Rocky Mountain Faith (Roberts of Silver Springs Book 10)

by Ciara Knight

  “You want a two-story tree?”

  “Not just a two-story, a full and beautiful two-story tree.” Ally winked before she pulled a second chair over and joined Rex at Frank’s bedside.

  Chase tugged Mia from the room. “Come on, even Florence Nightingale took breaks.”

  Mia didn’t know what else to say, she’d been sent away. Part of her remained in that room, but the other part changed and slipped on snow boots. “We shouldn’t be gone long. I don’t want them to be alone.”

  “You mean you don’t want him to pass alone. I promise you, he won’t.” Chase put his hand on the small of her back in that distracting way he’d perfected, probably from years of dating.

  They hopped in the truck and headed down the hill, hooked a left and rode out of town, passing several Christmas tree lots.

  “Where are we going? There were plenty back there.”

  Chase laughed, a big, lumberjack deep laugh. “We don’t buy our trees. We’re Roberts. We have land that we cut them down from. Haven’t you ever gone and picked your own tree and cut it down?”

  Mia shook her head no. “We didn’t usually have a tree. Not since I was about thirteen.”

  “What? Why?” Chase asked.

  Mia toyed with the thread on the stitching of her glove. “When my brother left for the war we didn’t want a tree. We wanted to wait for him to return to celebrate, but he never did.”

  “You never had another tree?” Chase wanted to reach over and cover her hands, but he couldn’t. Instead he reached with his stump and rubbed her arm. To his surprise, she didn’t shrink away from him. “You need to start living again. I’m telling you from the perspective of a soldier, your brother would not want this. He’d want you to live and laugh and love.”

  Love?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chase drove up the mountain to the usual Roberts’ spot. Trees towered on both sides. It had been years since he’d gone to pick out a tree, and he was giddy with excitement. Not just to be in the beauty of the Colorado Mountains, but to have a chance to share it with Mia.

  “I guess you don’t have many Christmas Tree farms in Florida,” Rex asked.

  “Nope. Lots of colored lights around palm trees and eighty-degree weather at Christmas where I grew up.”

  Chase turned into the gravel lookout and pushed the gear into park with his left hand. “Good thing I don’t need two hands to drive, huh?”

  Mia shook her head, there was no humor left in her eyes. He shifted to face her. “You need to take a minute. Frank has his family. Yes, it’s your job to care for him, but we all know the outcome of this. Ally and Rex want you to have a little fun. They’re good people.”

  “I know they are. That’s why this feels so wrong.”

  “Wrong? You’re denying a wounded veteran a chance to pick out his first Christmas tree in over six years? His childhood memories being brought back to life when he’s full of horror and loss in his head?”

  “Lay it on thick much?” Mia cracked a smile. A small one, but he’d take it.

  Chase did his best puppy dog eyes. The one that got his sister and mother to make him dinner.

  “Oh, that’s not gonna work on me. I’ve got your number. I know what kind of guy you are. Your cousin told me about your reputation, remember?”

  He held a hand to his chest. “Me? Oh, I’m a changed man. I’m nothing but respectful and sensitive.”

  Mia rolled her eyes and opened her door. “Fine, let’s go pick out a tree. I wouldn’t want to disappoint the children, or a wounded vet.”

  He raced around the truck to help her out, but he was too slow. “So, you grew up in Miami, Florida, right?”

  “Yep, outside there, near the Everglades. My father was transferred there when I was in fifth grade, but we left when I was in high school. The crime just became a problem. My mother moved us to New Jersey after the divorce, and then Atlanta.”

  “Sounds like you moved around a lot.” Chase grabbed the axe out of the back of the truck. He wanted to take her arm to help her up the hill, but couldn’t figure out how with the axe in his one hand.

  “What made you decide to go in the military?” Mia asked.

