A Virgin River Christmas (Virgin River #4)(45)

Her hand went to her throat to catch the tightness there. It was glorious. “That star,” she whispered in sheer awe.

“I know,” Mel said. “I had everyone in town looking for something like that. I hope it lights their way home.”

“All of them,” she whispered. “All of them.” And she thought of Bobby, finally home after his struggle. And Ian? Could it light Ian’s way home, too?

“How did you get all the unit patches?” Marcie asked.

“Jack and the boys contacted all their old friends. We made phone calls, wrote letters and faxed them. The tree was a sudden decision. Boys from around here have gone into the military—one very close to Jack and me not so long ago. And Vanni’s husband, lost to us in Baghdad…He was in Jack’s squad several years ago. This is for him, too. And his wife. This just couldn’t wait. We had to hurry to get it done, and we did. The whole town pitched in. Doc’s clinic was a disaster.” She laughed. “He groused, but I think it made him secretly happy.”

“It’s truly amazing.”

The oohs and ahhs subsided and people started to sing. The first carol was “Silent Night,” and then “Away in a Manger.” Marcie glanced toward the bar, missing Ian, wanting him to be with her to see the star. She smiled to see him standing on the porch of the bar, hands in his pants pockets, looking up to the top of the tree. And she thought—what will be will be. I promise, I won’t get in the way of it.

People started drifting away about a half hour later, having been through a repertoire of about ten well-known songs. Mel took her baby into the bar, and it wasn’t all that long before Marcie stood in the street with only a few people remaining, all of them looking closely at the tree as Ian continued to watch from the porch. He finally walked down the steps toward the tree and went right up to it, taking a close look at the ornaments and the unit badges. She knew what he would see—a remembrance. A tribute.

Ian didn’t poke around at the tree for too long, but he could see in a moment that these military unit patches came from everywhere and there might have been hundreds reaching up to the top of that enormous tree. It made him feel something he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in a very long time. Pride.

His reverie was broken when he heard Marcie cough; it came out like a bark. He turned and went to her, taking her hand in his, leading her to the truck. “Did you bring your cough medicine with you?”

“No,” she said, coughing again. “Stupid, I know. But I was in a real hurry to get in your truck before you realized that I’d tricked you into letting me come—” She quickly jumped in the truck and when he was behind the wheel, she broke into another spasm. Then she said, “Sorry.”

“For what, exactly? For hacking all the way home or for forcing yourself on me all day long?”

She glanced at his profile. Without being able to see his eyes and with all that hair on his face, she couldn’t tell if he was amused or angry. “Both.”

“I don’t think you’re coughing on purpose. And I’m not annoyed about the day anymore. It was a good day.”

“Really?” she said. “Really? Did you have kind of a good time?”

“Kind of,” he relented. “My favorite part was when you told the librarian I was an idiot savant. You think on your feet.”

She smiled to herself.

“I think it turned out to be too much of a day for you,” he said. “You’ve been doing so much better, we both ignored the fact that you were real sick there for a few days. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

“I don’t have to rest or anything. But I am supposed to take that cough medicine a few times a day, and I let it go all day. Like I said, I wasn’t thinking. I’ll be fine.” She coughed a little more. “I’ll take the medicine as soon as we get home. Ian—do you ever get lonely? Up on the mountain?”

The first thought that came to his mind was, I never used to. But what he said was, “It’s kind of strange how fast you can get used to something, like quiet. Like being alone. I didn’t think it would end up being this long.”

“Does that mean you planned to come back? Like to Chico? At least out of hiding?”

He turned and looked at her. “Marcie—I haven’t been hiding.” He looked a little surprised. He looked back to the road. “I mean, when I first got up this way, I didn’t tell anyone where I was headed because I didn’t know, and didn’t tell anyone where I ended up. But I haven’t been hiding. I have a driver’s license and a registered vehicle. I pay taxes on the property. I do business—even if it’s not very official. But I’m not that hard to find. You might have to get used to the idea that no one wanted to find me. No one was looking for me. But you.”

“But I checked—I’ve been to the police and everything. Someone checked to see if you had a registered vehicle, though they said they couldn’t give me any information about you if—”

“Did you check in Humboldt County? Because that cabin is over the line—it’s in Trinity.”

“Oh,” she said. “Oh.” She coughed a little more; this is what happens when you’re fighting the last remnants of a bug, don’t take your medicine and get a little tired out. “Can I ask something?” she said carefully. “Why’d you come up here?”