Steadfast Soldier

by Cheryl Wyatt

  Ben reached for the radio knob. But before he turned the music back up, he got that goofy, poetic look that he always did before saying something profound. Chance knew deep down that what Ben was about to say was straight from the heart of God.

  Ben said, “You’re disoriented in an unforgiving blizzard so deep you can’t see a way out.”

  That’s exactly how he felt. How did Ben know?

  Ben continued, “But spring will never cease to chase away the winter. Good things are bound to begin coming back into your life soon, Chance. Be ready for them to bloom.”

  “How is he?” Chance asked after arriving at Refuge Memorial Hospital.

  Dr. Riviera issued a wry look over his glasses. “Other than spitting mad and hollering over missing his first fishing trip in a year? Fine as long as he doesn’t stand up too fast again and bottom his blood pressure out.”

  “You’re sure this wasn’t another ministroke?” Chance asked. Chloe pulled her bottom lip in and moved closer to Chance, shoulder to shoulder. The silent comfort seeped calm into him. Made him wish he could pull her into his arms and soak in by osmosis her caring essence and sweet strength.

  Riviera chuckled. “I’m one hundred percent sure. Just a harmless episode of orthostatic hypotension. We lowered the dosage on his blood pressure med.”

  Chloe eyed her watch.

  Chance wound his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I know you have a meeting with Refuge City Council soon. Feel free to go on in and see Dad first.”

  Tenderness filled him as Chloe leaned into his arm like a bird taking shelter under its mother’s wing. “Sure that’s okay?” Chloe asked Dr. Riviera.

  “Yes. In fact, he should be fine to finish out his day terrorizing the lake trout as long as someone’s there.”

  Chance laughed, glad Riviera knew Dad well already. Stress fell off his shoulders like fifty-pound ammo packs. Especially when Chloe’s arm came around his waist and squeezed back, reciprocating his hug.

  “I’ll see you later,” she said and turned to go.

  “Hope so.” Chance watched her walk away until she stepped into Ivan’s room. Amazing the peace her presence and God’s calm cordoned within him. Like a three-strand rescue rope. Even now, he felt her prayer and His presence.

  “What a scare.” Mary tugged her purse strap over her shoulder. “I’m sorry to have frightened you, Chance.”

  “Understandable. It obviously scared you too.”

  That meant Chloe’s mom really cared about Dad, which meant Chance needed to get his act together and come to a total acceptance of their relationship.

  Chance leaned over and hugged her. “I’m glad you were there, and I hope this won’t scare you off.”

  Tears filled her eyes, surprising him, but confirming how much she cared about Ivan and what Chance thought of them spending time together. She smiled and hugged him back. “Thank you, Chance.”

  Her hug felt motherly and for once that made him smile instead of scowl.

  Chloe came out of the room chuckling, so no telling what Ivan said to her while she was in there. She waved to them on her way to the exit.

  “Shall we?” Mary eyed Ivan’s room.

  “Ladies first.” Chance motioned her gently on.

  “I respect how hard this—situation—between me and your dad is for you,” Mary said after they visited with Ivan for a long hour before stepping out to let him rest.

  Chance grinned. “Situation? I’ll bet you beat Chloe and me to the altar.” Chance only said it because Chloe was gone, engaged in battle with a couple of sauerkraut members of Refuge City Hall determined to doom her animal-assisted therapy program before it ever began.

  As Chance’s words registered, Mary gasped. “Are you thinking of proposing?”

  “Not thinking about it.” He pulled the jeweler’s box out of his pocket and opened the lid. “I’m asking for your blessing.”

  Mary gaped at the ring. “It’s beautiful!”

  “So is your daughter. May I have her hand?”

  Tears sprang to Mary’s eyes. “I can’t think of a worthier man to entrust her to, Chance. Unequivocally, yes.”

  Mary ogled the ring again.

  “Oh, and about you and my dad. It’s not as hard for me as it was a few weeks ago. You have my blessing too.”

  A few tight hugs later, Mary handed back the ring. “So when is this going to happen?”

