Love on the Lifts Read online

  Deep breath—

  And I was off, skiing down the slight incline, always amazed that I didn’t fall on my butt or make a fool of myself. That little thrill of self-accomplishment.

  Joe was beside me, all the way down the short run.

  Then we made our way to the line at Devil’s Peak, waiting our turn to go down the awesome trail. I could see the tree line. Devil’s Peak led to various tree-lined trails, with many turns, lots of powder. The line of people moved quickly, because you didn’t have to wait for the person in front of you to reach the bottom.

  You just kinda took your bearings, then you were off.

  “Meet you at the bottom,” I said to Joe. Then I shoved off.

  Skiing is a real trip. It’s about freedom and speed.

  But it can also be dangerous because of the speed, the unforeseen terrain. Actors, politicians, sons of politicians. They all make the news when they have a skiing accident. You have to stay focused.

  I wasn’t focused.

  I was thinking about Aunt Sue and Michael. I was thinking about loving someone that much. I was thinking about living life to the fullest. I was thinking about Joe. I was thinking about the kiss he gave me, the kiss he almost gave me. I was wondering why I was afraid of letting myself go with him, of letting him know that I was beginning to think of him as more than a friend. I was thinking about everything except what I was doing.

  So once I was down past the tree line onto the narrower trail, I took the first curve a little faster than I should have, lost my balance—

  Struggled to slow down, to remain upright—

  Lost the battle.

  Hit the ground hard. Slid a few feet before coming to a stop.

  Heard a yell.

  Saw a flash of movement.

  Watched as a skier tumbled past me.

  His momentum carried him farther.

  The trees stopped him.

  He just lay there.

  Not moving.

  My heart leaped into my throat. My chest tightened painfully. I couldn’t breathe.

  I stared at the fallen skier and all I could think was No! No! No!

  It was Joe.

  Chapter 19

  “I can’t believe Joe had a skiing accident,” Sam said, shaking his head, sitting beside me in the waiting room of the emergency clinic in Snow Angel Valley. He didn’t sound disgusted. Simply stunned.

  I’d never been as scared in my life as I was when I’d made my way over to Joe, sprawled beneath that tree. It had seemed to take forever for Joe to sit up and reassure me that he was fine.

  “A little bruised maybe, but nothing serious.” He’d even chuckled.

  But when he’d tried to stand, it was obvious that he wasn’t fine. His leg couldn’t bear any weight and it buckled beneath him. He’d even cursed harshly when he’d reached out to a tree for support.

  “Here, lean on me,” I’d said.

  “I’m too heavy for you.”

  “I’ll call the first-aid station.”

  “It’s not that bad. I can make it down the slope. But, I need you to carry my skis.”

  He’d tried hopping, stopping occasionally to lean against a tree and rest.

  Someone must have seen us struggling to get him down the mountain, because eventually the mountain rescue team paramedics had arrived. They were dressed in red so they were clearly visible. When they’d put Joe on a stretcher, I’d felt sick to my stomach that I hadn’t gone with my gut instinct and called them.

  Guys can be so stubborn, always trying to appear so macho. Asking for directions or help simply isn’t in their genetic makeup.

  Then I pulled my cell phone from my jacket pocket and called Sam. He and Allie met us at the first-aid station. Although Joe couldn’t walk, his leg didn’t seem to be broken, and he’d assured the medics that he didn’t need to be transported in an ambulance.

  So Sam had driven him to the emergency clinic.

  “I finally get to ride shotgun,” Joe had quipped from the front seat, his face ashen.

  How could he crack jokes? Didn’t he realize how serious this was? How guilty I felt or how worried I was?

  Allie and I had been in the back. It wasn’t until we got to the clinic that I remembered Leah. Right now, Allie was outside talking to her on her cell phone, letting her know what had happened, where we were, and what our immediate plans were. Not that any of us really knew. We only knew that cell phones weren’t allowed in the emergency clinic. Their frequency signals affected heart monitors or something, which we figured out when the Nurse Ratchet doppelganger at the admittance desk gave Allie a stern look when she’d taken out her cell phone. Allie had actually gone pale. That look had sent her scurrying out the door to make the call.

  Joe was off in an examination room somewhere. And I was sitting here with my brother, wondering if I should confess that it was my fault because I hadn’t been paying attention to what I was doing on the slopes. But confessing would result in a dressing down. I really wasn’t in the mood to have my brother chew me out.

  “It happened so fast,” I said, wondering if I sounded as guilty as I felt.

  “People forget how dangerous skiing can be. It’s like driving a car. You have to pay attention all the time.”

  “Yeah,” I replied, the single word strangled.

  “Joe’s always so focused, I figured he was the last one who’d get distracted. I mean the guy finished the semester with a four-point-oh.”

  I looked over at Sam.

  He shrugged. “All A’s.”

  “What were your grades?” I asked, looking for something to distract me from my worries.

  “I’m not telling.”

  This was the most secretive winter break I’d ever had. Even I was keeping secrets now.

  Sam reached over and put his arm around me, squeezing me close, one buddy to another. “It wasn’t your fault, Kate. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

  Only he didn’t look too fine when he finally hobbled out on crutches.

  “Wrenched my knee,” he said, wincing.

  “Bummer, dude,” Sam said.

  Could Sam get any more unsympathetic? Had to be a guy thing.

  “Does it hurt?” I asked stupidly.

  “Like a bitch, but the doc gave me some pain medicine samples to get me through until I can get the prescription filled.”

  In one of the hands clutching a crutch was dangling a white slip of paper. I snatched it away. “I’ll get this filled for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  He looked over at Sam. “Sorry to have messed up your day.”

  “Sorry you messed up your knee.”

  “Look, if you can just get me to the condo, I’ll be fine. Then you can get back out on the slopes.”

  “We’re not going back out on the slopes,” I said.

  “Course you are. No sense in everyone’s fun being ruined. Set me up on the couch in front of the TV and I’ll be fine.”

  Funny thing was, maybe he thought he was going to be fine, but I wasn’t so sure about myself. I kept having this irrational urge to cry.

  Just our luck, we couldn’t find any Law and Order reruns, so on my way back from the pharmacy, I stopped by the Movies-4-Less video store and picked up the first three seasons of 24 plus a couple of seasons of Buffy.

  I also stopped by A Novel Place to let Aunt Sue know what had happened.

  “I’ll bring over some special hot chocolate this evening,” she said.

  “That would be great.”

  By the time I got back to the condo, Sam, my oh-so-sensitive brother, and his equally sensitive girlfriend had headed back to the slopes. Sam going didn’t surprise me, but I’d expected Allie to stay and help me take care of Joe, even though Joe insisted that I catch the shuttle back to the slopes and join them. A shuttle ran every half hour from the village to the mountains. I wasn’t a big fan of shuttle buses, but more than that, I wasn’t a big fan of deserting someone in pain, especially when I was responsible for that pa