Half the World Away

by Rebecca Banks

  It was all over before Abbie knew it and she went back to the press room to get settled in for the final part of the game, buzzing with adrenaline that everything had gone smoothly and seemed to have gone down well. A scroll through social media told her that fans were talking about and posting pictures and videos of The Half-Time Show, and her happiness improved even further as the final whistle blew with a 3-0 victory to the Utah Saints.

  As she was wrapping up work at her desk a little while later, the door opened and Hank, Kitty and Kyle rushed through it, all looking as happy as she felt.

  ‘Abbie. You’re a genius.’

  She didn’t know what to say as Hank beamed down at her, and was at more of a loss for words when he grabbed her by the arms, pulled her out of her seat and hugged her. The look on her face must have been a picture as Kyle burst out laughing, a deep, belly laugh that in turn made Abbie giggle as Hank plonked her back in her chair.

  The three of them all perched around her on desk and Hank spoke.

  ‘Seriously, the partners loved The Half-Time Show, the fans loved it, and some of the season ticket holders have already bought extra tickets for the next game so they can bring their families along. It’s exactly what we needed. The soccer we’re playing is good and now we’ve brought in some extra entertainment that makes it fun for the whole family. I’d say we did the right thing hiring you, Abbie Potter.’

  ‘Hank, you’re so right,’ grinned Kitty. ‘Abbie has changed things around here and I love having her working with us. Anytime you need help on this, Abbie, you just let me know. Even if I have to do it in my own time I will because I think it’s just brilliant. Today was brilliant. You’re brilliant.’

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a rewarding day at work, and having Kitty and Hank praise her like that felt good. At that moment she wondered why she hadn’t left her old job sooner. She felt like a different person and that she had her life back on some sort of track. She couldn’t even remember why she had been so upset about Josh. That life seemed like a million years ago.

  Hank was talking and Abbie tuned back in.

  ‘I want you to organise The Half-Time Show for every home match this season and make sure the marketing guys are putting the info out to help sales. They need to pre-promote the music acts and get them promoting their appearance, so we can bring their fans in. Get an application form on the website for kids to apply for the penalty shoot-out. And make sure that elk costume has a protective cup you know where or one of those kids is going to castrate the poor guy inside it.’

  Kyle let out another belly laugh. It was obvious Hank didn’t let loose like this often, but they were all riding high on the success of the day.

  ‘Oh, and Abbie, for our last game, I want you to go big,’ Hank added. ‘That’s the day we need to bring in a famous band. They can do a song at half-time and then we’ll bring them back out at the final whistle for a few more songs. We’ll have a sell-out crowd if we do that, and that will make my board happy. You have full authority to book whoever you want – I trust you.’

  ‘I’m on it, boss,’ Abbie grinned as Hank walked out of the room, closely followed by Kitty. She couldn’t believe it had gone so well and wanted to call Violet to tell her all about it. That would have to wait until tomorrow, though, as Violet would long since have gone to bed. She mentally noted that she hadn’t heard from Violet for a few days, which was strange as her emails had been daily since she had arrived, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted.

  ‘Hey, superstar, are you wrapping up to go home soon?’

  ‘You’re a bit of a superstar yourself, aren’t you? Spotting Bobby Fox at his college. He made quite the impression today.’

  For the second time in as many minutes, Kyle looked surprised.

  ‘How did you know he’s one of my guys?’

  ‘I do my research, Captain America,’ Abbie teased. ‘I have to write about these players, I need to know where they came from. And I was also happy to find out during my research that you really are out there finding the next big things and not just attacking random women in parks.’

  ‘Are you ever going to let that go?’ Kyle covered his face with his hands in mock distress.

  ‘Possibly not. I’m still waiting for you to make it up to me.’

  She shocked herself with that comment as she knew she had opened the door, and Kyle didn’t wait a second to walk through it.

  ‘Then let me. You promised a rain check on me showing you around. Let me take you somewhere tomorrow. I know you won’t have left Salt Lake City, and you’ve been working so hard on this game that I’m willing to bet you’ve barely ventured out of your apartment.’

