CHAPTER 15

A few hours later found Beth, Carlton and Frisco on the couch, staring at the plethora of good luck cards covering the coffee table. After a few minutes of silence, Beth spoke up, "So, make something, leftovers or delivery?"

"Depends, how long does delivery take?"

"I don't know, close to an hour."

"Leftovers?"

"Sure." Beth continued to just sit on the couch until Carlton nudged her arm. Sighing, she got up and went into the kitchen.

After dinner, they put in a movie. Halfway through it, Beth was practically asleep on Carlton's shoulder. But every time her head made contact, she would jerk back up and try to watch the movie, only for it to happen again a few minutes later. After about the sixth time, Carlton grabbed the remote and turned the television off.

"Hey!" Beth mumbled. "I was watching that."

Carlton shook his head as he got up. "Actually, I think you missed most of the movie. It's time for bed."

Beth groaned as she laid down across the couch. "I don't wanna get up."

"I'm not going to carry you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Kay," Beth mumbled as she got in a more comfortable position. "Night Carly."

Sighing, Carlton grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over her before turning off the lights and going up to bed.

The smell of bacon and coffee woke Carlton up the next morning. Looking at the clock, he groaned, "5:15? She's trying to kill me!"

Laughter met his ears as Beth came in. "No, I'm not. Besides, I can think of at least 10 different ways to do so that would be a lot more enjoyable to me."

"Not helping," he growled as he sat up. Looking at the tray she was carrying, he asked, "Made enough food?"

Beth shrugged as she sat down on the bed next to him. "Probably, but we need to eat as much of the refrigerated stuff as we can before leaving."

"Do we really need to do it at 5 in the morning?" Carlton asked as he reached for the coffee cup.

"Yep," She simply replied.

He looked at her suspiciously as he took a sip. "And why would that be?"

"You'll see! Now, let's just enjoy our breakfast." Beth smiled widely as she passed him a plate and started filling her own.

Once most of the food was eaten, Beth glanced at the clock before getting up and collecting their dishes. "You need to hurry up and get dressed, don't forget to wear layers."

Carlton crossed his arms as he stared at her. "Not until you tell me what we're doing."

"Come on Carly! Why can't you just trust me?"

"Because I know you too well. Tell me right now or I'm going back to sleep."

They had a staring contest for about a minute before Beth rolled her eyes and huffed, "Fine! I need help shoveling the driveway before the street snowplow comes in the next hour and makes the job harder."

"Shoveling snow? You don't have a snow blower or something?"

"I do, but it's out of gas. I forgot to get some Friday while we were out."

"Of course you forgot," Carlton mumbled as he rubbed his face.

"Please Carlton! The snow is almost a foot deep already so it'll take over 2 hours for me to do by myself!" Beth whined as she sat on the bed and grabbed his hand.

Carlton groaned as he started to get out of bed. "Fine, but you so owe me for this."

"Thanks! Just add it to my bill," Beth said as she took the tray and left.

They managed to get most of the driveway shoveled in an hour before Carlton complained, "Why would anyone want to live in an area where you have to shovel this much snow several times a year?"

Beth laughed as she tossed more snow out of the way. "Because it gives you plenty of time to think and relax. Plus, it's so pretty!"

"Pretty my ass," Carlton grumbled as he continued shoveling with his back to Beth. After a few seconds of silence, Carlton felt the cold impact of snow on his neck. Turning slowly, he glared at Beth, who was smirking. "What the hell was that?"

Beth shrugged as she pulled another snowball from behind her back and started playing with. "I don't know, detective. What do you think that was?"

"I think that it was a very immature thing to do." Carlton growled as he crossed his arms.

"Really?" She asked as she dropped the snowball and walked up to him. Carlton warily watched as she slowly reached up and started rubbing his chest.

Swallowing, Carlton said, "Yes. What, what are you doing?"

Ignoring his question, Beth stretched up and whispered in his ear, "Well, what do you think of this?"

Carlton barely had time to frown before she pushed him backwards into the snow. Shivering, he tried to get up, only to have Beth pile a shovelful of snow on him. As she stood there giggling, Carlton reached up and pulled her down next to him.

"Ah! So not fair!" Beth protested as she tried to get up, only for Carlton to hold her down.

"I think that it's plenty fair." Carlton growled as he grabbed a handful of snow and sprinkled it over Beth's head.

