High Country Christmas

by Cynthia Thomason

  Having never seen this man before, Ava understood the risk she was taking that night. But she felt reassured he would never be able to trace her identity in a city the size of Charlotte. They introduced themselves with first names only. They sat at a table for two, had another drink, or maybe two, and talked openly about many topics. Ava discovered that Noah was bright, funny and easy to talk to beyond his obvious qualities in the looks department. And she was flattered into believing he found her charming.

  She invited him back to her apartment, where they ordered takeout from a local Chinese restaurant, opened a bottle of wine and kept her selection of dreamy music at a low level. Wasn’t it then only natural that after a nearly perfect evening, the next stop was her bedroom, where Ava discovered Noah had other qualities that she quite admired?

  By the time both Noah and Ava fell asleep, she had made the extraordinary decision that she had found a man she could see in her life long term. But when he roused her from sleep at three in the morning, planted a gentle kiss on her temple and told her he had to go, she was to learn that the man she had taken a chance with was far from her ideal.

  “I’m so sorry,” he’d said. “We shouldn’t have... I shouldn’t have.”

  What? Through the haze of sleep she wondered why he would have said such a thing.

  His voice lowered as he bent toward her ear. “I’m married. It’s not a happy marriage, but you’re probably going to think all men say things like that to... Well, I should have been honest with you. But you’re so great. I couldn’t believe my luck in meeting someone like you...”

  A sharp pain had sliced into her heart. “Just go,” she’d muttered under her breath.

  “I want to keep in touch...”

  She’d turned over in bed to get a last long look at him, those wide, deep brown eyes, the slight crinkles in the corners, his full mouth. “Get out,” she’d said. “I never want to see you again.”

  He scooped up his clothes from the floor, pulled on his T-shirt and jeans and walked out of her bedroom. And Ava vowed never to be taken in again. And she was glad that she hadn’t given him so much as her last name. And when she discovered she was pregnant, she even rented a different apartment, making her nearly impossible to track down if he should try.

  And she didn’t even try to find him. The thought of having him in her life again, the fear of her giving in another time, the risk of him knowing about a baby... No, these options were not viable. She accepted the pregnancy and took on the responsibility. She didn’t even tell her family and requested leave from her job for the last four months of her term.

  How many times had she seen him in the past two weeks? Ten, twelve? She’d lost count. But in her quiet hours she had dwelled on every meeting and discovered she wanted to see more of him. They had mostly cleared the air about their past, though there was still a huge secret, but even so, she began to envision a future. And she let herself believe that this time would be different.

  Yes, there was Charlie to consider, but sometimes she could actually envision a life with Noah, Sawyer and Charlie, with the secret still intact. It was a fantasy, but she allowed herself to believe in it, just a little, from time to time. But now he’d said her name from his hospital bed and told her he hadn’t wanted to leave. He’d been dreaming about her and that night.

  What if he wanted something permanent with her? The possibility thrilled her as much as it frightened her. Would she tell him about Charlie? She clenched her hands tightly together knowing the decision she had to make would be the second most difficult one of her life. The first had been giving up Charlie hours after he’d been born.

  Sawyer’s voice brought Ava out of the stupor that had overwhelmed her. “I brought drinks and some chips,” she said. “There wasn’t much of a variety.”

  Ava slowly turned toward her. “What?” She saw the items in Sawyer’s hand. “Oh, yes, that’s fine.”

  Sawyer set the items on a table and went to the bedside. “How is he? Any change?”

  “Yes, your father opened his eyes.”

  “Really?” The nurse was just coming back into the room and went to her patient, raised his eyelids. “He’s back asleep now.”

  “Did he say anything?” Sawyer asked. “Did he remember what happened to him?”

  “Ah, yes, he spoke. He mentioned that he’d been dreaming. That was about it.”

  “This is good news, isn’t it?” Sawyer asked the nurse.

  “Of course. He’s starting to come around. With a little encouragement from all of us, I’ll bet he’ll be holding a conversation in the morning.”

