by Donya Lynne
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me, too. I needed a smile.”
“Hard day?”
He thought about Shirl nosing into his business and the argument with Liam. “You could say that.”
“You sound tired.”
“I am, but I’m feeling a bit more awake now.”
She laughed. “Why’s that?”
He chuckled and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Savannah hadn’t come looking for him. “You just…uh…” His voice dropped lower as he pushed his bedroom door closed. It wasn’t like Savannah could hear him from the kitchen, but he felt safer closing off his room from the rest of the house while he was on the phone with Mattie. “Something about you just wakes me up.” He paused. “In every way imaginable.”
He heard her exhale. “I know what you mean.” Her soft, airy voice lilted introspectively.
“How about dinner Friday night?”
“You, me, and Savannah, right?”
“Yes.” No hesitation.
“What time?”
“Seven o’clock?”
“Sounds perfect.”
His heart skipped. “Then I’ll see you Friday night.”
“See you then.”
“Good night, Mattie.”
Pause.
“Scott?”
“Yes.”
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it?” He tensed, thinking about what Liam had told him. He wasn’t sure he could take it if Liam had been right.
Another pause.
“I…I’m…” She exhaled heavily. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Me, too.”
“See you Friday. Good night, Scott.”
“Good night.” He hung up and, with a renewed skip in his step, descended the stairs to the kitchen.
Savannah was already finished and lying on the couch watching a movie.
“Are you and Uncle Liam mad at each other?” she said, sitting up.
Scott fished his container of cold food out of the bag and set it on the table. “Uncle Liam and I just don’t always see eye to eye.”
“I heard you mention Mattie.”
He tried not to smile at the mention of her name. “Yes.”
“You like her a lot, don’t you?”
He raised his gaze to hers. After a short pause, he nodded. “Yes, I do. Are you okay with that?”
She smiled, and her head bobbed up and down. “Uh-huh. I like Mattie. She’s cool.”
“You hardly know her.” He sat down at the table and popped open the lid on his food container.
“She skateboarded when she was a kid. And she taught snowboarding. That’s pretty awesome.”
He chomped into a cold sweet potato fry. “There’s more to her than just skateboards and snowboards, honey. She’s really nice.”
Savannah grinned. “Are you going to marry her?”
His heart fluttered at the thought. “I don’t know. Maybe. Someday. We’ll have to see.”
Savannah’s face beamed. “I hope so. I like her. She’s fun.”
Mattie was fun. And smart. And beautiful. But was he ready to start thinking about marriage? He needed to make sure he was taking this one step at a time, even if his heart could already hear wedding bells. “I’m glad you approve, because she’s having dinner with us on Friday.”
Savannah’s smile cranked up another notch. “Really?”
“Yep.” He took a bite of his burger as Savannah jumped off the couch, ran into the kitchen, and threw her arms around him. “Hey, what’s this for?” he said, setting down his burger and scooping her onto his lap.
“You’re happy, Daddy.”
She was hugging him because he was happy? Had he really appeared so somber up until now that his own daughter was moved to hug him just because he’d smiled and was having dinner with a woman?
“Yes, I’m happy, honey.”
“Me, too. I’m happy that you’re happy.”
He hugged her to him as she placed her cheek on his shoulder. Whether or not he and Mattie worked out in the long run, he needed to remember this moment. He couldn’t let himself go back to the brooding man he had obviously become before meeting Mattie. Savannah deserved better.
“I love you, Savvy.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
Chapter 15
November 21
Dear Diary,
Next week is Thanksgiving. I’ve been in Hope Falls two months. I still haven’t told Scott who I really am. Every time I try to tell him, either I chicken out or we’re interrupted.
