I was used to the endearment, but it didn’t make it any less powerful.
“Good,” I said, “Jack’s been wonderful, you know?” I said.
Matt nodded and winked, and then it was Quinn in the same role. I had wondered - even asked Jack - how much his family hated me for leaving him like I did. I didn’t want to think what they must have wanted to say to me for causing him to look as haggard as he had looked that day on the slopes. But, apparently, once they knew the truth, all was forgiven.
“You both look better,” Quinn said, with a clap to the arm. “Strong,” he said, looking over to Jack. “Well-loved, too,” he said with a wink, and something flashed in his eyes before he was back to his trademark smirk. “I hope it’s not too soon,” he said quietly to me, “But, it’s been a week of us trying to keepthe familyat bay.”
“No,” I assured him, “this is great.”
“Just tell me if it’s too much, man.”
Matt busied himself in the kitchen, asking for Quinn’s input on something, and Baylor quietly slipped in with them. I just let them take over, and tried not to feel useless. Next, CJ and Piper arrived. My heart leapt to see the blond curls. Of everything, how to handle Piper had been the hardest for me to navigate.
I had written her a letter, that Bishhad delivered somehow. I told her I had to go away for a while and that it was unexpected, so I couldn’t see her to say goodbye. While the adults in the room knew what had really happened, all she knew is that I had come back, hurt by someone.
Jack and I had grown closer to CJ as we worked on how to tell Piper what we could, and not lie to her, but also, not burden her with the absolute truth of what had occurred. CJ instantly wrapped her arms around me. At this point she had done it often enough to know how to navigate my injuries. And, then there was Piper, her arms around my legs. CJ ruffled my hair, just like I was one of her brothers, and somewhere along the way I realized I had gained a sister.
If you had asked me, I would bet that Piper would become a physician of some kind someday. She had a sense for the brokenhearted, sort of gravitating to them without knowing it. She had climbed in my lap the first time she saw me after the attack, and held me, second only to Jack in the past few weeks in whose touch helped me heal.
“You look happy again, Uncle P,” she said, hugging me and then going over to Quinn. She had been stuck to Quinn’s side so often of late, I had to wonder what was going on for him. That, and the flash of whatever it was across his face when he would zone out of the conversation. It was always something Quinn did from time to time, from the first time I ever knew him, but the last few times I saw him he did it more often, and there was something different about it.
But, it was Piper’s words, of course, that struck a nerve with me.
Uncle P.
I noticed Jack’s hand in mine, and I realized that as soon as she had said the words, I had grabbed for him. His strong arm was around me, his lips against my neck. But it was CJ who put a hand on my arm.
“She is so glad to have you back, Perrin,” she said, and I nodded. “You know, you were made to be a father,” she said, kissing my cheek lightly. “Better get on that, Jack,” she said, making heat rise in both our faces.
“I’m glad too, sorry I’m not more mobile,” I said, wishing I could hold the little girl, but also knowing that at some point she would climb into my lap before the night was over, and that would be enough.
----
It was finally long enough past my release from the hospital that when we hit the powder, today for a whole gloriousafternoon, I was enjoying it for what it was, not as an escape from Holden or what had happened.
Bear Valley itself was still shaking off the epic New Year’s Eve party Quinn had thrown last night.
I had made it through the party at Black Diamond with minimal issues.I was back at the hospital, part-time and reviewing charts only,butthat seemed to be helping a lot too. My birthdaywas still a blur in my mind,spending it and the holiday with people I loved was a bit overwhelming. I had attended an occasional friends Christmas or the like in Boston or even Europe, but those were fleeting affairs. Since I left Texas the first time, I had either celebrated or ignored it, but mostly alone either way.
As we came up to the top of the run by the mountain house, the entirety of Bear Valley was below us. Normally, Jack and I took a few moments here at this time of day if we were on the mountain. It was no less than breathtaking—the pinks, blues and purplein the sky, set off with the fire-light of the sun behind it. Almost always, right after the sun would set there would be the briefest moment of Parrish blue in the sky. That was my favorite, because in the right light, I had seen Jack’s eyes turn exactly that color.
Jack made his usual move to the metal picnic table that was partially buried in the deep snow at the top of the run behind the mountain house. The seat was basically unusable unless you wanted to sit in a snowdrift, so we sat on the table top itself, which was the perfect height for tall guys like us to rest on. We were both out of our skis, and sat down to watch the color show.
I loved this part of the mountain and Jack, Matt, and Quinn had been talking quite a lot lately about moving ahead with a project of building a first-class restaurant up here. There was the mountain house, but that was clearly for skiers. This would be more of a destination andupscaledining, serviced by the gondola to the base area. I felt like I could design the thing myself, as many conversations about it I had sat through at this point.
My arm brushed against Jack, and I looked over to see the light of the sunset make him look so beautiful my heart ached. His hair was dark and damp from skiing, falling just short of being in his eye. I took off my pack and offered him my flask of tea. He had laughed at my “hipster sports tea,” but now he usually drank more of it than I did.
“Thanks, baby,” he said, with a warm mouth over my cold lips.
I kissed back, a smile on my lips, just enjoying the quiet, the feel of my body from hours on the mountain, and Jack beside me. I was lost, I guess, in my own thoughts because I did not even register that Jack was moving beside me until he was.
Suddenly, he was on one knee in the snow, with the sunset exploding behind him. He took my hand, cold as it was from where I had slipped off my gloves to open the flask.
“Perrin,” Jack said, with the sunset making his eyes a decisive green. “You are, without a doubt, the love of my life. From the first moment we shared the same space, everything about my feelings for you has been intense. I have never found someone so aligned with me, so essential to me. I love your smile, your laugh, the way you hold me at night, and the way you wake me up every morning. I love that you haven’t ever let the world make you hard. Even though I have only had a taste of being without you, I know that I am better with you. Will you give me the great honor of being my husband?”
I locked my eyes with him, unable to breathe exactly, unable to speak.
“Will you marry me, Perrin?” he asked, hearts in his eyes as he said it.