  ‘You would be correct,’ she laughed. ‘But it’s honestly been fine. I came here to throw myself into this new job and that’s what I’ve been doing as I really wanted it to go well today. But now I can breathe a bit and I do want to see the sights around my new home. I’d already told myself after today I would start to do some exploring.’

  ‘So, let me help you. If you go on your own, you’ll follow a guidebook you bought at the airport and go to all the dumb tourist spots and miss out on the good stuff. Only a proper local knows all the hidden gems. I bet the first thing you did when you got here was go see that church. Am I right?’

  ‘Have you been stalking me as well as tripping me over?’ she exclaimed.

  ‘I knew it. I just knew that’s the only thing you’d have done.’

  Laughing, she playfully pushed his arm and was surprised at how comfortable she felt with this newcomer in her life.

  ‘What do you say? Will you let me show you around tomorrow? Make the most of your day off before another week at the grindstone?’

  She was so conflicted. She knew he wasn’t asking her on a date – he was being friendly to the new girl. On the other hand, she had been warned by Kitty what he was like and she was taking a risk going out for the day with him, even if it wasn’t a date. But the way he made her feel comfortable was so at odds with the vision of him being a total arsehole. He seemed like the most genuine guy she had met in a long time, maybe ever. She supposed that’s what made him so successful with the girls.

  She realised he was staring at her as she sat having an internal conversation with herself, waiting for her to answer.

  She felt her resolve sinking. Not only had she been lonely in the evenings and at weekends, but she wanted to go. She suddenly couldn’t remember all the reasons not to.

  ‘Alright, alright. You’ve worn me down. I will, for one day only, let you be my tour guide. Where are you going to take me?’

  He fist-pumped the air and did a comedy jump, clicking his feet together, making her laugh.

  ‘I’m taking you to Park City. It’s the next city on the other side of the mountains, about forty minutes from here. Bring a warm jacket and a hat and gloves because it’s cold near the snow. I’ll pick you up at ten. You’ll need your strength, so make sure to have breakfast.’

  With that, he doffed his baseball cap and left her sitting at her desk, wondering how the hell that escalated so quickly, why on earth she would need her strength, and which of her new wardrobe items she was going to wear for an absolute non-date.

  CHAPTER 10

  Abbie felt stupidly nervous as she waited the next morning for Kyle to pick her up. It was pretty much freezing so she wore her new light blue Levi’s, cosy fur-lined brown boots and a chunky knit blue sweater the same hue as her eyes. She saw a pristine jet-black Honda pickup truck pull up outside and recognised Kyle getting out. She threw on her jacket, picked up her woolly hat, gloves and handbag and headed out the door to meet him.

  As she made her way carefully down the steps, not wanting to trip and look like an idiot, she looked up and saw him clearly for the first time.

  Fuck.

  He looked fit.

  ‘Good morning, England,’ he grinned as he handed her a Starbucks. ‘I thought you could use a hot chocolate to warm up. It’s p
retty chilly this morning.’

  She thanked him as she greeted him and hesitantly kissed him on the cheek before gratefully taking the cup and using it as a hand warmer.

  ‘Hop in, the car’s warm and the heated seat is on for you.’

  She opened the door and then used the step to hoist herself up into the truck. Why does everything have to be so much larger than life in the US? she wondered, hoping Kyle hadn’t noticed how inelegantly she hauled herself into her seat.

  Strapping herself in, she asked what the plan was.

  ‘It’s a surprise. You’ll see when we get there. It’s not far but it’s a super cool place.’

  She laughed. ‘Well, I did say I’d allow you to be my tour guide today, so it’s over to you.’

  As they settled into the drive, she relaxed into the warm passenger seat. She was surprised to see that just a little outside of Salt Lake City the road cut through the middle of the snowy mountain range. It was a new kind of landscape for her. Driving in England, everything was pretty flat, and having lived her whole life in cities, she had definitely never driven through the middle of a mountain range.

