Love on the Lifts (14 page)

“Well, he was supposed to be, and I thought he would be, but the truth is, I'm crazy about him.”

I didn't know what to say, except the truth. “I'm happy for you, Leah.”

“I'm happy for me, too.” She scooted up. “Listen, I know you have the bedroom with the king-size bed and sleeping on a bunk bed isn't glamorous, but with me leaving and Joe unable to navigate stairs—”

“I could move down to your room, and he wouldn't have to sleep on the couch.”

She nodded.

He hadn't gone for me bunking in with Sam, probably because he knew what a sacrifice it would be. But sharing a room with my best friend? No sweat. Allie and I had slept over at each other's houses too many times to count.

“Would I be sleeping in the top or bottom bunk?”

She shrugged. “Whichever one you wanted.”

“Which one does Allie sleep in?”

She looked at the fire burning in the fireplace. “She doesn't exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, the basement is kind of a world unto itself. A lot goes on that people don't realize is going on.”

I finally got it. Allie and Sam…heavy duty secret handshaking going on.

“Oh,” I said.

“Yeah.”

I nodded. “Thanks for the offer to move downstairs, but I think I'll stay where I am. I don't need to be any closer to the action, if you know what I mean. It's probably best to let the secrets in the basement stay in the basement.”

“Kinda like ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'?”

“Exactly. I think what happens in Snow Angel Valley needs to stay in Snow Angel Valley.”

I was also wondering if Aunt Sue had another open condo that I could move into. How was it that with everyone moving out, the condo suddenly seemed way too crowded?

T
he next morning I was in the kitchen fixing French toast for breakfast. It was strange not having Leah here. Stranger still to know that I was going to go to the slopes for the day, maybe hook up with one of Ian's friends. She'd called me last night to see what I thought about the idea. I told her I'd call her when I got there.

I knew it would be fun. And I wasn't certain why I was so reluctant to commit….

Okay, I was reluctant because I felt guilty about having any kind of fun at all. I knew I shouldn't. After all, Joe was insisting that I go. And Aunt Sue was probably right. Time away from each other was what we both needed.

We'd sorta made up after I came back to the
condo yesterday. Enough so that we shared supper, watched TV, and played a couple of games of checkers. Right now, Joe was in the shower.

“What are you making? I'm starving.”

I spun around. Brad was standing in the doorway, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, his feet bare, his short hair somehow looking tousled. His face unshaven.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He rolled his shoulders into a big shrug. “Things with Cyn didn't work out. I moved back over here last night.”

That
was a surprise!

“Funny. Nobody mentioned it.”

He rubbed his jaw. “It was pretty late when I knocked on the back door. Joe let me in.”

“Oh.” I didn't know what else to say. “Sorry about you and Cynthia.”

He shrugged again. “It happens.”

“So you want some breakfast?”

“Yeah, but you know what I want more?”

He walked into the kitchen until he was standing almost in front of me. “I'd like you to go skiing with me today.”

I smiled. “Go skiing with you?”

“Yeah. Ever since that night on the deck, when you let me in to get my stuff, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Why did I suddenly feel triumphant, vindicated, sexier than Cynthia? Why did it seem that my Brad-ectomy was coming undone?

“Yeah.”

He put his hands on my waist and grinned broadly.

“So how 'bout it? You and me on the slopes, babe. We'll have a great time.”

Babe? No one had ever called me babe before. I thought it should have made me feel special. Funny that it didn't.

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw Joe standing there balanced on his crutches, his hair still wet from the shower, watching us. I don't know what my face revealed but it couldn't have been good, because Joe looked like I'd just kicked his bad leg.

He spun around, started to move away.

“Joe, wait!”

I tried to go after him, but Brad was still holding me.

“Let me go,” I ordered.

“Not until you say you'll go skiing with me.”

“Hold this,” I said holding up the bowl.

He got a confused look on his face before taking the bowl with both hands. With his hands no longer on my waist, I was able to slip away.

Much to my surprise, Joe, with his injured leg, had made it out to the deck already. He was standing at the railing looking out at the mountains by the time I caught up with him.

“Joe, let me explain.”

