Page 31 of Believe In Us

Chloe looked adorable snowshoeing, but then she always looked adorable. If you looked up adorable in the dictionary, there would just be a picture of her.

The snow was perfect for snowshoeing today, light and fluffy with deep pack underneath to keep us from sinking too far. We reached the viewpoint and the group clustered together, savoring the view. I loved being outdoors. Alaska was home for me—the crisp air, the blindingly bright blue sky, the way the sun crested low along the horizon during the winter. I chatted a little with the group before moving to stand beside Chloe. She had her palm pressed to her chest as she stared out over the valley.

“How you doing?” I asked.

She glanced up, her eyes shining with a glint of tears. “It’s so beautiful here,” she breathed, her voice reverent.

“It is,” I said simply.

“This is your home,” she added.

“Yours now too,” I pointed out softly, caught in her sense of wonder.

The wonder you could feel in the outdoors eased me in a way not much else could. This kind of cathedral reverence could make you both forget all your worries and remember what was important. The world was here for you, sharp and bright, both grounding you and lifting your heart into the sky, blowing wild in the wind.

The call of an eagle carried over to us. I found it quickly and pointed it out for the group. We watched as it angled out from a tree, cutting cleanly through the air with its wings spread wide, passing maybe thirty feet in front of us. They were such majestic birds.

“So beautiful,” Chloe murmured, glancing up at me with a smile teasing the corners of her lips. “I wouldn’t want to be something they could eat. They are fierce,” she added with a giggle. The sound resonated through me, a curl of warmth around my heart.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t either. They’re pretty efficient hunters. Hopefully you’ll see one catch a fish sometime. That’s always a sight.”

Her eyes went wide. “I’ve seen an osprey catch a fish. They just dive in and come up with a fish.”

“It’s pretty much what eagles do over the water. They’re just a little bigger.”

Another giggle from Chloe. I glanced toward the sun. “All right, we should head back.” This wasn’t a long hike but we didn’t want to linger. We needed to get back while it was still safely within daylight. Winter days were short in Alaska, even in the more southern areas where we were. We began the return trek, following our tromping path back the way we came.

It was an uneventful trip, until Chloe slipped when we reached the back area of the resort. Her snowshoe crashed through the snow and she yelped. I made my way to her quickly.

“Hey, what happened?”

“I don’t know, the snow just gave out and I hit—” She reached her gloved hand down into the snow.

“A boulder,” I said. “That’s definitely an ouch.”

She met my gaze. “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” she said with an eye roll.

I chuckled. “Sometimes it’s hard to orient when it’s just snow. There must be an opening around that boulder underneath.” She tried to push herself up. “You okay?”

“My hip’s going to have a nice bruise, but I’m fine, and I need help getting back up.”

I moved slowly and eased her up, keeping a hold of her arm as we made our way back away from the hole that had opened in the snow. “That’s one downside of winter.”

“What?”

“You don’t always know what’s under the snow.”

“Well, we need to put a marker there.”

I eyed the hole behind us. “I’ll come back later.”

She made this little growly sound as she eyed the boulder under the snow.

“Did you just growl at that boulder?” I asked.

Her gaze met mine, her lips teasing at the corners. “I did, I guess.”

I let out a sharp bark of a laugh. “Come on, we’ll get you back.”