  She looked over at Kyle and broke the easy silence.

  ‘Kitty told me you guys all go skiing in Park City. Do you like skiing?’

  ‘Yeah, Kitty organises trips every now and then for staff but I don’t always go. They tend to stick to the pretty simple runs and head for the après-ski as soon as possible, whereas I’m more a black run kind of guy.’

  He smiled as he delivered the line and Abbie raised her eyebrows, questioning the statement.

  ‘I learned to ski when I was four. These slopes have always been my second home. We’re lucky to have Deer Valley here at Park City – it’s the largest ski resort in the States, and the slopes are some of the best in the world. I qualified as a ski and snowboard instructor after I finished playing soccer, but then I got the job at the club. I do the occasional teaching gig here and there, but most of the time I come out here it’s just me and the board. The best thing is getting out on the snow, feeling the adrenaline, out in the open air. It’s pretty special.’

  Abbie loved hearing his enthusiasm.

  ‘When did you give up playing professionally? Surely you could play now if you still love it?’

  ‘Sometimes life doesn’t go the way you plan, unfortunately,’ he said. ‘I got a soccer scholarship to college in Indiana, which is one of the best places for that in the country, and everything went pretty well for a few years. I came back here to play for the Utah Saints but then I injured my knee and I just couldn’t recover well enough to keep performing at the top.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, that’s crappy.’

  ‘You know, it all turned out okay in the end. I had a blast for a few years playing all around the country. I always got on well with Hank so when this role came up, we got talking, and I was up for the challenge. Now I have a job I love. It’s great working with the kids on the youth team and really trying to help them, and the benefit is I’m not banned from skiing and snowboarding like I was when I was playing.’

  Abbie poked him in the arm and teased, ‘Oh, so are you telling me you got injured on purpose?’

  Kyle laughed as he expertly reversed the massive truck into a spot that seemed too small on the side of a street, then they got out of the truck.

  ‘So, this is Park City,’ he said, throwing his arms all around. ‘Home of the famous Sundance Film Festival, but for me, the home of epic skiing and snowboarding just forty minutes from home. My happy place,’ he sighed.

  Abbie looked around in awe at the little town as they started to walk down the main road. She’d never seen anything like it. The quaint street was peppered with brightly coloured buildings higgledy-piggledy in height. Green, yellow, blue and red. A movie cinema that looked like it could have been a hundred years old. Tiny bookstores, and little boutiques selling patterned throws, artworks and mementoes linked to the area’s American Indian heritage.

  And, of course, shops selling and hiring ski gear. A lot of shops.

  Because, rising above the street on both sides, unbelievably close to where she was standing, were the snow-covered hills and peaks of the mountains that Kyle skied and boarded on as often as he could.

  It was bizarre and breathtakingly beautiful.

  ‘When it’s the film festival, it’s absolutely crazy. Can you imagine, this tiny town, bombarded by tens of thousands of people. You can’t move.’

  She couldn’t imagine. It was so quiet and small. The thought of it being taken over by a sea of people seemed wrong.

  Suddenly Kyle steered her to the right and through a doorway. She heard the tinkle of a bell over the door and looked around to see they were in a ski shop.

  She heard Kyle greet the guy behind the desk like an old friend then he turned back to her.

  ‘Ready for your lesson?’

  ‘Are you serious?’ she squealed.

  ‘Never been more serious. Sit down on that bench,’ he motioned. ‘What size shoe are you?’

  As she answered, Abbie was thankful she’d gone on her mall spree so she knew the correct US size to give him.

  A few moments later, he headed towards her with a pair of stiff black boots in his hand that looked like the kind you hobbled around in if you had a broken foot. ‘Deadly,’ he grinned as he kneeled on the floor and started unzipping her own right boot and putting her foot in the new contraption.