“You don't have to explain, Kate,” he said without looking at me, without emotion. “The reason you don't win at poker is because you don't have a poker face. Everything you're thinking and feeling is clearly written on your face.”

“Apparently it isn't.”

He turned then, his expression hard. “Go skiing with him, Kate.”

“I don't want to go skiing with him.”

“Yes, you do. And it's fine with me if you do. Because the truth is I was only hanging out with you because you were the only one left,
and I felt sorry for you.”

“That's a mean thing to say.”

“It's the truth. You've wanted Brad from day one. Well, now you can have him.”

“But what about you? Your knee?”

“I told you yesterday that I could take care of myself.”

And he'd managed just fine without me, better than I'd managed without him. And Aunt Sue had convinced me that I needed a day away from Joe and that he needed a day away from me.

Why not spend the day with Brad? He was available, and apparently, so was I.

I nodded. “Great, then. I'm outta here.”

 

Have you ever wanted something so badly, thought you'd die if you didn't get it, then when you finally did get it, you wondered what all the fuss was about?

I was sorta feeling that way as we drove to the slopes with Brad and me in the backseat, Sam and Allie in the front.

It was like Brad and I didn't have
anything
to talk about; we had absolutely nothing in common.

I mean, here he was, the guy of my dreams, and all I could think was: Why had I ever crushed on him to begin with?

And why was he suddenly so
not
hot?

He looked the same as he did the first time I saw him, and he
was
good looking. He did have a killer smile.

But I just couldn't seem to get excited about the fact that we were sorta having a date. I mean, he'd asked me to go skiing with him, and so here I was, and my heart should have been pounding.

But it wasn't.

I could have been going to the grocery store to pick up a bag of potatoes for all the thudding it was doing.

On top of that, an unnatural silence filled the car, like none of us could think of anything to say.

The weather, I finally thought. The weather was always a good topic of conversation.

“That was some blizzard we had last week, wasn't it?” I asked, since he'd been at Cynthia's instead of with us. We could talk about the blackouts, the shrieking winds—

He perked up, looked around. “There's a
Dairy Queen in town? I didn't know that. Where is it?”

I heard Allie snicker.

Sam took up for his friend. “It's an understandable mistake.”

He looked in the rearview mirror. “She's talking about that storm that came through a few nights ago.”

“Oh, bummer,” Brad said. “I was craving an Oreo
Blizzard
.”

We did a round of everyone naming off their favorite flavor of
Blizzard
. Then we were once again surrounded by awkward silence.

That was what really bugged me. How awkward it seemed not to be talking. I could sit with Joe for long stretches of time, not say a word, but never feel uncomfortable, never feel like the silence absolutely needed to be filled.

And here I was racking my brain for anything to talk about.

“No football games on TV tonight, right?” I said.

“Right,” Sam said.

“Maybe we should rent some DVDs.”

Brad ran his finger along my cheek. I won
dered why it didn't send delicious shivers racing along my skin.

“I was thinking we'd go to the Avalanche,” Brad said. “There's supposed to be a wicked awesome band starting tonight: The Abominable Snowmen.”

I shrugged. “I don't know. I hate to leave Joe alone all day
and
all night.”

“He's getting around better,” Sam said. “I could drive him over to the Avalanche, so he could at least enjoy the band, be around people.”

“You'd do that?” I asked.

“Sure. He's my friend. That's what friends do.”

“That might make him feel better. It's gotta be hard, not being able to get out and do things.”

“All right, then. We'll plan on going to the Avalanche tonight.”

“Thanks.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

Because he was doing something nice for Joe and that made it feel like he was doing something nice for me. But how did I explain that without sounding totally lame?

“Just because.”

And with that, once again, all conversation ended.

When we got to the ski area, Sam parked. We all got out and grabbed our skis from the back of the SUV.

“We'll meet y'all back here about four,” Sam said. He put his arm around Allie, and they started trudging up the hill.

“So where should we go first?” I asked.

“How about we ride on the gondola? To that restaurant at the top of the mountain? I could use some coffee and something to eat.”

Even though he'd eaten more than his share of French toast and bacon. That was cool.

“Okay.”

We started walking toward the gondola lift.

“Listen, Allie—”

I came to an abrupt halt and faced him, my teeth gnashing. “It's
Kate
. Why do you keep forgetting?”

