North to Alaska

"He seems better lately. He even played with some of the other kids today."

Lindsay was getting ready to take the baked chicken she was making out of the oven when Grant came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "There's a reason for this improvement in his behavior, you know."

"There is?" she said quietly having stopped what she was doing.

She reached up for his hands and pulled them down around her waist and he slid them just below her breasts and said, "Uh-huh. Her name is Lindsay Rollings. He really likes you."

"Well, the feeling is mutual," she said feeling her pulse picking up.

"I really like you, too," he said very quietly.

"Then again, the feelings are mutual," she told him looking over her shoulder the best she could.

"Is it too early on our second date for me to kiss you?" he said holding her just a little tighter.

"Um, normally I wait until at least one hour into the second date, but I could make an exception to the rule," she said turning around and putting her arms around his neck.

"I like exceptions to rules," he said. Lindsay was smiling brightly and Hendricks wanted to both kiss her and to just stand there and stare at her pretty face. "You're so beautiful, Lindsay," he told her as he gently brushed her very dark hair back from her face.

"Thank you," she replied softly. She was happy to stare back at him, too, but she was praying he would stop looking and kiss her. A second or so later she got her wish. A very nice, very modest, but very pleasant first, second kiss.

"Mmmm. That was very nice," she told him.

"Is there a time limit on a the next kiss?" he asked trying to sound serious.

"No. Not for you," she said before kissing him this time. When it was over she said, "I should probably get dinner on the table now, huh?"

"If you must," he told her letting her go with great reluctance.

After dinner, Lindsay said to Leif, "I have a DVD player, too. Would you maybe like to watch another movie? I have several Pixar movies like Monsters, Inc., Cars, and..."

"Do you have Finding Nemo?" he asked excitedly.

"Why yes I do!" she said. "I love that movie!" She popped in the DVD and Leif was on auto pilot.

Lindsay microwaved some popcorn and joined the guys on the couch and snuggled right up with Hendricks. "I'd like to take you somewhere nice, Lindsay," he told her a few minutes later.

"You don't have to do that. I love just hanging out like this," she told him. "I have my two favorite guys with me and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better than that."

"You're amazing," he told her.

"I bet we could get Maya to babysit if..." She stopped then said, "Oh, sorry. You might not be okay with that."

"No, that would be fine. Something tells me my exec would find that a lot of fun."

"I'm not sure Maya would, but I know she'd gladly do it. She's just not into kids. Well, kids that are her own, of course."

"You know, we should double date sometime," he said not knowing Maya had already brought that up.

"That's too funny. Maya said that I told her it might be a little too weird for Gabe since he works with you."

"I don't think so. Like I said, he's got a really good perspective on life. He knows this is relationship is temporary because he knows I'm retiring next year. I think he'd be just fine with it."

"I know I'd enjoy that. Let me run it by my sister and we'll set something up."

Leif made it through the entire movie but started yawning almost as soon as it was over. He leaned over against Lindsay and within five minutes he was out like a light.

"I should probably take him home," Grant said.

"You don't have to," Lindsay told him. "I can put him on my bed if you'd like to stay and talk a while longer."

"I would, actually," he told her. "Okay, let's get this guy in bed, shall we?"

Lindsay poured them each a glass of wine and sat back down on the couch with him. They chatted for a while and then there was that moment when their eyes met again and within seconds both wine glasses were set down and the new couple began 'making out' for the first time.

Lindsay knew it wouldn't go any farther, but that didn't mean she wasn't secretly wishing it could. Maya had been right. It had been a very long time she'd been with someone she loved and although she couldn't say she loved Grant, she already knew she liked him very, very much.

Around midnight, after a second glass of wine and a whole lot of kissing, Grant said, "As much as I still don't want to go, I really do need to get my son home and in his own bed."

Lindsay helped get him bundled up and out into the car which Grant had already warmed up. "We'll be using those pretty soon," he said pointing to the electrical outlet in every parking spot throughout the city. "Don't ever forget to plug in or your car won't start the next day."

"That's crazy cold," she said thanking him for the advice.

"Speaking of cold, you've got to be freezing so I'll let you get inside."

"I'm okay," she told him as she put her arms around him again. "You'll keep me warm, right?"

