Jack started cleaning things up when he noticed Steph and the man she’d been talking to earlier taking down the Christmas lights. The elf teens came back for more candy canes, and he handed them out and got the jacket comment again, slightly different this time, and laughed again.
Steph walked toward him, smiling. “Well, that’s about it. Thanks for your help tonight.”
“You’re welcome. It was fun. You’ve created a great event.”
She shrugged. “I’m sure Windy Basin is grateful for the money you gave this year.”
Ouch. The sting behind her words was definitely there. “Does everything go in the trailer?” He pointed to the couple from the registration table, managing a folding table and walking in that direction.
“We can handle the teardown. Go ahead and take off. I overheard your dinner invitations.”
“Nah, I’ll help.”
Do it. Ask her to have dinner with you.
“Suit yourself.” She turned and walked toward the trailer, but he was almost certain he caught a smile before she went.
He was falling for her. He knew it the same way he recognized most trouble—clearly, inconveniently, and too late to change anything.
Liam was going to be impossible about this.
Jack took load after load to the trailer. Steph was inside, organizing things as they were delivered.
“That’s it from the snack station,” he said.
“Perfect.” She looked out over the park.
Jack followed her gaze. The lights were down, and everything was empty. The volunteers were mostly gone too. A few people still talked, but almost all the cars had cleared out.
Now was the time. He cleared his throat. Their eyes met, holding just long enough for him to hope he might have a chance. “Um, I was thinking—”
“Hey, Steph?” a voice called from outside the trailer. “You about ready?”
She took a step back. “Uh, yeah, Phil. Finishing up.” She smiled at Jack. “Sorry. Did you want something?”
He raised his hands. “Nah. Nothing important. Just wanted to tell you it was a good event. You’ve got an amazing system.”
“Thanks to years of practice.” She paused for a moment. “Your first event might not be super smooth. That’s to be expected.”
“Oh, I’m sure Liam will hire enough people to make it work.”
Her mouth tightened. “Indeed. Now, I’d better get the trailer locked up.”
Chapter 9
Steph
The road to the park’s gate was snow-packed and slick. Steph could tell a plow had gone by, but the steady snowfall had changed things since then. She took it slow and kept her SUV in four-wheel drive. She met a fair amount of traffic heading back toward Irma, yet remained the only car bound for the park.
“It’ll be good conditions for training,” she said as she clicked the wipers up a notch. The temperature indicator on her dash showed twenty-eight degrees. Cold enough to snow, but it should still feel comfortable as long as the wind didn’t come up. Wind changed everything and could turn an enjoyable training session into a miserable one.
Steph sighed and shook her head. “Cowboy up, girl. You know the actual race could be ten times worse.”
When she’d called her friend Gina to file her training plan with her, Gina had tried to talk her out of going up. “It’s going to snow a lot,” she’d said.
“Not until after midnight. I’ll be back at my SUV before then.”
“Did you forget what happened only a few months ago with Brooke’s training run? The forecast was wrong, and the weather came in early. You know how that turned out.”
