I could feel Juliana staring at me as I swung the axe over my head, bringing the sharp edge down on the piece of wood in front of me, splitting it neatly down the middle. Jaxon had warned me that morning that there would be a snowstorm moving in tonight, so I wanted to be as prepared as I could. He wasn’t sure how bad it would get.

I paused for a moment, pulling my shirt up to wipe some sweat off of my face. I turned to look at Juliana. She was sitting on the porch steps, bundled up in a jacket, scarf, and gloves, her beanie sitting on...