He sighed again, obviously a little lost in the past, just enough for Nicole to think…she might have a real shot at this.
“What else are you going to do for the next five or six weeks?” she asked.
“Well, for one thing, I’m going to visit my mother with you.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “Then we can go home, er, back. And you can ski Deer Valley.”
His eyes flashed.
“You’d like that, right, Dad?”
Jack went still. “I’d…love it,” he murmured.
For a moment, the café buzzed around them—silverware clinking, chairs scraping, a young couple laughing behind them. Jack stared out the window, lost in thought.
“I’m not sure how it would make me feel to see her again,” he said, his voice low.
Nicole blinked against the sudden sting in her eyes. “Neither of you ever moved on.”
He smiled without much joy. “Sometimes that’s just how it works.”
They fell into silence, finishing their food, both deep in thought. Nicole’s throat ached, and she could see her plan slipping through her fingers.
After a beat, he said, “I might consider it but…”
She blinked. “But what?”
“I have to be back on Christmas for my mother’s brunch.”
“But if you ran the rides through Christmas Eve…”
He angled his head with a “don’t you get it” look. She didn’t.
“It would mean walking out on Christmas…again.”
Oh. She nodded. “Yeah, I get it. Although if the sleigh rides brought in enough revenue to save December, I’m pretty sure Mom would forgive the repeat of history.”
He leaned back, looking at her and thinking. “Then I might consider it.”
Her breath caught. “Seriously?”
“On one…”—he held up a finger—“condition.”
“What? Anything. Stay somewhere fabulous? Fly First Class? Pick your own horse—Copper’s still pretty stubborn, so we might have to rent one. Tell me what it is, Dad, and I’ll make it happen.”
“You let me teach you how to ski again.”
Nicole felt the blood drain from her head, her stomach dropping at the very thought of sliding down a slope. “No.”
“Not fly down Centennial,” he said. “Just get back on the planks and see how it feels.” He sipped coffee like it was no big deal. “We’ll go slow. Groomers only. Pizza wedge and all that.”
She opened her mouth to say no again, but nothing came out.
“Nic.” He reached over and put his hand over hers. “I want to help you overcome that fear. I would never let anything bad happen, I promise. But you’re missing out on something wonderful. And if you don’t get back on the slopes, it could haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“Could? It already has.”
“All the more reason to try again. And, honestly, Nic, I would give anything to make it up to you. Let me teach you how…”
