Chapter 7 #3
“People are whining. I didn’t bring any beverages or snacks.
Snowshoeing evidently isn’t as fun as I thought it was.
” Just then, the pungent smell of exhaust from the snow machine filled the air, and Luke zipped by, Megan squealing in delight as she held on to the edge of the bright-red cereal-bowl sled.
“Oh my.” Tisha tracked her movements, her eyebrows raised. “That does look fun, but also sort of terrifying.”
“Yeah, it only hurts if you fall out.” Ethan laughed, but there was a nervous edge to it, a reminder of how quickly joy could turn to chaos. “I’m just kidding. I mean, yes, it is bad if you fall out, but Luke is a perfectly safe driver. I’m going to stop talking now.”
Tisha frowned. “I’m not really sure I want to put my kid on that.”
“I’ll go,” Brody said, eager. “I’ll show you how it’s done.”
“Let’s take off our snowshoes first and put them away.”
“Aw, man,” Brody said, frowning. “Can’t I just leave them here?”
“No, you may not. We have to pick up after ourselves, bud.”
They took off their snowshoes. Ethan helped Brody and then Sadie. Tisha tried, but then she looked at him and blew out a long breath.
“Here.” He knelt beside her in the snow and undid the bindings. The feel of her hand on his back made his pulse thrum—a stark reminder of how long he’d been alone.
“There. You’re all set.” He glanced at her, and their eyes locked.
“Thanks.” She smiled, and for a moment the world around them faded.
“You’re welcome.”
“Please don’t worry about this.” She stepped out of the bindings, then picked up the snowshoes. “It’s good for us to try new things.”
“That’s really sweet of you to say, but I can tell you all are miserable.”
“Miserable is kind of a strong word. It’s just…it was hard. It was challenging. Good exercise though. Kept the kids off their devices, and we got outside. It’s a beautiful day so—”
“Tisha, relax. You don’t have to sugarcoat this for me. I get it. Snowshoeing is not your thing.”
Her expression grew serious, her smile fading. “I appreciate you getting us outdoors. Really, I do. Brody and Sadie tried something new, and my daughter experienced the joy of having cold, wet snow fall down the inside of her jacket.”
“Ha. Yeah. Brody taught her an important life lesson there.” He turned and waved his hands in the air to get Luke’s attention. The snowmobile slowed to a stop in front of them, the sound fading as he eased up on the throttle.
“Hey, everybody.” Luke flipped up the visor on his helmet. “How was your adventure in the woods?”
“Terrible,” said Brody. “They don’t like snowshoeing.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Can we go sledding instead?”
“If you can talk your aunt Megan out of giving up her turn.”
“Yeah, I’m good. That was fun. But I’m more than happy to let you guys have a try.” Megan climbed out of the bowl. “Thanks, Luke.”
“I’m going first,” Brody said. “Sadie’s too scared. And Miss Tisha said no thank you.”
“I’m not scared. I just want to see you do it first,” Sadie said, her chin lifted defiantly.
“Okay.” Brody shrugged. “Watch this.”
Megan held on to the edge of the fiberglass bowl, giving Brody a hand climbing inside. “Okay, sit on your bottom, keep your hands and feet inside. Remember?”
“Yep, got it. Let’s go, Uncle Luke.”
“All right.” Luke grinned, then flipped his visor down.
Ethan saw his own image in his brother’s reflective lens, lines of worry etched deep. His phone hummed in his pocket. He pulled it out.
“Ugh. Not again.” He thumbed the call away, but the weight of it lingered.
“You know, you do that a lot. Who’s calling you so much that you don’t want to talk to?” Tisha asked, her brow furrowing.
“Hey, Sadie, want to make some snow angels?” Megan offered, her voice bright and inviting.
“I guess,” Sadie said, hesitating. “What’s a snow angel again?”
“Come here.” Megan guided Sadie a few feet away, leaving Ethan and Tisha alone, an electric tension hanging between them.
“So, my late wife, Adeline, she was amazing. She did a lot of great things for our community, no matter where we lived. She was the lady who helped the other Coastie wives feel welcome and get settled and plugged in. She did some philanthropic work, and her best friend wants to do a story—kind of like a long-form interview, I guess. I don’t really know what to call it, but she wants me to answer several questions, and I keep telling her no, but she is not taking no for an answer. ”
“Why don’t you want to do it? Sounds really cool.”
