by Carla Thorne
“It is. Some other lady had it a long, long time ago.”
“It’s like lace. I can’t believe the detail.” A small red stone twinkled at me from the center. “What is that?”
“It’s a garnet.”
“A real garnet?”
“Yes, a real garnet.”
“This is too much.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s a garnet, not a real emerald or a canary diamond. Garnets are like an affordable cousin or something. And it doesn’t matter anyway. Whatever it takes.”
He took the chain. “Here. Let’s get it on you. Ever since I saw you in that sweater, I wanted to see it on you. That’s what all those old clowns out there were attempting to tease me about.”
I lifted my hair. “They knew about the necklace?”
“My grandma checks my browsing history. I leave crumbs for her to find so she doesn’t get suspicious. She saw I was searching for an antique snowflake necklace and no one can keep a secret around here.”
“How did you know I would like an old snowflake necklace? Never mind. It’s amazing. I love it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulled the scrapbook back onto his lap. “You even have NASA paper. Who knew they had NASA paper? This is our last trip to the Johnson Space Center.”
“Scrapbookers have a piece of paper or an embellishment for everything. It’s true. The craft store owns me. I’ve never seen a real snowfall…” I touched the necklace. “...but I have a snowflake punch in my craft box. I’ll be making a page in my journal about the ski trip.”
“See what I mean about being in sync? A red sweater—”
“Snowflakes and the pantry. How did we do that?”
“Who knows?”
I held his hand as he looked at a couple more pages. “I’m sorry if the scrapbook is too much for you.”
“It’s not.”
“I would never want to break your heart at Christmas.”
“You didn’t break my heart at Christmas, Ivy. It was already broken. You helped put it back together.”
Chapter 34
Deacon
My cracked ribs took a long time to heal.
The doc said I was young and still made of rubber, but cracked ribs were cracked ribs. I was fine most of the time, then I moved the wrong way or laughed too hard and felt a tug and a pain.
Hours in a crowded van didn’t help. For the most part. we slept and played games on our phones, but after a while, the snacks ran low and everyone wanted out.
I’d been only dry and miserable for the most part, then we hit a rest area once we’d gotten into Colorado snow. Many of our three vans full of people hadn’t ever seen real snow and proceeded to have a snowball fight outside the cold, brick structure that housed metal toilets—also very cold, according to the girls.
OK, I was one of them. Not who complained about the cold toilets, but who played in the snow at a rest stop.
Long story short, where I was once dry and miserable, I was then wet and miserable.
Jacob and Mary sat curled up together in deep discussion most of the time, and since Scout had finally gotten his game on with Ivy, they did nothing but try to suck each other’s faces off and cuddle without being separated by Mr. P.
And then there was Claire Cannon, two rows ahead of me and completely oblivious of my interest. The others were right. I was never going to have the nerve to get close to that girl.
Everyone had someone, and Claire Cannon didn’t know I wanted her to be my someone.
So, I realized it was going to be a wet, miserable, and boring trip for me.
I didn’t have my girl, and I wasn’t going to be able to master skiing with my lingering pain. I was gonna try, but fully expected to wind up at the bottom of a hill with a piece of my rib stuck through my lung.
Good times.
“Deacon! Wake up.” Ivy pulled my headphone away from my ear and flicked my earlobe. “We’re here.” She snapped it back on my head.
“Where? The lodge?”
“No. Well, kinda. It’s check-in. The place where we get our gear and stuff.”
I glanced out the frosted window. “Look at that line. It’s out the door.”
“No, c’mon. It won’t be that bad. Erin’s mom has this thing beyond organized. Our stuff and all our passes are already supposed to be set aside for us. We just have to make sure everything fits. Especially the boots. There are people here to help us.”
“Do you have any idea what you’re talking about, Ivy?”
“No, I do not, but I have my checklist on my phone.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then it’s all good.”
My first step outside the van was into a slushy pile of melting snow.
Ivy danced around me as we got in line. “Look. I can see my breath. That hardly ever happens in Texas.”
I held my nose and tried to blow pressure out my ears. “You know what else never happens in Texas? Fluid in my ears and this ringing sound. You hear that?”
“That’s the altitude. My ears popped all the way up the mountain.” She rummaged in her pocket. “Here. Scout’s grandma made me this peppermint oil mixture. Sniff it and rub some on your forehead or on your neck or something. I don’t remember. I also have something for ears. I’ll find it when we get to our rooms.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Look, Deacon, you worked really hard to be on this trip. Who shoved a stick up your butt between home and here?”
“Sorry. I’m not feelin’ it yet.”
“Well, snap out of it, will ya? Even this parking lot is beautiful.”
From icicles on the log cabin-like building to snow-covered branches, she had a point. Though it was getting dark fast and the temperature continued to drop, I couldn’t miss the blanket of glistening snow along the road and the scent of clean, crisp air. Snowcapped peaks loomed in the distance, just above a line of tall, thick pines that were about to be swallowed by night.
Ivy nudged me. “Some view, huh?”
“Yeah, but right now I need out of these wet shoes and into a vat of hot chocolate or something.”