She started laughing again as she stopped struggling, "You just got to let loose more."

He glared at her and said, "I let loose plenty, just because I don't act like a 5 year old like you and Spencer."

"Honestly, Carly! We are much more mature than that! We act like 12 year olds."

Carlton shook his head as he started to get up, only to get pulled back down again. "Will you quite it! I'm cold and am getting wet! I'm going inside."

"But Carlton! This is so much…" Beth paused as she frowned, taking a look down the street. Carlton was about to ask what was wrong when Beth squeaked and said, "Oh no! The snowplow!"

Indeed, Carlton saw the snowplow coming and could see the snow being pushed several feet into the yards. It didn't take a psychic to figure out that if they didn't move soon, they would get buried. Noticing that Beth was having trouble getting good leverage on the ground with all her laughing, Carlton grabbed her arm and rolled them away from the street. He felt snow pelt his back as the snowplow went by. Releasing a breath, he noticed that Beth had started laughing ever harder from under him. Shaking his head, Carlton couldn't help the few chuckles that escaped him.

"Hey, um. Hey Carlton?" Beth asked a little breathlessly.

"Yeah?"

"Can, can you please get off me?" Carlton frowned as Beth's breathing started to increase and she closed her eyes. "Quickly, please!"

Noting the beginnings of a panic attack, Carlton quickly stood up and took a few steps back. Beth immediately sat up and brought her knees to her chest as she tried to take deep breaths.

"I'm sorry Beth. I, I wasn't thinking." Carlton said after a few seconds as he was torn between reaching a hand out and giving her more space.

Beth shook her head as she stood up quickly and grabbed a shovel. "No, it was, it was my fault. I sh-shouldn't have freaked out." She started at the fresh snow on the driveway with a vengeance.

Noticing her shaking arms and sweat on her forehead, Carlton reached a hand out to her forehead, only for Beth to shy away from him, but not before he felt how cold she was. "Maybe you should go inside and warm up."

She shook her head anxiously, "No, I'm okay. You can go in though if you want."

"Why don't you let me finish?" Carlton asked as he tried to take the shovel from her.

"I've got it!" Beth snapped as she tried to snatch the shovel away. Only Carlton had too strong of a grip and she ended up on the ground.

"Beth, are you okay?" Carlton knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. That seemed to have undone Beth and she broke down sobbing. He gently took her arms and pulled her into a hug. The only acknowledgment she gave was to bury her head into his chest.

After a few minutes, Carlton guided her up and led her inside. Beth didn't protest at all, silently sitting on the couch when they got into the living room. Taking off her boots and coat, Carlton placed a blanket around her as Frisco laid down next to her, his head on her lap.

Quickly making her a cup of tea, Carlton came back to find Beth silently crying. Sitting on the coffee table, he handed her the tea. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Beth scoffed as she cradled the mug between her shaking hands without taking a sip. "Not really. There isn't anything new to talk about, except my frustration over not getting over it."

"A traumatic experience can affect a person for years after the incident." He gently brushed a few tears away.

Beth snorted as she petted Frisco, "Yeah, that's what they keep telling me."

Not quite sure what else to say, Carlton looked at his watch. "What time are we suppose to leave?"

Beth shrugged, "I don't know. By 8:15 I guess."

"Well, it's almost 7 now, so why don't you go take a shower first while I put the shovels away."

"No, I need to finish shoveling." Beth put the mug down and started to get up, only for Carlton to push her back down.

"No you don't. We got most of the snow. Driving over a few inches of snow isn't going to kill us."

Beth laughed as she got up quickly before Carlton could stop her. "No, but it'll be harder to shovel later when we have more snow."

Sighing, Carlton followed her as she grabbed dry boots and coat. "Fine, but only for a little bit."

Beth kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Carlton."

"But don't come crying to me if you get sick again. You can drive yourself back to Santa Barbara alone while I take a plane." Carlton growled. Beth laughed as they went back outside.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Carlton enjoyed watching Beth singing with the service's praise team. She really got into the music and seemed to not care if others were judging her or not. After Sunday school, Beth gave him a tour of the church, showing him all of her favorite places and artwork. They went ice skating on an outdoor rink and Beth fell 3 times, pulling Carlton down the second time and laughing it off each time.