“Probably for the same reason you would resist if someone wanted to write an article about Chase. It’s hard. I don’t really want to talk about her. I’m trying to put all of that behind me. She was a really incredible mom, and I’m focused on Brody because right now I’m a mediocre dad.”
“Oh, that’s not true,” she said, her tone earnest. “You’re a great dad.”
“I don’t feel like a great dad. Evidently, my kid has a learning issue that I didn’t know anything about.”
Tisha’s mouth formed an O. “Really?”
“Yeah, he can’t read.”
“You know, Sadie mentioned that he might be having a tough time. She struggled at first too. But I just read to her a lot and made sure she knew her letters and her sounds, and she’s pretty much back on track.”
If only it were that simple. He hesitated, biting back the sarcastic comment. “He literally cannot read. I think he has some substantial issues, and Adeline would have just handled it, figured it out, given me the update when I was home.”
“Listen, I’m sorry that you lost your wife, and I hate that Brody has to grow up without his mom, but you are a good dad. I’m certain you’ll figure this out and get Brody the help he needs.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve watched you with him, and I can see by the way you act with your family. You protect your people. You care about them, Ethan. That matters. You’re a person of character.”
“Aw, stop. You’re making me blush.” He tipped his head, trying to deflect the sincerity of her words, but they struck a chord deep within him.
“It’s true.”
“Well, thank you,” he said, his voice softening. “By the way, I hope I wasn’t out of line saying you wouldn’t want a story written about Chase, because if anybody was going to write about a great pilot who made a difference in the world, it would be about Chase Binford.”
She stared at him, pinching her lips to a thin line.
“Oh no. What? What’d I say?”
She cleared her throat and blinked hard. “Nothing. Thank you. That was really nice of you to say. I guess I just assumed you never knew Chase.”
“No, I did. He and Luke have been friends forever, and even though I haven’t lived in Redemption for the past twenty years, Chase has an incredible reputation as an aviator, and he was just an all-around good guy. I’m sorry that he left us far too soon.”
“Thank you, Ethan. That means a lot.”
They stood there staring at each other, and Ethan felt a rush of emotions swirling—attraction, fear, longing, and the heavy weight of loss.
Wow. She was beautiful, and so kind.
“Mom, come here! Come make a snow angel with me!” Sadie’s voice broke the moment.
“All right, I will.” Tisha jogged over, her snow pants swishing with each step, and Ethan couldn’t help but smile.
His sister gave him a knowing look, and he gave the slightest of head shakes.
He didn’t know what Megan was up to, but clearly she thought she was clever for initiating this snow-angel situation.
He turned to check on Brody and Luke. Luke had driven the snow machine as far as he could on the edge of their property and then made a slow U-turn back. Brody swung out wide, obviously having the time of his life.
Sadie popped up. “Mom, look!”
Megan and Tisha turned to admire her. “Oh, sweetie, that’s beautiful! Let me get my phone out—I’ll take a picture.”
“Thanks! That’s fun, Miss Megan!” Sadie exclaimed, glowing with delight.
Tisha took a picture and then held the phone up. “Hey, let’s take a selfie, just you and me, kiddo.” They grinned at the camera.
“Say ‘snow angel’!”
“You want me to take the picture?” Ethan asked, stepping forward.
“That’s okay. We got a cute selfie.” She looked at the screen, shielding it with her hand.
His phone hummed again, this time with a text. He checked the screen, feeling the weight of it pull at him.
“Hey, when we’re all done playing out here, my mom says she’s got the hot-cocoa stand up and we’re welcome to come in and try it out.”
“Oh, a hot-cocoa stand? What does that mean?” Sadie asked, her excitement bubbling over.
“Oh, girlfriend, you don’t even know,” Megan said, her eyes sparkling. “She has the most delicious homemade hot cocoa. Plus whipped cream, sprinkles, and these amazing marshmallows.”
“Oh, forget sledding,” Sadie said. “Let’s go do that!”
He and Tisha shared another smile, but as their eyes met, fear unfurled in his gut like a signal flag snapping in the wind.
When she looked at him like that, he felt like he could do anything—and that scared him.
He was still grappling with his grief, with the remnants of a love that had once filled his life.
The idea of moving forward, of letting someone new into his heart, made him want to sprint in the opposite direction.
But as he watched Tisha laugh with Sadie, the warmth of the moment seeped into his bones, and for the first time in a long while, he wondered if perhaps it was time to let go of the past and embrace the possibilities of the future.