  ‘The only time I’ve ever skied was a school trip when I was a teenager, and I really didn’t like it that much.’ She sighed at the memory but didn’t stop him from putting on the boot. Salt Lake City had made her feel more alive than she had in a long time, and even though she was nervous at the thought of going out on the snow, she didn’t mind embarking on this spontaneous lesson.

  ‘Did you like red wine when you were a teenager?’

  ‘No, I was more of a Bacardi Breezer kind of girl.’

  ‘And do you like red wine now?’

  ‘Yes.’

  She could see where he was going with the analogy.

  ‘This is going to feel tight, but that’s how it’s meant to be,’ he said as he started clamping the buckles closed. Her leg felt as if it was being forced into an awfully wrong position with each additional buckle closing and her face obviously showed her discomfort.

  He laughed as he pulled off her left boot and repeated the buckling procedure on that side, essentially encasing her left leg in what felt like cement.

  ‘Up you get then,’ he said as he rose. ‘The powder is perfect and I don’t want you missing the best of it.’

  Putting her hands firmly on the bench and pushing herself to standing, she went to take a step forward and wobbled on the unfamiliar soles of the boots. She couldn’t help but let out a little exclamation of shock and Kyle, quick as a flash, steadied her by holding her by the arms firmly and setting her on the shop floor once again.

  She felt electricity run through her whole body as she looked straight up into Kyle’s twinkling eyes, and quickly looked down again.

  ‘You okay there? I’m thinking maybe this isn’t such a good idea. You really aren’t good at staying on your feet, are you?’ he laughed.

  Crossing her arms with faux indignation, she tried to look serious. ‘It’s you. You keep putting me in these dangerous situations. If I was a more cynical person, I’d think you’d been hired by a mortal enemy to bump me off.’

  ‘I have no intention of bumping you off. I’m going to make sure you’re as safe as can be.’ With that he disappeared again and returned laden with a huge heap of items in his arms.

  ‘Here we go; ski pants, gloves, some good socks to go under those boots, goggles and a helmet.’ Kyle piled the items on the bench beside her. ‘Oh, and here,’ he said, reaching into his pocket and passing her some sunscreen. ‘You’re definitely the type to get burned aren’t you.’

  She stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.

  ‘Get out of here.’ He guided
her towards the door, shouting goodbye to the sales clerk as they left and thanking him for the loan of the gear.

  Sitting at the top of a snow-covered slope, Abbie wondered what on earth she was doing as Kyle set the snowboard on the ground and reached out to pull her to her feet.

  ‘Now, step on the board, but not where you see the clips. I just want you to get used to what it feels like to stand on it. Put your weight slightly forward onto your toes, bend your knees and lean a bit forward into the boots.’

  ‘This feels so weird. It doesn’t feel natural at all.’

  ‘You’ve been standing there for three seconds. Where’s your patience?’

  She concentrated and followed his instructions, getting used to the board and how to stand on it. Putting her weight onto her toes, then switching to her heels. Back and forth, again and again, until it started to feel like she knew how to balance.

  ‘I think you’re there. Let’s get you in those binds.’

  She felt her stomach lurch with anxiety. Why was it that things seemed so much scarier as an adult? She was pretty sure she hadn’t been so nervous on that school ski trip.

  ‘Kyle. I’m a bit worried about that slope. I don’t know what I’m doing.’

  ‘Lucky we’re not going down there then. We’re practicing in the other direction on the flat. Do you think I’d send you down a slope when you can barely walk straight? You’re not even going anywhere for a while. First, we’re going to practice falling. It’s the perfect snow for it – soft, so it won’t hurt much.’

  Abbie raised her eyebrows.

  ‘I’m serious. Before you learn to ride, you need to know how to fall correctly. I really don’t want you to end up in the ER with a broken wrist. Now, fall forward on your knees, then onto your forearms.’

  Resigning herself to bruised knees, all in the name of learning, Abbie did as she was told.

  Sitting back down on the snow a few hours later, Kyle unclipped his board and set it next to him. Abbie kept hers clipped to her boots. She couldn’t be bothered to keep lifting it on and off.