Chapter 2
The four-day Christmas trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, turned out to be exactly what Vanessa Mayfield and her daughter, Sadie,
needed. They were staying at The Village in a condo with views Alan would have loved. There was something sad about that,
almost as if it would’ve been easier if the place had no view at all.
But sadness aside, Vanessa was enjoying this trip with Sadie. The two of them had decided it was okay to take this vacation
even though Alan had only been gone four months and they were both still grieving. Besides, they would carry Alan with them
always. Wherever they went. Forever.
Sunshine streamed through Vanessa’s bedroom window that winter morning. Vanessa breathed deep, stepped out of bed, and stretched
her legs. Two days of skiing had taken their toll, but she didn’t mind. Sore muscles meant she and Sadie had enjoyed every
minute on the slopes. Skiing was something the Mayfield family had done every December since Sadie was a little girl. As long
as Alan wasn’t deployed.
This was their first time here without him.
Vanessa had asked God to give him a front-row seat from heaven.
She walked to the window and pulled open the sheers. The sight took her breath. If paradise had a quaint small town in the
snowy mountains, it would have to be Breckenridge. The town lay spread out before her, the historic district and antique shops,
and beyond that, the perfect ski runs.
Rays of sunlight hit the diamonds on her hands and cast sparkly lights across the windowsill. Vanessa glanced down. She still
wore her wedding ring, probably always would. And, of course, the Christmas ring.
Vanessa lifted her hand and studied the antique.
The understated red-ruby center and the circle of pretty diamonds around it. All of that set in a dark gold band. No telling
how old the relic was. Vanessa only knew that her great-grandfather had found it on D-Day after he and a handful of other
paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division landed in a French field outside of the village of Sainte-Mère-église.
Somehow, he had found the ring buried in the ground beneath a bush, where he and his buddies hid until they were rescued that
day, eight miles north of Utah Beach.
Vanessa ran her finger over the smooth red stone. The stones weren’t real. Vanessa’s mother had taken it to the local Columbus
jeweler decades ago to make sure. “Beautiful,” the man had said. “Costume jewelry was more exquisite back in the mid-1900s.
Especially in Europe.”
Everyone had suspected as much, not that it mattered.
The value of the ring would never come from an appraisal.
The ring had been in the family since D-Day, passed on from her great-grandfather to her great-grandmother.
And then to her grandmother and after that to her mother, who had given it to Vanessa on her college graduation.
Sadie was fourteen now. In four short years she’d be off to college, and four years after that, the Christmas ring would be
hers.
“Mom, I made eggs!” Sadie’s singsong voice came from the kitchen.
Vanessa slipped into jeans and a turtleneck and followed the sound.
Sadie was a mirror image of her father: fair with his blonde hair and blue eyes. Nothing like Vanessa, except for her smile.
As soon as Sadie smiled, everyone said she and Vanessa were practically twins.
Over breakfast, Sadie was quiet.
“Thanks for the eggs.” Vanessa recognized her daughter’s sad expression.
“You’re welcome.” Sadie smiled, but her eyes welled up.
Until now their days together on this trip had been marked with silliness and full-on laughter. Like the time Vanessa slid
backward—skis in the air—down the end of the run their first day here.
This moment was very different. Vanessa reached for Sadie’s hand. “You okay?”
“Don’t you wonder”—Sadie put her fork down and lifted her eyes to Vanessa—“if God could’ve protected Daddy, how come He didn’t?”
She hesitated. “He could’ve kept him safe, right?”
Give her time, Vanessa told herself. Don’t rush this. She ran her fingers over Sadie’s hand. “Yes. I do think so. I think He could’ve kept Daddy alive.”
Sadie’s shrug made her look like a little girl. “Then . . . why?”
This was the hardest part about being a military family. Or the family of a police officer or firefighter. By merely doing
their jobs, they put their lives on the line every day. Any goodbyes could be their last. Vanessa studied her daughter. Not
every question needed an answer.
“I know the right things to say.” Sadie paused. “There are no guarantees when your dad’s in the army . . . and he’s not the
first medic to get killed helping someone. God was with him. We’ll see him again.” The hint of a smile lifted Sadie’s cheeks.
“I actually believe all that.”
“We’re taught to look backward.” Vanessa kept her tone soft, thoughtful. “To be thankful for the time we did have him . . . and not angry about the time we won’t.” Vanessa sighed. “It’s hard for me, too, honey. It’ll always be hard.”
