by Tamie Dearen
“How long will it take her to climb?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I think she said it would take a couple of hours. I only hope she doesn’t try to climb by herself.”
“She wouldn’t do that would she?” Josh asked, the weight in his stomach feeling heavier.
“I don’t know. She normally wouldn’t, but you know... since she’s upset and all...”
“Why’s she upset?”
“I really don’t know.” Emily shook her head and strained her eyes toward the high peak. “But she sure was upset... I guess it could be bad, with her crying and all. Probably fog up her goggles. Oh well, nothing we can do about it.” She smiled. “Might as well go have lunch.”
Emily managed to keep a straight face as she observed Josh’s normally tanned face blanch while he continued to stare toward Charlie’s mountaintop. How interesting he was so concerned about her sister. Perhaps everything was not as it appeared.
BRAD FELT LIKE AN ACTOR on one of those ridiculous television sit-coms. Josh had managed some alone time with Olivia in the morning, with his help. But in the afternoon, Olivia had managed to avoid Josh like the plague, even though they had all skied together in a large group. And he’d had no luck getting Derek alone with Charlie, since she’d skied all morning with Jace and then disappeared on a private trek for the entire afternoon. In fact, Olivia had managed to cozy up to Derek on quite a few of the chair lifts while Josh was occupied helping Jace.
He’d had an interesting conversation with Emily when they’d accidentally ended up alone on a long chair lift ride.
“So,” Emily said, “Josh is your best friend, right?”
“Well, yes. Except, I guess I should claim Grace as my best friend now. I think my wife is supposed to take precedence.”
“Yes, but I wondered... Does he talk to you about things?”
“Yes, he talks about some things, but not other things.”
“Has he talked to you about being in love with Olivia?”
“Uhmm, yes. As a matter of fact, he has.”
“You know... Josh said he loves Olivia and wants to be married to her. A real marriage. And not only because of the custody battle. An ‘until death do us part’ marriage.”
“Yes, I’m aware he said that.”
“Charlie believes him,” said Emily.
Brad didn’t reply to this statement, but simply nodded.
“And I believed him, too. Until today.”
“But you don’t believe him anymore?” asked Brad, cocking his head to one side.
“Do you believe him?”
Brad hesitated. He’d sworn to help Josh, and he couldn’t betray his trust. “I’m not certain my opinion is relevant.”
Emily smiled. “I see.”
“Are you also aware that Josh is certain Charlie doesn’t love him?”
Emily cocked her head. “How is it Josh is so certain of that?”
“Evidently, she’s promised to help him secure a marriage to Olivia. In Josh’s opinion, the offer precludes any possible affection on her part.”
“I see.”
“Do you agree with Josh’s assessment?” Brad asked.
“I’m not certain my opinion is relevant,” she replied, with a grin.
“I see.”
“I’m so glad we had this chat,” said Emily.
“Yes, I agree. It’s been... almost enlightening.”
“Yes... practically illuminating.”
“Virtually informative.”
“Nearly edifying.”
Then Brad added, “And just in case anyone asks, this conversation never happened.”
“Absolutely did not occur.”
“In fact, I don’t even remember it.”
“Remember what?”
Now everyone was back at the house. Well, everyone but Charlie. And Brad was relaxing and enjoying a hot cocoa after a long tiring day of boarding. Everyone was relaxing except Josh. Josh was pacing and walking to the door to check outside every few minutes and muttering under his breath something about girls being ridiculously independent and getting in dangerous situations and not being very smart and keeping people informed and family who might be worried.
Brad smiled as he observed his friend’s escalating anxiety and decided this was a good time to keep his promise to Josh and give him exactly what he’d asked for. So he approached Derek, who was watching television with Jace.
“Hey Derek. You know what would be a really good idea? You should text Charlie and go pick her up. She’s going to end up at the far side and have to take the shuttle around. You could save her the trip, and you guys could go out for a private dinner tonight, just the two of you.”
His face brightened. “That’s a great idea. You think she’ll go for it?”
“I’m betting she will.”
Jace chimed in. “Aunt Charlie was going to show me her movie tonight.” His earnest face was lined with concern.
“We’ll be back in plenty of time for that,” Derek assured him. “I know she’ll be excited for you to see it.” He fired off a text to Charlie. Within a few minutes, she had replied.
“Awesome! She was waiting in a long line for the shuttle, and she says she’s starving.” Derek grabbed his jacket and headed out the back door.
Jace asked, “Uncle Brad? Are you going to tell Uncle Josh Aunt Charlie isn’t coming back for dinner? He was acting kind of like he was worried about her.”
“I will, for sure. But I might wait a little while. It’s kind of a secret joke, so don’t say anything.”
“Okay,” Jace grinned with excitement. “I won’t tell.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Spencer called out. “Come and get it.”
“Thanks for cooking again,” Anne told Spencer. “According to Emily’s very organized schedule, it’s Hannah and Claire’s turn to do dishes after dinner.”
“We’re on it,” Hannah agreed. Then she looked around in confusion, “Where’s Charlie and Derek?”
“I don’t know about Derek,” Josh said, scraping his fingers through his hair. “But Charlie never came back from her hike to ski off-trail. And it’s getting dark. She could be lost somewhere. Or hurt.”
