Pt 7

Three Days Later (12/24)

Issukangitok, Alaska

“Good morning beautiful.”

“Good morning,” Mac chirped, accepting Harm’s kiss. She kept her gaze over her shoulder, watching him, shirtless, move around the kitchen getting his coffee and preparing breakfast.

For three days they sat in the house while the storm continued to rage beyond the walls. For three days they cried, laughed, fought, and made love.

Harm had finally learned to let go. He finally looked at pictures of Mattie again. He finally thought of his daughters in ways other than the fact that they were no longer with him. He forgave Mac for trying to get back at him with Clay, even though nothing happened.

Both of them were on the same page for the first time in a year. They both wanted the same things and they both wanted each other.

“Hey,” Mac said, looking up from chopping veggies for an omelet. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

“I know,” Harm whispered, looking over at the picture of him and his father in the Phantom. He looked back over at Mac. “I have a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?” Mac asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He cocked his head and pecked her nose with a kiss. “You’ll just have to find out.”

Several Hours Later

Issukangitok, Alaska

“Okay Harm what is this big Christmas surprise?” Mac demanded, rolling over in bed to look at her husband.

Harm crawled out of bed and began to dress in his ‘outdoor clothes’. Mac watched, curious when he pulled on his boxers, thermal underwear, jeans, and flannel shirt. He crooked a finger, a small smile on his face.

Even more curious now, Mac dressed warmly and followed him downstairs. Ana, fully recovered from her moose attack wound barked and danced in front of the door, obviously excited about whatever Harm had planned.

They put on their wool socks and boots, parkas and scarves, hats and gloves. Mac followed Harm outside, dancing around in the cold. It was almost thirty below and he wanted to hang around outside? The man truly was an Alaskan.

Harm pulled out two of his handmade wooden chairs and set them in the snow. He pushed her down into one and pulled out a huge thick blanket and a thermos of hot chocolate.

“Sit.”

Mac sat.

He disappeared and she heard a click. Turning, she stared at the woods. Many of the trees facing his property were covered in tiny Christmas lights. She looked up at the dark sky, the Northern Lights dancing over the snow. The mountains looked like they were lit up from behind, looming over everything.

“Harm,” she whispered, staring out at everything.

Harm sank into the chair next to her and snuggled under the blanket. “Merry Christmas Sarah,” he breathed, barely moving his lips.

She looked over at him, tears shining in her eyes. She did not dare let them fall, for fear of having them freeze to her cheeks. “Harm I love you so much,” she gasped.

“I know,” he replied, squeezing her hand. “I love you too.”

Mac looked back at Denali, king of the mountains, ruling over the forest and pristine virgin snow at its base. Dimitri and Ana sat next to them, ears perked, watching the reds, blues, yellows, pinks, and greens play over the white canvas.

She turned her head back to Harm and smiled. “Merry Christmas Harm.”

He checked his watch and sure enough, it was 12:01. “Merry Christmas Mac,” he replied, leaning closer to her.

Their lips met in a soft kiss, a promise of things to come. As they kissed under the Northern Lights and the gaze of a giant mountain, Dimitri and Ana flung their heads back, howling into the air.

The wind swirled the snow around them, enveloping them into each other. While he kissed his wife, Harm could not help but remember what brought him to this magical, beautiful place.

Grief had led him to the end of the earth, grief had led him back to his wife, and the end of the earth and his wife helped him end the grief.

THE END

Epilogue:

Two Years Later

Issukangitok, Alaska

Denali still reigned supreme over the forest, snow, and sky. It was beginning to get dark and soon the Northern Lights would be out. Snow was falling quietly, not too heavy, but it wasn’t light either.

As the Suburban rumbled up in front of the house, Ana and Dimitri stuck their heads out of their elaborate dog house. Both cocked their heads in unison, wondering who it was, as their masters left in quite a hurry days before. Perhaps they were back early?

“Ana! Dimitri!”

At the calling of their names and the scent of treats, both howled and set off, kicking up snow behind them. They danced and barked, joyous to see their owners home.

“Quiet you guys,” Mac cooed, rubbing their heads. She opened the back door and pulled out a bundle, wrapped in many thick blankets. Soothing the fretful cries, she made her way through the heavy snow to the front porch.

