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She could hear the teenagers on the chair lift that had just left, sounding like they were trying to not laugh, but they simply couldn’t help themselves and they were snorting out loud, chortling laughs.
The comments floating from the line behind them sounded like:
“Poor thing.”
“Newbie.”
“Oh man, that sucks!”
“I hate when somebody stops the lift.”
“Did you see her pants?”
“The coat’s worse.”
“Who puts that coat and pants together?”
Maybe she was imagining all the chatter. She prayed she was, but she was so embarrassed. Would Jace take her back to the cabin now? She’d just soak in the tub all day and hide from him and the mess Bryan was in.
“Just humiliated,” she admitted to Jace’s question, not looking at him. She didn’t want to see the embarrassment for her or himself in his eyes.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Everybody here has fallen before. They all understand and just hope you’re not hurt.” Jace said the words loudly. All the chatter and laughter thankfully stopped.
Jace squatted down on his skis. He wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her to her feet. The guy working the lift straightened her skis and gave her a smile. Jace helped her step into her skis again.
“Thanks, Chad,” Jace said. He turned to Ayla. “Chad’s the rock star who stopped the lift so quick.” Jace shuffled her into the spot he wanted her in. “He’ll start it back up and you just sit down as it hits your legs. No worries.”
Hit her legs? Was it going to pitch her forward and she’d end up on her face again?
“You all right, Ayla?” a voice asked from the line.
She glanced over and Bryan was waiting there, smirking at her. Of course his snow gear looked to be top of the line. The people around him were either smirking or looking away. At least they weren’t making comments.
“Fine,” she bit out.
Jace gave Bryan a look that had her boss glancing away. “We’re good, Chad,” he said.
Chad said something into a walkie talkie and pushed a button. The lift started again but much slower than it had come at them the last time. It bumped gently against her legs, she sat, and then they swooped into the air. Oh. That hadn’t been too bad.
Her face still burned with humiliation from crashing and stopping the entire ski lift, especially in this horrible outfit. She focused on Jace’s calming and confident presence next to her. He acted like nothing was wrong, he wasn’t embarrassed of her at all, and falling was just part of the deal of learning. Was he really real, or was he faking it to get a weekend fling out of the deal?
She looked out at the view instead of begging him to give it to her straight as the lift picked up speed and soared up the mountainside. The chilly wind stung her nose, cheeks, and lips and made her feel invigorated and alive. There were thick trees lining the path and fresh snow everywhere. Occasionally there was an obviously manmade break in the trees and people gliding down smooth, snow-covered paths. There were even some people cruising through the trees. She wasn’t sure how they didn’t smack into one of the tall pine trees or bare regular trees.
“This is gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” Jace said, all confidence.
“You act like you built this whole thing.”
Jace laughed and splayed his hands. “Well, my brother, Grandpa, and I actually did.”
“Okay. So you organized and built this ski resort, but I think heaven above deserves the credit for the natural beauty.”
“You got me there.”
They continued up the mountainside. Ayla looked around to where they’d been. Far below the straight line of the ski lift, she could see the valley. It was insanely beautiful and inspiring.
“I wish I could live here.”
