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It was nice hearing these tidbits about him. I knew he had brothers who worked with him, but I’d only met Mac so far. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Two.”
“No sisters?” I asked, the wind nipping my cheeks.
“No, but my brothers’ friends, the ones who own all of this? They have a younger sister, Kylie.”
“That must have been rough on her growing up.”
“She was younger than me, so I didn’t pay much attention to her. You know how annoying little sisters can be, and she was like one to me.”
“I was the little sister, and I was annoying. My goal in life was to drive Elle crazy. It’s hard to believe we’re so close now.”
“Did that happen when you moved back?”
“We butted heads when she left California. I wanted her to come back. Without her, I was lonely.”
“I’m glad you have her now,” he said before stopping at the edge of the green slope.
“Me too.”
“You ready for this?” His tone was clear. I could say no, and he’d find something easier. But he had faith in me.
Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I gazed down the mountain. “It’s like riding a bike, right?”
He chuckled. “For your sake, I hope so.”
I loved that I was the one who’d made him laugh.
He lifted his hand to point at another person going down the hill in a back-and-forth motion. “You can tack like that to go down slower. If you go straight down, you’ll just pick up speed.”
“Got it. Back and forth.”
“Bend your knees. Especially if you feel yourself losing your balance.”
I cleared my mind of everything but what I needed to do. “Got it.”
“Let’s do this.”
There was a small part of me that wanted to hear him say that again and again. Each time we did something new, it eased some of my fears. He was showing me there was more to life than my bedroom. I hoped today proved I could be more open in my life and nothing bad would happen.
I ignored the niggling sense of doubt and pushed off. “You coming, Grandpa?”
“Who you calling Grandpa?” he called after me as he tried to catch up.
I sensed him behind me, hearing the occasional slice of his blade on the snow as we turned. Then came his steady stream of directions. “That’s it. Bend your knees. More. Good. That’s good.” And finally, “You’ve got this.”
I felt more confident and pointed the tips of my blades more downhill so we could go faster. The wind whipped my cheeks, and laughter erupted from my mouth. I was having a blast. It was so freeing and beautiful. The snowcapped trees, the silence, the slice of the blades in the snow. Occasionally, someone would tumble, but I kept my focus on what I was doing. I didn’t want to lose my balance. I remembered getting up was hard if you fell.
When we finally arrived at the bottom, I remembered to stop on the edge of my blades. As I turned, I looked for Sam, who easily stopped next to me. “How was it?”
“Amazing. I loved it.”
His eyes widened, as if he were a little surprised by my reaction.
I guess I hadn’t been this exuberant with him before. But I promised myself I’d be myself today. I wouldn’t put on a front.
“Wanna go again?”