  Chase trudged up through the snow to the first set of trees and eyed them, but they were all too young. “Partly, all my friends were going and I felt the sense of duty, and I wanted to see the world. Also, I always enjoyed more physical work than mental work. That’s why I can’t figure out what I want to do. There isn’t much manual labor for a one-armed man.”

  Mia smacked him, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

  “What was that for?”

  “Stop saying that.”

  “Saying what?”

  Mia huffed. “That you’re a one-armed man, a cripple, a half-man, err…whatever else you’ve said. At least you’re alive. You made it back.”

  Chase saw the fire in Mia’s eyes and realized her pain, even after all these years. “It wasn’t your fault. Why do you keep holding on to the pain?”

  Mia dropped her hands to her sides with another huff and trudged ahead. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just sick of you putting yourself down.”

  “So you smack me?”

  “To smack some sense into you, yes.”

  “Is that proper nurse procedure?”

  Mia stopped and faced him. “I’m not your nurse.”

  Chase closed the gap between them and looked down into her gorgeous blue eyes. He could see her breath quicken and knew he affected her. “No, you’re not my nurse.”

  Mia stood face to face with him for a few more seconds. Her eyes dropped to his lips, but then she backed away. “Are we getting a tree or not?”

  Chase walked on past her to a tree that was tall enough for the entry. “Yep, here we go.”

  Mia crossed her arms over her chest. “That thing? No way.”

  “What’s wrong with this one.”

  Mia walked around it’s thin circumference. “Are you kidding? It looks like it’s malnourished.”

  “It’s fine.” Chase lifted the axe but she got between him and the tree. “No way. Ally put me in charge of picking a good tree and I’m not going to let her down. Let’s go.”

  She walked up and down aisles for twenty minutes until his hand was cold and his muscles protested. “Are you trying to cause frost bite on my only hand? Pick a tree.”

  “I warned you about that. Do I need to hit you again?”

  Chase held the axe up in surrender.

  For another twenty minutes, he followed her to what felt like the other side of the mountain. She would stop, put a finger to her lips and look the tree up and down, but eventually shake her head and move onto the next one. “Do we have lights for the tree? What about ornaments? Oh, we could make them with the kids. That would be fun.”

  “I thought you didn’t do Christmas.”

  Mia moved to the next tree, broke off a needle and smelled it as if she was a professional tree sniffer. “I don’t. It’s for the kids, not me.”

  She continued to the next row and he had to jog to catch her, which wasn’t easy in the snow. “Okay, I’ve created a monster. I wanted to pick a tree, not look for a unicorn.”

  “Ha, ha.” Mia said. “This one. This is the tree.”

  He circled it, put his finger to his lips, broke off a pine needle and sniffed it and then got smacked in the back of the head.

  “Okay, okay. You’re right, this one is perfect. Now all I have to do is chop it down, drag it to the truck and drive it back, all with one good arm.” He jumped away before her hand made contact with him again.

  “You’re just saying that to get a rise out of me now.”

  Chase smiled, his best boyish charm smile. “You’re adorable when your frustrated.”

  Mia tipped her chin to her chest in the cutest shy way. There wasn’t much about this girl that wasn’t beautiful, alluring, or plain distracting. He lifted the axe and hit the tree, but with little power. As he suspected,
a one-handed chop wasn’t getting him too far even with his chopping wood practice.

  Mia stood to the side for a few minutes watching tiny chips fly off the trunk, but he wasn’t making much progress. He hit and he hit until his shoulder and bicep and hands burned. With exhaustion setting in quick, he leaned on the axe for a moment to catch his breath.

  Snowflakes began to drift down from puffy clouds overhead and he knew he didn’t want to get stuck out in the snow on the mountain.

  Mia cleared her throat. “I can help if you want.”

  Great, he couldn’t even cut down a tree for a beautiful girl.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The ride home was quiet and she knew Chase struggled with her helping cut down the tree. Was he ever going to understand that he had so much to offer the world, that he wasn’t just some cripple? Chase pulled up and parked the truck in the drive. Without a word, he hopped out and grabbed the tree out of the back.