  “What should we do now?” Sawyer asked. “Should we try to wake him up?”

  “I wouldn’t. He’ll probably sleep through the night. I think you ladies should go next door and get a room. Relax a few hours. You’ll need your energy if Noah is alert tomorrow. If he should wake up, I’ll call you.”

  Cell phone numbers were exchanged, and an hour later Ava and Sawyer left Noah. They took a room at the Best Western, ordered pizza delivery and turned on the TV. Sawyer had accepted that her father was going to live, so she dialed up a comedy movie, and she was soon wrapped up in the action on the screen. Ava pretended to watch, but her mind kept going back to those words. Don’t make me go. I want to stay.

  * * *

  EARLY MONDAY MORNING Sawyer was dressed and ready to go back to the hospital. As much as Ava wanted to see Noah, she procrastinated as long as she could. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” she said, and took her time getting dressed. “Let’s get the complimentary breakfast,” she suggested and urged Sawyer to have more than a Danish pastry.

  They finally arrived at the hospital about nine o’clock. A different nurse was in Noah’s room. “I have good news,” she said. “We’ve already gotten the results of Noah’s CT scan, and everything looks good. In fact, we are moving him to a private room down the hall this morning.”

  “That’s great,” Sawyer said, going to the bed. “Has he said anything this morning?”

  “No. He hasn’t awakened, but the doctor and I both believe he will very soon. Especially after he spoke yesterday evening. That was such a good sign.”

  Sawyer sniffed loudly. “And I wasn’t even in the room to hear him.”

  “You’ll be here the next time,” Ava said. She wondered if Noah would awaken and begin talking about what he’d been dreaming of. No, surely he won’t, she told herself. He probably wouldn’t even remember seeing her last night.

  “How long do you think he’ll have to remain in the hospital?” Ava asked the nurse.

  “Well, if he wakes up today, we’re going to give him an MRI tomorrow to make certain that the spleen or other internal organs weren’t affected by the fall. The first MRI showed no damage. Another one would be conclusive. Then, if everything checks out and if he’s feeling better, he’ll probably be discharged on Tuesday.”

  Tuesday? There were complications associated with discharging Noah the next day. Did the hospital staff realize that Noah’s home was five hours away, and he lived alone? Would Noah accept that he couldn’t drive his truck until his leg had healed?

  “Will there be someone in his home to help him?” the nurse asked, as if reading Ava’s mind. “You should contact his primary care physician and ask about a visiting nurse a few days a week.”

  “I’ll take care of him,” Sawyer said.

  “But, Sawyer,” Ava said. “You can’t be with him twenty-four hours a day. You have school, and you need to return to some sense of normality. Besides...” She stared down at Noah for a moment and noticed the scruffy beard he’d grown in a few days. He looked more like the man who’d ridden up to her building on his Harley-Davidson that first day. The man who hadn’t slept while awaiting word about his daughter. “Besides, I don’t think you’re strong enough to help him get around.”

  “He won’t need much help,
believe me,” Sawyer insisted. “He’ll try to do everything for himself the minute he gets back home.” She frowned down at Noah. “You forget... I know my father. And I want to be with him as much as I can. We have a lot to talk about.”

  Ava nodded. Indeed they did. But what would those conversations be like? Would Noah realize that he was lucky this time and might not be the next? “You’re right, Sawyer. You should be with him as much as you can. We’ll work it out.”

  The nurse left the room and Sawyer and Ava sat in the chairs they’d occupied yesterday. The chairs touching, they would wait for Noah to come back. After a few minutes Ava realized that Sawyer was crying.

  “Oh, honey, he’s going to be okay.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m crying.” She grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. “The worst thing happened, the thing I always thought would happen, and he’s going to be fine.”

  “But, Sawyer, aren’t you happy about the outcome?”

