Merry Mix-Up (Holiday Hearts)

12. Newt

12

NEWT

D ecember 12th

When I slid out of bed, I felt the ache in my thighs from a night of exertion. Amber and I really gave each other a workout, and I'd never loved bad weather more. I wondered if she'd have made me go home if Jade had come back.

After tugging on my clothing quietly, I headed to the kitchen and rifled through the fridge. She had a few eggs and some ham, but no bacon. I knew I could make a decent sandwich, so I set out the ingredients and neatly folded up all of Jade's wedding dress mess and set it aside before getting out a skillet.

By the time I had the fried egg, ham, and grilled cheese sandwich done, Amber came shuffling out of the bedroom. She wore an old, oversized T-shirt of a nineties rock band and her eyes were still puffy with sleep. She yawned and leaned on the doorway in the kitchen while she wrangled her messy hair into a knot.

"Good morning. I made you breakfast." I plated the sandwich and turned with it in hand to see her reaching for it.

"God, I'm so hungry. You are amazing." She didn't waste time with a kiss or a good morning hug. The sandwich went straight to her mouth, and I chuckled.

"I was thinking of going sledding. The snowpack has to be perfect for it." I got my own sandwich and a plate and joined her at the table. Nothing much was going on at work, and I deserved a snow day.

Amber winced then smiled while chewing. I started eating while she procrastinated answering. Based on the stories Naomi told the group the other night while waiting on her to arrive at my parents' house for cake testing, it sounded like Amber loved being outdoors in winter. But looking at her pained expression, maybe I got her wrong.

"I, uh… have a lot of studying to do today." I knew how rigorous her classes were, but all work and no play makes people stodgy.

"Come on, Amber…" Another wince crossed her face, and I realized my slip. "I mean, Mav. Go sledding with me, and I'll help you study later tonight." I winked for good measure, and she sighed.

"Fine, but just a few times. I really do need time today."

One hour later, after finishing breakfast and having a steamy shower with her, we were on the back side of the old Elk Lodge where Naomi and Jared would wed with brand-new sleds in hand. The bright red plastic reflected the morning sunlight, making Amber squint, and she looked adorable. Her pink puffer coat and matching sock hat made her dark locks stand out, though I'd have chosen something more than just jeans for pants.

"Ready?" I asked her, leading her to the top of the hill. It was early enough that no one else had been on the hill yet, and even though schools were canceled for the day, children weren't cluttering the slope now, either.

"Remind me why people do this?" she asked comically, and I chuckled.

"Because it's fun!" I dropped my sled and put a boot on it to hold it in place, and she glowered at me. Her facial expression told me she wasn't impressed, and I got the distinct impression that she'd been faking enjoyment of winter weather with my sister for a long time.

"Let's get this over with and then you owe me a hot cocoa." Amber dropped her sled on the ground next to mine, but instead of holding it with a boot, she stood there staring at it as it started to slide down the hill.

"Oh, catch it!" I coached, and she dived after it, face planting on the thing. The sled went sailing down the hill to the sound of her screams as she rode it on her belly with her feet in the air behind her. Snow puffed up in front of her as the sled's nose dipped and bounced, and I could only imagine the way she'd land at the end.

I laughed and dropped to my knees on the sled and rode it down in her wake. The air against my face was brisk and refreshing. I watched Amber's sled twist and turn sideways, rolling to a stop as mine hurtled across the fresh powder, and when she came to a stop, she pounded the snow with her fists and I continued to laugh until my sled skidded to a halt next to her.

"Wow, that was an awkward way to ride a sled," I joked, and she glared at me.

"Wow, you're a jerk," she said and grabbed a handful of snow and launched it at me. Then she burst out laughing and jumped to her feet. "Last one to the top's a rotten egg!" She raced over and grabbed her sled and took off up the hill, and I chased behind.

For the next fifteen minutes, we zipped down the hill and climbed back up. We were huffing and panting, cheeks rosy with chill and hearts full of joy. Amber lined her sled up for another run and put a boot on it to hold it in place as she swept some of her hair away from her face. I noticed another vehicle pulling up and figured some kids had gotten the news that school was out and the hill was perfect for sledding, but the momentary distraction was long enough for me to miss Amber slipping.

I heard a thud and turned to see her on her ass, holding her ankle. "Ow… oh, ouch!" She winced and rocked back and forth, and her sled was sailing down the hillside.

