I wasn’t good at judging weight, but now that I held the handle of the ax, I was even more impressed with the way only a few minutes earlier, Van had been rapidly reeling it at the tree’s trunk.

“Here’s the hard-work part.”

Van held tight to one of the bottom branches as he began to drag the tree, backtracking our journey back to the cabin. Our speed was slower as we continued toward the cabin. As we neared, the thin plume of smoke could be seen coming from the chimney. By the time we made it back, the sky was beginning to lose its sunlight, with shadows appearing on the eastern horizon.

The heat from the fire within the cabin hit like a wall as we entered. The layers that were so essential outside were now stifling. Sighing, I removed the mittens and ugly orange hat, hanging them from the pegs near the door. It didn’t take a mirror to know my hair was a mess. Pulling the tie from the end, I ran my fingers through the length and piled it all high on my head.

If it was going to be messy, why not be a messy bun?

As I began to lessen the cumbersome layers, Van dragged the tree to the hearth. He said it was only for a little while to melt the snow.

With the addition of a few more logs, the fire roared, its flames crackling within the sandstone hearth.

Soon, Van’s coat, hat, and gloves were also hanging on the pegs near the door. And both sets of our boots were there. As I continued losing the layers, I watched Van. His meticulous movements, his knowledge of what it took to stay alive and warm in this remote cabin, and his strength with the ax and tree had me enthralled. When his gaze caught mine, I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Was this your first hike through drifted snow?” he asked, his green orbs reflecting the fire’s flames. “I’m working for more firsts.”

I shook my head. “More?”

“Always more, Julia.”

I went to him, grinning at his messy dark hair and laid my palm on his chest, feeling the warm thermal shirt and his beating heart. “Yes, it was my first hike through the snow to find the perfect tree. My trees have always been artificial.”

Van exaggerated a gasp.

I grinned. “You didn’t even have a tree.”

“But artificial?”

“I had one of those tall thin ones in my apartment during college, but the ones at my parents’ home just appeared one day fully decorated and then after the New Year they went away. I guess you could say, I’m not very experienced in decorating trees myself.”

“You’re creative. I’m sure together we can figure this out.”

“Does that mean that you’re not experienced either?”