Saving Grace

Chapter 41

Joe took Grace's hand as he led her to the creek. The rushing water added to the symphony around them. The wind in the willows. The birds in the trees. The crunch of the snow beneath their feet. Ice formations glistened in the sunlight.

"It's so beautiful."

"Yeah, but don't fall in. It's suddenly not so pretty."

"Where is this trap?"

Joe pointed at a bend in the river. "Right there. You can barely see the top sticking out of the water." He moved to a log and moved it, sending the trap into the air.

"How'd you do that?"

"Levi set up a counterweight so we could get it in and out of the water quickly without getting wet."

"How ingenious."

"He's a pretty smart kid."

"Is there anything in there?"

Joe swung the basket over the bank and peered inside. "Just a couple of small ones. I'll probably throw them back since we got the deer today."

She cocked her head, a question in her eye.

"We really don't need the meat today. We got that good-sized deer and I got six rabbits. There's no need."

He caught the struggling trout and slipped them into the water before resetting the trap. "That's all there is to it. Fishing without freezing."

Grace laughed.

His heart almost burst from his chest as the sound rang through him and over the hills.

"Joe, what are your plans for the future?"

Joe shrugged. "I hadn't thought much about it. I've just been living one day to the next."

"That's not living, Joe."

He sighed. "I really don't know."

"You don't have goals? Hopes? Dreams?"

"I have one," he admitted.

"And what would that be?"

"You." He stepped close to her, a gloved finger running down her cheek.

Her full lips puckered before she smiled.

Joe bent close and pressed his lips to hers. His eyes widened when she responded, running a hand up his chest and around his neck. He pulled her into an embrace as sparks seemed to shoot between them.

"And if you got your dream? What next?" she whispered as they broke apart.

"I don't know. You would be enough. I could die a happy man."

"Let's hope not."

He stepped back as if he'd been stabbed. "You don't want me happy?"

"I'd rather you not die."

"So what are your hopes, dreams, and goals?"

"Much like yours. I'd made plans back in Tennessee that'll never come true. Since I've met you, several have come true."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember after the bear, trying to crawl back to the wagon, praying I'd get away. The sun was blocked out and the bluest eyes I've ever seen hovered over me. The angel had the touch of a feather, the voice of a lover. It was so comforting. So, I don't know, wonderful. It came to me over and over again, warming me when I was freezing, bringing be back from the brink of death, soothing the hurt. That angel was you, Joe. You created a haven in the wilderness. Sarah says you built the cabin for her. Her house on a rock. I can't help but feel that you built it for me. For us."

Joe wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "I'm not that special."

"You're wrong." She spun in his arms to face him. "You're more than that."

Her fingers brushed against the stubble on his face, caressing his scars. He sucked in his breath.

"Let yourself enjoy life, Joe. Let me help you heal." She pressed her lips against his, searching, soothing, healing. "Let God help you heal."

"I don't know how," he whispered.

"You've already found the path. Just stay on it."

He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. "I'll try," he promised.