Page 15 of Two Hearts Reunited

“I agree with you,” Eric said gruffly. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“There probably won’t be many people at the tree farm since we waited until practically the last minute to get our tree,” Brian observed. “It shouldn’t take us long to choose a tree that we like.”

“Yeah and if it gets too cold, Arielle and I can wait in the truck or maybe even check out the gift shop if there aren’t many people around,” Ashley said, grinning as she glanced at the two of them in the back seat. “I can’t get over how good you are with kids, Eric.”

Eric pursed his lips. “To tell you the truth, Ash, I’m a little surprised by it myself. Arielle must have won me over with that smile of hers.”

“I hate to have to break this to you, bro, but that’s usually just a sign that she’s got gas,” Brian muttered, obviously trying to tamp down a smile.

Eric snorted, and then they all began to laugh.

Another twenty minutes later, they were wandering along through the third row of trees, when Brian paused, glancing upward. “What do you think about this one, guys?”

Ashley, who was carrying Arielle in a sling that fit around her neck, trudged from the path through the thick snow around the tree. Arielle appeared to be enjoying herself, judging by all the gurgling and squeaking noises she was making.

“It’s a blue spruce,” Brian said. “It’ll stay fresh through the new year if we want to keep it up for a while.”

“That’s what we had last year, wasn’t it?” Ashley asked. “This one is even prettier and exactly the right height. It’s perfectly shaped so it’ll look beautiful framed in our living room window. Good choice, husband. How do you want to handle this—do you two want to cut it down?”

“What do you think, Eric?” Brian looked the tree over again. “Can the two of us manage to drag it to the parking lot if we cut it down?”

“I don’t think it’ll be too much trouble,” Eric replied.

“I suppose that Arielle and I should probably walk back to the truck. I’ll give her a snack and then see if she’s up to going inside the gift shop since it doesn’t appear to be too busy today,” Ashley said, trudging back through the snow to the cleared off path which led to the parking lot. “I’ll see you two in about twenty minutes or so.”

“Sounds good,” Brian replied, reaching for the saw and grazing the bark on the trunk. “The hardest part is bending in the snow without feeling like your legs are freezing.”

Eric frowned. “Damn it, Brian. Let me saw down that tree. That one leg of yours has got to be giving you trouble. You’re so good at getting around, I always forget about your injury.”

Soon, they’d switched places and Eric took up where Brian left off and began cutting down the tree. “You know, I can’t tell you how surprised I was that you opted out from the forces. I thought you’d be in for life.”

“I told myself it was because I wasn’t too thrilled with being assigned to desk jobs and teaching, but I think I was just restless. I didn’t feel like I was doing enough without seeing any action,” Brian replied, moving under the tree as it started to fall.

“It’s crazy to think that having those pins in your legs as opposed to a prosthetic made you less capable to perform in action,” Eric said, shaking his head distractedly.

“It’s definitely something I never considered when I was told that I had a chance at saving my leg. No matter how much conditioning, I’ll never have the strength or endurance I had before. I would have been out of the rangers either way.”

Eric nodded as the treetop fell into Brian’s arms.

“Besides. I have an invitation to teach or train here at the wounded warrior home in their vocational program any time I feel the urge. They’re always looking for instructors since they hire a lot of active-duty service people who end up deploying at some time or another.”

Slipping the tree saw over his arm onto his shoulder, Eric scooped up the spruce’s trunk and started marching behind Brian as they headed toward the nursery greenhouse, where the tree would be packed and paid for.

Ashley came out from the gift store with Arielle, who seemed to be enjoying the day immensely. What Eric couldn’t get over was how little she cried. She seemed to be looking at the world with intense fascination. That was probably because she didn’t get out much either. But then again, she was less than eightmonths old. From what Ashley had said last night, she was doing well for her age. The way she’d been wiggling around and then sitting on the floor last night, Eric wouldn’t be surprised if she began walking extra early.

Once they’d unloaded the tree to be packed in netting to make it easier for transport, the guys from the greenhouse loaded it in the back of Brian’s truck while the four of them took a look around the gift shop together.

“She’s sure going to sleep well tonight,” Ashley said, glancing down at Arielle, who’d fought sleep as long as she was able. “I guess we’ll go wait in the truck. I think the tree’s already been loaded.”

“Maybe we should be on our way,” Brian agreed.

“Let me get a picture of the three of you outside, and then I’ve got to pay for something the cashier is wrapping for me now,” Eric said, following them outside and directing them toward some snow coated pines, which would provide a prettier backdrop.

He took a half dozen pictures from different angles and then set up the camera for a couple widescreen selfies of the four of them.

As Brian and Ashley headed toward the truck with Arielle, Eric went back inside to pay for the frames and special ornaments he would be giving them for Christmas gifts.

A few minutes later, he headed outside and stepped right into the truck, which Brian had waiting for him near the shop.

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