by Dani Collins
Skis down, a thump and a bounce of her knees, a tiny correction, dig in her edges to turn right, left, then the final small jump and land clean to cross the finish line.
She dug her heels in and sprayed a huge fishtail of snow around her as she slowed from highway speed to pedestrian in seconds. Only then did she become aware of the burn in her thighs, the shaking in the rest of her, the wild pumping of her heart, the cold air in her lungs.
The crowd was on their feet, screaming, flags waving. She couldn’t find Nate and glanced for the clock—
1:49:22.
She’d won.
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Ilke smiled for the cameras as she was presented with the seven-kilo crystal trophy. It was emotional and surreal, still hard for her to believe despite her season of top finishes and winning all five of her events here.
Did she feel like Rolf had bought her way onto this podium? Not at all. Nate had a lot to do with her being here and so did the rest of the Whiskey Jack team. Did she feel any less for having allowed that many people to support her as she worked to arrive here? No. She felt blessed to have so many people invested in her. This wasn’t her win. It belonged to all of them. She was proud to make them proud.
When the presentation finished and the photographers moved away, she went to where Nate and Aiden waited with Rolf and Glory. The look on Nate’s face swelled her heart.
“Well done,” Rolf said with a one-armed bear hug that made her feel like those toys Aiden had—the ones that popped out their eyes and tongue when they were squeezed. “Do that three more times and throw in some gold in twenty twenty-two.”
“Sure, no problem,” she gasped, rolling her eyes as he released her. She returned Glory’s hug with one arm.
“Can I hold it?” Aiden asked.
“Let’s hold it together,” she said and squatted, watching his eyes widen as he realized how heavy it was.
He let her take it back and hugged her neck, keeping hold of her as he asked, “Are you going to be home now?”
“For most of the summer. Until next season.” She hugged him in the circle of her arm, finding it as hard to be away from him as it was to be away from his father.
“Good. I miss you.” He kissed her cheek, then brightened. “I told Mama you won. She said, ‘good job.’”
“Thank you. How’s Frankie?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
She rose and shared a look with Nate. Frankie had told them she was visiting a clinic that specialized in helping same-sex couples become parents. That had been a few weeks ago and they hadn’t heard yet if they had conceived.
“Hey, listen,” Glory said. “Rolf and I are going to test-drive parenting and steal Aiden for a few hours. You two have some grown-up time. You’ve earned it.”
“Yeah?” Nate lifted a skeptical brow at her, then transferred his query to Rolf.
“Call it a Christmas bonus,” Rolf said dryly.
“It’s not Christmas ’til after summer,” Aiden said.
“We can still look for a toy store and see what they have. You want to?” Glory held out a hand.
Aiden nodded and took her hand.
“We’ll meet you back at the hotel for dinner,” Glory said. The three disappeared into the crowd.
“What’s grown-up time?” Ilke asked Nate.
“I was going to ask you the same thing. Let’s take this back to the hotel and see what we can figure out.” He took the globe and threw his other arm around her as they started walking to fetch her bag.
“Thank you for this,” she told him, tapping her trophy.
“That’s all you, babe.”
It wasn’t, but it was sweet of him to give her the credit.
“Do you mind that I’m greedy for more of them? Even if Rolf hadn’t said that, I would want another three years at least.”
“I know. I’m just as hungry for the hardware as you are,” he said wryly.
“Yeah? You’re not jealous of Wanda and Frankie?” Her heart stuttered as she spoke. She’d been avoiding asking that question, not sure if she could face his answer, but tomorrow would be a year since they had lost their baby. She had managed to keep her sadness on the fringes of her mind, but it weighed heavier as she let it wash over her.
“Jealous is the wrong word.” He considered a moment, then said, “I’m thinking: Good for them. It’ll be nice for Aiden. Our time will come and when it does, this time, we’ll be ready.”
He glanced down at her, gaze tender. He knew exactly what day it was.
She wrapped both her arms around his waist and leaned in to him, walking like she was drunk because she was such a mix of giddy and melancholy and so, so grateful to have him.
“I used to worry that I wouldn’t know what my life would look like after I retired from skiing. Now I do.” She smiled up at him. “Happily ever after.”
“Damned straight.” He kissed her temple and kept her moving forward.
The End
The Blue Spruce Lodge series
Book 1: On the Edge
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Book 2: From the Top
View the series here!
Book 3: Coming soon
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About the Author
After twenty-five years of writing and submitting, Dani Collins won the 2013 Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best First In Series from Romantic Times Book Reviews. Known mostly for her emotional, passionate Harlequin Presents, she has also published a hilarious romantic comedy, an epic medieval fantasy romance, and a pair of extremely erotic erotic romances. Dani writes anything, so long as it’s romance.
Keep up with Dani on these links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads and Join Dani’s Newsletter to be notified when a new book comes out.
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