Cherringham--Snowblind Read Free Page A

led up to the door out of the Grey Goose, and out to the snow-covered plank.
    And he began his adventurous hike…
    He guessed that there had been nearly two feet of snow.
    Amazing.
    Really never thought he’d see that here. And where the wind blew, some heaves rose over three feet.
    So — going was slow.
    Taking a measured pace as he stepped one foot in front of the other carefully. As he trudged, he thought of great Antarctic explorers, a subject that always fascinated him. Scott, Amundsen, the amazing Shackleton! How they faced the cold, the ice doing exactly what he was doing here. One step at a time. Then another.
    Of course, the wind here wasn’t quite so bad. And the sun made the blizzard’s aftermath look more magical than threatening.
    He wanted to walk through Cherringham — that would be a sight to see. But first he’d take a dogleg around to Sarah’s.
    Just nip in.
    Then to the village centre. Hopefully, as he hit some of the roads he’d find ploughed areas, and walking would be easy.
    He thought of calling her, alerting them … but no. Wanted this to seem casual — and not the old guy who maybe worried too much about his new friends.
    When he passed the weir and crossed over the river on the small bridge, he saw that the road here indeed had been recently ploughed. But already the wind had blown some of that snow back.
    The main route up to Cherringham was deserted, and walking on the road reminded him of last night.
    The guy he almost hit.
    He wondered whether Alan had been able to learn anything. What happened, the mystery of that figure … it just wouldn’t go away.
    Half way up the road, he took a turn to the right to where Sarah lived. People were out shovelling in front of some of the houses. They all paused, and gave him a wave.
    The camaraderie of the snowbound!
    The primary school was just ahead … very quiet there with everyone on a snow day. And just a couple of roads further up, Sarah’s house.
    Maybe he and Daniel could do some shovelling together, he thought. Make sure there were paths to the car, the street. At least get her Rav-4 cleared of snow.
    For a moment, he had the thought that maybe he was being — what would they call him in Bay Ridge? — a nudge.
    But no. He knew Sarah too well — she’d never think that of him. And maybe, he thought, she’d have some idea this morning of where that guy came from last night.
    And soon he saw her house, and could even spot Daniel in the back throwing up great shovelfuls of snow.
    And didn’t that look like fun …
    “Time for your reward, boys,” said Sarah, putting down the tray of tea and bacon sandwiches on the doorstep. “You know you’ve been out here for nearly an hour?”
    She watched as Jack and Daniel leaned their shovels against the garden fence, shook the snow off their jackets, peeled off their gloves and came down the cleared path to the front door.
    “No better way to get warm on a winter’s day, isn’t that right Daniel?” said Jack, fist bumping Daniel and getting a big grin in return.
    Sarah watched her son and felt proud of him; his readiness to get stuck in. She could see that Jack too was in his element, working alongside Daniel, teaching him how to pile the snow on each side of the path …
    Like a dad, she thought.
    As she looked around the front garden of her little house she was impressed by what they’d achieved.
    Not just the path clear — but the pavement too, almost as far as the corner of the road. And her car — which this morning had just been a buried shape — now looked ready to go.
    “Jack says if we get another dump of snow later, it’ll be easier to clear now we’ve done this,” said Daniel, reaching for a bacon sandwich.
    “If?” said Jack, grabbing a sandwich too. “More a question of when, if this morning’s forecast was anything to go by.”
    Sarah handed him his tea.
    “They said just now on the radio to expect more,” said Sarah.
    “Brilliant!” said Daniel.