"I will," he told her before kissing her goodnight.

She was cold, but she felt she needed to say something. "This was the first time I ever made out with a guy who didn't at least try to get to second base."

"I haven't dated for over a decade, but you're the first woman I've ever dated I didn't try to get to second base with."

"I guess I'm trying to decide whether to be flattered or concerned I'm not that...interesting."

"Lindsay, trust me when I say you're very interesting. Also trust me when I say I'm very interest—ed. Very. I've never taken anything slow before in my life, but then again, I've never found anything worth taking it slow for." He smiled then asked her, "Does that answer your question?"

"It does," she said, her teeth beginning to chatter. "Good night Grant, and I'll talk to Maya and text you tomorrow, okay?"

He thanked her for a great evening then headed home.

By noon, everyone was on board with the double-date thing and Gabe made a suggestion the girls thought was some kind of joke.

"Ice skating? In this weather?"

"Sure. The skating rink is one of the most popular places in town," he told Maya during a phone call. "I grew up in Michigan and played hockey all my life. I love skating and it's a lot of fun no matter what's going on outside."

Grant was a California boy who grew up roller blading and skateboarding, but he thought it was a great idea.

"Okay, then. Skating it is," Lindsay said in spite of Maya's misgivings about how going around in a circle might be—bor-ring! Lindsay saw right through her sister and knew she was looking forward to going for one big reason, and that reason was named Gabriel Moore.

"So both of you have skated before then," Gabe said when they went inside where the temperature was about the same as it had been outside.

"Oh, sure. Denver gets cold and ice skating is very popular. We went a bunch of times when we little and a couple of times in our teens for someone's party or just to hang out with friends. Neither of us has been in quite a few years though."

"Don't feel bad," Grant chimed in. "This is a first for me."

"It's not exactly like roller-blading, sir, but if you can do that, you can skate," Gabe told him.

He led Maya out onto the ice, and they quickly fell into the small circle of people skating laps around the rink and watched.

Leif looked like a little Michelin Man in his big coat, mittens, scarf, and knit cap, but he'd been skating several times before with his mom before she left, and he had no trouble staying upright.

Lindsay went out first then waited for Leif who surprised her by zooming right by and taking off on his own. Grant then pushed off and immediately fell on his butt. "Bravo, sir!" Gabe said as he flew passed his boss.

"Do you have to call him 'sir'?" Maya asked as they skated on by.

"Only if I want to avoid ending my Air Force career," he told her with a smile.

"So...are you planning on staying in for a career?" Maya asked as he took her hand and skated alongside her.

"I'm not sure yet," he said. "I really love to fly and there's nothing like breaking the sound barrier in a jet then going into a tight turn after a bad guy. But I guess it all depends."

"On?" she asked.

"As much as I love the Air Force, having a family is my highest priority so if I were to let's say, meet a really amazing girl who didn't want to move around with me for the remaining 15-25 years of my career, I'd be willing to consider other options. But until that happens, I plan on sticking around and pulling as many G's as I can."

Maya knew what G forces were and didn't ask. She did however, want more information. "So have you ever met anyone you think is really amazing?" she asked as they saw Grant finally get his skating legs.

"As a matter of fact I have. She's a little strong-willed and can be very stubborn, but I see a lot of potential there," he said looking over and smiling at her.

"Well, maybe that's a kind of defensive mechanism she uses to avoid getting hurt."

"Funny you should say that. I was thinking something similar just last night."

"Oh, so you were thinking about her last night?" she asked.

"I pretty much think about her all the time now," he told her. "I was thinking she might put on this 'act' of hers because if she can keep a guy at arms' length, she never has to let him find out she's this truly amazing, very sweet girl, and that, in turn, means she can never get hurt. She acts tough, pretends to be fiercely independent, and just 'loves 'em and leaves 'em' so she doesn't have to confront her true feelings.

"Which are?" she asked, her tone softening noticeably.

"I think she feels the same way about me, and she's trying to decide whether or not she trusts him so she can let down her shields. You know, shields like on Star Trek."

"Maybe she really is afraid she'll get hurt. You can't blame for being overly cautious, can you?"