“Oh no,” said Anne. “She texted me when she made it down. She’s having dinner in town with Derek.”
Jace giggled. “Uncle Brad said it was a joke.”
Josh glared at Brad, motioning with his chin for Brad to join him.
As everyone lined up to fill their plates, Brad murmured to Josh, “I did exactly what you asked me to do. I got Charlie and Derek alone together. Why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset, but you should have told me so I wouldn’t worry.”
“How was I supposed to know you were worried? No one else was worried,” Brad reasoned.
“Then what was that crack Jace said about it being a joke?”
“Well, the joke was on Olivia, of course. I was keeping Derek away from her, like you asked me to,” he whispered. “Some thanks I get for all my work.”
Josh adopted a sullen expression as he filled his plate and another for Chloe. Brad couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips when Emily caught his eye and raised a single brow in question. He shrugged, and she chuckled in response.
“ARE YOU GOING TO BOARD with me tomorrow?” Derek asked Charlie, as they munched on their pizza.
“I think so,” Charlie said. “Jace has progressed to where I can probably just give him pointers. Now he only needs to practice, so we’ll probably ski with the group all day.”
“Brad and I found a groomed blue run with some pretty nice jumps on it. The whole gang could ski over there, and those of us who wanted could take the jumps. I’m thinking we might get some nice pictures if the sun is out tomorrow.”
“Awesome!” Charlie agreed. All in all, she’d had a pretty good day. She’d had plenty of time to think on the long climb to the top of the mountain, and the run down the steep, narrow ravine had been exhilarating. She’d come to terms wit
h Josh and Olivia and felt she could be supportive and subdue any feelings of hurt or jealousy. She was a grown woman, and she had to be mature about this. Real life wasn’t like a romance book—everything didn’t always come out rosy in the end. In her heart, she believed there would be someone else for her some day in the future. She already loved Jace and Chloe, and she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her relationship with them.
“So... I have a question.” Derek inclined his head.
“And I might have an answer... depending on the question.”
“Well, last night, Josh kind of gave me the go-ahead to date you.”
Charlie immediately felt a surge of hurt at Josh’s sentiment, along with ire that he felt he had the right to give or withhold his permission. “I can’t believe he said that. It’s none of his business who I date.”
“You see, that’s my question. The relationship you two have is kind of... I don’t know... strange, I guess. I can’t decide if it’s only because he’s an old boyfriend who wants to maintain control or... well... I just want to be certain you guys aren’t in some kind of secret relationship.”
“Look Derek, I was honest with you from the start. I told you I wanted to assure Olivia I’m not interested in Josh.”
“Yes, but you see... It’s all very confusing. Because you’ve told me outright we aren’t dating for real, but Olivia seems quite interested in dating me.”
“But that’s not good,” Charlie’s forehead creased as she paused in mid-bite. “What did you do? You haven’t kissed her, have you?”
“Well, not yet.”
“Not yet? You can’t kiss her—they’re getting married next month.”
“I would never try to kiss her, but if she kisses me...” he let his words fall off.
“Don’t let her kiss you, then.”
“I’m not sure I have that much willpower.” He chuckled. “I’m not even sure I want that much willpower.”
“Derek, I’m serious,” Charlie said, her voice rising in pitch.
“Okay, I think you’ve answered my question. I wondered if you’d maybe changed your mind about Josh, because I’m thinking he might have changed his mind about you.”
“What do you mean? How could he have changed his mind?”
“It’s just that... Last night, he looked right at me and told me I was free to date you. That’s what his mouth said. But his eyes said he might strangle me if I actually did it.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. Josh simply likes to be in control. Of everything.”
“So... Tonight, if I kiss you, in a strictly fake-dating sort of way, it shouldn’t bother Josh? And it should convince Olivia you and I are really dating?”
Charlie felt her face flush. “Well...”
“Good grief! You get embarrassed just talking about it. You really are an innocent, aren’t you?”
“Well...”
“Never mind, I think it’s adorable. I only hope you’ll remember you’re the one who asked me to do the kissing thing on this trip.”
“Oh, I remember, all right.”
“Good. Because after this trip is over, I’d like to be able to date you for real.”
“Uhmm, I don’t know... I’m not... I can’t really say...”
“I’m begging you to at least not hold it against me. Don’t decide I’m too aggressive. Remember the first night at your apartment? I didn’t even try to kiss you. Right?”
“Yes, but...” She looked at his pleading face and laughed in spite of herself. “No, I guess it would be pretty mean to force you to kiss me and then get mad at you for doing it.”
“Right. It’s a terrible hardship for me. The way you’ve coerced me into this explicit sexual contact. I’ll probably be scarred for life,” he jested.
“Okay. I promise not to hold it against you. But we’ll have to go back to the whole not-paying, not-kissing, going-out-as-friends thing.”
“Hmmm. I’ll have to think about it. You know, I’m still in love with your stepfather...”