  “The proposal? I hope soon, but that depends on her. It’s a secret. And I want it to be private, between Chloe and me. Sorry.”

  “I understand. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it in vivid detail after it happens.” Mary chuckled.

  “You know your daughter well.”

  “Her dad never paid much attention to her.”

  “You didn’t get much either, from what I hear.”

  “Yes, well, I coped with it better than she did. She was only a little bitty thing living to get one sliver of her daddy’s attention. I’m glad you’ve made her feel worthwhile again.”

  “She means everything to me, Mary. I love her. And I guarantee she’ll never be able to rid herself of my attention.” He grinned.

  “You’re perfect.” She patted his cheek.

  “Not perfect. But I know how to love those I care for and I know how to care for those I love.”

  “Well, you’re perfect for her. So I hope things progress soon. Will you be fishing with us today?”

  No more easy way.

  Chance studied Mary and could see it would mean a lot to her too. Plus, he didn’t want to be far from Dad in case he had another episode before they got his blood pressure medicine regulated.

  “Actually, I think I will. But don’t tell Chloe I’m coming. I’ll just show up and surprise her.”

  “I do like the way you think. See you at two. The sun won’t be so fierce then and Ivan will have had a chance to rest up with a nap, so I won’t feel too guilty about out-fishing him in his infirmity.” She laughed.

  Chance joined her. “I don’t know. Even at his worst, he’s pretty handy with a fishing pole.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t doubt that. I’ll drive him home from the hospital, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind. I need to go to the B&B and get my fishing gear from Brock’s anyway.”

  “Which reminds me, where will you and Chloe live once you’re married?”

  “One thing at a time.” Chance smiled. But in truth, he’d been pondering the same question. He knew for sure he wanted a big yard and lots of bedrooms for all the babies that would come along, hopefully soon.

  An uneasy feeling curdled through him like sour milk.

  He recalled Chloe saying she didn’t want kids young, but he was counting on the fact that she loved him enough to compromise and meet in the middle with the timing of starting a family.

  He was willing to put it off a little longer than he wanted. But the important question was if Chloe would be willing to step it up for him. Would she alter her preconceived calendar for the sake of a solid future with Chance?

  Everything at this point depended on one thing: how Chance fared in her heart compared to the importance she put on her dreams.

  His fingers curled around the ring in his pocket.

  Chloe’s tightly held plans and her adamant words about not wanting a family while she was young curled doubts around his mind.

  His ring on her finger. Her dreams and plans.

  Which meant more to her?

  Or could they find a way for them to have it all?

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You came!” Chloe rushed Chance. He caught her and swung her around on impact.

  What was it with Chloe and Mary and their linebacker hugs?

  Chance set her down and bent over the fishing bucket nearby, staring at the wiggling worms inside. “You dig those up yourself?”

  Her chin zoomed up. “I most certainly did. But I’ll share them with you.”

  He lifted two foam containers. “I stopped at
the bait shop on the way here.”

  “I bet my worms are bigger, which means I’ll catch better fish.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Oh, baby…it’s on.”

  He loved the look of challenge in her eyes.

  He reached for her left hand and ran a thumb along her ring finger. Her steps stuttered, and she tilted her face up. He kept his face forward and neutral and fought off the grin trying to tear his face in two.

  Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha.

  He couldn’t wait until he could hold her hands and feel his promise banding her finger. Maybe by Christmas, if everything went as he planned. His mouth dried.

  He was doing it. Really, really doing it.

  Brock had teased him about backing down, which made Chance all the more determined to go through with what he knew he wanted for the rest of his life.

  “Chloe, your mom and I laughed all the way here,” Ivan said once they were all tucked securely in Brock’s luxurious bass boat.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Mary got to talking about your infamous fall in the water on that previous fishing trip. She told me about it. I’m glad you’re okay after falling in.”

  “You mean when Midnight jerked me in when he went to retrieve the branch?” She laughed.

  Everyone joined her. Chance was glad she could laugh about it now because it sure hadn’t been funny then.

