I chuckled. “Both are great options.”
This boy was going to break my heart when he moved on to third grade. Danny grabbed my hand again and pulled me forward as we continued down the hill. I glanced back at Adam. He had stopped walking and was watching Danny and me. He looked stunned but then refocused on pulling the tree.
We made it back to the four wheeler and Adam dropped the tree and then started up the hill to the right.
“Let’s do this one.” Danny pointed at a tree that was close to the four wheeler, even though I could see it was too tall.
We had only gotten one tree, and I felt like I had walked around Disney World twice and then some. I was glad at least Danny was tired too. My calves were on fire, and my arms burned. Adam, however, showed no signs of weakness.
“Danny, it’s too tall and is missing all its branches on the left side at the bottom.” Adam eyed the tree uncomfortably.
“Let’s just cut the top part then.” Danny plopped back in the snow.
“Are you sure you aren’t just tired of walking?” Adam raised his brows.
“Dad, we have been walking my whole life.” He laid back in the snow.
I chuckled. “Hear hear.” I sat down next to Danny. “Not everyone works out ten hours a day, you know. Some of us mere mortals need rest.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “You know I’m like twice your age, right?”
I scoffed. “Gross! No, you’re not!”
His eyebrows raised. “How old do you think I am?”
I wasn’t sure if it was his way of checking to see if I knew he was older than me. I searched Rose’s brother’s yearbooks after she let it slip that they were in the same class, so I had a pretty good guess.
I shrugged. “Early thirties?”
He tipped his jaw up and nodded. “Thirty-three.”
“And how old do you think I am?” I challenged back.
He pinched his lips and squinted. “Early twenties?”
“Twenty-five.” I shook my head. “‘Twice your age.’ Pish!” I rolled my eyes.
Adam chuckled but looked relaxed as he nodded.
Danny sat up in the snow. “I’m seven, but I turn eight after Christmas.”
Adam and I made eye contact and we both bit back smiles.
“That’s awesome, Danny,” I added. He plopped back down in the snow.
“Okay. I think I might need to stop expecting so much perfection out of Mother Nature.” Adam looked back to the tree Danny suggested. “Let’s get it!”
Danny jumped up and ran to Adam’s side so he could help with the saw. It was not a fast process, and the sun dipped behind the mountains, taking any lingering hints of warmth with it. My toes were numb, and I finally understood why Rudolph’s nose was permanently red. Once Danny was tired of sawing, Adam offered the saw to me, and I took it. Who knew when I would get to do this again, so I ignored the burning in my arms and sawed down another tree. This was so awesome.
We wrapped it in the tarp and tied the rope around it.
“How about we find mine back by the truck? I think I saw some good ones right at the start.” I pointed in Danny’s direction.
He was lying in the snow pretending to sleep.
Adam looked chagrined. “Sorry, I sometimes get carried away.” He made his way over to Danny. “All right, Champ, let’s get back to the truck.” He pulled him up onto his feet.
I thought I was cold before I got on the four wheeler; it didn’t even compare. We started off slow, but Danny and I both decided we wanted to go fast. Him because he decided he liked it, me because I was cold and wanted to get back to a warm bath.