Sadie picked up her fork and moved it around her eggs again. “I know he’s with Jesus. And we’ll all be together again someday.”
“We will.” Vanessa waited until she could feel Sadie’s mood lift a bit. “I keep thinking . . . if Daddy has a window up in
heaven, I sure hope he missed my fall the other day.”
A ripple of laughter seemed to catch Sadie off guard. She took a bite of eggs and pointed her fork at Vanessa. “Mom, it was
so funny! Your skis shot straight up in the air.”
And like so often on this journey of grief, the two of them were okay again. Laughing and recalling Vanessa’s spill in detail.
“Listen, Sadie girl.” Vanessa finished her plate and cleared it to the kitchen. She was still laughing. “Don’t think I’m taking the big sledding hill today. Not happening.”
“Oh, come on! You can do it!” Sadie brought her plate to the kitchen, too. “At least one time!”
The laughter remained as they left The Village and headed out. Carter Park was known for its many sledding runs and free stash
of sleds at the base of the hill. Breckenridge was a family-friendly town, and by the time Vanessa and Sadie parked and reached
the bottom, the place was crowded.
“Let’s go, Mom.” Sadie grabbed a sled for two people and led the way to the tallest hill. “I’ll help you.”
Vanessa had no doubt she could make the climb. She ran two miles a day and followed the same morning workout she and Alan
had done together since they got married. “The question isn’t whether I can get up the hill.” Vanessa trudged behind her daughter. “But whether I can get down.”
“Without flipping, you mean.” Sadie laughed again. She picked up her pace.
Vanessa kept up. “If I do flip, please don’t ever make me sled down this mountain again.”
The two of them arrived at the top, and Sadie turned to her. “Mom.” The wind was harder at the crest. “You’re my best friend.
I want you to know that.”
For the rest of her life Vanessa knew she would remember this moment, out of breath standing by Sadie about to slide down
the longest hill at Carter Park in Breckenridge. Her daughter’s sweet fourteen-year-old smile and the gift of her words just
now.
“You’re my best friend, too, Sadie girl.” Vanessa gave Sadie a side hug and felt the cold brush against her hands and arms. Only then did she realize she’d forgotten her gloves in the car. “No!” She held up her hands. “I’m going to freeze.”
This only made Sadie laugh harder. ““Mom. It’s Colorado. How could you forget your gloves?” She couldn’t stop laughing. “You’re
the funniest person I know.”
“That’s my goal.” Vanessa shook her head. “What am I going to do with myself?”
“Just hold on to me. My jacket will keep your hands warm.”
So that’s what they did. Vanessa sat in the back with Sadie in front of her. The drop looked far too steep, so Vanessa closed
her eyes and hung on to Sadie. Her daughter was right. Sadie’s jacket kept Vanessa’s fingers as warm as if she’d had her gloves.
The ride to the bottom of the long hill seemed to take forever. Vanessa screamed the whole way down, and Sadie giggled. That’s
when it happened.
They were almost to the bottom of the hill when out of nowhere a little boy ran right in front of them.
“Stop!” Vanessa screamed, but there was nothing they could do. They had to hit the child or ditch the sled.
“Roll!” Sadie threw herself sideways and Vanessa did the same thing. They fell off the sled face-down in the snow and flipped
another five times before stopping. From the corner of Vanessa’s vision, she saw the little boy run off, unaware.
Vanessa looked at Sadie, her face inch-thick in snow, hair matted with ice. “Where’s your hat?”
Sadie felt for it and again she started laughing. “Mom . . . you look like an actual snowman.”
Together they scrambled for Sadie’s hat and slid on their backsides the rest of the way down. At the base of the hill, they
were laughing so hard they could barely make it off the course. When Vanessa had cleared the snow from her eyes and nose and
had caught her breath, she bent over her knees. “That might be the most fun I’ve had at Carter Park.”
Which was why they went back to the car for Vanessa’s gloves and then did the sledding run again and again and a fourth time
before stopping for lunch. Over burgers and fries Vanessa listened as Sadie shared drama from her freshman class. “The seniors
are so mean. They think they rule the school.”
Vanessa raised her brow. “Well . . .”
“Okay, true.” Sadie grinned. “But still . . .”
They talked for almost an hour, and the whole time Vanessa studied her daughter, letting her laughter etch itself deep within
her heart. In a place where it would live forever. Because the teenage years did not last forever. They had an expiration
date like everything in life.
