Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
“Made it here!” she called out just as she came back into view. “Whoa, you’re fast!”
I laughed. “Reed is the racer. I’m just faster than you.”
“I don’t know. This route seems pretty tame.” She pointed toward the bigger drops on the left. “Did you bring me over here because you can’t hit those?”
My eyebrows rose. “Are you trying to challenge me?”
“Are you challenged?” she countered.
“Your mother has her hands full,” I muttered.
Sutton shrugged. “I can see the helicopter from here. You know, if you want to actually do something besides babysit me.” She flat-out grinned. “I mean, unless you’re scared.”
“I’m not rising to the bait, kiddo, or leaving you up here. I’ve already skied that line today, remember?” Had to credit the girl for trying.
“How about we make a deal?” she asked. “I’ll ski the rest of the way down to Theo, including that last drop, and if I don’t fall, you have to take the other run.”
My mouth opened, refusal on my tongue. There was no way I was letting her—
“You’ll be able to see me the whole time. See?” She pointed down the short distance. “It’s up to you!” She pushed off and took the gentler run, her body moving with the mountain naturally, bending and swaying with each turn she carved as she made her way down the rest of the mountain.
Thank God I’d chosen the smallest run. No doubt she would have dropped into the toughest terrain we had without batting an eyelash.
My heart stopped when she took the final drop, hanging in the air for the infinity of a millisecond, then restarted when I saw her land it and coast the rest of the way down into the valley, where Theo waited.
“Girl’s got talent,” Theo said through the radio.
“Girl’s going to give me a heart attack,” I replied once I had the radio in hand.
“Girl wants to see you take the drops!” Sutton responded. “Because girl didn’t fall once!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I laughed and hung the radio on my belt. Then I dropped in, cutting new tracks toward the bigger drops.
Every thought besides the terrain paused in my head. There was no Reed. No business. No Dad. Nothing but the snow under my skis, and the adrenaline in my veins. I built up speed and hit the last drop—a twenty-footer—springing into the air and flipping backward. My skis rose up over my head and blocked out the sky for a heartbeat before finding their way under me to land, my knees absorbing the impact for the second time today.
Peace. All I felt up here was peace.
“You should have seen him!” Sutton gushed to Callie as I came downstairs a couple hours later. It had taken some time to get the bird put away, but we didn’t have any tours scheduled tomorrow, so I didn’t mind the slightly later evening.
It would be my first day off since we’d opened a week ago.
“He was amazing,” Sutton continued as Callie dished dinner onto three plates.
My stomach growled at the scent of the stir-fry.
“Is he?” Callie asked, her back turned toward me.
“He did a backflip off the last drop. It was absolutely incredible!”
“He did a what?” Callie spun, the serving spoon still in hand, and her eyes widened as our gazes locked. “Hi.”
“Hey.” It was the first time we’d seen each other since I’d nearly devoured her on the couch, and yes, I’d been avoiding her on purpose. I left the house before she was awake and came home once I thought she’d be upstairs in bed.
“I…um…” She gestured, behind her. “I made dinner. It’s here. On the counter. Behind me. It’s just stir-fry, but I knew you had Sutton with you and didn’t want you to have to cook.” Her cheeks turned pink as she rambled on. “And I know it’s on your list.” She turned again, flinging rice off the spoon. “The whole cooking thing. But, I just did it.”
“Smells great. Thank you.” A slow smile spread across my face. I hadn’t realized until this very moment just how much I’d missed her while I’d been avoiding the hell out of her.
“Why are you being weird?” Sutton walked past Callie, grabbing two plates from the counter and taking them to the dining room table. “Stop being weird.”
“From the mouths of babes,” I muttered, heading into the kitchen to help.
My arm brushed Callie’s, and every good intention I had nearly flew out the window. That was all it took with her—one touch, and I was right back there on that couch. Her body was under mine, all soft and warm, and my tongue was in her mouth, learning every line behind her lips. Her breathy moans were in my ear, her breath catching every time I sucked on that little section of her neck—
“And Theo flew us back,” Sutton finished, and I startled, still standing at the counter with the silverware in my hands.