Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Brent looked up at the massive hill. “Are we going all the way up to the top?” he asked. “This hill is much bigger than the one the kids were going down.”
“We sure are. This is a hill you only take from the top.” Clara looked at him with a sideways glance. “Why, you scared?”
“Yes,” he answered immediately with a smile.
“Trust me, it’ll be worth the effort,” she said. She reached for his hand.
He looked into her eyes and held her gaze. “The best things usually are.”
The two of them made the slow climb to the top of the hill, taking turns being in the lead.
When they reached the summit, they were both panting, and the view from the top suddenly took away any remaining breath Brent had left in him.
He took a long look around. He could see off in the distance, in all directions.
Snow covered everything. He could see the town below with its white church steeple and tiny houses with smoke rising from their chimneys.
Clara was right. It had been worth the climb.
Brent arranged their tubes into position and gave her a wink. “Are you ready for this?”
Her eyes widened as she glanced down the hill. Her brow furrowed. He could see the sudden hesitation on her face.
“Who’s scared now?” he asked, giving her a playful nudge.
She bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. This looks pretty steep, now that we’re up here,” she said. “Why don’t you go first, and I’ll watch?”
“Not a chance,” Brent said with a smile. “Come on, we’ll do it together.” He sidled his tube next to hers and held out his gloved hand. He urged her with his eyes to take a chance with him. “You scared?”
“Yes.”
“Trust me,” he said. “It’ll be quite a ride. But we’ll do it together.” Brent wasn’t talking about sledding down a hill, and they both knew it. He was talking about joining him on the adventure of a lifetime.
He knew Clara was hesitant, and rightfully so.
He knew that by marrying him, she would be taking a huge plunge into the unknown.
Air Force life was not unlike speeding down a massive mountain with nothing underneath you but an inflatable tube.
They would have no idea what to expect, where they would end up, or whether they’d even make it through safely.
But with a committed partner by his side, he knew the whole experience could be an amazing ride.
Clara let out a long breath of foggy air. “I hope you’re right,” she replied, seeming to know what he meant. She placed her mittened hand into his and gripped it tightly.
They exchanged a long glance. The world around them stood still and serene. He could see her entire body relax. He understood the feeling. Her hand in his was all the assurance he needed that everything would be okay.
Clara nodded at him, letting him know she was ready.
“Okay, let’s go.” He squeezed her hand tighter as he pushed off.
They flew down the hill, their tubes spinning.
They grasped tightly to each other’s hands.
The rush of cold air and the adrenaline of racing down the hill made Brent feel completely out of control.
At the same time, the feeling of Clara beside him made him feel completely secure.
Her screams of exhilaration and his hearty laughter filled the air.
When they reached the bottom, she was still laughing. Brent watched her for a moment and said nothing while he caught his breath. Her eyes twinkled.
He finally spoke. “So . . . was it worth it?”
She nodded at him, looking deep into his eyes from underneath her long eyelashes wet with snowflakes.
He scooted closer, a sudden urge to kiss her overwhelming all his other senses.
Still sitting in his tube, Brent moved toward her.
He leaned over as far as he could, but before he realized what was happening, he lost his balance and tipped over just before he reached her.
He landed face-first in a fluffy pile of snow.
Clara howled with laughter.
Brent wiped the snow from his face and popped up quickly. “Want to go again?”
“Definitely,” she said.
They immediately headed up the hill—this time running.
Clara no longer seemed scared. Even so, she held on to his hand tightly each time they raced down the mountain.
He liked that it was still thrilling enough for her to want that comfort.
She seemed to be having a blast, and he was happier than he had thought possible.
Who cared if they didn’t get to do any of the things he’d planned or talk about the things he’d wanted to talk about?
Instead, they were simply having fun. Maybe that was what they needed more than anything.
On their fourth climb up the hill, they both began to run out of steam. Clara suddenly dropped to the ground right in front of him. She let out a small scream of pain.
Brent rushed to her side. “Clara, are you okay?”
She let out a small moan. “I wasn’t watching my footing, and I twisted my ankle.” She sat on the ground, holding her foot, her knee up to her chin.
He could tell she was in pain. He crouched down and lifted the bottom of her pant leg to look. When he removed her boot, he noticed her ankle begin to swell instantly.
“It’s probably only a sprain, but we’ll take a better look at it once we get back to the house.”
“I feel so stupid,” she said. “Who gets hurt from sledding?” She tried to stand, but crumpled to the ground as soon as she put weight on her foot.
Brent scooped her up in his arms.
Clara laughed. “Are you going to carry me all the way back to the house?”
“I sure am,” he said.
She looked into his eyes and held his gaze with heavy eyelids. “My hero.”
He melted.
Brent brought Clara home and carried her into the living room. He placed her down gently on the couch, then took some time to build a fire.
Once the fire roared, he sat next to her on the sofa and placed her foot in his lap. He took her boot off again, along with her sock. After a few moments of silent inspection, he said, “Looks like it’s just twisted. You should be able to walk on it soon.”
“How do you know so much about ankle injuries? I thought you were a pilot, not a doctor.”
He shrugged. “The Air Force always gives us basic first-aid training before a deployment, in case someone gets injured when we don’t have a medic around.”
“Ah,” she said. “Have you ever been injured?”
His heart skipped a beat. He said nothing, refusing to react the way he had the other night. He only rubbed her ankle.
She pinched her forehead. “I mean . . .” She let out a breath. “I mean, I know you were injured. But do you want to talk about it?”
He didn’t know what to say. The truth was, he did want to talk about it with her.
The way they used to talk about it. The way they had talked about it when it happened.
When Brent was deployed, he felt he could talk to her about anything.
Now, every time it came up, Clara retreated.
Or worse, got agitated. He was tired of constantly upsetting her by bringing up old memories.
He was thoughtful about what to say next. He scratched his neck. “Well, I can tell you that you were the best nurse a man could have asked for. Even from thousands of miles away.”
She seemed surprised.
“What? Have I never told you that?”
She didn’t say anything in return. She only smiled at him, her face warmed by the glow of the fireplace.
Brent began to wonder if he had told Clara enough about what she had meant to him over the past year.
An unsettled feeling crept over him. He needed to work up the courage for the conversation, the one he knew they still needed to have.
As much as she didn’t want to talk about these things, they would have to discuss the deployment at some point.
He needed to explain to her how much that time had meant to him so she could understand its importance.
No, that time they spent apart wasn’t just important, it was everything. He needed her to understand that.
Even more, Brent needed to know what was in store for their future—if they even still had one.
His military career wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Unfortunately, neither were the hardships that came with it.
There would be more deployments. There would be more last-minute missions, and canceled plans, and all kinds of challenges that would separate them from time to time.
If she wasn’t willing to sign on to this lifestyle, it was better he knew the truth now before it was too late.
On the other hand, he didn’t want anything to interrupt the perfect day they were having.
Brent let out his breath in a calm release.
It had been a great day. He couldn’t deny it.
He thought about what Dave had said about Christmas surprises.
Maybe it was true. Maybe the best moments in life aren’t planned.
It was a nice thought, but certainly not one you could hang a future on.