Following behind her, a bundle of his own, Harm opened the door and stepped inside. Ana and Dimitri, curious at why they were not given all the attention before, followed slowly, their nostrils flaring at the new scent.

“I’m going to put the engine block on,” Harm informed Mac, referring to the heater placed on the car so it wouldn’t freeze. “It’s supposed to get down to about thirty below tonight. We’re also expecting a storm.”

“I know, I know,” Mac assured him, taking off her parka. “It’s been two years Harm, but I still remember the last storm we were in.”

“Well it hasn’t stormed since we got here so…”

No one would have guessed that the worrywart of a man standing before her was the man who ran away from his grief and mourning two years before.

The losses of Mattie and Baby Sarah had cut them both deep, Harm was a river of sadness, who came to the end of the earth to heal. With the help of each other, they both managed to forgive and to heal.

Now, they were back again, this time not to heal, but rather to accept the new part of their lives and to simply be alone, together.

While Harm got the outside ready for the storm, Mac began to unravel each bundle from their blankets. Laying before her on the couch were two beautiful, precious angels.

Smiling, she laid her hands on their bellies, marveling at the fact that these were her children. Her beautiful, healthy children.

The oldest by two minutes was their third daughter, Grace Mathilda. She wiggled and opened her eyes briefly locking glances with Mac. Letting out a little protest, she wiggled closer to her mother, wanting more contact.

Out like a light was her brother, Matthew Harmon. His mouth was even open a little bit, drool trickling into the corner of his mouth. Frowning at his bad manners, Mac used the burp rag to wipe it away, causing him to let out a whine.

“Well sweetie you’ll just look unkempt,” Mac informed him, covering them both with a light blanket while they slept, unaware of the world.

Ana and Dimitri walked over to Mac, their heads poking over her shoulder, wanting to know what these two new intrusions into their pampered lifestyle were.

“These are the babies,” Mac informed them. “You have to stay quiet and leave them alone.”

Whining, Ana attempted to nose Grace’s foot, but Mac pushed her away. She left in a huff, falling into a heap on her bed. Dimitri sat, ears at attention, his gaze on them.

When Mac moved to lift Matthew, he growled, low in his throat. She smiled and kissed the dog’s head. “I’m his mother,” she informed him. “Friend.”

At that, Dimitri fell to his feet, content to guard the twins. Laughing, Mac lifted both babies up and set them in their carriers.

The door opened and Harm entered, stomping snow from his shoes. He pulled off the winter outerwear and walked over to Mac, sinking onto the couch next to her. Both of the carriers were perched on the coffee table, their occupants unaware of the joy their parents radiated.

“I love you,” Harm whispered, reaching for Mac’s hand. She grasped his, squeezing hard. He lifted their joined hands and kissed her, smiling.

His eyes, once so cold and hard were full of happiness now. They were both so scared to have the twins, especially when Mac insisted she wanted them to be born in Alaska.

So they flew over before her third trimester and hung around in San Diego with his mother before driving up here several weeks before. She also insisted she wanted them born in an Alaskan winter.

And they were. One week ago they were born, both of them as healthy as a horse.

Harm looked outside at the magnificent mountain, the white of the summit starkly contrasting with the sudden black of the sky. The trees were like little soldiers, guarding the king.

He was suddenly struck by how beautiful it was. Before, when he lived here, he noticed it but he only noticed the dark, the sad. Now that he was over his grief, the proud father of two adorable infants, he could see the light. How the snow glistened on the trees and how the mountains reigned supreme.

“What are you thinking about?”

Brought out of his reverie, Harm studied his wife. “nothing,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her gently. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mac replied, resting her head on his shoulder. She stared outside, watching as how one by one the colors in the sky started to appear. Soon they were dancing over the white snow, almost as if they knew there was an audience.

“Merry Christmas,” Harm murmured.

Smiling, she looked up at him. “Merry Christmas.”

Both of them turned away from the sight of the lights and studied the babies before them. The two infants did not know how important they were to their parents.

They finally came at a time when two souls had broken and at the end of the earth, were finally healed together.

THE END