6
Kids tore past her, throwing Candace straight on her ass. She grunted and sighed. Getting up and down on a flat surface while wearing skis was exhausting her, and her entire body ached. She scooted off to the side of the cat track and tugged off her glove with her teeth. She fished out her cell phone from the inside of her jacket pocket and clicked on the screen. Opening a text to her sister, she typed out a message.
I can’t find you, so I’m going to hit up the lodge for some hot cocoa. Have fun!
Jessica had sent Candace a message asking her to meet her on the cat track, so they could do a few runs together. But Jessica hadn’t shown. Candace half expected Jessica and Travis to be having sex in a secluded spot, forgetting all about their plans. So she didn’t expect a response. She dropped her phone back in her pocket and tugged on her glove. After several minutes of struggling, she finally got back on her feet.
And then someone plowed into her from behind, throwing her back onto the ground in a heap of arms, legs, and skis. The wind whooshed out of her when the other person’s elbow pressed into her stomach. The other person scrambled,attempting to untangle their limbs, but she laid like a deadweight, trying to gasp some air back into her lungs as people continued to ski past them without so much as an “are you okay?”
“Candace? Are you okay?”
Brent helped her sit up, but she could only shoot him a glare as she took a few deep breaths.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t see you when I was coming around the corner.” He reached forward and brushed some snow off her shoulder. “I may have been going a little fast.”
“You think?”
She struggled to stand, but he immediately stood with ease and grabbed her hands, hauling her back to her feet. Her ankle twinged with pain, and she cringed.
One of her skis had popped off and was lying a few feet away in the snowbank. Candace went to slide forward and grab it, but the pain almost buckled her leg under the pressure. She sucked in a harsh breath and clamped her teeth to refrain from crying out.
Brent moved forward and grabbed the ski, dropping it in front of her so she could attach her boot. She lifted her leg and dropped it onto the ski; the pain radiating when she pressed her foot down to attach it.
He seemed oblivious to the fact that she was hurting, but she preferred it that way. The last thing she needed was him making fun of her for getting injured on a cat track, despite it being his fault for her current predicament.
“Shall we continue?” he asked.
She waved a hand for him to go on. “I’m actually going to head to the lodge. Enjoy yourself.”
He looked her up and down. “You don’t want to ski anymore?”
She shrugged. “Not really. I’m just going to grab some hot chocolate and relax for a bit.”
He looked around as if he was weighing his options. She considered skiing past him and continuing on to the lodge, but then he’d realize she was injured. She needed him to leave.
“So, have fun!” she said, adding a cheery tone to her voice.
His eyebrows furrowed. “I’ll join you.”
“That’s really unnecessary. Go enjoy yourself.”
“I’m getting a little tired of skiing. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a drink at the bar.”
She stared at him. Why the hell would he want to spend time with her? They didn’t even like each other!
“Okay…” she drew out.This must be a joke.
He motioned for her to go first, but she shook her head.
“After you.”
“Ladies first,” he said at the same time, and then he laughed. “Candace, seriously. Go first. I’ll prevent anyone else from skiing into you, and I promise I won’t.”
“I don’t want you crushing me again.”
“It was an accident. You were around a corner.”
She glanced back toward the cat track and knew he was right. She stopped in a horrible place, and they were lucky no one had run into them yet. The problem was that if she went first, he would realize she was injured.
