Nila's Hope (8 page)

Will put his hand on her shoulder, but she flinched and walked away. He stared at her back for a moment, shrugged, and put on his own tool belt.

Two hours later, they heard a large truck back into the driveway. Will looked out the window. Through the blinding snow he could barely make out the name of the cabinet shop on the side of the cube van.

“Cabinets are here,” he called to Nila. “I'll go help carry them in.”

“OK, I'm almost finished in here.” Her voice came from the nursery. “Do you need my help?”

“When you're done there.”

As soon as he opened the garage door, snow whirled in, blinding him. He wiped the snow from his eyes and walked into the storm. “Glad you made it, Jim. Morning, Zeke.”

The driver raised the overhead door on the van and jumped inside. “Morning, Will. Sorry we're late. I had a hard time staying on the road with this high cube.”

He grabbed a lower cabinet and handed it to Zeke, picked up another one, and gave it to Will.

Soon the kitchen was cluttered with skeletal cabinetry. Will shook his head. No matter how many times he helped install kitchens, he was always amazed at the number of pieces it took.

He spun around when Zeke let out a low whistle. “Lookin' good, sweetheart.”

Nila stood in the hallway, face flaming and knuckles white. Will opened his mouth, but Nila spoke, her voice steely. “I am not your sweetheart.”

Zeke put both hands up. “Sor-ry,” he drawled. “Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” He smirked at Will.

Will took a step closer to him. “That's enough. Mind your manners.”

Zeke rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. He picked up a cabinet base and moved it into place.

Will glanced back at Nila. The red had disappeared from her cheeks, leaving her face pale, but she lifted her chin and entered the room. She carried shims and a level, and as the men placed the base cabinets, she leveled each piece.

By noon all the cabinets were in place, and Will switched on the radio before grabbing his lunch kit.

“…and travel is not advised on highways in the area.” The announcer's calm voice confirmed his fears.

Jim swore. “Sorry. But if we're going to make it back to the city, we'd better go now. I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow to install the doors and drawers.”

“We can do it.,” Nila said.

Three men looked at her, two with surprised expressions, and one with pride in his smile.

“Yes, we can,” Will confirmed. “You guys go ahead while you can, and we'll finish up here.”

“And if you have to spend the night…” Zeke leered at Nila.

Jim scowled at his employee. “When are you going to grow up? Come on, grab your stuff.”

Nila released a big sigh when the door to the garage finally closed. “I'm glad they're gone.” She bit her lower lip and looked sideways at Will. “You don't mind that I said we'd do the doors and drawers, do you?”

“I was going to say it myself.” He sat on the floor and opened his thermos. “Great minds think alike, you know.” He pulled a sandwich out of his lunch kit. “I'm starved.” He patted the floor beside him. “Take a break. You must be hungry, too.”

Nila hesitated, but then she grabbed her lunch kit and settled beside him.

Will hid a smile behind a big bite of his sandwich.

By the time they'd installed the final drawer pulls, it was dark. Will straightened, stretched, and looked out the window.

“Looks like the storm might be letting up. Do you want to call it a day, or is there something else we should get done?”

“The baby's dresser and changing table are still downstairs. Maybe we could bring them up?” She looked out at the swirling snow and shivered. “Then we should leave. Doesn't look any better to me.” She took a step closer to the window. “Actually, it looks worse.”

Before long everything was in place in the nursery, and Nila paused to admire the finished effect. Pale yellow walls with white trim and pastel accents created a fresh feel while the shaggy pink and white throw rug added a touch of whimsy.

She looked up at Will with shining eyes. “I love this—dreaming up color schemes and making them happen. I wish I could do this all the time.”

“Instead of using power tools?”

Nila wrinkled her nose. “Hmm, I guess I want to do both.”

Will chuckled. “You can practice your design schemes on my man cave. If I like your ideas, I'll let you do some of the work, too.”

“You're too good to me.” She put her hand on her heart and fluttered her lashes.

