THREE MONTHS LATER
Brooke panted, sure she was going to die on the spot. “I . . . can’t . . . believe I let you . . . talk me into this.”
Asher grinned back at her. “We’re almost there. You can do it.”
“I must be . . . insane,” she gasped, “to have agreed . . . to this.”
“You’ll be glad when we get there.”
“If I live that long . . . What happened to our normal jog around your neighborhood?”
“You needed a challenge.”
She sputtered. “I take it back. I’m”—gasp—“not the”—gasp—“insane one . . . You are!”
“If you can survive being kidnapped by a skilled soldier, this should be a walk in the park.”
“Yes! Good idea. Walk.” She stopped and planted both hands on her knees. Truly, she could keep going but wanted to catch her breath so she wasn’t huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. It couldn’t be that impressive to the man who looked like he could go another hundred miles. “When I work out—or jog with you in the neighborhood—the ground is level and smooth beneath my feet. There’s not an incline like this. What made you think this would be a good idea?”
“The view. Come on. Twenty more yards and we’re there.”
“No.”
“I have trail mix. You can have some when we get there.”
With a groan, she pushed forward. True to his word, twenty yards later, she pulled to a stop with surprised wonder. A waterfall cascaded to the rocks below, crashing and splashing in glorious splendor. “Oh my. What is this place?”
“Moonshine Falls.”
“What?”
“People used to make moonshine here.”
“Hence the name. Wow. It’s gorgeous.”
“Worth the hike?”
She offered him a small smile. “When you suggested going running, I had no idea it would lead here. No wonder you gave me a list of things to bring.”
“You did great.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
“Asher. Seriously? What now?”
“We go down.”
“Down? We just came up! And where’s my trail mix?”
With a laugh, he gave a gentle tug and she fell into step behind him.
And soon found herself on the back side of the waterfall. Every so often the spray would mist over them. She laughed. “Look. There are still moonshine drums here! Think there’s anything left in them?”
“No. I’m pretty sure they were drained years ago.”
Her smile faded and she watched him, her heart beating in her throat—and not from the exertion. “This is fabulous, Asher, thank you.”
He pulled her into a hug and she decided she didn’t mind that she was half frozen and getting damp. His embrace warmed her from the inside out.
“We’ve had a tough run of it,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I can’t believe we actually survived.”
“I know. I feel the same. I just thank God we did.” She swallowed. “And to see Kristin and Paksima together was a miracle. She’s really going to get to stay in the US?”
“Because there’s a price on her head back in Afghanistan, Caden said the request to offer her asylum was approved. Kristin is a certified foster mother and has been for a while.” He gave her fingers a quick squeeze. “I think it’s working out exceptionally well.”
“Yes. Exceptionally.”
“I still dream,” he said out of the blue. “I still jump at unexpected loud noises. I still zone out sometimes. But . . . I’m better.” He tilted her chin and placed a kiss on her lips. “That’s thanks to you. I just wanted to tell you that.”
“Thank you, but I didn’t do anything. Running for our lives and stopping killers has kind of taken precedence over active counseling.”
“Hmm. True, but you did do something. You do something. You just do it without realizing you’re doing it.”
“Okay, that’s nice.” A pause. “What? I’m confused.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Like that.”
“Like what?” She gave him a light punch on the arm.
“You’re funny and you don’t know it. You make me laugh without trying. And when I look at you, I want to smile.”
“Oh.”
“Oh? That’s it?”
“No, I’m trying to figure out how to tell you that I love you.”
He went still. “You do?”
“I really do.” She pressed a kiss to his sweaty cheek. “I’ve been falling for you ever since you started following me around on base.”
“What?” His cheeks went red.
“I noticed.”
“I sure didn’t notice you noticing.” He grimaced.
She laughed. “Miranda called. She said Isaiah’s being awarded a medal of honor. His full benefits have been reinstated. She said to tell you thank you.”
He gave a slight shrug. “It was the least I could do.”
“Hmm. But that’s you, Asher. And it’s simply one of the reasons I love you. You have a courageous heart, a passion for helping others, and a loyalty to those you love that most people have a hard time understanding. I find those traits very attractive.”
He blinked, his jaw working. She could see how deeply her words had affected him. It took him a moment to gather himself and she let him do it. “I’ll be honest. I never thought I’d find someone like you,” he said. “Someone I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. But . . .”
“But what?” she whispered.
“My self-esteem has been in the toilet since I got back from Afghanistan. I try to act like my brother’s words roll off—and most of the time they do—but sometimes, a few of them stick and I wonder if he’s right. I wonder what my worth is and what I’m here for. And the fact that he put you in danger like he did makes me wonder if I’ll ever forgive him.”
“Asher . . .” She grasped his hands and squeezed. “Surely, you can see that God has big plans for you. And you saved my life several times, so I see lots of reasons you’re here. As for Nicholas, I think he very much regrets his childish behavior.”
“Possibly.”
She could tell he wasn’t really thinking about his brother, though. “What is it?”
“It hit home when the captain said those kids were nothing more than collateral damage. He said they were collateral damage due to the war, but I see it more about the money. The target was the money and they died because of the all-consuming greed to reach that target. He believed those kids had no worth except to save the lives of those who were worthy in his eyes, those who would grow up to make a difference in the world. He really believed that.”
“I know. He was a sick man, but Monica and PJ are with their aunt now. She seems like a good woman who really loves them. They’ll be okay in the end.”
“I pray you’re right.” He glanced at her. “I promised PJ I’d still come see him and we’d hang out occasionally.”
“I promised Monica the same,” she said.
“Each of those children who were killed—and the soldier who tried to protect them—had a purpose for being here on this earth,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ll never know what they would have grown up to be—or do—or the lives they would have impacted. But they had purpose. They had worth. They were created for a reason.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Just like us.”
“Just like us.”
“And it’s up to us to continue to impact lives,” she said. “To make sure every person we meet realizes they have worth.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“I don’t know. We’ll pray about it and see what God does, okay?”
“I’m good with that.” He held her while the water rushed down. “Brooke?”
“Yes?”
“I love you too.”
“I know.”
His laughter rumbled under her cheek. She lifted her head and his lips closed over hers. For the first time in a long while, she couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow held. Because even though they still suffered the effects of their experiences, they would face them together.
Asher pulled back and ran a hand over her cheek. “You ready to go?”
“Go where?” she asked, eyes still closed.
“Home.”
“Does that entail walking?”
“Yes.”
The amusement in his voice lifted her lids. “Then no.” She sat on the nearest rock and held out her hand. “My trail mix, please. I’d like to enjoy it while I wait here for the medevac.”
Asher gave another shout of laughter and kissed her again.
Yep, she decided. She might just stay here forever.