“Ah, babe, I'm sorry. Like I said before, it's just confusing because Sam was talking about you so much on the drive up here.”

I really didn't get it.

“Why in the world would Sam talk about me?”

“I guess because Joe was asking so many questions about you.”

Huh?

“Joe was asking questions about me?”

“Yeah, you know. Stuff like does your sister have a boyfriend, what does she like to do?”

Joe had been asking about me? Joe who claimed that he was hanging around with me because I was the only one without someone? Joe who had a poker face that had allowed him to bluff Aunt Sue time and time again when we played Texas Hold'em?

Joe who had no doubt bluffed this morning on the back deck. And I hadn't called him on it. I'd folded.

No wonder I always lost at poker. I gave up way too easily. But I didn't want to lose at love.

“You know, Brad. I have to go.” I patted his shoulder. “I left something back at the condo.”

“What?”

“My boyfriend.”

“But Sam said you didn't have a boyfriend.”

“Well, as hard as it is to believe, sometimes Sam doesn't know what he's talking about.”

I
t seemed to take three hours for the shuttle that ran every thirty minutes to finally arrive at the resort. As soon as everyone climbed off, I got on board and dropped into the first empty seat.

“Quitting a little early, aren't you, little lady?” the bus driver asked.

“Just getting started,” I said.

He gave me a funny look—probably because my words made no sense to him. But they made plenty of sense to me. I think I was going to finally get started with this amazing winter break.

The shuttle bus arrived at Snow Angel Valley and I got off. I started walking up the street toward the condo. I walked past A Novel Place, thought about dropping inside and
talking to Aunt Sue.

But I didn't think she could offer me any more advice.

She'd once told me that she needed more than good looks and being nice to fall for a guy. And I'd naively asked her what else she needed.

She'd told me that I needed to figure it out.

I think I finally had.

What I needed was really simple.

I needed Joe.

When I got to the condo, I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

He was exactly where I knew he'd be, sitting on the couch, watching TV.

He glanced over at me.

“What are you doing back here?” he asked.

“So you were just hanging around with me because I was the only one, huh?” I asked, as I unzipped my jacket and draped it over a chair.

He shifted his body as though suddenly uncomfortable. “Yeah, that's right.”

I sat on the couch. “Then why did you ask Sam so many questions about me while y'all were driving here?”

He directed his attention to the TV, just like he had that first night, a bit embarrassed maybe.

I realized that maybe he'd been crushing on me the way I'd crushed on Brad. Only I'd given up on Brad…

I was hoping Joe hadn't given up on me. Although I wouldn't blame him if he had. I thought Sam was clueless? I was definitely the winner in that category. Hands down.

“Look, Kate. We were just making conversation. It's a fifteen-hour drive and we made it without stopping. I was just trying to make sure that Sam didn't fall asleep.”

“By asking him questions about me?”

“Don't read more into it than there is. We'd covered every other topic. You were the last thing we had in common.”

He realized his mistake too late. His poker face caved, his cheeks turned red.

“What did you have in common about me?” I asked. “Other than you both knew me?”

He shook his head. “I didn't know you, Kate.”

He looked at me then.

“But you wanted to know me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I thought I did.”

“You thought you did? Does that mean that you don't want to know me now?”

“I think I know you now.”

“And?”

“Sam was right.”

“About what?”

“He said that I'd really like his sister.”

Talk about a surprise.

“Sam said that?”

“Yep.”

Sam had actually said something nice about me, on a long drive. My brother was really a dope for making me think that he wouldn't say anything good about me to anyone.

But the best thing was that Joe agreed with Sam. Joe liked me. And I really liked him.

“If I call Aunt Sue and ask her to give us a ride to a place where we can rent snowmobiles, will you go snowmobiling with me?”

“What about Brad?”

I placed my hand over my heart. “My Brad-ectomy didn't even scar. What I felt for him was so superficial. I'll admit that this morning I was jazzed that he was finally showing an interest in me…I mean, it's what I thought I
wanted. But it took me all of two seconds to realize I'd made a mistake. Brad wasn't who I wanted to spend today with. I wanted to spend today with you. Let me break you outta here.”

