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“Okay,” I said. “Husband?”
“Yes, wife?” Camden said with a grin.
“Would you help me onto the stage?”
He grinned and swept down, picking me up like a child and placing me effortlessly on the stage.
“Mr. Smith,” I said, giggling. “What about your shoulder?”
“Right now, I feel like I could lift the world,” he said.
He joined me on the stage, and we made our way to the table, sitting down as plates and glasses were brought to us by Mark and my mother. The food was delicious, and I realized I had a voracious appetite. I hadn’t eaten all day and wasn’t about to pass up food now.
The speeches made by the boys were hilarious and heartfelt, and my mother and the girls all made speeches too. When Mom was done with hers, she approached the table and kissed the top of my head.
“There was one more thing I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to include it in the speech,” she said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Well, I approached Camden and Victor a couple of days ago about the possibility of moving to Texas,” she said. “I wanted to be closer to you, and I like it here. Even being alone, I think.”
“Really?” I asked. “You would be willing to move closer to here?”
“Actually, I was thinking about moving to Murdock itself,” she said. “Victor said he would help me with a loan, and we found a place right at the county line with Slater. I move next month.”
“Oh, Mom, this is wonderful news!” I said, hugging her tightly. “And you didn’t tell me,” I said to Camden.
“I promise, that’s the only kind of secret I will keep from you,” he said.
25
CAMDEN
“Are you sure about this?” Kristen asked, looking down from our perch.
“No,” I said. “No, I am not. However, we are already here. And this won over jumping out of an airplane.”
“Somehow, I feel like there should have been more options than those two,” she said, still unmoving, the wind blowing her hood back a little so I could see her hairline. She reached up to tug at it and nearly slipped forward.
“Well, there was the beach,” I said.
“Mmm, the beach,” she muttered.
“You said we had already done enough beaching with Spring Break,” I said. “Are you saying you were wrong?”
“I am saying that past me made problems for future me that are now coming to present me, and present me is not a fan,” she said. “But if I stand here any longer, I am going to freeze to the spot. Who goes first?”
“You,” I said. “That way if you fall somewhere, I can come get you.”
“How comforting.”
“I love you.”
Kristen sighed. “I love you too,” she said.
Leaning forward, she began to slide down the tiny ramp and onto the snow, skis pointed forward rigidly like we had been taught in the class twenty minutes before. I had a feeling that as soon as panic set in, all the other lessons were going to go right out of the window.
I watched as she went down the hill in a straight line, not moving to either side and keeping herself crouched. It wasn’t fancy, but it was skiing. I had to give her that.
