by Bonnie Leon
Paul stepped into the room, carrying a tray laden with Danish, coffee, and cream. He caught sight of Kate lying on the bed, her expression passionate. He wished breakfast could wait. He pushed the door closed with his foot. “Good morning. Don’t you think it’s time you were up?” He grinned. “The day’s half over.”
Kate fluffed her pillows and sat up. “Sorry, but I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She chuckled, the tone in her voice reminding him of wind chimes ringing in a breeze.
“And you’re blaming me for that?” He raised his brows and smiled.
Kate bent her legs and pulled her knees up against her chest, where she rested her chin on them. “I’m not complaining.”
Paul sat on the edge of the bed, unable to ignore how alluring Kate looked. “Thought you might be hungry.” He set the tray on a bureau next to the bed, then bent and kissed her. “You know you’re beautiful when you sleep.”
“Oh?” Kate’s face flushed. “I never thought of myself as beautiful. When I was a kid, I was just tall and gangly, and my hair was red.” She put on a crooked smile.
“Now you’re willowy and your hair is a gorgeous auburn.” He lifted her hair off her cheek and brushed it back, wishing they had more time before they needed to catch the train. He straightened. “You like cream in your coffee, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
Paul poured cream into one of the cups and stirred it into the coffee, then handed it to Kate. Using a fork, he cut off a bite of apple Danish and held it out to her.
Kate accepted the offering. “Mmm. Delicious.” She sipped her coffee, desire in her eyes.
Paul handed her the Danish and then settled on the bed beside her.
Kate set the coffee on the bedstand and took a bite of Danish. She leaned against him. “I love you.”
He pressed a kiss to her tousled hair. “Will you still love me when mornings are about getting up to a freezing house and trying to get a fire going before your fingers freeze, then making a batch of flapjacks instead of enjoying pastries in bed?”
“Always,” she said softly and snuggled closer.
Paul couldn’t imagine life being any better than this. He kissed her hair again, then downed his coffee and ate his roll. “I wish we could stay here all day, but we’ve got to get moving. We have a train to catch.”
“A train? Where are we going? I thought we were staying here in town and then heading out to the creek.”
“I have a surprise for you.” He rolled off the bed.
“What?”
He smiled slyly. “Do you ski?”
“A little. Why? Are we going skiing?”
“Maybe,” Paul said, wearing a smug grin.
The train wheels clacked over the tracks while Kate watched the passing forests of spruce and fir laden with snow. They were traveling south, but Paul wouldn’t say where exactly. Their hands clasped, the two rested against each other, both wearing smiles they couldn’t erase.
Kate looked up at her husband. “I didn’t know I could feel this happy.”
Paul squeezed her hand and then pressed it against his cheek. “After Susan . . . I thought I’d never love anyone again.” His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Then I found you.” His voice caught. “I tried not to love you, but when something’s meant to be . . . it can’t be stopped.” He let out a puff of breath. “When I think of how foolish I’ve been.” He shook his head. “Well, I’m glad God’s overruled my stubbornness.”
Kate rested her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes. They’d nearly lost each other. A whisper of a sigh escaped her lips.
The next thing Kate knew the train whistle blew. She opened her eyes. The couplings clanked and the engines ground to a stop. “Where are we?” she asked, gazing out at wilderness.
“This is where we get off.” Paul stood and helped Kate up.
“But . . . there’s nothing here.”
“There’s a depot.” Paul nodded at a small building.
The porter carried their bags out and set them on the depot steps. The place looked deserted. Paul tipped the man, then watched him climb aboard the train.
Kate had a sense of being abandoned as the train headed down the tracks and disappeared. She glanced at the tiny shack. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s here.” Ice-cold air chilled her face.
Paul glanced at his pocket watch. “Someone will be here soon.” He took in a breath and blew out a puff of frosty air. “We better wait inside.”
He ushered Kate through the door. It wasn’t any warmer indoors, but a barrel stove and a stack of wood and tinder took up one corner of the room. Kate hoped they wouldn’t have to wait long.