Ivy laughed and looped her arm through Scout’s. “Totally. Don’t worry, we should be in front of a fire soon and relaxing before tomorrow’s day on the slopes.” She stepped closer and looked at the ground. “Don’t be obvious, but look over there. That super-cute girl has been watching you this whole time.”
I jerked to look immediately.
“Smooth,” Ivy said.
“The one with the blue hat and short hair?”
“No. Red winter headband and box braids.”
I took another less obvious glance and nodded. Wow, I mouthed to Ivy.
“Yeah, and don’t be a dork because she’s walking this way.”
Ivy smiled wide. “Hi, I’m Ivy and this is Scout.”
Scout had been talking to some others and had no idea what was happening. “Hey,” he said.
“I’m Deacon.”
I’m sure that’s what came out of my mouth, but all I heard in my head was her smile is beautiful, her smile is beautiful, her smile is beautiful because she crinkles her nose…
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her puffy jacket and leaned forward. “I’m Charlana, but don’t call me that ‘cause I won’t answer. Call me Char.”
“Nice to meet you, Char.”
“You look cold. Where’s your winter gear?”
“Still in my duffle, uh…buried under all the other bags.” I scratched the side of my head. “I didn’t think that one through.”
“But you’ll be on the slopes tomorrow?”
“Yeah. And I’ll be dressed for it.”
“Good. See you up there tomorrow.”
“No, wait. Are you from Colorado?”
“No. Youth group from Arkansas. You?”
“School trip from Texas.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Where are you staying?”
She took my phone before I offered and punched in her number. “You know. In
case I don’t see you.”
I took my phone back.
She crinkled her nose. “See you tomorrow, Texas.”
“Looking forward to it, Arkansas.”
I turned to face Ivy’s smug smile.
“Awww… You already have cute nicknames for each other. It’s a ski trip romance.”
“Not one more word.”
I took another long look at Arkansas.
Things were looking up.
Chapter 35
Mary
Jacob skied my way and skidded sideways to my side, complete with a spray of fresh snow and a sparkling smile. With his matching high-end ski clothes and all his own accessories, he looked like he was there to shoot a tourism commercial for Colorado.
Meanwhile, all of us with our borrowed clothing and zero skill sets were about to star in the don’t let this happen to you portion of the video.
Scout even forgot his goggles and was unsure as to whether to go back until Jacob convinced him he did not want icy pellets of snow blinding him on the course. You need to keep your eyes open, dude was probably Jacob’s best quote of the day—along with Deacon, your boots and skis should be pointing the same way…
Jacob, Deacon, Ivy, Scout and I huddled together as we waited for the mandatory safety review to begin.
Erin’s mom counted heads. “Everyone have their sunscreen and lip balm?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we sang out as we’d been doing a lot of the last two days.
Gavin and Corey and some of their friends lingered on the outskirts of the group like they didn’t really want to participate. His cool gaze met mine a time or two as if he wanted to pull me in. I chose to ignore him and focus instead on Jacob and my real friends.
Scout tapped Deacon on the shoulder. “Incoming.”
Two girls I didn’t know approached our group.
“Hey, Texas,” she said.
Deacon smiled so big he could have melted snow. “Hey. Glad you made it.” He turned toward the rest of us. “Everybody, this is Arkansas.”
She laughed. “No. My name is Char, and this is Erica.”
“They’re gonna hang with us today if that’s OK.”
What? Deacon had snagged a girl and it wasn’t Claire Cannon?
“Of course it’s OK,” I said. “It’s going to be a blast, despite the fact only one of us can really ski. I’m Mary.”
“Yeah,” Scout said. “If you want to ski for real, you’ll want to follow Jacob down whatever hill he takes. The people stay upright on his slope and remain like that all the way down. Us, not so much. There will be carnage.”
Char laughed. “I’m not that advanced either. I’m fine to take my time.”
“And I don’t want to be embarrassingly pulled out of here in a litter behind a sled, so we’re good,” Erica said.
A short burst of a whistle caught our attention. We settled in for a lecture from the ski slope police. “OK, just a few reminders, and then I’m going to take those of you who have never skied to see an instructor for a brief lesson and practice run and you can ask questions. As for safety, a few things to remember. You are here on one of the busiest weeks of the year. It will be crowded and there will be lines. Ski Patrol is very active on the slopes. You’ll know us by these red bibs with white crosses. We’re up and down at regular intervals. We have radios, phones, sleds, and emergency supplies. When necessary, we even have dogs and helicopters. If you have any problem at all, don’t hesitate to flag us down and ask for help. Use your common sense. Before you merge or start down a hill, look uphill to make sure no one is coming toward you. Don’t stop on a narrow trail. If you come up behind someone, assume they can’t hear you and call out on your right, or on your left to make them aware. Pay attention to caution or slow skiing signs. Above all, steer clear of any area that says off-limits, or any closed trails. Stay on the marked path and never go past the boundary. Never. You got me?”
A collective yes reverberated through the crowd.
“Good. Come with me.”
