I Choose Us: Book 2 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Christian Romance

Chapter 18

–Coop–

The feeling of Lottie's body shivering against his own awoke Coop. He shifted onto his elbow so he could look up and noticed the fire was dying down. With a sigh, he pushed himself up to sitting and reached for his prosthetic.

"It's freezing," Lottie whispered, her breath coming out in small puffs of air.

"I'm gonna go get some more firewood," Coop said. He dug his palms into the couch and pulled himself up onto it, then spread the blankets back out over Lottie.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Coop glanced down at his watch. "Looks like it's close to six. We made it through the night, at least."

Lottie huffed. "Always a silver lining."

Laughing, Coop finished putting on his leg and then he stood up. He picked up his coat from where he'd left it on the couch and put it on. "I'll try to hurry."

"Want some help?"

"No, that's okay. It shouldn't take long."

Coop made his way to the front door and walked out onto the porch, but as soon as he caught sight of the mountain of snow now covering the front yard, he froze. The snow was so high it covered the steps leading up to the porch. Coop wasn't even sure he knew where the steps had been.

He looked down at the woodbox he had filled last night and groaned. There were only a few small pieces left. He would have to walk out to the woodshed and get some more.

With a sigh, he picked up the sled he had used the night before and took a cautious step off the porch.

He was immediately standing in snow up to his hips and he let out a hiss at the sudden burst of intense cold.

Slowly but steadily, Coop used the sled like a shovel and dug a path to the woodshed. The snow was soft and powdery on top, but harder the closer it got to the ground. By the time Coop made it to the shed, he was so cold his hands and foot were numb.

Without giving himself a chance to rest, he loaded up the sled as quickly as he could and began the trip back to the porch. Without having to dig his way back, the walk was much faster, and so Coop made three trips before stopping. He had hauled up enough wood to fill the woodbox and get them a warm fire going again.

His teeth were chattering when he opened the front door, and Lottie quickly jumped up to help him inside.

"Oh, my God. Get inside," she exclaimed as she took the wood from him and began tossing it onto the meager flames that were left.

Coop tried to peel off his wet clothes, but his fingers were so numb he was having a hard time getting them to cooperate.

When Lottie noticed him struggling, she abandoned the fire to help him.

Coop let his fingers fall away as Lottie unzipped his coat and pushed it back and off of his shoulders. He watched as she spread it out on the hearth before coming back to help him take off his boots.

She put them beside the coat and said, "Let's go in the bedroom and I'll find you some dry clothes."

Coop let her lead the way into the bedroom and watched as she rummaged through the closet until she came back with new clothes.

Once he had changed, they went back to the living room and Coop got started on the fire.

"Do you think it'll be long before they find us?" Lottie asked.

Coop shook his head. "No. It's already stopped snowing. I think we just have to wait it out at this point. As soon as they get the roads cleared, they'll start getting the back roads done."