"You okay?" I asked, dropping to my knees. I let my sled go too, not caring at this point for the five-dollar plastic sleds.

"It hurts… Ouch, Newt. It hurts really bad." Amber tore her hat and gloves off and started to unlace her boot, but I laid a soggy-gloved hand on top of hers.

"Don't," I cautioned. "If it's sprained, undoing your shoe will let it swell up and you won’t get it back on. Better to go home first where it's warm." I frowned. We were having so much fun and this had to happen. "What happened?" I asked, as if it would change anything.

"I was just trying to get on the sled and it moved when I put pressure on it. I slipped and…" Amber shrugged and sighed. "It hurts." Her bottom lip pouted out, and I knew our snow time was over.

"Let me get you to the car." I stood and held out a hand, but even with my support, she couldn’t stand, so I scooped her up and carried her cradle style to the car. Her arms wrapped around me with confidence as I walked, and a couple of kids raced out of the other car in the parking lot toward the hill. "You can keep the red sleds!" I called after them, and I heard cheering.

"That was nice of you," Amber said and pecked me on the cheek.

"Hey, I'm a nice guy, you know?"

I got her buckled in and climbed into the car myself. When I started toward her apartment, she cleared her throat and said, "Can you take me to my parents' place instead? I don't want to be alone at home."

When I realized our time on the hill was done, I had hoped to help her settle in at home and maybe spend the day with her, but I understood. "Yeah, I can do that," I told her, but I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my tone. She didn't say a word about it, though, so either she was relieved to be going to her mom's or she was in too much pain to notice.

I pulled up a few minutes later in front of the Lyons residence and Amber tried getting out of the car herself. I worried she'd end up in the emergency room, but she insisted she was fine, even as I draped her arm around my shoulder and helped her hobble up to the front door. At least her dad had taken the time to shovel the walks already. When we knocked, her mom answered the door in a house robe and rollers in her hair.

"Oh, my! What's wrong, baby?" Mrs. Lyons immediately reached for Amber, and I backed away.

"We were sledding and I slipped," Amber told her mom, switching from using me as support to putting her arm over her mom's shoulder. I remembered how she had specifically requested to keep the chemistry between us a secret until after the wedding to let Naomi have her big day.

"I think she might have a sprain, Mrs. Lyons," I added and watched them struggle to get her in the house. "I could drive her to the hospital if you need." The roads this morning weren't bad at all. The plows had really cleared them overnight. And Dad's truck was four-wheel drive, anyway.

"Oh, dear, Jade, it's that bad?" Mrs. Lyons stopped so Amber could shed her coat, and I chuckled at how she called her daughter the wrong name.

"You mean Amber?" I asked, and I didn't think she heard me because she was focused on helping Amber get her coat off while not falling over. But when the coat was on the floor and they were moving toward the living room, she shook her head.

"I think you've got a merry mix-up, Newt." Mrs. Lyons parked Amber on the couch and patted her knee. "Let me get Dad. He'll want to look it over. We might end up in the hospital." Then she rushed off, and I was standing awkwardly halfway between the end of the couch where Amber sat and the open door.

"Does she call you the wrong name all the time?" I asked, snickering, and Amber rolled her eyes.

"Might be getting dementia," she mumbled, but part of me felt like she wasn't being honest with me. "You should go. Dad will ask a billion questions and I can't have him knowing I was out alone with you. He talks to your dad a lot, okay? Call me, though?"

I nodded and said, "Alright. You tell me if it's something serious. I'll pay for the hospital bill." I almost winced at my own stupidity. I knew Amber wasn’t the sort of girl who wanted me throwing money at her.

"Alright," she said, glancing over her shoulder as her father's voice came within earshot. "Go on." She flicked her hand at me, and I gracefully backed out the door and shut it, but I still thought it was odd that her mom called her Jade.

As I walked back to the truck, I got an uneasy feeling I couldn't shake. I was so busy enjoying every second with her that I hadn't stopped to realize things weren't adding up all the time. Naomi swore Amber loved the snow, but I could tell she wasn't as into it as I was, and she didn't want to go to begin with. Then her mom called her the wrong name—but that could be easily explained too. Dad called me Kevin a lot when I was young. Kevin was his little brother's name. Parents did that all the time, right?