“I’ll get a fire going. At least that way we’ll be warm until our ride gets here.”
Kate gazed out the window and wondered what kind of ride. She couldn’t imagine anything other than a dogsled. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Paul stuffed paper and kindling into the stove and glanced at Kate. “Nope.” He smiled devilishly as he took a match from a can and lit it.
“You’re going to leave me in suspense?”
“That’s right.” He held the tiny flame to paper, which flared to life.
Soon the wood popped and crackled and the aroma of burning birch filled the room. Just the sound of it made Kate feel warmer. She sat on a wooden chair and bundled deeper into her coat. “It’ll be dark soon. Are you sure whoever’s coming has the right date?”
“As sure as I can be.” Paul bent over her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry. They’ll be here. They were highly recommended.” He nuzzled her neck, then walked to the window and looked out.
Kate thought his shoulders looked a bit tight. He was worried too. What if no one came? We’ll be fine, she told herself. We’ll just wait for the train to come through tomorrow.
Something like the rumble of an engine growled from within the forest. “What’s that?” she asked.
“I expect it’s our ride.” Paul grinned. “Have you ever ridden in a weasel?”
“A what?”
“It’s a cat made for the snow. It has tracks like a tractor. I’m pretty sure that’s what they use to carry passengers out here in the winter.” He straightened. “Yep. There it is.”
What looked like a combination tractor and truck rolled toward them, its tracks digging into the snow. Kate hoped it had a heater. “Paul, I don’t have anything to ski with.”
“That’s okay. Everything’s been taken care of.” He steered her toward the door, then picked up the bags and followed her down the steps.
The weasel crunched through deep snow and stopped alongside the depot. A man wearing a heavy parka opened the driver’s side door and climbed out. “Howdy. You Mr. and Mrs. Anderson?”
“That’s us.” Paul extended a hand. “I’m Paul and this is Kate.”
She shook the man’s hand.
“I’m Levi. Good to meet you folks.” He looked at the smoke rising from the chimney. “Sorry I’m late. I meant to be here early enough to have the place warmed up for you. But Ole Sadie here had other ideas. She decided she wasn’t runnin’ today. Took some doing to get her to turn over. For a while I was afraid I’d have to hitch up the dogs.” He laid a hand on the cat. “But she came through.” He smiled, then stepped inside the depot and picked up Paul and Kate’s suitcases. “I’ve got hot coffee. Climb on in and I’ll get you a cup.”
He stood to the side and gave Kate a hand up. She sat in one of two seats in the rear of the rig. Paul took the other.
Levi handed up the bags and then climbed in. He rummaged through a duffel bag, then pulled out cups and a vacuum bottle. After unscrewing the lid, he poured steaming hot coffee into a cup and handed it to Kate.
“Thank you.” She took a sip. It was strong, but good. And it felt warm going down. “That’s just what I needed.”
Levi handed a cup to Paul. “My wife’s got supper waiting for us at the house. She told me to give you a nice ea
sy ride up the mountain.” He chuckled. “I’ll do my best. But either way, it’s worth the trip. My wife’s the best cook in all the territory.” He ground the gears and then turned the vehicle back the way he’d come.
The mention of food reminded Kate how her empty her stomach felt. It had been a long time since her morning Danish.
“How far is it to the lodge?” Paul asked.
“’Bout forty minutes. This contraption doesn’t move very fast.”
“So, we’re going to a lodge?” Kate asked.
“Yeah. I thought it might be fun to do something different. I used to ski when I lived down south. Me and my family would head up to the Sierras every winter.”
Kate’s excitement grew. “I’m not very good. But it sounds like fun.” She pressed her hands between her knees and peered up front as Levi ground the way upward, following a trail between the trees.
Levi glanced back at them. “We have a batch of youngsters at the place right now, but that’s all. It’d be pretty quiet, but those young bucks believe in having a good time. They hit the trails first thing and ski like they want to break their necks.” He shook his head. “Hope no one gets hurt.”
“My husband’s a doctor,” Kate said proudly. “If there’s a problem he’ll know what to do.”
