A Winter’s Wedding (Christmas Cove #3)

Chapter 10

With the Four Corners long gone in the rear view, the red desert had given way to the twists and turns of a mountain highway that followed the curve of the land and white foaming river rapids. The valley dipped sharply between steep cut cliff faces and the road turned to the north. Their destination for the night, Colorado Springs, was now only a few miles away. America had held on to Leo’s hand for so long. The moisture and heat caused their skin to seem glued together at the center console and she was afraid to try and let go.

Leo looked at her briefly and smiled. His knee held the steering wheel steady, a necessary habit formed from driving his old red pickup truck. He combed his hair back from his eyes the way he did when he was deep in thought, and America had to know what he was thinking about.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked, though she suspected it had to do with the night’s sleeping arrangements again from the way his fingers flexed.

“I was just thinking about how lucky you are to have your very own mountain. Look, there it is.” Leo pointed out the driver’s window. “America’s Mountain, Pikes Peak.”

“Sounds like Pike’s mountain, not mine,” she joked.

To the west, America watched the sun take its final breath and dip behind the towering mountain peaks. Fingers of sunlight jutted through the splintered terrain and cut brilliant golden streaks through the darkening sky. Colorado had one of the most beautiful landscapes she had ever seen. The rolling hills and pine forests reminded her of New England, but the deep valleys and snow-frosted heights were a dazzling sight to behold. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes, you are,” Leo flattered.

A little cheesy, she thought, but she loved how he showered her with love. She thanked him with a kiss on his shoulder and kept her eyes trained on the scenery. The mountains, tall and broad, were a mere silhouette, but the city was coming to life with thousands of twinkling lights decorating the dimming horizon ahead. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was Christmas time, not February. “Do you suppose it’s the cold, clean air that makes the lights sparkle like that?”

“Probably. And I’ve never seen so many stars, and it’s not even all the way dark outside yet.” Leo leaned forward and gazed up through the front windshield.

“Eyes. Road,” America reminded him, though he was right to want to see. “I have an idea. Why don’t we grab something to eat and then find a place to snuggle under the stars.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Burgers?” she asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Leo chuckled.

“A man of few words,” America said and opened the map app on her phone.

“A hungry man has no need for wasting energy on words,” Leo explained with more words than were necessary to get his point across. At least she finally understood why he had been so quiet during the last hour of the trip. He was hungry.

America directed Leo to a burger place, and after a quick internet search of the best places to stargaze in Colorado Springs, Leo headed to a park called The Garden of the Gods. Just off the interstate, he followed the road as it snaked around gigantic monuments and delicate spires. He found a small empty parking area situated near the base of what appeared to be a giant red platter stuck into the ground and balancing on its thin edge.

America looked up through the windshield. “Do you think it’ll fall over?”

“Let’s hope not until after we eat. Why don’t you grab the food and meet me upstairs,” Leo said and opened the back door.

“Upstairs?” she asked, not quite knowing what he was talking about.

America slipped her arms through her coat sleeves and zipped up her red puffer. Gathering dinner, which consisted of two cheeseburgers, fries, and a large Dr. Pepper, she met Leo at the front of the car. He sat with his legs crisscrossed and invited her up to join him on the hood. “Upstairs,” she giggled.

The hood was still warm from the engine heat, though the air felt like tiny little ice knives cutting her exposed skin. Leo unrolled a large southwestern style blanket and draped it over their shoulders as they sat looking westward.

Pulling the soft fabric around her legs on the far side, she asked, “Where did you get this?”

“Nahele must have thrown it in the back before we left the hogans. Here,” he passed her a small, folded notecard, “he left this note.”

She opened the small card. “Leo and America. Congratulations on your marriage. I hope this blanket will keep you close on cold nights and hold you together when times are tough. Best wishes, Nahele and Doba.” America tucked the note inside her coat pocket. “That’s incredibly sweet. Why do you think they took such a liking to us?”

Leo unwrapped the brown parchment paper from around his burger and lapped up the melting cheese where it was dripping out of one side of the bun. “I think people just get a feeling about other people. Like I did when I met you. Or like you did when you met Carol. You just knew she was a nut waiting for someone to come crack that hardheaded shell of hers.”

America laughed. “When you so sweetly told me to go and speak with her about decorating the town for Christmas and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I think if you had told me what to expect I may have formed an opinion about her, a wrong one, and never tried to be her friend. So, I guess I know what you mean. As for you, I thought you might be an ax murderer when we first met.”

“I’m glad you’re over that.”

“Who said I am?” She laughed.

“How do you know I’m not?” Leo gave a diabolical chortle back knowing how many true-crime podcasts America used to listen to. It was no surprise that her mind had gone there. Just one more reason to love her , he thought. “Remind me to send Nahele a thank you note once we get back home.” Leo took another bite of his burger as the sky turned from a dull purple to a dark blue. “You’re not eating?”

“I’m not hungry.” America looked down at her wrapped burger, and her stomach growled loudly, causing them both to giggle. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”

Once their dinner was gone, and the hood of the car was nearly cooled off, the sky was filled with millions of little specks of light. Leo laid back and used the windshield as a headrest, while America snuggled into the crook of his arm. He was warm, though the air was not, and he smelled like bacon and cheddar. Through his coat, she listened to his steady breathing and strong heartbeat. Leo pulled the blanket over their bodies, and they took in the magical night sky.

