AN: I hope you all love me. I should be asleep right now, but I wanted to give you all something before the 4th. That and I've got so many pages written I was starting to dread typing them all up… Anyway, here it is. BTW, the only religious practices I'm truly familiar with are my own,so please forgive me for any mistakes I make with Puritans and/or Catholics. I hope you enjoy and forgive any typos, I'm going on very little sleep here… As always I own nothing… I feel like I'm forgetting to tell you all something very important, but I guess I'll tell you in the next chapter because I can't think of it now. So, yeah, ENJOY!
The day was clear and bright when Melinda, Delia, and Ned started out in her bright red jeep, leaving Delia's SUV parked safely at Melinda's house. The two-hour drive quickly changed though, as they neared the small town of Burgess. Heavy white clouds filled the sky and as they entered the sleepy town, the first few fat flakes began to fall.
"Is it seriously snowing in May?" Ned asked skeptically even as the evidence began to quickly pile up on every bare surface of the town.
"Looks like it!" Melinda shrugged, finding a parking spot near the town's quaint little church. "Good thing we dressed warm, huh?"
"Yeah." Delia agreed as the three of them got out of the jeep. "So, how do you do this?" She asked the young antique dealer. "And why are we at a church?"
The younger woman laughed slightly. "I told you the Overlands were a Puritan family, right? Well, St. Agatha's is the oldest church in town. They'd be the ones most likely to have any surviving records from the 1700's." She explained as they climbed the simple steps to the old stone building.
"Really?" Delia asked surprised. "I would have figured town hall would have had more records."
"They will have some, but our best bet is going to be here. Then we can check the library for and public records going back that far."
"Is this just going to be you two looking at a bunch of dusty old papers?" Ned asked disappointedly.
Melinda laughed as her friend sighed in exasperation. "Some of it yes," the young woman admitted, "but not all of it."
Opening the door she led the mother and son into the old stone church. They paused just inside the doorway, letting their eyes adjust to the artificial lighting. The small group had only been there a moment or two when an older man approached them, smiling politely. "Can I help you?" He asked, his deep voice kind and soft.
"Yes!" The young brunette said, stepping forward. "My name is Melinda Gordon. I called and spoke to Father Jacob."
"Ah!" The old man smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Please, call me Jake. We aren't overly formal here in Burgess."
"Nice to meet you Father Jake. This is my friend Delia. She owns the locket I told you about."
"Nice to meet you." The old priest said, extending his hand.
"Likewise." Delia smiled, accepting the handshake.
"And this is her son Ned."
"Yo." Ned nodded with a half-hearted salute.
"I'm sorry." Delia winced as the old man laughed. "I promise he has better manners."
"No need." Father Jake smiled. "We have a high population of children. I'm used to their antics."
"Yeah." Melinda nodded. "I noticed that in my research. You guys must be super protective of your kids. This town hasn't has a major injury to a minor in more than a hundred years. How do you do it?"
The priest shrugged. "When I was young we just called it luck. But last Easter the kids came up with their own explanation."
"Really?" Delia asked. "What's that?"
Father Jake laughed. ""You won't believe it." He teased. "They believe that Jack Frost lives in the woods outside of town and that he's the one who protects them."
"Who's Jack Frost?" Ned frowned.
"Aw, c'mon. You've never heard of Jack Frost nipping at your nose?" Melinda teased.
"I thought that was just an expression." The ten-year-old shrugged.
"Don't let the kids hear you say that." The old priest advised. "That's grounds for a serious snow war in this town."
"That's another thing." Melinda asked with her quirky smile. "Does it often snow in May?"
Again the old man laughed. "Did you see the town sign?" He asked.
"Winter's favorite town?" Delia supplied when Melinda shook her head.
"We get more snowfall than anywhere else in the US." He informed them. "Makes you wonder if the kids know something we don't. Now, if you want to come to my office, I believe you came to ask me about the old Puritan settlement, not fairy tales told in the front door of my church.
Jack perched precariously on the head of the town's monument, surveying his gift to the children of Burgess: one final snow day before he left for the summer. He smiled as he admitted to himself that the snow days in Burgess had become much more fun now that the children could see him to invite him to participate.
"Aw-right! Snow Day!" Right on cue the twins came gallivanting onto the square, laughing and pelting each other with frozen projectiles. "Thanks Jack!"
"You're welcome!" He called from his perch as Pippa and Monty joined the two. The tall girl squeaked when Claude's snowball struck her face, then in a fit of giggles she and the small blonde boy began to retaliate. Jack's own laughter filled the air as he leapt up and began throwing his own icy ammo. As soon as the shrieks started up Jamie and Sophie made their own appearance dragging a surely Cupcake behind them.
The young Guardian spied her reluctance and Sophie's small form and a soft flurry of snowflakes whirled their way, dusting the two with good cheer. Soon they were hard at play on a small snow family. As other children filled the square, some believers, some not, Jack pulled back from the snowball fight to inspect his handiwork, a light smile in his icy blue eyes the only evidence he was well pleased.
"This is the last snow this year?" He looked down to see Jamie watching him with sad brown eyes that reminded him so much of his barely remembered sister.
"At least until October." Jack nodded. "I'll try to come back early if I can."
"Do you think something's going to happen?" The eight-year-old frowned.
"Not really." Jack shrugged. "But I've got a reputation to protect. I've spent the last three hundred years on the Naughty List and now North is going to 'wipe clean slate.'" He said in a horrid Russian accent, making Jamie laugh. "I've got to come up with something awesome to get back on it."
"I can think of something!" Jamie suggested wickedly. "Let me get my sled!"
"Ha ha! Yeah!" The Guardian crowed, leaping after the strongest believer.
Moments later five children were sledding dangerously in the street, missing cars by inches, knocking over pedestrians, and causing general mayhem that was barely forgiven by their victims because of the obvious joy on their faces. Jack sped ahead of them, ice appearing magically beneath his bare feet as he plotted a course to maximize chaos while minimizing injuries. After all, Toohthiana still hadn't forgiven him for Jamie's last sledding accident.
He was just preparing for an awesome loop-the-loop when his face dropped and he instead swerved the ramp to an abrupt end in a heavily powdered snow bank. He hardly noticed the children's cries of exaltation as the each crashed stupendously into the soft snow; his eyes were locked on the northern skies.
At first the giggling kids didn't notice his distraction, but eventually the giggles and laughter faded away as they saw his stubborn expression. "Jack?" Jamie called, disentangling himself from the pile. "What's wrong?"
Ice blue eyes flickered from the Aurora Borealis to the young boy. "It's North. He's calling the us."
"The Guardians?" Jamie frowned as the others exchanged a nervous glance. "Is someone in trouble?"
"Maybe." Jack frowned. "I've got to go."
"Yeah." The boy nodded firmly, a proud smile peeking at his lips. "Go save them."
"I will." Jack said with a quick nod. He sprung into the air, snagging a stray Nor'easter and he was gone.
"See you in October!" Jamie yelled after him as the others all fought their way up, scrambling to shout their own good-byes to the Winter Spirit.