Page 109 of Even After This
Ten feet away is a huge red plastic banner with giant white capital letters saying, “STOP.” Unable to break my forward propulsion, I make a direct hit. And take the sign down with me.
“Meredith? Meredith? Are you okay?”
Writhing, I fight the crimson monster. I can’t see anything but red. But I hear the crunching of boots on snow, and Harlan’s stressed voice is getting closer.
“Harlan.” I’m lying on part of the sign, with half of it wrapped across my body. Pushing, stretching, punching, I battle the banner. “Get me out of here.”
Hands grip my shoulders. “Quit moving, sweetheart.” I halt my struggle, and Harlan pulls the sign off and throws it down on the ground. He hauls me to my feet. As he frames my face in his hands, his worried eyes draw me in from head to toe. “You all right?”
Nodding, I gasp for breath. “I kind of forgot how to stop.”
Because I’m not embarrassed enough, the ski patrol approaches. “Everybody okay here?”
“She’s fine.” Harlan waves him off. “But the banner might need some medical attention.”
A blue-coated blur skies by us and comes to an abrupt, impressive stand, spraying snow ten feet in front of him. “Woo-hoo! Nice one, Stop Sign Girl!”
Great.
I wave at my fan. “I’m sorry to dethrone you, Harlan, but I’m the famous one today.”
On the drive home, with the setting sun turning the snow into shadows, I reflect on the day as a beautiful picture of our relationship. Harlan moves ahead of me and asks me to follow him in his tracks. Each progression is slow and methodical. At first, all of it is terrifying, but he continues to reveal that moving forward is safe with him.
I open my jacket and reach for a package of Kleenex stored in my front pocket. Instead, my hand finds the note Harlan gave me this morning, reminding me that if I get lost, I now have a place to belong.
But what if our purposes don’t line up?
What if he wants something I can’t give him?
Staring out the window, I worry Harlan is unknowingly leading us straight into a giant stop sign.
26
As I enter the main houseon the Holcombe ranch, I glance around at the Christmas Eve preparations. From the back door, the open plan allows a full view of the kitchen, dining room, and den. Harlan told me the property was updated recently with dark wood floors that match the planks in the vaulted ceilings. The swirling dark granite complements the stainless-steel accents.
After I hang my coat on one of the hooks, I nudge my boots off and make a mental note to sink into the den’s oversized couches for a nap later today.
Clark and Scott shove each other in an elbow war while they put place settings on the distressed-wood dining table. William stands next to the grand Christmas tree and stokes the fire. I don’t spot Gracie anywhere, but a sprite of a woman with shoulder-length gray hair and sparkling blue eyes walks toward me.
“Meredith. Merry Christmas Eve.” The lines in her face hint at a life of hard work, but her smile is breathtaking. “I’m Mama Lee.”
When she hugs me, I take in her soulful warmth. I lower my head to speak into her ear. “I’m so glad to meet you.” How did a person so tiny produce two brawny men?
“Word on the street is you turned down a serious triple-dog dare yesterday.” She pulls back to end the hug but keeps a grasp on my arms.
“She refused to go down an easy blue with us,” Clark calls across the room while pointing a handful of forks at me.
“I didn’t want to cramp your style.” Shrugging, I lean in for a conspiring whisper with Harlan’s mom. “I chose survival.”
With one final pat, she releases me. “I’m glad you did, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten to meet you.”
She has no idea the truth of her statement.
Clark shakes his head as he haphazardly places a fork at the end of the table. “I think she fell down a lot on purpose so she wouldn’t have to go down a harder run.”
I think I fell down a lot on purpose so my hulk-of-a-man boyfriend would have to help me up again.
“Meredith, this is our ranch hand, Hank Browning. He’s been with us since the boys were little.” Mama Lee turns to a figure holding up the wall near William.
