Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska (26 page)

Pressing both hands into his chest, she took half a step back, and when he refused to look at her, she grabbed his ears and gently tugged, forcing him to meet her eyes. “So
that’s
why they call you guys ‘jarheads,’ ” she said, grinning. “These things are
handles
!”

Bryce felt his resolve weaken as he stared into flashing blue eyes that brimmed with affection.

“So admit it. I hit the old nail on the head, didn’t I?”

“Close, but no cigar.”

“Lucky for us both, I don’t smoke.” And standing on tiptoe, she kissed his chin. “This is all your own fault, you know.”

“What’s my fault?”

“The fact that I’m madly, crazy, out-of-my-head in love with you, that’s what.”

He’d known for some time that she cared for him, but
love
? How in the big bloody world was he supposed to send her packing, now that the words were out?

“You can’t get rid of me,” she said, snuggling closer.

The supposedly impenetrable wall he’d built to protect her from him crumbled further. He watched as she shook her head and smirked.
Smirked
! It was all he could do to keep from smothering her gorgeous face with kisses. “Oh, I can’t, huh?”

“Of course not, silly.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so, for starters. And because you pull this goofy stunt every time you’re up against—”

“Stunt?
What
stunt?”

“I’ve heard all about the way you go off by yourself, like a wounded animal, whenever you think you can’t control your life. Haven’t you lived long enough yet to have figured out you can’t control
anything
?”

Well, he was having a dickens of a time controlling
her
; that much was certain.

She wriggled close again, squeezed him so tightly that he wondered if she had it in her to crack a rib. Then again, he’d known her for months. Of
course
she had it in her. The idea inspired a grin that grew into a slow, grating chuckle. Oh, but it felt good, borderline miraculous, to laugh. If Sam could pull off a thing like that, in the middle of all this death-and-dying stuff no less, what other miracles might she perform?

She touched a finger to the tip of his nose. “Don’t you
ever
shut me out again.” She laid a hand on each of his cheeks and, frowning, added, “You hear?”

He hadn’t slept or eaten a proper meal in days, and simply didn’t have the strength to fight—whatever this was—any longer. Maybe after he devoured whatever delicious thing she’d piled on that plate and got a couple hours of sleep, he’d pick up the gauntlet again, but for now…

“I just have one more thing to say, and then I’d like very much for you to eat your supper.”

“Just one?” He chuckled. “Now, why am I having trouble believing that?”

Smiling, she said, “And here I thought my brother Bill was the only comedian in my life.”

“All right, I’ll play along, since you’ve piqued my curiosity.” Bryce tucked a tendril of dark wavy hair behind her ear. “What one thing do you have to say before I eat my supper?”

“I’m only gonna say it once, so pay attention, okay?”

“Okay.”

“You’re listening, right?”

“Listening…”

“Because if you’re not…”

“I give you my word, I’m listening.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay…”

“Okay what?”

“Okay, here goes…”

“Oh for the love of—”

“Kiss me,” she said.

He’d expected a “you shouldn’t skip meals” lecture, or even advice on why he needed to get more sleep. But this? “ ‘Kiss me’?” he quoted. “
That’s
the all-important thing you were gonna—”

Lips pressed to his, she mumbled, “I’m not kidding, marine.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered against her mouth…and then he surrendered to the wonderful warmth of her love.

“Now then,” she whispered when she finally came up for air, “let’s get some nutritious food into you.” Grabbing the plate, she headed for the kitchen. And over her shoulder, Sam added, “You coming?”

That was
way
too close for comfort
, she thought, sliding his plate into the microwave. He’d almost succeeded in climbing into a hole so deep and dark, she may never have reached him.
Thank You, Jesus
, she prayed,
for getting me there just in the nick of time
.

The microwave beeped as she arranged his napkin and silverware at the narrow end of the table. Laying the plate beside them, she put his lemonade at two o’clock. “Dinner is served, mon-sewer,” she said, deliberately mispronouncing the word.

Bryce sat and said, “And a sincere ‘mercybuckets’ to you.”

Sam flopped onto the chair nearest his and sat on her foot. Propping her chin on a fist, she said, “I finally finished inventorying all the stock, so now the only thing left to do is—”

His ringing cell phone silenced her, and she did her best to hide the first frightening thought that entered her head: who’d call at this hour except the hospital staff? And why would they, unless…

Bryce was on his feet, a hand to the back of his neck, pacing as he nodded. “We’ll be right over,” he said before snapping the phone shut. “Duke,” he explained. He took a swallow of the lemonade. “Olive is…she’s…she wants to see us.”

Sam hoped that didn’t mean what she
thought
it meant. “Want me to drive?”

He palmed his keys. “But you’d better grab your purse. And a jacket, because…”

Because there’s no telling how long we might be
, she thought, finishing his sentence.

Half an hour later, they stood side by side at Olive’s hospital bed. Though Sam had seen patients in her condition before, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to the piercing beep of the monitor or the tangle of tubes jutting from the back of Olive’s hands.

“How ’bout if you men go down to the cafeteria, have a cup of coffee or something,” Olive suggested.

Duke started to protest, but she held a finger aloft in true schoolteacher fashion, effectively silencing him. “Just give us a few minutes, okay?” She winked and then added, “I promise not to die while you’re gone.”

“For the love of Pete, Olive,” Duke said, “what a thing to say.”

“Can’t help it if I’m the type who calls a spade a spade, now can I?”

“Well, it wouldn’t
kill
you to consider a slightly gentler approach now and then,” he countered.

“Touché!” she said, returning his grin. She waved them away and added, “Say your prayers while you’re down there, nephew, ’cause you’re next.” And once they were gone, Olive told Sam to close the door and pull the guest chair closer to her bed.