The longer this goes on, the harder it becomes to admit who I am. But he deserves to know, and I know that sooner or later he’ll figure it out. It’s inevitable. I can’t stay hidden forever, and the moment I reenter society, he’ll see it’s me. If I don’t tell him before that happens, and he finds out on his own, it’ll hurt him. He’ll be angry with me. I don’t want to think about how he’ll react, especially since he’s already been lied to once. His ex lied to him ten years ago, and from what I can tell, it’s taken him all this time to finally trust again.
And I’m the reason.
How ironic is that? I’m why he allowed himself to trust again, and I’m lying to him. How’s that for a nasty twist of fate?
Shit, but I’ve dug myself into a hole. A big, fat, deep one.
I have to tell him. Tonight.
Lacey closed her journal with a sigh. Yes. Tonight. She was sure to get at least one opportunity to pull Scott aside during dinner and finally tell him the truth, even if she had to force it.
She had a few hours before it was time to get ready, so she decided to head back to the hill, see about taking another couple runs down on her board. The sizzle of excitement she’d felt after her midnight run the other night had yet to dissipate, and maybe communing with nature the best way she knew how would give her a bit of perspective—and courage—over her pending confession.
Two hours and four invigorating downhill rides later, Lacey was no more mentally ready to face Scott than she had been earlier. Apparently there were some things even snow meditation via snowboard couldn’t solve. She packed up to head into town for groceries before going home to get ready for her date. Her stomach was still a jumble of knots over her pending confession.
Sitting on the edge of the open back of her Escape, she tugged off her snowboarding boots and pulled on her Uggs. She’d left the Olympic uniform at home this time. No sense risking exposure in the daylight. After packing her helmet and goggles in her duffle bag, she shut the hatch, hopped behind the steering wheel, and turned the SUV around.
On her way back to her cabin, she spied Scott’s snowmobile parked alongside the lane and slowed to peer into the trees to see if she could see him. What was he doing out here?
About twenty yards into the trees, she caught a flash of color. A red coat against a navy one. Then she took a closer look. Scott was carrying Savannah, hurrying back to the snowmobile. He had a snowboard wrenched under his arm.
Lacey slammed on the brakes, slid a few inches on the snow-packed road, and tore out of the driver’s seat.
“What happened? Is she okay?”
“She fell,” Scott said, out of breath.
“Here, give me the board.” Lacey took the board and scanned what she could see of Savannah, who was crying. Blood streaked her cheek, and her pants were torn. A nasty gash about two inches long stretched up the front of her calf. Blood was on her gloves as if she had grabbed her leg. When she raised her hand to wipe tears off her cheeks, Lacey realized that’s where the blood on her face had come from as she left another crimson streak under her eye.
“I need to get her to the emergency clinic in town.” Like the day at the skate park when he’d seen Savannah fall, Scott was in a panic. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, his voice edged with tension.
“Stay calm, Scott.” She hurried alongside him. “She’s going to b
e okay.”
“She could have a broken leg. Oh God, what if…” His mind was taking him down dark paths into even darker memories.
“Scott, ssshh.” Lacey pulled open the back passenger door then hustled around to reopen the hatch. “Put her in the backseat.” She placed Savannah’s board on top of hers, grabbed the quilt, and rushed around to the side again. “She can lie down on this.” She haphazardly spread the blanket over the seats and stood back to give Scott room.
He got Savannah settled as Lacey ran to the driver’s side, slamming the hatch on the way.
“Tell me where to go,” Lacey said as Scott shut Savannah in and jumped into the passenger seat. Instinct from a hundred past injuries kicked in, keeping her calm and levelheaded as she drove toward the exit.
Scott, on the other hand, was beside himself. “She just wanted to go snowboarding,” he said, voice strained. “I wouldn’t normally have taken her, but I didn’t think it would hurt. She’s not used to boarding in such soft snow. God, I should have known better. I should have insisted that she wait, but she was so excited, and I…what if her leg is broken? I don’t want her to go through what I did. I—”
“I’m sure she’s fine.” Lacey pulled out onto the main road then looked in the rearview mirror at Savannah, who was still crying, probably more from embarrassment than anything. “How you feeling, honey?”
