Snowed In

Lumber Jack

Once I finish the dishes I put on my big winter coat and snow boots. I hope he doesn’t actually expect me to be able to cut a piece of wood in half. I’m not a tiny girl I’d be in the range of what they call ‘thick’ but I am definitely not wood cutting big.

I walk out at the same time his axe connects with the wood making me jump. As I get closer to him I notice that even though it’s freezing out here he has sweat on his face.

“I’m assuming you’ve never cut wood before” he says like it’s obvious

“Are you kidding? I could cut wood in my sleep” I scoff and he raises his eyebrow at me “No I’ve obviously never cut wood before” I raise my hands up

“It’s pretty straight forward, swing the axe hit the wood” he says holding the axe out for me to take

“I feel like that is a lot easier said than done” I stare at the stump that he’s put a fresh piece of wood on

He shakes the axe at me when he lets it go it pulls my arm downward. I hadn’t expected it to be so heavy.

“You really know how to show a girl a good time, huh?” I say making him laugh

“Just swing the axe over your shoulder then slam it on the wood as hard as you can” he instructs showing the motion with an imaginary axe

So that’s exactly what I do, only it doesn’t go through the wood it just sticks in the top.

“How’d I do?” I ask him with a smile

“I give it a 2/10” he shrugs

“I should get a 5 just for being able to swing the damn thing over my shoulder” I say dramatically

“It’s not that heavy” he says rolling his eyes

“Well you’re huge so of course its not heavy to you” I state the obvious

I start trying to pull the axe out of the wood but it’s not budging. Jack is covering his mouth to conceal his laughter.

“When I get this axe out of here the next thing I’m going to swing it at is you” I keep pulling at the axe still unable to get it unstuck

“Well the good news is I don’t think that will be any time soon, do you want some help?” He crosses his arms over his chest

I step back motioning my hands for him to step in. He grabs the axe handle and puts his foot on the piece of wood, with one hard pull the axe breaks free.

“Whatever, I loosened it for you” I cross my arms over my chest ignoring the snort he lets out

“I’m sure you did, Princess” he says smirking at me

“Oh haha that’s funny, Lumber Jack” It’s not the best joke but what could I possible make fun of this literal human perfection for?

“Clever” he says handing me the axe again

“You want me to do it again?” I ask not believing he’s really going to make me embarrass myself again

“I believe in you” he says with a laugh

I roll my eyes at him. I swing the axe over my shoulder and slam it down on the wood again. It goes in a little further but still gets stuck.

“Here’s an idea, maybe I can just stand over there and cheer you on while you cut the wood” I suggest

“Ah, were you a cheerleader in school?” He c***s an eyebrow at me

“No, I was on the debate team” I state

“Oh now that I believe” He laughs

“I’m guessing you played football?” I will be very surprised if he didn’t.

“That obvious?” He smiles

I shrug my shoulder while nodding

“So what did you do after high school?” I ask

He stiffens and I realize I may have just made him uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me I don’t want to pry” I try to backtrack

“No it’s ok” he says shaking his head “I went into the Navy when I graduated and became a Seal.” He says

“Holy s**t, that’s incredible” It’s not everyday you meet a seal, or get rescued by one for that matter.

“It’s really not that big of a deal” his face fall to a frown

“I mean they don’t just pick anyone for that, you must be a bada**” I don’t know much about the military but I know becoming a seal is really hard

He scoffs and raises his eyebrows. I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore so I let the conversation die. I help him carry in all the wood he cut so that I can contribute in some way. I’m glad we are finally going inside because it’s f*****g freezing out here!