  Mia jumped out and ran around the truck, blocking him from the house. The bitter wind drilled through the seams in her coat and the snow fell in clumps between them. “Stop. Don’t take another step.”

  Chase halted and looked at her with raised brows and open mouth.

  “You keep thinking that you’re not a big man anymore. That you don’t have a way to work, or do things for yourself. You don’t think you’ll be the ladies’ man you once were so you want to settle with one as a consolation prize. Well, let me tell you something. You have a great job opportunity with your friend. One that you’d be amazing at. You and I both know it.” She stepped so close the white air from his breath landed on her cheeks. She poked him with her finger in his forehead. “If you could just get it through your thick skull that you are still all that. A man that turns heads, can do anything he wants, and that he has a great life here.” She put her hands on each side of his neck and tugged him down to her level. “For your information, you’re still hot. Yes, you affect me. And girls still turn their heads when you walk by.”

  He lowered his eyes. “Thanks for the pep talk, but it’s just words.”

  “Oh yeah?” She pulled him into her, and she kissed him. Kissed him like she’d never kissed a man in her life. A toe-curling, memorable, I’ll-never-be-kissed-like-this-again kind of kiss. She let go and stumbled back, trying to keep her composure. “Maybe you can think about that for a while.” She turned and spotted Ally and Rex at the front door. She lifted her chin and stomped into the house, up the stairs and plopped down into the chair by Frank’s side.

  “What the hell did I just do?” she whispered to Frank, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.

  “Looks like you stunned Chase so much that he’s still standing out there with a dumb look on his face about to freeze in the snow.” David chuckled from the doorway.

  She realized she wasn’t cold anymore. Her skin was heated and flushed. David’s footsteps entered the room. “You alright?”

  “I’m fine.” She busied herself with checking Frank’s vitals and administering his next dose of morphine, tucking in covers and cleaning.

  “If you don’t mind. I’d like to talk to Mia.” Chase’s voice stole her breath, and she squeezed the dust rag in her hand.

  “Of course,” David answered.

  She heard the door shut, but she couldn’t turn around. What was she thinking? Why’d she do that?

  “Mia, I think we need to talk,” Chase said, his voice low and hollow.

  She took a breath to steady her emotions and faced him. “Nothing to talk about. I was just proving a point. You need to snap out of it that’s all.”

  Chase shook his head. “That wasn’t a ploy to get me to face something.”

  “Of course, it was. Don’t be silly.” Mia grabbed the water pitcher. “I better get fresh water.”

  Chase blocked her escape route. “No. Don’t do this. Talk to me.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  Chase sighed. “Fine, then listen to what I have to say.”

  Mia set the pitcher down.

  “We both have been through a lot in our lives. I know you feel guilty about your brother’s death, but I don’t understand why you don’t want to be involved with someone. Frank told me that you were scared, but you don’t have to be scared of me.”

  “I’m not scared of you. That’s crazy.”

  “No? then why are you trembling?”

  Mia sat down on her hands. “It’s cold. It’s winter you know.” She couldn’t tell him that she wanted to throw her arms around him and never let him go.

  “Then what is it? Frank said you have been in relationships, but never fully committed.”

  “Frank says a lot he doesn’t understand. He’s heavily medicated.”

  Chase knelt in front of her, hand on one knee, his stump on the other. “Why are you scared of commitment?”

  “Why are you?”

  Chase smiled. “I’m not. I told you, I never thought I wanted to settle down and be a full-time Roberts. I wanted adventure and to live far away, but after being in the military, I realized how good it is here. I know I want to return. I just don’t know what I want to do with my life yet.”

  “Then you need time to figure that out.”

  “Stop redirecting and answer the question. Mia, why are you so scared of commitment.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then what are you scared of.”