She sniffled and caught Lacey’s eye in the mirror. “I don’t know,” she sobbed.
“We’ll get you taken care of.” She glanced at Scott before putting her eyes back on the road.
Under the circumstances, Lacey didn’t want to tell Scott that while a longer board was good for less experienced riders, as well as for soft snow, they were harder to steer. Savannah’s board was long. If she had gotten into trouble and tried to steer clear, she might not have been able to and instead wiped out. Lacey would bet that’s exactly what happened. But telling Scott that wouldn’t make him feel any better.
“Scott, tell me where to go, okay. We’ll take care of her. She’ll be fine. It’s just a little scratch is all.” From the look Lacey had gotten at Savannah’s injury, the cut was more than just a “little scratch.” It would probably require stitches, but playing it down seemed the wiser choice if it meant she could ease Scott’s panic and get him to give her directions.
Scott calmed down enough to direct her to the emergency clinic, but his memories had definitely taken him to a scary place.
She had barely parked before he was out the door and hoisting Savannah into his arms. Lacey ran ahead and opened the clinic’s door.
Luckily, only one other person was in the waiting area. Thank God for small towns.
“My daughter’s been in an accident,” Scott said, rushing the nurse at the reception desk, who jumped to attention, startled.
“Oh dear,” she said. Her name tag read “Gloria,” and she wore lavender scrub pants and a top that was white with lavender, yellow, and mint green flowers on it. She darted to the door that led into the back of the clinic. “Bring her back and I’ll get the doctor right in.”
Scott led Lacey through, and she followed him into an exam room, where Scott laid Savannah on the table.
Gloria hustled back out and closed the door behind her, promising that the doctor would be right in.
Savannah whimpered, and Lacey took her hand as she stepped to the side of the table.
“It’s not that bad,” Lacey said, giving Savannah’s hand a squeeze as she brushed her hair off her forehead. “Just a little cut and some blood.” She smiled down at Savannah’s tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes.
“But, I crashed.”
Lacey thought back to her crash in the Olympics, and suddenly it didn’t seem so bad. For a little girl like Savannah, who hadn’t had as long to take her knocks, this probably seemed like a catastrophe, but to Lacey, who had fallen countless times and suffered ten lifetimes’ worth of bruises, sprains, and breaks, Savannah’s accident seemed like no big thing. How quickly the world shifted into perspective under such circumstances.
“You know what? I’ve crashed a lot myself,” Lacey said. “I’ve knocked myself around so many times on a course that sometimes I didn’t know which way was up, but…” She looked at Scott, who had taken up residence on the other side of the bed and was watching her closely. “Someone once taught me a very important lesson about falling down.”
“What’s that?” Savannah said, sniffling.
Lacey combed the dark, sweat-soaked hair off Savannah’s face, remembering her coach’s words. “We all fall.” She patted her hand. “We all fall, Savannah. But falling isn’t what’s important. It’s what we do after we fall that makes all the difference.” She didn’t look at Scott, but she felt his grateful appreciation for how well she was keeping herself together for both his sake and his daughter’s. “If you stick with snowboarding, Savannah, you’re going to keep falling, and…” She hazarded a glance at Scott, knowing what she was going to say next would be harder for him to hear than Savannah. “I won’t lie to you, the falls get harder. The longer you ride, and the more competitive you become, the more dangerous the sport becomes.” Scott’s face lost a little of its color. “But,” Lacey said before Scott could interrupt, “if it’s what you love…if it’s what you want to do…then you have to follow your heart. Just go in knowing what to expect, and that will help.”