Levi glanced at Paul. “Glad to have you.”
By the time they reached the lodge, it was dark. Levi stopped in front of a large cabin. “Go on in. Make yourselves comfortable. My wife will see to you.”
Paul and Kate climbed out, and Levi headed Sadie up the hill.
Kate looked out at the white world falling away from them. In the light of a rising moon, the snow looked like rivers of white weaving their way down the mountain between batches of evergreens. “It’s beautiful.” She hugged Paul. “Thank you for bringing me here. How did you know about it?”
“Patrick knew a fella who stayed here once. He said the skiing is good. And there’s a pond for skating too.”
“Oh, I can’t wait. I haven’t skated since I first left Yakima. I’m a pretty good skater. There were lots of ponds in the valley where I lived.” Kate moved to the door.
“I was told the accommodations are fine, but nothing like what we had last night.” Paul sounded apologetic as he opened the door for Kate. They stepped into an overly large room. The first thing Kate noticed was the smell of fresh-baked bread and roasting meat.
“Evening,” said a stout, friendly looking woman as she stepped into the room from the back of the cabin. “You must be the Andersons. I’m Mary Jo Connolly.” She shook both Kate’s and Paul’s hands. “Congratulations. Heard you’re newly married.”
“We are. I’m Kate and this is my husband, Paul.” She glanced around the room where mounted trophies of caribou, mountain sheep, and moose stared at them. A large brown bear rug hung on a wall at the foot of a staircase. “This is a nice place. I didn’t even know it was here.”
“We’re not a big outfit, don’t wanna be. We mostly like small groups. Makes things more friendly.” She moved to a desk and turned a registry toward Kate. “I do like to keep a record of our guests, though.” She handed Kate a pen.
Kate wrote Kate Evans and then realized she’d written the wrong name. “Oh my gosh.” She looked up in embarrassment. “I’m not used to writing Anderson yet.” She corrected the mistake, then handed the pen to Paul, who wrote in his name.
He threw an arm around Kate. “We could have just written Mr. and Mrs. Paul Anderson.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Kate said, feeling a flash of irritation. She had a name—Kate. She might be married to Paul, but she was still her own woman.
“Well now, let me show you to your room.” Mary Jo led the way to a corridor directly off the main room. There were four doorways. She stopped at the third, and grabbing a wad of keys out of her apron pocket, she stuck one into the door and opened it. “It’s not fancy, but it’ll give you some privacy. We make sure to keep the pitcher filled and there’s a bureau for your things. The barrel stove will keep the cold out.”
Kate followed the woman into a small room, which was just big enough for the stove, bureau, and bunk beds. A tiny window framed by plain cotton curtains allowed in the subtle light of the winter moon. She hadn’t expected anything fancy, but this was so far from what one might expect on a honeymoon that she had to hold back a chuckle. Her eyes met Paul’s and she could see his disappointment.
“Dinner’s at 7:00.” Mary Jo handed Paul a room key and moved back into the hallway. “After your long day you might like to take a rest. The dining hall’s through that door you saw me come out of when you first arrived. If you need anything, just holler. There’s a bathing room, but no running water, so let me know in plenty of time if you want a bath. That way we can heat up enough water for you.” She smirked. “Levi promises we’ll have indoor plumbing by the end of next summer. We’ll see. Sometimes things take longer than planned.” She turned to go, then stopped. “Oh. The outhouse is on the west side of the building, just go out the front door and follow the path.” She headed down the hallway.
Paul closed the door and looked at Kate. They both laughed. He circled his arm around her waist and they turned to look at the bunk bed. “Do you think we’ll both fit on that bottom bunk?”
“We’ll manage, one way or the other,” Kate said, leaning against him.
After a meal of roasted moose, potatoes, and carrots along with freshly baked sourdough bread and crowberry cobbler for dessert, Kate and Paul sat over steaming cups of coffee at a long table with benches for seats. Kate was feeling the fatigue of the busyness leading up to the wedding, lack of sleep, and the long day. Her lids felt heavy and she longed for bed. However, it didn’t seem proper to eat and then leave without some conversation. She did her best to look interested as the three young men talked about their adventures.