“Glad you realize it.” He turned away and drew in a slow breath to tamp down the heat her teasing had ignited.

“Will?”

Without looking at her, he held out the broom. “We've got some cleanup to do, and then we're out of here.” He peered out the window. “Man, that's ugly.”

Nila joined him at the window, and a line appeared between her eyes. “Are we going to make it home? Maybe we should just stay here. Claire and Blake wouldn't mind, would they?”

Will shook his head, his gaze holding hers. “They wouldn't mind, I'm sure, but we can't do that. I'm not willing to risk your reputation.”

She looked down, her cheeks pink.

“I'll make sure you get home safely. Don't worry.”

Nila looked up again, her eyes bright. “I know I can trust you.”

He swallowed hard. Thanks a lot. No pressure.

She turned her back on him and began sweeping. He grabbed his coat and boots and headed outside.

Will started the truck and shoveled the driveway while Nila finished inside. By the time they climbed into the cab, it was almost warm. But snow had been blowing and drifting all day and now clogged the streets.

Will put the truck into reverse. “Here goes nothing. Sure hope the highway is better than here in town.” He patted the dash. “I'm glad this beast has four-wheel drive.” He sighed with relief when they hit the four-lane highway.

Snow was building up along the edges, but other than some narrow drifts, the road revealed in the headlights appeared clear.

He drove slowly, leaning forward and straining to see past the swirling snow. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Neither said a word as they plowed through small snowdrifts that created momentary white-outs.

At one point, Will glanced over at Nila.

Her jaw was clenched, and her right hand gripped the door's armrest.

“How are you doing?”

She stared straight ahead, face pale in the darkness. “I can't believe they didn't close this road. This is awful.”

“Probably closed it right behind us. Oh!”

The truck hit a massive, packed snowdrift and bounced sideways. Blinded by whirling snow, Will fought to regain control, but the truck slid across all four lanes and dove into the ditch.

Nila screamed and threw her hands up to cover her face.

Will braced himself, arms rigid.

The truck stopped with a whump, the rear end lifting and jolting back to earth.

Will's airbag deployed, hitting him in the face with dusty particles as it released. Coughing and spitting, Will took stock. His arms and legs seemed fine. Just a little rubbery. He unfastened his seatbelt and looked at Nila.

She was rubbing the front of her shoulder with one hand and covering her mouth with the other.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She rolled her shoulders and stretched her legs. “I'm sure the seatbelt left a mark, but I'm glad it held. How about you?”

“I'm fine. The airbag made a mess, but it did its job.”

He reached forward, wiped the dust off the windshield, and peered out.

They'd landed at a sharp angle, the front of the truck buried up to its headlights.

He tried revving the engine in reverse and then forward, but they didn't budge. Four-wheel drive wasn't going to help them now.

Muttering under his breath, he pressed the emergency flasher button. Will leaned back with a sigh. “I promised to get you home safely, but I didn't do a very good job. We're stuck. Guess I'd better phone for a tow truck.” He pulled his cellphone out of his jacket. “Do you have your cell?”

Nila shook her head, her face white against her wide, dark brown eyes. He could see her teeth against her lower lip.

He made his call and handed the phone to Nila. “It's going to take a while. You'd better call Dave and Lydia and let them know what happened.”

Nila's hands shook so much she could barely punch in the Harris's phone number. “H-hi, Lydia. It's me.” She took a deep breath and rushed on. “We're going to be late. We're in a ditch on Highway 11, but we're OK. The truck is stuck, though, so we're waiting for a tow truck. Yes, we're fine, just stuck. Thank you for praying. Good-bye.” She handed the phone back to Will, undid the seatbelt, and drew her knees to her chest.

“Are you cold?” Will turned the heat setting to max. “At least the tank's almost full. Hopefully we can keep the heater going until the tow truck gets us out.”

Nila's shaking spread from her hands to her arms, her knees to her legs, until her whole body was quaking.