JOSH KNEW HE HAD TO get a grip on his emotions. He couldn’t look like he was waiting anxiously for Charlie to come home when he wasn’t supposed to care about her. He certainly couldn’t act jealous when she walked in the door with Derek. He reminded himself it was a good thing for Charlie to be with Derek. It would help him convince Olivia that he was sincere about his marriage proposal. That he was truly offering her his heart. That Charlie wasn’t in love with him and he wasn’t in love with Charlie.
He schooled his face into an impassive expression as the door opened and Charlie entered followed closely by Derek.
“Aunt Charlie!” Jace ran across the room to slam into her with a hug. “I’ve been waiting to see your movie. Did you remember to talk to me?”
“Yes, I did. I talked to you all the way down. In fact, I’m going to let Derek upload the video and show it to you, while I go take a shower.”
Derek pulled Charlie in for a quick kiss on the lips, before she disappeared up the stairs without even glancing at Josh. Was he relieved or irritated? Irritated. Really irritated. She gave Derek plenty of attention, and she always noticed Jace. But she couldn’t even spare him the slightest look. And she willingly kissed Derek even though she’d fought off his own advances two years ago. And she hadn’t even bothered to let him know she’d made it safely down the dangerous off-trail ski run after her hike. Just because he was marrying Olivia didn’t mean she had the right to totally ignore him. Weren’t they still friends? After all, he’d known Charlie for two years. She’d only known Derek for less than two weeks.
Derek soon had the video uploaded and Spencer set up the computer to play the video on the flat screen television. Josh considered boycotting, refusing to watch Charlie’s video recording. But Jace grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the den. “Come on, Uncle Josh. It’s starting now.” So he allowed himself to be led in front of the screen where he could see the helmet cam was aimed down the ridiculously steep and narrow chute leading down from the mountain peak before she began her run.
The camera started moving, lurching sickeningly down the slope as Charlie made jump turns to control her speed. She also started talking to Jace. Sometimes, she would whoop and yell in excitement, and sometimes she would throw out some bit of crazy skiing wisdom. “Jace. Always remember, being afraid doesn’t make you a coward. It means you’re smart. Smart enough to recognize danger. And you don’t ignore danger and plunge ahead. You have to learn how to challenge danger and beat it.”
She stopped for a moment, breathing heavily. “And anything worth doing, is worth doing well. So you always push yourself to do your best, whether it’s skiing, or some other sport, or school, or being a big brother.” She let out a long yodel as her skis floated above the ground for a while before she landed and continued to ski.
“And remember I told you it’s fine to make mistakes, and falling is a part of learning. But you’ll know when the time comes that it’s very important for you to do everything perfectly. Like right now, it would be very dangerous for me to fall. I can be careless at other times, and it wouldn’t be a big deal. But right now, it’s critical I don’t make mistakes.”
“And one more thing, Jace. I want you to know you’ve given me a whole new reason to be careful. To do everything perfectly.” She had a series of tight turns and then skied almost straight down, gaining speed before she left the narrow chute and entered a huge, broad bowl.
“Now that I’ve met you, I have to try even harder so I’ll always make it back to see you again. Because you are my very favorite, only, and best nephew! Woooooo!”
The video continued it’s nauseous, dizzying footage as she flew down the ski slopes until she finally reached the bottom of the mountain.
“That was so cool!” said Jace. “Wasn’t it, Uncle Josh?”
Josh stuck out his chin and folded his lips, but managed a terse nod of agreement.
“She’s amazing,” said Derek. “I had no idea how good she was.�
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“That’s because you hardly know her,” Josh retorted.
“I firmly believe you don’t have to know someone very long before you recognize their value,” Derek challenged. “The important thing isn’t how long you’ve known someone. It’s whether you make good use of your time together.”
“Waxing philosophical?” Josh bit back, his unreasonable anger with Derek rising out of control. “Because I think a better phrase would be... It’s not how long you’ve known someone, it’s how well you know them. And I don’t think you know Charlie all that well.”
Brad cleared his throat. “Uhmm, Josh. I think you’re maybe carrying this big brother attitude a little too far.”
“Someone needs to watch out for Charlie,” Josh complained.
“I can watch out for myself!” Charlie spouted as she entered the room, her face as red as her Christmas scarf. “And if I needed someone to watch out for me, it wouldn’t be you. Your job is to watch out for Olivia.”
An uncomfortable silence fell across the room. Josh was glaring at Charlie, but he couldn’t hold her acrid gaze. His eyes dropped as he listened to the blood pumping in his head.
Grace broke the silence with a chuckle. “Someone throw Josh a shovel, so he can dig his way out.”
Brad shook his head at his friend. “I’m afraid it’s too late for a shovel. He needs a backhoe.”
STEVEN GHERRING WAS reading in bed, waiting as usual for Anne to finish her preparations. He looked up to find her standing beside him with her hands on her hips.
“So how long have you known?” she demanded.
“Known what?”
“That Josh and Charlie are still in love with each other. You didn’t act surprised at all tonight.”
“Charlie’s in love with Josh?” He hadn’t known, but he should have guessed.
“Obviously. So are you admitting you knew Josh was in love with Charlie?”
“Only since last night.” As her expression grew fierce, he raised his hand and added, “But he made me promise not to tell anyone, and he specifically mentioned you.”