Scarlett Rose's Arc

Chapter 17 of 57

Scarlett was still at the counter thinking about dresses and dates when the weather radio clicked on by itself. The voice named a hard freeze warning for the ridge by midnight. Temperatures in the low twenties. She looked out the window at the greenhouse, at the panes Clayton had reset by hand over a year, at the tomato starts and the young citrus Rose would want to see on Friday. Two nights ago he had proposed to her inside those walls. She was not going to lose it to one cold night. " "Clayton set his mug down. "How bad." " ""Low twenties. Maybe colder up here." " ""Old glass. Old seals." He was already reaching for his boots. "We need heat inside and a break on the wind outside." " "They worked the list out loud. He drove the truck up from the ranch with every tarp and moving blanket he owned. Scarlett hauled two propane heaters from the barn and the long extension cord from under the sink. She filled milk jugs with hot water and set them between the seedling trays. Clayton lit the heaters and checked the regulators twice. " "The wind came up at dusk. It found the north wall first. Scarlett heard a pane rattle and grabbed the roll of plastic sheeting. Clayton climbed the stepladder outside with the staple gun. She held the sheet flat against the frame while he worked. Her hands went numb inside her gloves. " ""Hold there," he said. "Two more." " "The staples cracked into the wood. A gust pulled the corner loose. Scarlett caught it before it tore. " ""Got it," she said. " ""Good." " "They lashed blankets over the ridge line and roped them down with baling twine. Clayton walked the perimeter with a flashlight, tightening every knot. Scarlett stayed inside with the heaters, moving the water jugs closer to the citrus, watching the thermometer on the center post. Thirty-eight. Thirty-six. It held at thirty-four and stopped falling. " "At two in the morning Clayton came in and shut the door behind him. His goatee was stiff with frost. He looked at the thermometer, then at her. " ""It'll hold," he said. " "They sat on an overturned crate between the heaters. He put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his side and watched the needle on the gauge. " "By sunrise the wind had dropped. Scarlett went outside and pulled the corner of a blanket back. The citrus leaves were still green. The tomato starts stood upright. One pane on the north wall had cracked from corner to corner, but the glass held. " "She walked back to the cottage to call Rose. She had four days, a cracked pane to replace, and a sister arriving on Friday. The greenhouse was still theirs. That was the part that had to stay true.