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around them.
    She found herself shaking uncontrollably, yet she couldn’t blame more than half of it on the temperature. A constant parade of images marched through her mind: Russians finding them and dragging them away. Russians torturing them, shooting them. Fear and adrenaline pumped through her trembling body.
    She grasped one of Pete’s hands between both of hers and tried to breathe evenly. A voice in her head whispered that she should be taking in as many details as possible so she could write a great story about this battle— one she couldn’t see even though she was in the thick of it.
    “Anna, I—” Pete’s voice cut off, but his eyes stayed locked on her, and even with the battle raging, a thick silence hung between them.
    She had to know what he had been about to say. “What?” It came out as a whisper. The moon lit one side of his face, casting the other half in shadow.
    “You need to know that…” He glanced over his shoulder, in the direction of the fighting, took a deep breath, and tried again. “I left in a cowardly way. But I’ve never stopped loving you. I just had to leave, because you deserve so much more than what I can offer you.”
    Anna straightened and stared at him. Her heart felt as if it had jumped back to life. But the sad look on his face didn’t give her the hope she needed. “What do you mean?”
    “You deserve to be with someone you can count on, not someone who hops around the globe unexpectedly. You should be able to have stability, and a few kids, and a white picket fence and—”
    She shook her head, cutting him off. “Who said I want all that?”
    “You… don’t want children?”
    “Sure I do, but—”
    He shook his head and interrupted. “And you talked about settling down.”
    “I didn’t mean it that way— I meant being with one person, no more dating.” Anna wasn’t sure whether she wanted to know where this conversation was going. “What made you think that?”
    “The way you talked about your parents made it sound like you wanted to stay near them, and have a house like theirs…”
    “No, Pete.” Anna put her hands on his chest to get his attention. “That’s not it at all. I knew who you were when I met you. That’s part of what I love about you... you have no fear. I loved hearing about your travels and seeing your eyes light up when you talked about it. I wanted to experience that with you.”
    Pete brushed a lock of her hair away from her eyes. “But you’re so close to your parents.”
    “They’re are dear to me, but there is so much more of the world to see than California…” Her eyes searched his for understanding, for hope. “You never gave me the chance to choose. You just… left.” Tears pricked her eyes, and this time they wouldn’t stay put. One ran slowly down her cheek as if it were partially freezing on its way.
    Pete lowered his head. “I didn’t know it would hurt you like that.”
    “How could you not know? I love you, Pete Sorensen. And that isn’t going to change, ever, even if you walk out of my life again.” But I hope you won’t.
    He looked about to respond, but suddenly the noise about them dimmed. Both Pete and Anna turned their heads to see what had happened. Some voices— Finnish ones— called out orders and questions with an urgent tone. What was happening? Was it over? She didn’t hear anyone speaking Russian. Did that mean the Finns had won the battle?
    Pete gradually stood from a crouch, grimacing, his legs likely frozen in place. Anna’s were stiff too didn’t know if she could stand if she had to. Pete lifted a finger to his lips. She nodded, agreeing to stay silent.
    He jerked his head to one side and mouthed, I’ll be right back.
    Again Anna nodded, this time sending a prayer heavenward that Pete would be able to return to her safely. He moved slowly, but Anna could hear snow crunching and squeaking beneath his boots, and she cringed with every step, waiting for another blaze of light