Lord be with me
, Sam prayed, following the woman’s instructions.

“I’ve never been one to mince words, Sam…”

Smiling, she slid her hand beneath Olive’s. “So I’ve heard.”

“…so I’m not going to waste time with nonsense, now.”

Oh, please, Jesus
…
strengthen me for what’s about to come.

“All my years as a teacher taught me a thing or two about sizing people up. And I know a good and decent person when I see one.” She squeezed Sam’s hand. “You’re perfect for that thick-skulled nephew of mine, so I want your promise that you won’t let him drive you away.”

“I promise.”

“He’ll try, you know…and sometimes it won’t be easy, breaking through the barriers he builds around himself.”

“Tell me about it,” Sam said, grinning as she rolled her eyes.

“Ah, so he’s started already, has he?”

“I’m at least as stubborn as he is, so don’t worry.”

Tears welled in her dark eyes. “He and I…we’re the only blood kin the other has in the world. I’d hate to think nobody would be around to fight for him, to fight
him
, if need be, after I’m gone.”

“You’ve got my word, I’m not going anywhere.”

“So you love my nephew?”

“With all my heart.”

A wan smile brightened her face. “I know. Just needed to hear you say it.”

“Then you’ll be happy to know,
he’s
heard me say it.”

Eyes closed, Olive shook her head. “Let me guess…he didn’t say it back, did he?”

“Not yet. But I have it on good authority that he will.”

The woman’s lids snapped open and she zeroed in on Sam’s face. “Who told you that?”

Thumb aiming at the ceiling, Sam said, “I’ve spent hours on my knees, pleading for a sign…if Bryce and I are wrong for one another.”

“And?”

“Not a heavenly peep.”

Olive’s relieved sigh echoed in the small room. “Praise the Lord.”

Her breaths came more quickly as she said, “Now, this is gonna sound weird, even from me, but I want you to do me a favor…”

“Anything,” Sam said, meaning it.

“I want to be cremated in my red dress.”

“In your…you want…
what
?”

A grin played at the corners of her mouth. “You heard right. My red dress. With my red earrings and bracelet, and my red shoes, too. You’ll find them all in my closet.” Olive sandwiched Sam’s hands between her own. “And I want you to have my pearl necklace. I don’t much care what happens to the other stuff, but the pearls belonged to my mother.”

Sam didn’t know when anything had touched her more deeply.
Sweet Lord,
Sam prayed,
please,
please
don’t let me cry
.

“I’m really gonna miss you, Sammie-girl.”

Sam wanted to be strong, for Olive, Duke, and Bryce, but God help her, the woman wasn’t making it easy! She bit her lower lip to still its trembling. “Can I…can I get you anything? One of your romance novels? A fudge brownie? A big stick to hit me with, so I’ll shut up?”

Olive snickered. “Ice chips would be nice….”

She’d seen the plastic cup on the tray, already filled to the brim with crushed ice, and understood that sending her on this mission of mercy was Olive’s way of giving Sam time to recover. She’d barely rounded the corner before the enormity of the situation engulfed her. The tears came hot and hard, and she did her best to hide them by pressing herself into the corner near the pay phones. If losing Olive was this tough for her, how much harder for Duke? And for Bryce, who loved her like a mother?

Sam slid to the floor, and on her knees, she quietly prayed. “Let her last hours go easy, Lord, so that her beloved husband and nephew won’t have to watch her suffer, so that their final moments with her will leave them with memories of the strong, capable, funny woman who loves them more than life itself instead of…” She couldn’t bear to make herself say, “instead of a pain-wracked dying woman,” not even in private prayer. “Make me strong, Father, so I can provide the care and support Duke and Bryce will need after—”

“You’re something else, you know that?”

Bryce…

She didn’t want him to see her this way!
Please, Lord, dry my tears
!

He helped her to her feet and drew her close. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but whatever it was—”

Sniffing, she placed a finger over his lips, silencing him.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too,” she managed to say.

“Will you do something for me?”

Sam looked up into his handsome, haggard face. She didn’t dare say “sure, anything, just name it,” because what if what he wanted to ask her was to go away, out of some ridiculous notion he was protecting her from the anguish and turmoil that lay ahead? “What?” she said, choosing the word carefully.

“Say it again.”

“Say what again?”

“That thing you said, earlier, in my apartment.”

“Good grief, I said a hundred things!” And then she knew. Knew
exactly
what he needed to hear. “You mean that thing about how I’m crazily, madly in love with you?”

“Yeah,” he said on a sigh, “that.”

“If I say it again—and I’m sure I needn’t remind you that ‘if’ is the biggest little word in the English language—what will
you
say in response?”

He tucked in one corner of his mouth. “I’m not sure, exactly.”

She racked her brain, searching for the scripture that said something like, “if you ask this mountain to move, and believe I can move it, it will move.” Would God help her move this mountainous marine who’d stolen her heart?

Sam closed her eyes and placed her fear and frustration at the foot of the Cross. “I love you, Bryce Stone, you stubborn, thick-headed, eye-patch-wearing ex-marine, you. I have, almost from the moment we met, and—”

“I think you’re out of your ever-loving mind, but it’s your life.”

That
was her reward for putting her heart on the chopping block? A paltry little “it’s your life”? If he wasn’t about to lose the only family he’d ever known, she’d let him have it, with both barrels, because—

“I love you, too, you know.”

Sam blinked up at him, wondering if he’d really said the words or if she’d merely heard what she wanted to hear. “What?”

“You know, you’re gorgeous even when you’re mad as a wet hen.”

“What!”

Duke poked his head out of Olive’s hospital room. “Bryce? She wants to see you.”

The furrow between his eyebrows deepened as he said, “Be right there.” And to Sam, “You okay now?”