  “Family. My family. All they do is leave. My brother died and my parents checked out. They divorced and left each other. What’s the point in family if they don’t stick together?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chase sat down on the floor with the pile of ornaments Rex had found in the attic. David, Melinda, Mia and he all worked on decorating the tree, but it wasn’t a joyous occasion. The tension and sorrow in the house was thick and weighing them down.

  “Do you think the kids would like to help make old-fashioned decorations?” Melinda asked.

  David opened another box of damaged ornaments. “I think that could be fun. We could string popcorn and make ornaments.”

  “Frank would love that.” Mia’s voice trembled. She’d grown attached to Frank these last few months, that was obvious. She put the tissue paper aside, grabbed her coat and went out front. Chase stood, brushing the glitter off his pants and went after her. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew she needed someone.

  He found her wiping tears from her eyes. “You see that star up there?”

  Chase leaned against the railing and looked up. The snow had stopped for the moment and the sky was bright and clear. “Yes.”

  “It’s Venus,” Mia said, her hands and voice shaking. He took her hands and tucked them into his coat at his sides. “Really? What other stars do you know?”

  “That’s it. All I have to impress you with.” Mia half-laughed.

  He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Mia.”

  She shrugged form him and eyed the sky once more. “I wish I could do more.”

  “You’ve done everything to help them through this. They want to be alone with him now.” Chase cornered her so she couldn’t run from him. “Your family didn’t abandon you. They loved you, but loss can sometimes tear people apart instead of bringing them together. You as a hospice nurse must know this.”

  Mia didn’t respond.

  “You’re right about me. I was a player, but I never felt anything for anyone before. I’m not sure what to do with this. You’ve got my stomach tied in knots worrying about you.” He dared to put his hand on her back and move closer. “My heart aches to see you suffer.”

  “I’m not suffering. I’m a hospice nurse. I’ve never lost it over a patient. I’m professional and…and.” She broke down and cried. He turned her into his arms and held her. “Shh. It’s okay. You and Frank spent a lot of time together. From what I understand he was your confidant. He told Rex how special you are. And I agree.” He kissed the top of her head and held her tight. “And to be clear, you are no on
e’s consolation prize. You are the prize.”

  He held her for a few minutes while she collected herself. “He’s the one who was special. Is special,” Mia said.

  The warmth of her body against his kept the night air from being too cold. He could stand there all night holding her and be happy. “You can talk to me. I’m a good listener.”

  She wiped her eyes again and looked up at him with a forced smile. “I believe you would be an excellent friend.”

  He winced at the just-be-friends comment. “Ouch.”

  Mia shook her head. “You know what I mean. You’re a good guy, Chase, but we both know that Frank is not going to be with us much longer. And that means I won’t be here.”

  “You’re a nurse. Can’t you find something around here? I mean, I thought you liked it here.”

  Mia glanced out into the darkness. “I’m a hospice nurse. It’s what I’m meant to be.”

  Chase wanted to shake her until she saw the truth. “You don’t have to be. You can help people. I looked it up and the burn out rate of hospice care is high. You’ve been doing it a long time. It’s okay to need a break.”

  “No. You know I made a vow, and I intend to keep it. I’ll take the rest of December off, I know my boss won’t mind. She’s tried to get me to take time off before. I’ll feel refreshed after a week or two and ready for the next assignment. For some reason, Frank was special. We connected in a unique way. He was like the father that left when I was young, or my big brother. I don’t know. It sounds stupid.” She slipped away from him. “This isn’t professional. I’m not being professional. I need to go back inside.”

  “Stop hiding behind your job. You kissed me.”

  Mia waved her hand at him as if to dismiss him. No woman had ever dismissed him, and he didn’t like it. “It was to prove a point. I think I made it. Now who’s toes are curling.”

  “Don’t play games Mia.” Chase moved in, not letting her walk away from this conversation. “You felt it too, I know you did. Now who’s using humor to keep themselves from facing reality?”