“Nila, come here.”

He turned sideways on the seat, pulled her unresisting body close, and wrapped his arms around her. He could hear her teeth chattering.

“I-I don't know…why I'm…so cold.”

Will rested his chin on her head and murmured as if to a small child, “That was a shock to your system. Let me keep you warm. You're safe now.”

She began sniffling, and Will shifted to reach a box of tissues.

Nila blew her nose, shuddered, and breathed several slow, deep breaths. With each breath her trembling eased until she relaxed against his chest, head bowed. “I do feel safe with you. Thank you.”

Will's arms tightened as he remembered another scene, his arms around another woman. One he'd failed to protect. He swallowed hard to dislodge the lump in his throat and forced himself to relax. To try to forget.

For a moment, the only sound was their even breathing and the howl of the wind outside the truck.

Then Nila shifted away from his embrace and scooted back to her side of the bench seat, drawing her knees to her chest once again.

Will frowned. “What's wrong?”

At least she'd regained some color in her cheeks. “Nothing. I'm fine now.” She peered out the window. “I wonder how much longer it will take for that tow truck to find us.”

“Hard to tell. Are you warm enough?”

She nodded, still staring out at the snowstorm.

Disappointment surprised Will, and he leaned back, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Weariness washed over him. It had been a long day for both of them, and now he'd landed them in a ditch in the middle of a blizzard. He opened one eye.

Nila hugged her knees with her forehead resting against them. She seemed to be barely holding herself together, physically and emotionally. Just like a few months ago.

When Daniel offered her an apprenticeship last year, he'd been surprised. She'd seemed so fragile. He couldn't imagine her doing the work required. But demolishing and renovating spaces seemed like therapy for her. In the last few months, she had begun to open up and laugh, even joke with Daniel.

Then when Nick's trial began, she'd been forced to reveal details of abuse that made him cringe. And angered him as he watched her withdraw like a whipped puppy. She'd lost her sparkle, her spunk, as she relived Nick's violence day after day. It seemed to take a lifetime for the trial to finish. He'd never forget the look of relief on Nila's face when the sentence was finally pronounced. As though she'd been granted parole. She began to smile and blossom again. Especially at the wedding.

But the last couple of days…

Will shook his head at the direction of his thoughts. Suspicion had taken hold, though, and his forehead creased as he considered Nila's recent behaviour. He took a deep breath and coughed up some airbag dust. “Nila.” He waited until she met his eyes. “Is Nick bothering you from prison?”

Her head jerked up, and her arms convulsed around her knees. Five long heartbeats later, she answered. “No.”

He squinted at her in the darkness of the truck cab.

She looked him square in the face, chin lifted, and repeated, “No, he hasn't.”

Will shrugged. “Glad to hear it.”

Nila resumed her turtle-like position, and Will stared out the window. Something was wrong, but what? She said she trusted him, and yet she sat there huddled like she was all alone in the world. What was going on?

Flashing amber lights illuminated the truck interior.

“Tow truck is here. Now you'll get home safe.” After he'd failed. Will stifled a groan as he opened his door.

 

 

 

 

9

 

At seven the next morning, Nila waited as Pastor Dave answered the phone. “Good morning, Will. Yes, she's up and waiting for your call. All right, here she is.”

Nila accepted the handset. “Hi, Will. Did you hear the news? All the highways are closed. What are we going to do?”

“As soon as they open, I'll make sure the subs get their stuff done.” Stress resonated in his voice. “I can do that alone, so you might as well take the day off.”

Her heart sank. “Why? I could help.”

His low voice rumbled in her ear. “Don't want to take a chance of dumping you in a ditch again.”

She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I'll see you tomorrow.” She hung up the phone and turned to meet Pastor Dave's questioning gaze. “The highways are closed. If they open later, Will's going to make sure the countertops get installed, and then put up the backsplash. By himself.” She bit her lip and looked out the window.

The storm had almost blown itself out, but snow still swirled against the glass.