As we reached the back side of the tree, I saw a ladder built into the trunk, leading up to a landing platform. “You go first and I’ll come up behind to make sure you don’t slip.”
I felt nervous, climbing the tree that towered about three times higher than mine back in Dallas. My gloves stuck to the icy rungs while I took each step with Jess right behind me. We stopped at the landing platform, about forty feet off the ground. Jess reached around to unlatch the door.
It felt warmer inside the house without the wind pelting us with snow. In all the years living on the ranch, today marked the first time Jess ever brought me to his secret tree house. Two large windows sat on the back side, flooding the house with light. A Texas Rangers banner covered one wall while the other side was lined with hooks, holding various ropes and gadgets from the ranch. In the corner, a shotgun leaned against a metal tub filled with old toys.
“How often do you come out here?” I asked, looking at a shelf of jars that circled just below the ceiling.
“I don’t know.”
“You build it?”
“Not really. The Jessups haven’t always owned the whole ranch. I found the house and showed it to my dad. We fixed it up. That’s why you can still use it. Mother hates the whole thing.”
“That sounds about right.” I pointed up toward the shelf. “So why all the jars?”
“Spider collection.”
“You serious?”
“Yeah, but that was a few years ago. They’re all empty now.” Jess pulled me by the arm over to the window. “Come on, you need to see this.”
The view from the tree house left me speechless. A whimsical display of snow coated the sky, swirling down in the air. Instantly, I knew why someone picked this tree for the house. The tall oak rested on a small hill, with a view that went for miles and miles.
Jess pulled out a large blanket to wrap around us while we watched the snow. The musty fabric blocked out very little of the cold air. Shivering, I scooted as close as I could to him, trying to get warm.
“You were right. It’s amazing,” I said, hypnotized by the millions of sparkling flakes. “I haven’t been up in a tree since back home.”
“Before you came here?”
“Yeah.”
“What was it like back then?”
“The end was a lot like what you saw, I guess. But, it was different before she got sick. We still had our house.”
“What’d you do for fun?”
A smile crept over the corners of my lips with the memories of another time, another place. “We had this garden. I spent a lot of time climbing the trees and I wore princess dresses.”
“You’re lyin’. You…in a princess dress?”
“It’s true. I had several of them covered in jewels. I had a crown and wand too. Sometimes, I even liked to pretend that I was fairy princess with magical powers.”
“That’s ‘bout the funniest thing you’ve ever said,” Jess busted out laughing.
“What? You don’t think I could wear a tiara?” I moved my fingers into a makeshift crown right on top of my head.
He laughed even harder. I liked to watch Jess when he got twisted up half silly. His face got lost in the moment, so carefree with nothing holding him back. I watched until it became contagious. My lips busted open in a gush of laugher, making me fall over backwards against the hard boards. Jess peered down at me with a funny smile.
“What?” I asked rolling my eyes.
“I like it when you laugh like that. You sound happy,” he shrugged. “Makes me wish I’d known you back then.”
“Oh,” I whispered, imagining the sad idea of the impossible. Jess without the tragedy of death. Jess without the Masons paying for my very existence.
My laughter faded into a frown. Sitting up, I looked out the window. The storm got worse as we sat in the house. A stab of fear traveled through my skin, seeing the meadow lost under the mounds of thick snow.
“Jess, we probably should go.”
“Crap, it’s startin’ to look bad.”
I wanted to say, it looked bad when we arrived, but that was beside the point. We rushed down the ladder, only to find the four-wheeler wedged in a snow pile under the trees. Jess tried to go forward but the rubber tires spun under the drift. The whole machine vibrated as the motor grinded with a strange noise.
We climbed off and tried to dig it out. My numb fingers hurt under the wet gloves. “Do you have anything up in the house we could put under the tires?”
“I don’t think so,” Jess muttered. His eyebrows scrunched up as he stared at the four-wheeler. “This ain’t workin’. I think we should just stay up there. It’ll be worse to get the four-wheeler goin’ and get stranded. I think somethin’s wrong with the motor.”
“How are we going to stay warm? It’s not much better in the house.” My voice betrayed what I was feeling. The cold air slapped me in the face. The once magical flakes turned into chaotic weapons.
Panic crept into my thoughts. Jess and I both had lied. My father thought I went to the Masons. His parents assumed Jess sat tucked away at the farmhouse. They had no idea where to even look. Horrible thoughts of our frozen bodies spun through my mind. Our faces black with oozing parts that burst in the snow. We would die.
I felt sick to my stomach. Taking in a deep breath, my lungs hurt feeling the bitter air. Jess came over and placed a hand on each of my shoulders. His black hair fell out of his stocking hat and froze to his forehead.
“It’s goin’ to be ok. I promise.” The bright eyes lacked his ever present confidence. “I got an idea that might buy us some time. That old tub up there is metal. We could build a fire in it.”
“The treehouse will just fill with smoke.” I muttered, feeling another chilly blast hit my backside. The storm continued to attack from all directions.
“We could crack the windows?”
“I…guess.”
“See, we got a plan,” he grinned, trying to look positive.
Jess and I used an old rope to pull the limbs to the platform. He dumped the toy trucks out of the tub and broke the branches down to fit inside it. I cracked the two windows while he dug around for a package of matches. We tore up an old box, trying to get the wet limbs to catch fire. After what felt like the hundredth try with the matches, a few embers burned in the old toy bin.
I pulled off my gloves, holding my hands over the fire. It wasn’t a body-warming heat, but it was better than nothing at all. My lungs burned from black cloud that hovered in the house. Staring into the flames, the fire lulled Jess into a trance. I wanted to ask how long he thought it would take for them to find us, but his slumped shoulders told me the answer. This was really bad.
The boy, normally full of endless smiles and words, said nothing as time ticked by in the house. Our fire burned lower and daylight faded. Jess added more sticks to the bin. Smoke billowed out around us as we huddled together under the musty blanket.
“What kind of spiders?” I asked, hearing my voice against the quiet.
“Huh?”
“In the jars. What kind did you have?”
“Oh, brown ones,” he muttered.
“Were they poisonous?”
“I don’t know. I had to catch bugs for ‘em. They ate too much. Most just shriveled up and died.”
“Oh,” I paused, glancing over at his sad face. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure?” His blue eyes never even looked in my direction.
“Why haven’t you brought me out here before?”
“I don’t know.” His shoulders shrugged next to me. “It’s always been like my place. My thinkin’ spot away from everyone.”
“You’ve never talked about it.”
“I don’t know how to explain it without soundin’ like some boy with a fort and a ‘No Girls Allowed’ sign.”
“You didn’t show me because I was a girl?” I shook my head trying not to smirk.
“You think it’s funny?”