They were all from Palmer. Charles was tall and thin and had a big toothy smile. And there was Fred who liked to talk. He was a big man. Sam was smaller and quieter than the other two, but he seemed friendly enough. All three were red-cheeked and looked tousled, as if they hadn’t taken any time to clean up before dinner. They were full of stories. Hours of skiing hadn’t seemed to have worn them out at all.
Paul was full of questions about the slopes and was obviously eager to set off on his own skiing adventure. Kate sipped her coffee and thought of bed. She tried to focus on what Fred was saying . . . something about a jump he’d made. The room felt overly warm and seemed to swim in front of her.
Paul draped an arm around her. “You ready for bed? You’re looking worn out.”
Kate leaned into him, loving the feel of his strength. “It has been a long day.”
“So, the two of you just got hitched, huh?” Fred said.
Paul gave Kate a little squeeze. “Yesterday.”
Fred’s smile turned into a lopsided grin. Kate knew what he was thinking and felt a blush heat up her face.
Paul stood. “It’s been a pleasure. Thanks for all your tips. We’ll try out some of the hills you mentioned.” He helped Kate to her feet. “And thank you for the delicious meal, Mrs. Connolly.”
“Yes. Thank you. It was wonderful,” Kate added.
“We’ve got a pond up on the flat. We make sure to keep it cleared of snow so folks can skate. And we’ve got skates if you want to give the ice a try.”
“That sounds like fun,” Kate said, thinking about laying her head on her pillow. “Good night.”
Paul looped Kate’s arm into his and they strolled to their room. Kate felt as if she’d been tucked into a warm cocoon of contentment. Paul opened the door and stepped back, allowing Kate to step inside.
He stood with his arms folded over his chest and studied the bed. “You want the top or the bottom bunk?”
“The bottom. And we can both fit.” Kate climbed onto the narrow mattress and scrunched up against the wall. “See, there’s plenty of room.” No longer sleepy, she smiled up at her husband provocatively.
Paul climbed onto the bunk and lay on his side, facing her. He gently swept a strand of hair off Kate’s face and then traced a line down her cheek and jaw line. “We just fit,” he said and kissed her.
“I love it here. It’s the perfect place for us.”
Paul’s dark brown eyes gazed at her. They blazed with desire. “I feel more alive today than I have in years.” His voice was deep and heavy with emotion. “I have a reason to live again, and I can’t wait for all the days ahead.” He cupped her cheek in his hand.
“I’ve no doubt our life will be full of thrills, but we can count on troubles too.”
“Good days are all I’ll allow,” Paul said, grazing his lips over hers.
After a breakfast of flapjacks, bacon, and eggs, Paul and Kate headed outdoors. Levi followed.
“I think I’ve got just the thing for you,” he said, as he inspected several sets of skis leaning against the side of the building. “Here we go.” He picked up a pair. “These have Dovre bindings. They’ll hold your boot in so your skis won’t come off.” He handed the skis to Kate, then moved down the row until he came across another set. “These ought to work for you, Paul. They’re a little heavier and they’ve got the same kind of bindings. Have you used them before?”
“No. Never even heard of them.”
“I’ll give you a hand and show you how to strap them on.” Levi helped them get their boots secured in the bindings, then with a salute said, “Have fun. The rope tow is already running. Things are pretty quiet this morning. Seems the lads are sleeping in. We’re expecting a few more guests later today, though.” He headed toward the snow cat.
Paul snugged his hat over his ears. “Ready?” he asked Kate.
Kate shrugged. “It’s been awhile.” She struggled to keep the skis parallel. “Which way to the tow rope?”
“Just follow me.” Paul headed away from the lodge.
Kate pushed off with her poles, working hard to catch up.
They were soon at the bottom of a steep hill where the sound of the tow’s engine disrupted the morning quiet as it wound its way through the pulley and up the hill. “Just grab hold and it’ll carry you all the way up.” Paul waited for Kate. “Don’t let go until you get to the top.”