To have and to hold … The words played in her mind in time with his heartbeat. To have. To hold. To have. To hold.

No matter how hard she had fought the reality that they were in fact married now, she had to admit that the air had changed between them the second they signed the papers in the Paris Hotel ballroom. It wasn’t enough for America to know the truth, she wanted to show Leo, her husband, how much he meant to her. She took his hand and hugged it into her chest. The blanket was wrapped tightly around their bodies and giving them all the warmth that it could provide, but she snuggled closer anyway.

“Not the honeymoon you were imagining?” she said.

Leo flexed his arm around her, pulling her body closer to his, if that was even possible. Her cheeks heated and she knew it wasn’t from the cozy blanket. “Better,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

“Better? Than Italy?”

“Oh no, I didn’t say that. We’re still going to Italy next week. At first, I felt like marrying you was all wrong?—”

“Hey,” she nudged him.

“Not like that. I just had this picture in my head of what our marriage was going to look like. And accidentally getting hitched in Vegas was not what I had in mind with my Valentine’s surprise.” Leo squirmed and his chest muscles tensed as he offered an explanation as to why this trip was better than what he had imagined. “You know how perfect my parents’ marriage was. I just keep thinking all the stuff that’s being thrown our way… Is it a sign?”

America sat up and inspected his face for the truth. “So, you think that your parents’ lives were perfect because they loved each other so much? I don’t think that’s how that works, Leo. I’m sure they had their fair share of hiccups. You just didn’t notice, because despite any obstacles they faced, their love for each other got them through it all. And that’s what you saw as their child. And that’s all you’re choosing to remember now as an adult.”

“Like I only saw what I wanted to see?”

“Not exactly.” She laid her head on his chest. “I just think it’s not a good idea to compare our relationship to this idealized version of what you think your parents had. Because I can tell you right now, we can’t compete with all that. Nor should we have to.”

America was sensitive to the fact that Leo’s mom and dad had each passed away only a few weeks apart. His mother died of a broken heart not long after his father’s heart attack. Leo had told her that he longed for a love as big as theirs. One that was so big, only angels can carry it. That kind of pressure had weighed on her ever since and only increased after their engagement. But now, as they lay together, far from home, she wondered if their love was growing in big ways too.

“Look,” she said, “a shooting star.”

“I saw it too,” Leo pointed to the area of the sky where the streak of light had been. “Quick, make a wish.”

America squeezed her eyes shut and wished for Leo to kiss her. Not just any kiss. A kiss that would bind them together. A kiss that would say all the unsaid things in his heart. She opened her eyes, and the twinkling stars flooded her vision. She looked up at Leo to find his eyes still closed. A small twitch pulled his cheek up on one side, and she watched until he was finished with his rather long wish list.

“The reason I said that this trip was better than what I thought our honeymoon would be, was because I don’t think we would have ever road-tripped like this otherwise. We spent our first night together as a married couple in the most beautiful desert landscape. Climbed mountain passes and forded streams today. I saw a herd of elk which by the way, are way bigger than I thought they were, and I ate dinner with the most incredible, gentle, understanding wife a man could hope for, under the stars in God’s Garden. I made a wish upon a star, like something out of a dream, and I kissed the prettiest girl in the world.”

The last part wasn’t true, but the way his eyes smoldered with fire burned into her and let her know that he was about to make good on the last part of his particular wish.

Brushing her hair back behind her ear with his thumb, his hand came around her face. Leo supported himself on one elbow and half of his body hovered above her. His lips pressed against her exposed neck, just below her ear. Another caress landed beside the first. The night air froze the moisture from his lips like little crystalized tattoos dotting her flesh where he had just been. Tiny gooseflesh prickled up with anticipation across her body and she ached for him to soothe it.

His hand cradled her neck, and he tilted her head backwards slightly. A better angle for him to fit his mouth with hers. The kiss was everything she needed it to be. Pleasure heated her spine and chest as she succumbed to the delicious exhilaration of kissing her husband under the stars.

What was he thinking? What was she thinking? She couldn’t put her thoughts together as his free hand explored her curves under the blanket. A moan escaped her throat, and he broke away only to crash against the spot where the sound had emanated from. She whispered his name and her body squirmed as she yearned for more; more of something she wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about.

No matter what her body was screaming for her to do, she was out of time to find out where her limits might end. Gravel crunched under the weight of an approaching vehicle and the headlamps shone across their faces. A white pickup truck pulled alongside and parked. Breathlessly, Leo chuckled into America’s neck at nearly being caught in a compromising position.

A flashlight beam blinded America and she put a palm up to block the worst of it. “Hey. Turn that thing off.”

“This area is off limits after seven,” a booming voice said from behind the light. “And it’s seven-thirty.”

America sat up and gathered the blanket to her chest. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t realize,” she said and slid off the hood. Her feet landed in the rough crushed stone on the side of the roadway. “We lost track of time. Thank you for reminding us.”

“Kids these days,” the man said, as he rolled up his window, in a tone that was meant to be under his breath but one she heard loud and clear.

Back in their own car, America and Leo giggled and exchanged little kisses and knowing looks all the way to the hotel at the highway entrance. She only hoped the place had a vacancy, and a cold shower.