That one still gets me. I know high school boys are stupid, but come on.
My favorite picture’s just by the door to the main room. Heather holds Brooke in her arms, looking terrified and awed at the same time. The college sophomore and the baby. I wish I could go back to them and say: Hey, it’s all gonna work out great.
There’s so much love in this house.
In the doorway I stop and look at them. My family. I’ve never said that to them. It would be fucking weird. But it’s true. Heather’s still wearing the dangly earrings she nervously put on before her date this afternoon. Brendan’s holding his glasses to his face so that he can read the back of the Settlers of Catan rule book.
It’s like all those moments are wrapped into one. That week Brendan and I spent fishing in the Yukon last summer. The cake Heather baked me for my birthday. Last fall’s barbecue in their yard, when Brendan poked at the patties with me and gave me advice on life. Their laughter yesterday when Brooke and I had a snowshoe race.
They’re the people who raised Brooke. I’ll never be able to put into words what that means.
Heather looks over to me on a laugh, still chuckling as she pushes to her feet and comes to take the wood from me. “Thank you.” She tilts her head toward her father. “You need to convince him to play a game he won’t win.”
Brendan grumbles, his beard twitching over a smile. “Why would I want to play a game like that?”
I grin, leaning over to grab my beer from the table. “It’s a good point …”
Heather rolls her eyes just like her daughter does. “Fine. You two are terrible. Set it up, then.”
I take a breath.
I think of how Brooke’s invited me into her life.
I think of the way she squeezed my hand on the walk up to my mom’s front door. The way she taught me that maybe other people could love me more than I thought I deserved to be loved. The way Mom’s face crumpled with happiness when she saw me.
I think of how Brooke gave me her family, and gave me back my own, and how I want us to have our own family one day. When we’re ready.
When you ride, you learn that nerves don’t mean you shouldn’t do something. They just mean that it’s important.
Brendan looks up to me, his smile slowly spreading. “You got something to say, son?”
Yeah. Yeah, I do.
“You have got to stop staring at her, man. It’s embarrassing.”
I cast JJ a grin, guilty as charged. “What am I supposed to do, look at your ugly mug all day?”
JJ throws a fistful of snow at me. “I dunno. Try professionalism?” But it’s a meaningless tease, and we both know it. No one ever has complaints about how Brooke and I work together.
For a moment we sit on the snow and look out at the world. It’s a killer day—even beyond the sight of Brooke’s ass as she bends over her gear on the next ridge. The mountains spread endlessly around us, reaching up toward the sky. The sun sparkles over the snow like diamonds.
JJ’s obviously reminded of diamonds, too.
“You got it stored somewhere safe?” He flicks a look toward my pockets. “Wouldn’t want the most expensive boulder I’ve ever seen getting lost on the mountain.”
No one wants it getting lost on the mountain. I’ve been checking my pocket every five minutes, pressing to feel the small box’s outline. After all the months I spent searching for the perfect ring, losing it would probably make me lose my mind. Plus I’d have to go shopping with Alex and Hanne again, which would actually make me lose my fucking mind.
One last check. Against my palm the box rests solid at my thigh. Thank god.
“Yeah. It’s good.” I slow an exhale through the full of my chest, bringing my hands up to scrub over my hair. “Fuck, man. I am shitting myself.”
JJ looks at me aside for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh. “You’re ridiculous. You know she’s going to say yes.”
I think about how Brooke looks sleeping in our bed at home. How excited she is every FaceTime while one or both of us are on shoots. The way she runs into my arms at every airport, pressing close so that I can swing her around.
I’d kill for her. I’d die for her. There isn’t a single fucking thing I wouldn’t do just to see her smile.
She’s still the thing that frightens me most in the world. I guess that’s what the real thing does to you. You know how much it means to you, and you never want to lose it.
Dinkler comes tramping over, giving us a grin. “Right. I thought we’d better check these timings. Shots for the next half hour and then we’ll drop you two off for the ‘special run.’ That right?”
I nod toward him as I push up to my feet. “Yeah. That’s it. If the pilot gives us half an hour before he picks us up for the other lodge …”
I know Brooke. She loves lilies and chocolates and the snowflake necklace I got her on her birthday. But most of all she loves mountains and the wilds. Where else would I propose to a woman like that? She deserves the mountaintop, and the private lodge I’ve booked for us after where I can spend a week getting lost in her body.
“Right then.” Dinkler’s already calling Brooke on the radio as he steps away. “You good to go, Larson? I think those two couch potatoes are more or less ready to get their asses out of the snow …”
Brooke’s laugh is bright from the radio fixed to my shoulder. “Let’s do this.”
She is so beautiful. I’ll never be able to explain it to her. How she looks standing there on the ridge, her hair whispering free from her helmet. I’m not close enough to see her smile, but I don’t need to. I see it all the time, anyway. I see it in my sleep. The freckles over her cheeks. The cute bump in her nose.
I’m afraid of losing her. I’m afraid of fucking up. I’m so fucking afraid of getting down on one knee for her that I might be sick in the snow.
But I look at her, and I know that Brooke is worth it.
About the Author
Harper Dallas writes romantic fiction. Her favorite stories are about true love, strong women, and the men who can handle them.
After exploring the world, Harper met her own tall, blond and handsome stranger right back at home. She is now living her own happy ever after in the wilderness of British Columbia. When she’s not writing love stories, you can probably find her in the mountains.
Click here to join Harper’s mailing list for new release updates and exclusive bonus content.
www.harperdallas.com
Acknowledgments
All the best adventures happen with your crew, and Ride was no different. Without Jane’s encouragement and Drew’s amazing editing, I would have been lost. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.
My most special thanks go to my parents, who first gave me a love of stories; to Rebecca, who reintroduced me to the wonders of imaginary worlds; and to George, without whom there would be nothing at all.
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