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PENELOPE HEFTED THE wood-handled ax over her shoulder and brought it down through the wood with a clean break. She adjusted her thick gloves before stacking the wood she’d split into a neat pile. Picking up the ax, she inhaled a sharp breath of crisp mountain air and brought the blade down again with a resounding crack.
“Bravo,” Stefan said, clapping his hands as he crunched through the snow toward her. “I thought you were kidding.” He wore a ski jacket and pants and carried a backpack.
“You forgot that my family had a farm when I was young. It gets cold where we lived in Denmark.” She kicked the wood to one side and brought the ax down again. “And this is great exercise. Really builds upper body strength.”
“Impressive. This is the kind of photo that needs to get out there in the me