  Her body trembled with a large intake of air. “Yeah. Seeing him like this is awful. I’m glad he’s going to be fine, but now he’ll go back to work. He’ll go back to doing all the dumb things he’s always done. He’ll think he’s invincible. He’ll believe that his crew can’t go on without him. Nothing will change. I’ll eventually have to get used to another housekeeper...he’ll be away for days at a time, and I’ll always wonder if he’ll come home or if I will end up sitting by his bed in another hospital...or worse. Sitting by his grave.”

  She leaned over and put her head on Ava’s shoulder. For the second time since they’d known each other, Sawyer cried out all her frustration. “You must think I’m the most horrible person,” she said. “I should be grateful...and I am! But it could happen again, and the next time...”

  Ava rubbed Sawyer’s shoulder. “Maybe this accident will make him rethink his responsibility to that job,” she said. “Maybe he’ll rethink his relationship with you. You might be surprised, Sawyer. Your father may wake up in more ways than one.”

  Sawyer’s sobs quieted. “I want you to be right, Ava. I don’t care about all the stuff in my room in Chapel Hill. I don’t care if he never buys me another thing. I just want him to come home every night.”

  “I know, sweetie, I know.”

  The sound of heavy breathing made both of them turn toward the bed. Strange sounds came from Noah’s throat as if he were trying to cough. He cleared his throat. His eyes blinked several times.

  “Stay with him, Sawyer,” Ava said, rising from the chair. “I’ll get the nurse.”

  She was back with the nurse in under a minute. When they entered the room, Sawyer was holding her father’s hand and he was looking up into her eyes.

  “Shouldn’t you be in school, young lady?” he said, and managed to gift her with a beautiful smile that melted Ava’s heart.

  “Shouldn’t you be anywhere but here?” Sawyer snapped back in a voice choked with emotion. “How many times have I told you...”

  “I know, I know.” He looked down his body. “What’s wrong with my leg? I didn’t break the darn thing, did I?”

  “You sorta did,” Sawyer said.

  “Oh, terrific.” His voice hoarse, he spoke again. “What about the dang fool I tried to get down off the tower? Where’s he?”

  “He’s fine,” the nurse said. “He’s being discharged today. And if you behave yourself, you could be leaving on Tuesday.”

  He looked confused. “What day is it now? Isn’t it Sunday?”

  “Monday. You only lost one day,” the nurse explained. “Not bad for a guy who landed on frozen Tennessee ground.”

  “Sawyer, how did you get here?”

  Sawyer stepped away from the bed, turned toward the door where Ava had been hovering. “Ava brought me, Daddy.”

  He smiled. “Ava...”

  She came forward, her eyes blurry at the sight of his beautiful face. Noah reached his hand up to her. She took it in hers. “Welcome back, Noah,” she said, amazed that she could get the words out over the constriction in her lungs.

  “Ava, you came, too?”

  She blinked, stared at him, and released a long breath. He didn’t remember what he’d said last night. “Of course. We’ve all been so worried.”

  His gaze traveled the length of her, taking in her jeans, her light blue blouse. He was studying her as if he were about to take an exam on all of her features.

  “You got your hair cut,” he said.

  “Ah, no. Not recently.” She touched her shoulder-length hair and remembered that it had been long when they’d met before six years ago.

  “Looks nice anyway,” he said. “Thanks for coming, Ava. And thanks for bringing Sawyer.”

  Still holding his hand, Ava sank into the nearest chair. He didn’t remember what he’d said the night before. Maybe he never would. What if he didn’t remember what they had meant to each other these past two weeks? He’d had a head injury after all. And on Tuesday they would all go back to Holly River and take up their lives as they’d been living them before the fall. Well, maybe not exactly the same. At least not for her.

  * * *

  NOAH WAS RELEASED Tuesday morning with strict instructions to take it easy and make appointments with doctors in his hometown. The orthopedist told him he might be able to use a walking boot instead of crutches in a few weeks—an encouraging piece of news since he didn’t relish the idea of wearing a tux to a wedding while using crutches.