Even being in love with an army medic.
If the Lord allowed, she and Sadie would come back to Breckenridge again next December and the next and the December after that.
But one day Sadie would fall in love and get married, and these sweet and silly mother-daughter trips would come to an end.
Not that they would never take a trip together after Sadie married.
But it wouldn’t last this long. And it certainly would not have the laughter of this trip.
After lunch they took another few runs down a more modest hill, and then they built a snowman on the field near the parking
lot. “Look. He’s an army Ranger.” Sadie eyed the snowman. He had leaves for ears and sticks for eyes and a mouth. Sadie turned
to Vanessa. “Don’t you think?”
Vanessa folded her arms and nodded, sizing up the snowman. “Definitely an army Ranger.”
The sun was making its way toward the mountain ridge, so they headed back to the car. They ordered pizza for dinner and watched
Scrooge, the musical. When the movie ended, Sadie wiped tears from her cheeks. “I think about the people you and Daddy have helped,
on the battlefield and at church. Older people especially. Some of them found life because of you two.” She smiled. “I always
picture a few of them being like Scrooge. Given another chance at life.”
Vanessa pulled her daughter close. “I can see that, too.”
“But Daddy already knows.” Sadie sniffed. “Because a lot of those guys you two helped are in heaven with him.”
“So wise.” Vanessa studied her. “I had the best time with you, Sadie girl.”
“I had the best day with you, too, Mama.”
Again they hugged. They would leave in two days to make it back to Columbus, Georgia, for Vanessa’s first annual Columbus
Cares Military Dance on the 23rd. But in the time that remained, it was difficult to imagine any day topping this one.
Vanessa replayed the fun of the afternoon as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Not until she went to put lotion on her hands did she realize the most horrible thing.
Her Christmas ring was missing.
Sadie could tell something was wrong, and instantly she joined Vanessa in searching the floor and then her bedroom and then
the sofa where they had watched the movie. But the whole time Vanessa knew she wouldn’t find it. Not in the condo. The ring
had always been a little loose when her hands were cold. Her heart sank. She must have lost it tumbling in the snow. Probably
the first time she went down the highest sled run.
For a moment she thought about finding a flashlight and driving there now. Spending the night looking for it. But the park
was closed.
Instead, in the morning she and Sadie got permission to search the sled run before it opened to the public. “We have to find
it, Mom—we have to.” Sadie crawled on her hands and knees next to Vanessa.
“We will. I believe we will.”
“Pray.” Sadie kept moving, kept searching. “God knows where it is.”
Practically frantic, Vanessa prayed. “Lord, please lead us to the ring. It’s been in the family for generations, and it has
to be here somewhere. You know where, dear God, so please . . . lead us to it.”
They prayed and they prayed and they prayed for most of an hour until finally the park operator had to open the runs to the
public. “You find it?” he called out to Vanessa and Sadie.
“No.” Vanessa gave her number to the man. “Please. Could you call me if someone turns it in?”
The man agreed and they trudged through the snow to the car. Once inside, Sadie hugged Vanessa and they both cried. Sadie
looked devastated. “I’m so sorry, Mom. It’ll turn up. I know it will.”
“Maybe if I offer a reward.” Vanessa’s heart was broken. Losing the family Christmas ring was almost more than she could take.
How could this even be happening? The whole experience was a nightmare from which she would certainly awaken.
But every time she checked her hand, the truth remained.
She and Sadie found a photo with the ring on Vanessa’s finger. They zoomed in on it and took a screenshot and made a flyer.
Then they spent the afternoon passing out copies to every antique shop, pawn store, and thrift building in Breckenridge. They
posted flyers at The Village office as well.
The woman at the counter was kind. “These things have a way of turning up.” She smiled at Vanessa. “I believe you’ll find
it. One way or another.”
“Oh, I believe. I do.” But she knew as well as anyone that believing didn’t mean things would go her way. Otherwise Alan would
be here helping them look.
In the car on the way back to Denver International Airport the next day, Vanessa and Sadie held hands.
They were quieter than before. The only thing Vanessa could think was that with every mile they moved farther from her missing heirloom.
Finally, as they drove home from the Atlanta airport, an overwhelming thought hit Vanessa and there was nothing she could do about it.
The Christmas ring was gone. She didn’t need a search effort to find the family antique.
She needed a miracle.