Free Yule Tidings by Savannah Dawn

said finally, resigning himself to the task. He didn’t really want to look at her ankle, but he’d stopped to help her, and it was obvious he wasn’t done yet.  Merle opened the truck door and turned on the overhead light before he bent down, painfully aware of the ache in his own back.  He’d offloaded the truck today because some of his workers didn’t make it in; he could already feel the strain; at least a pulled muscle.  He carefully pulled up her pant leg.  Her ankle was swollen and badly bruised.  “You need to put some ice on this,” he said, touching it gently.  He didn’t think anything was broken, but he wasn’t a doctor.  “I don’t know if it’s broken or not,” he told her, pressing on it a bit more firmly.  The color returned quickly.  “Can you make it home?” he asked, beginning to prepare himself for the possibility of driving the woman home.
                  “I think so.  It’s the left one.  I can manage with my right one just fine,” Anne assured him.  She thanked him again before hobbling to her car.  “What about the deer?” she asked suddenly, turning back to him.
                  “What about it?”
                  “Is it dead?”
                  “Probably.”
                  “Is there anything we can do for it?”
                  “Eat it, maybe.  How long ago did you hit it?”
                  “Not long.  Maybe five to ten minutes before you came.”
                  “I’ll see what I can do. You get home and put some ice on that ankle and drink something hot,” Merle said, eager for the woman to leave.  He’d make certain the deer was dead, and maybe, if the meat was good, he’d take it home.
                  “Can I pay you or anything?” Anne asked, almost to the car door.
                  “No, just don’t hit anything else tonight.”  Merle waited for Anne to leave before he started looking for the deer.   He was grateful for the quiet night as he scanned the darkness.
                 
                  Anne drove home slowly, afraid to hit anything else.  The car seemed to be running fine, just dented.  She’d have to get it in the shop tomorrow.  She struggled out of the car, her swollen ankle making it even more difficult to move.  She made it in the house, sore and exhausted.  She didn’t feel like icing her ankle, but Merle thought it was necessary.  She always made the kids ice anything that swelled.  She pulled an ice pack from the freezer, reluctant to place it on her body.  She didn’t want to get cold again.  She still wasn’t completely warmed up, but she hobbled into the living room, cuddled under a blanket and put the ice on her leg. 
                  Anne dozed as the ice settled on her leg.  She took a couple Motrin for the pain and swelling, hoping to ease both.  Merle, she thought, had been a rather frightening individual.  He was brusque looking and stern.  He barely said anything the entire time he helped her, yet there had been tenderness in him when he looked at her ankle.  He’d been extremely careful not to hurt her as he pressed on her sore limb.  She wondered what his story was.  She hadn’t recognized him, which was unusual for such a small town.  Even if she hadn’t met him, the fact that she’d never even run into him somewhere in town before was odd.  She could still see his dark eyes looking at her.  She knew she must have looked awful, not that he’d been any prince charming she mused.  Anne stood, determined to shower and clean the dirt and mud off her body before going to bed.  When she was finally out of the shower she could barely keep her eyes open.  She climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.  For the first time in years, she slept soundly and dreamt.
                  Anne dreamt that the family was