  He didn’t like leaving his truck in Tennessee, but since he wasn’t permitted to drive yet, he had no choice. One of his crew promised to bring the vehicle to him when they’d finished repairing the towers affected by the snowstorm.

  And so, after thanking the staff at Daniel’s Creek Medical Center, and after having a few choice words with Rick about his stupidity in free climbing, Noah, Ava and Sawyer got in Ava’s car for the return trip. Noah sat in the back seat with his leg elevated. They hadn’t gone a mile before Sawyer said, “Dad, you should have fired that guy, Rick.”

  “Chad has the honors,” he responded.

  “And next I need to find someone who will fire you.”

  “What?” Noah leaned forward to better hear his daughter. “No one can fire me. I’m the boss.”

  “In my opinion Rick wasn’t the only one who did something stupid on Sunday.”

  “Sawyer, I did it to save a man’s life.”

  “I know, and I’m proud of you and all for saving that guy, but why didn’t someone else do it? Why does it always have to be you?”

  Noah frowned, but he doubted Sawyer saw it. “I thought I just explained that,” he said. “I’m the boss. You’ve heard the expression ‘the buck stops here’? If I’d let someone else climb that tower I might have lost two lives, both people I’m responsible for.”

  “But, Dad, still...”

  “Look, Sawyer, we’ve been getting along so great. Let’s save the arguments for when we get back to the house. I’m sure you’ve been thinking about what to say to me for days.”

  “You bet I have, and I don’t care if I speak my mind in front of Ava. You have to admit she knows both of us pretty well.”

  He grinned at the rearview mirror. “Yes, I’ll admit that.”

  “And Ava knows how I feel. I’m hoping that maybe now you’ll listen to me.”

  Obviously Sawyer wasn’t going to let the subject drop. Ava was quiet. Her attention seemed to be focused on her driving. Noah wondered what she was thinking about his conversation with Sawyer.

  “Sawyer, I have to go back to work,” Noah said. “You know that. You also know that I have a broken leg, so I’m not going to be climbing any towers for a while.”

  “So this is the perfect time for you to find a different job.”

  “Like it’s that easy,” he said. “Repairing cell towers is what I’m trained to do. That and maintaining aircraft in a war
zone. You want me to go back to Afghanistan?”

  She turned her head to give him a typical teen sneer. “Other fathers do safe things. They sell insurance or used cars.”

  “First of all, I’m not going to do either of those things or anything even remotely similar. Second, you and I have become accustomed to a lifestyle that neither one of us wants to give up, especially you. If I quit my job you can forget about using my credit cards and hanging out at the mall all the time.”

  He could see that she’d crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh sure. Make this all about me. Make me the unreasonable one.”

  Noah stared at Ava’s profile. She had to be thinking something about this quibbling. Surely she didn’t agree that one accident in over ten years was cause for him to quit his job, a job he was good at and one that paid considerably better than a living wage.

  Her face was nearly unreadable. Other than a slight twitch at her temple, she could have been going over song lyrics in her head. Her face was also one of the first things he’d thought about when he awoke in the hospital, and now he knew why. For some reason Ava’s face had etched itself into his subconscious while he’d been sleeping. He’d needed to see her. He’d needed to know that she was concerned about him, that she cared. The scariest part now was the realization that he needed her. And he could no longer deny it.

  “Don’t you have anything else to say?” Sawyer asked him.

  “Sure. Let me just add that in most cases, you actually are the unreasonable one.”

  “Me?” Sawyer’s voice had risen to an uncomfortable level. And finally Ava got involved.

  “Okay, that’s it!” she said. “I’ve just gotten on the highway, and we still have over four hours left until we get back to Holly River. I won’t make it another ten miles if I have to listen to the two of you.” She paused. Her beautiful lush lip curled up at one corner. “Don’t make me turn this car around.”

  Sawyer gawked at her with wide, surprised eyes. Noah smiled and hoped she could see him in the rearview mirror. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “We’ll be good as gold for the next four hours, won’t we, Sawyer?”