  Chance watched his dad, who watched Chloe and Mary and smiled. Chance was glad his dad could find joy on what would have been an otherwise dreary day. Chloe changed the subject to Ivan’s chess sets. Everyone laughed as she spouted funny ideas for chess piece themes.

  Thank You for Chloe, Lord.

  “You’re explosively fun, Chloe.” Chance decided right then that everyone needed a Chloe in their life.

  He intentionally kept his shades on so he could drink her in without her awareness because he liked to watch her in unguarded states. She was actually subdued now. Why? It wasn’t like Chloe to be quiet at all.

  She looked so pretty silhouetted against the crystal-blue backdrop of Refuge Lake and the rustic surrounding woods. Her body swayed in a mesmerizing fashion as the boat bobbed gently on placid water under a clear, tranquil sky.

  “Dude! You got a whale!” Brock yelled from across the boat.

  Chance scrambled to his pole which nearly bent in half. “Whoa, there.” He reeled and tugged and reeled and tugged and laughed at himself for becoming so immersed in Chloe that he hadn’t noticed he’d hooked probably the biggest fish in the lake.

  “You want the net?” Brock set his pole down and brought it over. “Looks like you’re gonna need it.” Brock drooled, watching Chance haul the monster fish in.

  No matter how big the thing on the end of that hook, Chloe was the best catch of the day.

  “Might be a humongous turtle,” Ivan said then laughed.

  “Seems so.” Chance continued to work the fish. “Gimme the net.”

  At that moment Chance’s line snapped and his weights flew back to smack him in the forehead.

  Chloe laughed. “‘Take that,’ says the one that got away.”

  Chance rubbed the rapidly rising knot on his forehead and grinned crookedly, then eyed her pointedly. “The next one I hook, I don’t plan to let get away.”

  She blinked a few times, then flashed a smile that could light the sky for a thousand inky nights.

  Chance contentedly studied Refuge’s beautiful horizon. Stately trees pointed like limb-feathered arrows to a sky painted today in cloudless pink and pastel-purples that streaked like a sunburst across a brilliant blue two shades lighter than the lake.

  Brock eyed the sky too. “Perfect day for skydiving.”

  “Definitely,” Chance agreed, knowing the only thing Brock enjoyed more than fishing was parachuting.

  Ivan chuckled. “They both have free-fall DNA in their blood. I think these boys are twins separated at birth.”

  “Chloe, ever tried it?” Chance asked. He’d like to ask Chloe to go with him sometime on a tandem jump and experience the thrill of free-falling from his favorite place to be: the sky.

  “No, but it sounds exciting. I’ve always wanted to try it, but I’ve never gotten the nerve up.”

  Brock ducked while Chance recast his reconstructed fishing line. “You should go sometime. Chance could hook you up, literally. You could tandem with him.”

  Chloe’s eyes lit. “I’d like to. Mallory would freak. She’s always wanted me to go with her.”

  Brock’s ears perked up. “Mallory skydives?”

  “Well, she never has but she’s always wanted to. But she wants to go with someone she trusts. Her fiancé says to fly through the air without a plane around you is foolhardy. He puts a damper on everything in her life.”

  “Chloe!” Mary made tsking noises.

  “Well, he does. I’m just stating a fact. He’s becoming the kind of possessive men often get before they become abusers.”

  “Maybe I can take her tandem diving sometime with you and Chance,” Brock offered.

  “I have an even better idea. Why don’t you take her fiancé skydiving, then forget to tell him how to pull the thingamabob that releases the parachute?”

  Brock snorted.

  Mary shook her head. “That girl. What am I to do with her?”

  Ivan chuckled. “Nothing you can do but keep loving that mean streak out of her.” Ivan winked at Chloe. “Although I happen to think she’s all right just the way she is. Nothing wrong with looking out for someone you love who may be headed in the wrong direction.”

  For whatever reason, Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.

  Everyone froze. Ivan looked at Mary for help. She shrugged and eyed Chloe, then Chance and nodded her head.

