Page 108 of War

I laugh. “Yeah, pizza.”

Pulling me into his chest again, he laughs. “Fancy.”

“Hey, you said pizza was your favorite. I’m trying to give you all your favorite things tonight.”

Focus fixed on my face, he licks his lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Pizza, and then you get to teach me how to skate.”

The way his blue eyes widen in surprise makes all my nervousness over this plan worth it. Yeah, I’ll probably fall down a hundred times, and it’s cold out—and dark—but I want to do this with him.

“I even bought skates.”

Tyler’s smile is so full of pure joy it makes my chest ache. “Best night ever. Best wife ever.”

Apparently I wasn’t the only one with surprises. After pizza, we all bundled up and headed for the pond, where I discovered that Brayden and Tyler had strung lights overhead and also around the trees, still covered in a dusting of snow in February.

With a flick of a switch, the entire pond lights up. The snow kissing the edge of the pond is almost diamond-like, sparkling from the overhead lights. As if Tyler has the ability to control nature, the northern lights make an appearance so the sky is a mixture of purples and pinks, like the heavens are putting on a show just for us. It’s a winterdream. Nothing I ever thought I’d experience. Then again, I never could have imagined skating with my husband and our kids.

Josie spins around us, and Bray is almost as good on the ice as Tyler, so he’s got a helmeted Scarlett in his arms, and he’s skating slowly as music plays on his phone.

“Stargazing” by Myles Smith plays as Tyler holds his hand out to me.

“Promise you won’t let me fall?” I ask from the edge of the ice.

Rather than wait for me to come to him, he tugs on my arm and clutches me to his chest. “I might not always be able to stop the fall, baby, but I promise to always be there to pick you up.”

My legs wobble, not only because I’m like a newborn deer on the ice, but because of his words.

With an arm looped around me, Tyler turns us. “Grab my waist and follow my steps. It’s like dancing. One foot glides, then the other follows.”

It’s nothing like dancing, but rather than argue with him, I focus on the task at hand. Being on the ice, the space where Tyler is most comfortable, feels sacred. Especially as the kids skate around us.

As I get more comfortable, he spins Josie until she’s squealing in delight. And when Brayden approaches, he reaches out for Scarlett, who’s calling out for him, and Bray swoops in to guide me.

Skating backward and holding my hands, he says, “You’re not bad for a first timer.”

I laugh. “Thanks, Bray. I’m trying.”

He squeezes my fingers. “We can tell. And it means a lot to them.”

My chest pinches as I take in his sincere expression. He’s not just talking about skating. He’s praising me, in his teenager way, for how I’m handling being hurtled into my role as a mother.

But once again, he keeps himself set apart from our family. He saysthem,like I’m doing it for them and not him.

There’s no use trying to drive home the point again. He’s not hearing it, and I understand. He’s been let down time and again. All I can do is keep showing him how much he matters to me.

“Big game tomorrow?”

He shrugs. “Yeah.”

“Did Ty tell you we’re all coming?”

Eyes widening, he fixes his attention on me. “Really? But it’s an hour away.” He shakes his head. “You don’t have to do that. It’s not like?—”

“I’m really excited,” I say. I won’t give him the chance to tell me once again that I don’t owe him anything. “And now that I’m so good on skates, maybe your team could use me. What do you think?”

Snorting, he pretends to pull away from me. “I mean, if you’re so good…”

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