He grinned. “I'm definitely down with snowmobiling.”

 

“I can drive it,” Joe said.

“I'd better drive,” I said. “You're too doped up on pain killers.”

“I haven't taken any since last night,” Joe said.

Telling Joe that I thought we should go on a snowmobile outing had done wonders to improve his mood. Or maybe it was just that I'd chosen him over Brad. That I'd come back for him. And Aunt Sue, in matchmaking mode, hadn't minded at all giving us a lift to the rental place.

So now we were here, and Joe was balancing on one leg. He said that as long as he was careful, he could go without the crutches. Not sure the doc would agree, but who was I to argue?

Joe was a big boy after all, knew his own mind. And I was tired of playing nurse. I was
ready to move on to other things.

“The controls are in the handles,” he said. “I can drive.”

I straddled the seat, took hold of the handles, and glanced back at him. “I can't believe you'd rather hold handle bars than a girl.”

He angled his head thoughtfully. “I hadn't considered that.”

“Maybe you should.”

He hopped over, gingerly swinging his bad leg over to the other side and settled down behind me on the seat.

“You got rules on how I can hold you?”

“Nothing distracting while I'm driving,” I tossed over my shoulder, meeting his gaze. “We don't need another accident.”

“And when you're not driving?”

“The Kate-have-a-good-time fund is running low. Maybe you should think about making a deposit.”

“Are you offering me a pity kiss, Kate?” he asked. “Because you still feel guilty about my bummed knee?”

I slowly shook my head, then I nodded. “Look, Joe, I do feel guilty about what hap
pened. I can't help it. It was my fault. But my taking care of you, and maybe a kiss…they aren't connected to the guilt.”

“What are they connected to?”

I swallowed hard and whispered, “My heart. I think.”

Joe grinned, an absolutely beautiful, confident smile. He scooted up an inch and put his arms around my waist. “Drive, Kate. But when you stop, I'll be taking over.”

Smiling, I nodded. I revved up the engine, wondering how long I could drive before the anticipation of his kiss would force me to stop.

I'd driven a snowmobile before. I mean, when you spend a few weeks every winter around snow, you start to explore the options other than skiing. I'd always ridden solo, but never alone. Someone was always on a snowmobile riding along beside me, usually Aunt Sue, sometimes Sam. I didn't believe in going out into the vast, cold wilderness without a buddy.

But going with Joe was different from anything that I'd ever done before, and not just because he was pressed up against me. I liked having him with me more than I'd ever liked
being with anyone else.

The thudding of my heart that had been missing on the ride to the mountain this morning?

It was there now.

The awkward silence?

It wasn't there.

There was a perfection, a contentment, a joy that I felt just being with Joe.

Every now and then, I'd feel him loosen his hold on me and he'd raise his hand, pointing at something: a snow bunny that had suddenly stilled, waiting to determine if we were friend or foe; tracks where a deer might have wandered; or the way snow had settled into a drift that created an interesting shape.

We weren't just traveling through the forest. We were exploring, and I was looking at things in a new way. Looking at Joe differently as well. The way he was always there for me. The way that I wanted to be there for him.

I came to a stop at the edge of an ice-covered lake. I turned off the engine and listened for that awesome quiet that Aunt Sue had talked about that night we got pizza.

Imagine a place where there are no engines,
no motors. You don't hear the sounds of any gears turning or people talking. All you can hear is the thump of your own heartbeat. The release of your own breath. You're intensely aware of everything surrounding you, especially the guy who has his arms around you.

Joe kissed my neck and I was amazed that once again he'd somehow managed to find a tiny spot of bare skin. Then he kissed my chin, my cheek. He moved his hands to my hips and squeezed gently.

“Turn around, Kate,” he ordered quietly.

The moment of truth had arrived.

I had to stand up and turn around and sit back down in order to face him. I wasn't exactly pleased with the results. Joe had long legs, his injured leg outstretched, so I couldn't get very close to him.

As though reading my thoughts, he grinned, put his hands beneath my knees, and pulled me toward him until my legs were resting on top of his. I was now close enough to drape my arms over his shoulders.

I couldn't figure out why, that first afternoon when the guys had arrived, that I hadn't
taken one look at Joe and completely forgotten about my interest in Brad. Because Joe was definitely better-looking.

