. We're good. There's a storm coming through tonight. We need to head back."

"Be safe."

The gentleman returned to the chopper. The machine lifted into the air and within minutes was out of sight.

The stillness of the night, with the only sound coming from the rushing river, grabbed her and called to her senses. She stopped on the porch and retrieved a half dozen oysters.

Inside the kitchen, she found the oyster knife and small hammer for shucking, a pair of gloves, a bottle of hot sauce, and a sleeve of saltines. She placed the oysters in the sink and lifted one. With a whack of the hammer on the edge, she broke off a tip, slipped the dull round-tipped knife between the shells and twisted. The shells separated revealing a perfectly sized fresh oyster. The smaller ones were her favorite. She usually gave Chef the behemoth ones.

After a quick flick of the knife under the oyster to separate it from the shell, she tapped a few drops of hot sauce on top, ate the oyster, and then bit into the crispy saltine. Yum. Nice and salty. Hopefully, the guests would like them. Once she'd finished the oysters, she cleaned the sink, double bagged the shells, and put them in the trashcan in the back room.

"C'mon, boy. Let's go out and enjoy the night." She gave Max's head a quick rub, and then gathered her journal, warm clothes, and his leash.

She slid the journal in her pocket, attached Max to his leash, and walked out the back door. He yanked so hard; she almost fell face down into the snow. Once at the gazebo, she felt comfortable that he wouldn't run off so she disconnected his leash. He went nuts frolicking in the snow.

She sat on the bench and wrote the words burning in her heart.

 

Lord, You brought me here for a reason. I pray I'm living up to Your will. I'm attracted to Cameron in a way I've never been to anyone before. Please Lord, if he is someone You want in my life, keep the door open. But if he's not right, close it tight. I don't understand the relationship he has with Marissa. Only You do. I trust that You will work things out for them if they are meant to be together. Lord, change her heart about the reasons she wants to be with Cameron. Draw her to You, Father.

 

A giant paw slammed on her journal. "Max." He had a stick in his mouth and dropped it at her feet. "You want to play, don't you?"

She placed her journal on the bench and grabbed the twig, ran to the edge of the gazebo, and threw it out in the snow.

Max bolted from her and dashed after his prize. He leapt in the snow trying to find it. Once he'd found it, he ran back to Leona and dropped it at her feet. Throw after throw, she tossed the stick for Max. He fetched like a machine. Did he ever get enough? When her arm became tired and her breaths came in short quick pants, she rested in the gazebo.

A reluctant Max sat at her feet.

The sound of a breaking branch near the woods drew her attention. A huge bull elk walked along the edge of the woods twenty feet from the gazebo. His antlers spread out from both sides of his head and his graceful movements took her breath away. She held her breath for fear she'd frighten him away. As still as possible, she admired his beauty and majesty. Another elk's head came from out of the woods. This one didn't sport antlers, so Leona assumed it was a female. She slowly exhaled.

Max spotted the animals. A loud bark and chase ensued. The elk bolted with Max on their trail. His bark faded in the distance as he chased after the elk.

What should she do? Go after him? She remembered the night she'd been out with Cameron when Max had chased after a rabbit. It only took a few minutes, and he was back home.

She called and started toward the lodge. The temperature had dropped and the numbness of her nose threatened to spread through her whole face. She stopped on the porch. "Max! Max!"

His barking in the distance became fainter and fainter. He was going farther away. Boy, this was not good. CG would be terribly upset if Max became lost. Why did she take him out?

"Leona, what's up?" Startled, she jumped when she heard Cameron’s concerned voice. She’d missed the snowmobile come in.

"Cameron? What are you doing here?" She rubbed her gloved hands together.

"I burned my hand at the bonfire. Got almost to the lodge when the stupid snowmobile stopped. I carelessly took the one that stopped earlier today. So I walked in the rest of the way. Glad I dressed warm, but it's still cold out. What are you doing out here?"

She pushed back tears. "It's Max. I took him out, and now he's run off. He chased after a couple of elk. Oh, Cameron, he's so far away, and he's been gone for a while."

 

****

 

Cameron whistled, and then cupped his hand around his mouth. "Max, c'mon, boy. C'mon, Max!" His whistle and words echoed throughout the night. Silence returned his call. He scooped a handful of snow and placed it on the burn on his hand.

Leona grabbed his hand. "Cameron, we need to take care of this. Come inside." She guided him into the kitchen and the first aid kit. "How did this happen?"

"I was stoking the fire. Marissa and Bryan were playing around behind me. She lost her balance and fell into me, and I fell onto the rocks around the fire. Thankfully, it's not worse."

She held his open palm in both her hands. "I'll say. This is bad enough. How did you handle the throttle on the snowmobile and why are you alone? Didn't anyone come with you?"

"Handling the throttle was painful, but I stopped a few times to put ice on my palm. Bryan offered, but he needed to stick around to bring Marissa back." He looked into her eyes and basked in the concern he found there. "I'm glad I came alone."

She lowered her gaze back to his hand and began applying antibiotic ointment and bandaging the burned area. "There. This will hold for a while." She looked up and met his admiring gaze.

The clear amber of her eyes and the interest he found there sent his heart racing. Maybe he could finally spend time with her and get to know this amazing woman.

"We've got to find Max," she said as she stepped away and began rummaging through the kitchen.

She grabbed the kit, filled a thermos with coffee, grabbed cups and put everything in a duffel bag Cameron found in the mudroom.

He added bottles of water, beef jerky, flashlights, matches, and hand warmers. "Let's take the other snowmobile. Hopefully he's not too far."

She pointed to his hand. "I'm driving."

"Can't argue there."

They strapped the bag to the back, hopped on, and zoomed up the trail where Leona had last seen Max dashing off toward the elk. Large snowflakes dropped from the sky as they entered the forest.