He skated to the side of the rink and pulled her with him, Maya ending up with her back to the wall and Gabe looking into her eyes. "No, at least not until she learns to trust me...er...him and believe him when he says he'll never hurt her." He pulled off a glove then reached up and touched her face. "But once she knows how much he cares about her, then she'll have to either drop her defenses or push him away."

"That sounds scary," she said very quietly.

"Look at those two," Lindsay said as she held Grant's hand as much to steady him up as due to simply wanting to just as Leif lapped them. Lindsay no sooner said that than they saw Gabe lean in and kiss her. "Oh, my. Things are heating up over there," she said smiling happily.

"I think that young man likes your sister as much as I like you," he said. They passed the kissing couple and Lindsay let out a very loud, "AHEM!" as they went by. Maya didn't even look up and Lindsay started to laugh.

That is until Grant pulled on her hand to try and stop them. By the time they were on the opposite side of the rink, he finally managed to do just that, and somehow without falling, ended up in the same position with regard to Lindsay as Gabe was to Maya.

"And just what do you think you're doing, colonel?" she said sweetly as he took both of their hands.

"I can't be outdone by my exec," he told her smiling that smile of his at her.

"Oh. Is this a competition?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Everything is a competition in some way," he told her as he pulled her close. They stared into one another's eyes for a few seconds before Grant said, "I'm not sure what's going on between us, but...I am so totally and completely into you, Lindsay. I can't get you off my mind and that's both deeply troubling and incredibly nice."

"So it's not just me thinking about you 24/7?" she said as Maya and Gabe went zipping by them. Evidently Maya had heard her because she let out an equally loud 'ahem' along with a very big smile when they skated passed.

"No, it's not," he told her. "And whenever I think about you I imagine us doing this," he said quietly as he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was still going when the younger couple went screaming by again.

"Get a room!" Maya yelled. "Gabe can't say that, but I can!" she said as she spun around and skated backwards so she could look at them. Grant looked over his shoulder and smiled while Lindsay gave her a 'go away' wave with her hand as she pressed her lips to Grants'.

"Dad, you're kissing Ms. Rollings!" they heard.

"Uh-oh. Busted," Grant said. He knelt down and Leif skated into his outstretched arms. "Is that okay, buddy?" he asked.

"Do you like her or something?" he asked his father.

"I do. I like her a lot. Is that okay?"

"I like her, too," Leif said not answering either question directly. "She's really pretty," he said his cheeks rosy red from the cold.

Lindsay could hear every word and her heart felt full and happy as she heard Grant say, "Yes, she is."

Lindsay reached for one of his little hands and Grant took the other as they skated off together occasionally lifting the little boy's feet off the ice causing him to scream with delight.

The four of them agreed to go out to dinner together later that evening with Leif in tow. He still wasn't ready to be left alone with a babysitter and Lindsay loved having him with her so it was an easy decision.

Snow began falling and by the time they got to the restaurant, trucks were out spreading sand and plowing the roads.

"They have this down to a science up here," Grant said when the subject came up. "Things stay up and running in Fairbanks even when places like Minnesota would shut down due to the weather."

"Grant? Lindsay told me you're thinking about staying in Fairbanks when you retire," Maya said right after they ordered.

"I am," he told her. "There's a GS-14 job—civilian equivalent to a lieutenant colonel—opening up next October and I'm hoping to get it."

"So you must really like it here," she said as more of a statement than a question.

"It's grown on me, and as I told Lindsay I think Leif needs stability. Same house, same school, same friends." He looked at Lindsay then said, "But I'm open to other ideas and other possibilities."

"Like maybe living in the lower 48 again?" Maya said with a smile and a kind of hint in her voice.

"Maybe," he said still looking at Lindsay. "I suppose that would depend on how someone else felt about staying here." He paused, reached for her hand then said, "Beyond her two-year commitment, of course."

He looked at Maya then asked, "Is there any way you would ever consider staying in Fairbanks?"

She looked at Gabe then said, "That depends." He smiled at her then she added, "I suppose if I felt I could trust someone enough to um...lower my shields...and if that someone really, really wanted to stay here...who knows? Then again, I might be willing to go anywhere with him for that matter."

Gabe took her hand, too, and the rest of the evening was devoted to small talk about daily routines, flying, teaching, and the like.

