“Which is?” she asked, kissing him again.
“You get a new ski suit.”
She laughed. “Deal. Now get some rest so we can get out of here and start a life together.”
He loved hearing her say that, and a heaviness lifted from his chest as his eyes drifted closed again. “You’ll be here when I wake up?”
She kissed him softly. “I’ll be here.”
He believed she would be. He felt their connection in that moment more than ever before. “And you’re not going to change your mind?” he asked, his words slurring slightly as the drugs coursing through his veins started to win the battle.
“About us—never. Get better so I can take you home,” she said, and the implication of her words made his body feel like nothing would ever hurt again. Home. With her.
That’s all he’d ever need.
EPILOGUE
Two Weeks Later
LARGE SNOWFLAKES FELL to the ground outside Alaska General Hospital. The festive decorations were gone and only the promise of a new year lingered on the cold air.
“I save your life, and you take my daughter away from me,” Alan said, but Erika heard the teasing in her father’s voice as he shook Reed’s hand.
He’d been discharged hours before, her father signing off on his release. He still had a way to go in his recovery, but he was going to be okay.
“Thanks again for both,” Reed said. They loaded his bag into the back of Erika’s car and he climbed into the passenger seat.
In a few hours, Erika would be starting on a new chapter of her life. With the man she loved.
The last two weeks had been a whirlwind. She’d listed her condo for sale, packed her personal belongings and found a place to rent near Wild River Community Hospital—just until she could find a house she wanted to buy. She’d said her goodbyes to the staff at Alaska General Hospital...and her dad, and now she was ready to go.
More than ready.
There was nothing left to do here.
She hadn’t second-guessed her decision once. Only excitement and happiness filled her heart as she turned to her father. “Bye, Dad. Thank you again for everything.” She hesitated. “Don’t be a stranger, okay. Skiing conditions in Wild River are great this time of year.” The last two weeks they’d made some progress, but their relationship still had some growing to do and she hoped he’d make time for that.
She would. She refused to give up on him yet.
He pulled her in for a quick hug and she wrapped her arms around him, holding on a little longer than he was comfortable with. Feeling him tense, she reluctantly stepped away.
“This is for you,” he said, handing her a manila envelope.
“What is it?” she asked. The last time he’d handed her a letter, the news hadn’t been good. Or so she’d thought. Turned out, it had been the best thing to happen to her.
He was silent as she read the letter from the American Surgical Association recognizing her efforts in leading the clinical trials team.
Early results were showing amazing progress. Her father had asked her to rejoin the team, claiming she could even start her own trials in Wild River, but she’d declined. The drug testing was in good hands and she was moving on.
Until that moment, she’d pushed aside how much the trials and the success of the new drug meant to her. Now, the words swam on the page and a feeling of acceptance and pride overwhelmed her. She impulsively hugged her father again. “Thank you for this. It means a lot,” she whispered. More than he could ever know.
“You deserve it.” He cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his lab coat pockets. “Your mom would be proud and so am I.”
A lump rose in her throat. It was the first time he’d mentioned her mother since she died. Maybe they would be okay. Baby steps.
“Dad, can I ask...? Why did you take me off the trials in the first place?” She hadn’t had the courage to ask until now.
He hesitated, staring at his feet. “When you came back from Wild River, you were different and I saw a struggle in you I hadn’t seen before. A desire to have something beyond all of this.”
He’d been able to see that?
“I realized that maybe I’d been pushing you too hard and I was afraid that if I continued, you’d leave. I thought taking you off the trials would give you more time and freedom to explore the other things in life you suddenly seemed to want...a work/life balance, I guess.”
“Oh, Dad...” He’d been trying to look out for her? He’d been trying to keep her happy and keep her there with him.
“I guess it backfired, huh?”
She moved in and hugged him again. “No. It didn’t backfire. Not at all.”
“I made some mistakes after your mom died...”
“Things changed. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change them again.”
He kissed the top of her head and released her, then stepped forward and opened the driver’s-side door for her. “Now, go before I call Wild River Community and tell them you’re a terrible doctor.”
She nodded and smiled, not trusting her voice, and climbed in next to Reed.
As she pulled the car away from the curb, she glanced once in the rearview mirror. Her dad stood on the curb watching and waving.
“What was that?” Reed asked, nodding toward the letter on her dash.
“Approval and hopefully a fresh start at being a family again,” she said.
He smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it. “I love you.”
Erika couldn’t believe she was actually doing this—driving away from the career that had meant everything to her. But her vacation from her life had taught her how to live, and now her future was waiting for her just beyond those snow-covered mountains in the distance.
She released a contented sigh as her fingers entwined with his. “I love you more.”
* * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A big thank-you to my editor, Dana Grimaldi, for loving this book and helping me realize my dream of being published with HQN. I am grateful to Susan Swinwood and the entire team for welcoming me into the HQN family and for all the effort in editing, cover design and marketing support for this new series.
Thank you a million times to my agent, Jill Marsal, who continues to believe in me, even when I have my own doubts, and for always pushing me to be a better writer.
A huge thank you to SAR Alberta and The Rocky Mountain Adventure Medicine Team for their research help. All mistakes are mine alone.
And as always, I wouldn’t be able to live this dream life writing uplifting love stories if it wasn’t for the support of my family. My husband and son are my biggest supporters and cheerleaders and I’d be lost without them. You guys are my world.
ISBN-13: 9781488054242
An Alaskan Christmas
Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer Snow
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