And nicer.

And sexier.

Even out here in the great outdoors, with an injured leg, there was an intriguing quality to the way he studied me. He wasn't an invalid. He wasn't weak. He didn't need a nurse.

And maybe that was the reason he'd gotten frustrated with me.

Because he wanted me to be with him, not because I had to be. But because I wanted to be. And I definitely wanted to be. Which he must have surely realized now, because like he and Aunt Sue had both told me—I was no good at hiding what I was feeling.

I wasn't sure when he'd removed his glove, but he trailed his bare finger around my face, where cap met skin. And there was the tingling—all over—so different from when Brad had touched me.

“I'm trying to figure out how much I need to deposit into the Kate-have-a-good-time fund,” he said.

“It's pretty empty. You might have to make a substantial deposit.” I couldn't believe how breathless I sounded, like I'd been running beside a snowmobile instead of riding on it.

His grin grew. “I'm still strapped for cash.”

“You're torturing me, you know that? Did you take lessons from Sam?”

“I'm torturing you? Geez, you've been torturing me since the day we got here.”

“Because I was interested in Brad?” I asked quietly, apologetically.

“Because you weren't interested in me.”

“That's not completely true. I was interested, I was just…confused for a while.”

“And now?”

“I'm not confused anymore. I know what I want.”

“Me, too. What I've always wanted since I first saw you.”

“Why didn't you kiss me again after that first time, that night on the deck?”

“You didn't give me any hints that you wanted another one.”

I wiggled up a little closer to him and looped my fingers behind his neck. “What would a
hint entail?”

He held my gaze. “Exactly what you're doing.”

“Then why aren't you kissing me?”

He touched his nose to mine. “It's cold out here. What if our lips freeze together?”

“I'll chance it.”

He kissed one corner of my mouth, then the other. I slid my eyes closed, waiting, waiting…

“Kate?”

I opened my eyes.

“You have the prettiest eyes. That was the first thing I noticed about you the first time I saw you.”

“Where exactly was that?”

“In the hallway outside Sam's room.”

I shook my head. “I'm sorry, Joe. I don't remember.”

“No reason you should. There was a group of us coming back from supper. That's when I spotted you. You were laughing. You looked so happy.” He touched his thumb to my cheek. “So pretty.”

He put his hands on my waist, brought me a
little nearer, then he kissed me, and I was happy again, happier than I'd been in a long time. Because he knew my name, remembered me, was interested in me, thought I was pretty.

A girl likes to know that a guy thinks she's pretty.

I tightened my hold on him. He drew back.

“Is the fund full yet?” he asked.

I grinned. “Not even close. But when it is full, then we'll go to work on filling up the Joe-have-a-good-time fund.”

“I'm already having a good time. A great time actually.”

Then we were kissing again.

 

That night Joe and I went to the Avalanche with Sam and Allie. While Sam and Allie danced, we guarded the table.

“Hey, guys,” Leah said, as she and Ian joined us.

“Hey,” I said.

“So I heard this rumor that Brad and Cynthia broke up,” Leah said.

“Apparently.”

She studied me, dropped her gaze to the table
where Joe was holding my hand. She raised her eyebrows. “Something else happen today that I need to know about?”

“Nothing I can think of,” I said. I looked at Joe. “Can you think of anything?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“We did go snowmobiling,” I said.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. We saw lots of wildlife.”

Leah grinned. “And were
you
wild?”

“What happens in the forest, stays in the forest,” I said.

Leah laughed.

Sam and Allie came back to the table and sat down.

“Did you see who's here?” Allie asked, pointing over her shoulder.

There, at a far off table was Brad…with Paige. Talking, laughing.

“That's an odd match,” I said, smiling. “A bookseller with a guy who thinks
reading
is a four-letter word.”

“Think he'll be packing up and moving in with her?” Allie asked.

I shrugged. “It's not really any of our busi
ness, is it?”

And the truth was, I really didn't care one way or the other.

“So, mates, anyone up for a game of darts in the back room?” Ian asked.

And the conversation drifted away from Brad and Paige. And actually everyone else drifted away to the back room for that game of darts.