  Scooting closer, he slipped an arm around her waist. “Something bothering you?”

  “Partly yes and no. It just felt strange Ivan saying that. I mean that in a good way. It was almost like I had a dad who actually cared there for a second.”

  Chance swallowed and nodded. “Dad does care.”

  Chloe seemed composed now so Chance shifted slightly, reading her body cues to see if he needed to remove his arm. But she leaned into him instead of away.

  Joy flitted through him like the minnows in Ivan’s bucket. “So it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to have my grumpy old man for a stepdad?” Or father-in-law.

  She laughed. “I can’t believe that just came out of your mouth, but no. He’s a delight and he gives sage advice. I’ve never had that from a fatherly perspective. Amazing how it’s improved my outlook.”

  “So what was it that bothered you?”

  “I’m concerned about Mal. She sounded despondent when she called today. Her fiancé threatened to take back the ring if she didn’t give up her volunteer spot on the rescue team. Rescue’s all she’s ever wanted to do. If she can’t cover Mindy, I have to move back to Chicago immediately.”

  Mary raised her head and listened carefully.

  “Mal is devastated because he gave her an ultimatum.”

  “No pun intended but that sounds fishy,” Ivan said.

  Brock listened intently, taking it all in, but didn’t comment. He’d been in a controlling relationship before so Chance knew he could identify with Mal’s situation.

  Chloe sighed. “And, worse, she suspects he’s cheating because she won’t sleep with him. She’s thinking of hiring an investigator to prove or disprove it.”

  “I know a good one. Petrowski’s sister Ash is a PI-turned-skip tracer,” Brock said.

  Chance nodded. “Yeah. Ash would love in on this. I’ll give you her contact info when we get back.”

  “Thanks. Anyway, just pray for her. This is all so dreary. Let’s change the subject, shall we?” Chloe stretched out to relax, but Chance knew her well enough now to know tension dimmed the wattage in her smile. He cast her an understanding expression. She winked. His heart flipped like a banked fish.

  “So, Mary. Give us some dirt on Chloe.” Br
ock smirked.

  “Mom doesn’t have any dirt.” Chloe smirked back. “I was a perfect child. Still am.”

  For whatever reason, Midnight lifted his head, stared at her, then gave a loud bark.

  “See? Even he knows you.” Chance petted the dog.

  Mary snorted.

  “Hush, whistle-dog, or I’ll turn you into a pair of cat slippers.” Chloe scrubbed Midnight’s ears when she said it.

  Mary faced Chance. “Has she told you about the time she got mad at her dad and turned to trouble when she was sixteen? I mean real trouble.”

  “What, like you mean with boys?” Chance teased.

  Chloe choked out a laugh. “No. Police.”

  Chance settled back. “I have to hear this.”

  “Me and Mal were always saving animals. We had a massive collection of butterfly nets. We’d run around the neighborhood with Mallory’s red wagon saving moths and bugs from drowning in people’s pools. Well, except for spiders and bees. I squashed those when Mal wasn’t looking. But she drew the line at flies and mosquitoes.”

  Chance laughed. Brock grinned.

  “We’d rescue anything in trouble. We found a set of kittens someone dumped off in a box at the city trash pit once. We rescued them, then bathed them.”

  “With my best body wash, I might add. Then they hid them in her father’s study,” Mary finished.

  “He found them and took them to the animal shelter and told me they’d be humanely discarded.” Chloe scowled. Chance could see snatches of the strong-willed, softhearted little girl she must have been back then.

  Mary clicked her tongue. “She cried all day. I felt so sorry for her.”

  “But not sorry enough to defy Dad and go rescue the kittens. So me and Mal sneaked out in the middle of the night and set some animals loose from the local pound.”

  “Correction. They set all the animals loose.”

  “Well, it wasn’t a no-kill shelter!” Chloe laughed.

  Mary shook her head and eyed Chance like, “See what you’re getting yourself into and who you’re dealing with?”

  “The first time we did it, I got a warning. The second time we didn’t get caught. The third time we got booked.”