After dinner, the guys took their dates back to their apartment building and after saying goodnight, both of them were invited in by their respective girlfriend.

Gabe was unaware Maya had not only lowered her shields during dinner, but turned them off completely. It didn't take long however, for him to figure it out because the harsh edge was also completely gone. Maya was like a totally different person and when he kissed her she looked into his eyes, hers wide and trusting and said, "I've never opened myself up to getting hurt before, so...please don't hurt me, Gabe."

"I won't, Maya. I promise," he told her as she melted into his arms. Moments later, she led him to her room and closed the door.

Lindsay had another Pixar movie in and by 8:30, Leif was yawning heavily. Ten minutes later, he was gone.

"Mind if I lay him down in your bed again?" Grant asked. They been sitting on the couch holding hands, talking quietly, and kissing now and then.

"Do you think he'd be okay on the couch?" she asked in a way that made Hendricks realize she had other plans for her bed.

"Um...yeah. He can sleep anywhere. We'll push the ottoman up close so he can't roll off and he'll be fine. But where are we going to sit?"

Lindsay put a blanket over him and pushed the hassock close then put her arms around Grant's neck and said, "I was thinking maybe you and I could maybe, you know..." She nodded toward the direction of her bedroom as she spoke.

"If you're sure," he told her. "If you're not, I can wait as long as..."

She'd already lowered her arms and began pulling him in that direction as she said, "I'm very sure," cutting him off in mid-sentence.

"Lindsay?" he said stopping her momentarily. "I um...I don't have protection with me."

She smiled and said, "You do know who my sister is, right?" Grant laughed understanding that meant Lindsay had everything they needed.

"Say no more," he told her.

There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground when Leif woke them up around 6am. "Dad? Why are we still at Ms. Rollings house and why are you in her bed?" he asked standing with his face in front of his father's. Lindsay was wide awake and absolutely mortified. She was 99% sure she'd locked the bedroom door and yet here he was standing in her room.

"Well, you remember me saying how much I like Ms. Rollings?" Leif nodded. "Well, sometimes people who really like each other um..."

Lindsay grabbed her robe, slid out of bed and said a little too loudly, "Do you like Frosted Flakes, Leif?"

"Yes!" he said. "They're grrreat!" Then he roared like Tony the Tiger.

Lindsay grabbed his hand and led him toward the kitchen.

"Nice save, Ms. Rollings," Grant called out.

"You're welcome!" she said smiling over her shoulder as she walked out, Leif holding one of her fingers with his little hand.

Around 10am, they heard voices outside and Lindsay peeked through the curtains and started laughing. "What's so funny?" Grant asked.

"Come here!" she said waving him over. "Look who else spend the night."

Gabe and Maya were kissing goodbye while his Chevy Silverado pickup truck was warming up.

She turned to Grant and said, "Looks like this competition is all tied up."

He smiled at her and said, "I never lose," as he pulled her to him and kissed her.

They let Gabe clear out before Grant went outside and started his car before wiping away the many inches of snow covering it. Even their parking lot had been plowed, something Lindsay had never seen back home.

They got Leif buckled in and after he kissed Lindsay goodbye, Grant told her, "In case you need to hear me actually say it, I've pretty much fallen for you, Ms. Rollings."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Colonel Hendricks, because it would be very lonely down here all by myself." A wave goodbye to Leif and another kiss and Lindsay turned to go back inside.

As she did, she saw Maya standing at her door grinning like a Cheshire Cat. As Lindsay walked up to her, her younger sister said, "Oh...my...God! Not you!"

"Yes, me," Lindsay said with a flip of her hair. "Why not me?" she said as she let them in.

Rather than relentlessly ask for details, Maya only said, "I think I'm in love, Lindsay. I'm scared to death, but...I think I'm in love with him."

Lindsay started to say something and Maya intuitively knew. "You are too, aren't you?"

"Big time," she said. "And I'm scared, too. I mean, this is all happening crazy fast, you know?"

"Oh, trust me. I do know," Maya said. "But I also know what I feel and I've never felt like this before. Ever. Gabe didn't say it, but I know he feels the same way."

"We haven't used the 'L' word yet, either, but we just came pretty close."

"You're the big sister so talk to me. What do we do now? What do I do now?"