Page 11

It was that shock that had her relenting no matter how her gut revolted at the idea. He wasso shockedshe was going to let him use two very simple tools, and she clearly needed to unclench a little bit.

Does unclenching really have to involve sharp, unwieldy potential weapons?

“She’s really going to let you,” Gabe chirped, striding over to the tree. “Now, with sharp tools and cutting things down, safety is key. You have to listen to my instructions and do what I say, okay?”

Again, Colin’s head swiveled back to her, then to the tree and Gabe. “O-okay. Yeah, I’ll do whatever you say.”

Maybe it made her a coward, but Monica turned away. She could not watch her baby wield an ax or a saw. She could barelybreathelistening to Gabe instructing Colin on how to hold the ax, how to angle the blade away from him.

She stared hard at the mountains, calling on a few techniques she taught her patients. Breathing. Visualizing. Centering.

So, yes, she’d developed a certain level of anxiety about safety since Dex had died. After all, Dex’s helicopter hadn’t crashed because someone had shot it down. It had been some safety failure during a routine drill.

It was quite normal to fixate on safety from then on out because safetymattered. Her worries weren’t uncalled for.

But she couldn’t let them overshadow the life her son would need to live.

They were sawing now, and Monica cringed at the sound. Sharp metal teeth against heavy, living tree trunk.

Why had she agreed to this?

She focused on the mountains and the fact they’d endured for centuries. Those peaks had seen a million Christmases and stood through them, never crumbling, never bending. Mountains didn’t get anxious over what they couldn’t control. They stood there looking majestic,beingmajestic.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a picture of the beautiful mountains surrounded by bright winter blue, the sleigh sitting there in the forefront. A Christmas postcard come to life.

“Seriously?” Gabe muttered.

She turned her head and stared straight at him. He would not make her feel foolish for taking a pretty picture. “Seriously.” Then she lifted the phone and snapped a photo of him and Colin next to the cluster of trees.

He scowled. “Delete that.”

“Never,” she replied sweetly, not at all threatened by that stern military order. She’d grown up with stern military orders. Let himtryto intimidate her.

Gabe grumbled something, then turned back to Colin. The tree they’d chosen lay in the bed of snow next to the stump.

“You’ll want to search it for bird nests or other wildlife before you put it up at your place.”

Colin peered at the branches as Monica stepped closer to do the same.

“Shouldn’t we have checked before we cut?”

Gabe shrugged. “They’ll find some other place to live.”

“That isn’t very—”

In a quick move she didn’t see coming at all, Gabe snatched the phone out of her grasp and immediately began scrolling.

“Hey! Give that back!” But when she reached for it, he only held it up higher, out of her reach, looking up as he continued scrolling.

“Gabe, give that back,” she demanded, using the sternest mother voice she had. She held out her hand, considered counting to three as though he was a toddler.

Gabe only grinned at her, and sherefusedto let that all-too-charming curve of his mouth with the faintest dimple under his dark-whiskered cheek doanythingtoanypart of her. Especially the particularly female parts of her.

Gabe jerked his chin toward the tree in the snow. “Go stand in front of the tree with your kid.”

It took her a moment to put together what he meant by that, and then she could only blink at him. “Oh.” Somewhat taken aback by the thoughtfulness, she tramped over to Colin and stood next to the fallen tree. She slipped her arm around his shoulder.

“Now smile. Both of you.”