It was advice she wished she had heeded a long time ago. Because hadn’t she known early on that injuries were par for the course in snowboarding? For Lacey, the danger and injuries weren’t what had thrown her into a downward spiral. It had been all the rest. The fame, the fortune, the constant press of the media, fans, sponsors, and endorsers. Everyone had wanted a piece of Lacey Moon, and she hadn’t known how to say no. She hadn’t known where the boundaries were. That was the one thing—the hardest fall of all—she hadn’t been prepared for, and it damn near stole her dream. And, who knew, maybe it had. The jury was still out. Maybe she would never return to competitive snowboarding. Perhaps she had attended her final Olympics, her final X Games, her final competition. If so, she needed to figure out while she was in Hope Falls what the next chapter of her life was going to be.
The door opened and a woman wearing a white coat entered the room. “Hi, I’m Doctor Taylor,” she said.
Scott shot to attention and held out his hand. “I’m Scott McCord. This is my daughter, Savannah. She fell while snowboarding. Cut her leg pretty good on a rock under the snow.”
The doctor pulled on a pair of latex gloves as she inspected what she could see of the cut. Then she glanced at Lacey. “Are you Mom?”
Lacey shook her head. Scott jumped in. “No. This is Mattie. She’s a close friend and helped get Savannah here. It’s okay for her to be here.”
The doctor pulled a sterilized package containing a pair of scissors from the drawer and ripped it open. “I need to cut off this pant leg so I can see the wound and get it cleaned up.”
Lacey joined Scott on the other side of the room and stood back to let the doctor work. A moment later, Scott’s hand closed over hers and held on like she was a life preserver, the only thing keeping him afloat. She reached around with her free hand and closed it over his, letting him know she was there for him. The injury wasn’t life-threatening or one that would require surgery or hospitalization, but from Scott’s point of view, with his daughter cringing as the doctor dabbed the cut with alcohol-soaked swabs, Savannah’s injuries may as well have been an amputation. His grip on Lacey’s hand tightened every time Savannah winced or whimpered.
“You sure are making my first week in Hope Falls interesting, aren’t you?” Doctor Taylor winked at Savannah, making her crack a smile for the first time in the last twenty minutes.
“Yeah, we’re all about welcoming newcomers with a bang around here,” Scott said, glancing at Lacey. He seemed to be calming down.
Doctor Taylor discarded her soiled cotton swabs. “This is going to need a few stitches.” She turned bac
k to Savannah. “But I’ll take good care of you, sweetie. You won’t feel a thing, okay?”
Savannah’s face paled slightly, but she nodded as if trying to be a big girl.
The doctor began preparing her materials.
When Savannah saw the syringe of local anesthesia and the needle, she turned wide eyes toward Lacey.
“Are you nervous,” Lacey said, stepping forward and squeezing her hand.
She shook her head.
“It’s okay if you are. I was nervous the first time I got stitches.”
“You were?”
“Yep.” She lifted her hand and showed Savannah the almost-imperceptible scar on the heel of her palm. “See that?”
Savannah squinted as Lacey pointed. Then she nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Shard of ice cut me,” Lacey said. “I was twelve. Fell while snowboarding, just like you did today.”
Savannah dragged the tip of her tiny, cold finger along the inch-long mark then looked down at her leg. “I’m going to have a scar, too, aren’t I?”
Lacey took her hand reassuringly. “Probably, but think of it as a battle wound,” she said with a smile. “A badge of honor that proves you were here. That you lived. That you said, ‘Look at me, world, you hit me with your best shot, and I’m still standing.’ Think of it that way, and it’s not quite so scary.”
Savannah grinned and gave a feeble nod.
A nurse joined them in the small exam room, and Lacey stepped back beside Scott once more as the doctor got to work.
Doctor Taylor patted Savannah’s leg. “Don’t worry, Savannah, I’ll take good care of you. You’ll be good as new before you know it. You’ll just have a little reminder about how tough a kid you are.”
As the doctor patched up Savannah’s leg, Lacey turned to check on Scott.
He was watching her, gratitude pouring from his gaze. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Her heart nosedived at the enamored expression that consumed his face and seemed to be saying a lot more than just thank you. “You’re welcome,” she whispered back.