“I don’t know any more than I did,” Scout said.
“They have dogs and helicopters,” Ivy added.
“I don’t think they want us to have to use those.”
Deacon snapped the clasp on his helmet. “I guess we’re doin’ this.”
Jacob cuffed him on the arm. “It won’t be bad.”
I struggled to keep up with Jacob. We’d all spent a half hour just trying to learn how to get our uncomfortable boots to clamp onto our skis. After that, it was another twenty to figure out how to use the poles to slide forward rather than backward.
At one point, Char was skis-up in a drift.
Deacon fished her out by extending a pole for her to grab hold of.
He shouldn’t have done that with his limited experience and sore ribs. His aching muscles were going to prove it the next day.
“You should go,” I told Jacob. “I mean, look at us. Go enjoy yourself on the big-boy course. Find you some black diamonds. You should have fun while you’re here.”
“I can ski any time with my family. I’m not leaving you.”
“Really, Jacob, I’m going to spend the day on the bunniest of all the green bunny slopes. You’ll get bored watching me fall over all day.”
“Hey, if you have to fall, soft, fluffy snow is the best place to do it.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.”
Ivy tried to steady herself and look down her ski jacket. “Let’s see. Base layer, mid layer…”
Scout slid to an awkward stop. “What are you doing?”
“I think I missed a layer.”
“And?”
“I could get wet and freeze to death. Should I go find my missing layer? The checklist said I need layers.”
“How about this? We’re not going to get much done today because, well, we don’t know crap about skiing. We’ll probably have to stop early because of hunger and injuries, so let’s learn what we can and remember the layer tomorrow. Otherwise, you’ll miss your lesson.” He tried to restart his skis, but didn’t have the correct hold on his poles and slid backward. “Besides,” he huffed out as he straightened himself. “I’m pretty sure you have all your layers. You’ve already checked twice.”
She shrugged. “As usual, your logic is sound.”
“It’s what I do,” he said, and fell straight down on his butt.
During the lesson, we did everything but actually ski. By the time the instructor took us on a practice green run, our legs burned and our knees ached.
And nobody really knew yet how to stop their downhill slide when they needed to. Everyone just tried to fall gracefully to come to a complete stop.
It was only one o’clock, and we were already done.
Jacob took control. “I know it hurts. Let’s get some lunch and then try to all go back up and come down one more time before we call it a day. I promise tomorrow will be better.”
Erica had already given up. “Lunch sounds good. Another run? Not so much.”
Scout collapsed on a bench beside her. “I have news. I can now do the splits. In related news, I am not designed to do the splits. Anybody have ibuprofen?”
Ivy dug in her backpack. “You know what I heard we could do tonight?”
“What?”
“Ice skating. There’s a rink at the bottom of the mountain in town. They’ve got a fire, hot chocolate—”
“And marshmallows?” Scout asked.
“I’m sure there are marshmallows. Anyway, how about we see if a chaperone will take us down there? Skate rental can’t be that much.”
“I’d go,” Char said. “Sounds like fun.”
“We can talk more about it over lunch.”
I touched my lips. “Are anyone else’s lips chapped beyond recognition?”
Erica pulled out her lip balm. “Yes. Low humidity. Cold air. Freezing bullets of water in your face. There’s not enough lip balm in Colorado to fix this. I’m going to look in our stash for one of those things tha
t covers your neck and mouth.”
Great. I was getting less kissable by the second. I thought six layers of waxy lip stuff had been enough.
Jacob helped me with my skis. “How’s the elbow?”
“It’s not bad. I thought all the arm work with the poles would aggravate it, but I’m good. It’s Deacon I’m worried about. I think his ribs are still sore.”
“I don’t know. He sure looks like he’s feelin’ no pain over there next to Char.”
“Yeah. It’s good to see him having that kind of fun. He’s been in a weird mood since the fire, and if he’s not going to get serious and go after Claire Cannon, I’m glad someone has taken an interest in him.”
“I’d say she’s interested.”
Char discreetly took Deacon’s hand as they headed for an extra-large circular booth in the corner.
“That’s sweet.”
Jacob pulled off my gloves. “Wait a second.” He warmed my hands between his. “After we make that run, can we maybe head back to the lodge and talk?”
“Sure. As long as you’re done skiing. Our inexperience can’t be fun for you.”
“I don’t care, Mary, I really just want to spend some alone time with you. We haven’t had any time together since Thanksgiving, and you know…”
Yeah, I knew. We’d had that revealing conversation about his history that led to an awkward Thanksgiving at his parents’ house. Nothing was wrong, but his world was so different than mine. I knew he didn’t enjoy spending time in his own home. He seemed to be more comfortable at Thanksgiving game night with my parents as a football game played out in the background much more than the over-the-top and stuffy meal at his place.
And while he was as romantic as ever with the hand-holding, gentlemanly behavior, and the awesomely special angel-wing charm he gave me for Christmas, we still hadn’t gotten any further.
Between my trauma over Gavin’s possessiveness and forcefulness, and his probable trauma over his uncle’s abuse, I wondered if we’d ever get there.