AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For a second, I basked in her delight. I knew coming here was the right choice. She could be herself, and I liked who she’d been hiding. She was outgoing, funny, and sweet.
“I don’t know why you’ve been hiding this girl.” I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth because she sobered and looked away.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Meeting my gaze, she said, “It’s okay.”
“You ready for another pass?” I gestured at the line for the lift, not wanting to remind her of who she was.
She considered me for a few seconds before finally nodding.
We ran down the mountain a half dozen more times before my legs were protesting. My favorite moments were the rides on the lift when I shared tidbits about my childhood, and crazy antics and jokes my brothers pulled on each other. After our last run, the sun was starting to set. “Want to get some hot chocolate?”
“I’d love some.”
We stowed our skis in the locker and exchanged our boots to go inside the lodge. Alice rubbed her hands together as we stood in line. I wrapped my arms around her from behind to warm her up.
Alice rested her head on my chest. “I could get used to this.”
I kissed her temple. “Me too.”
We slowly moved forward in line before ordering some food and hot chocolates. “If you’re okay with the cold, we can sit outside to watch the sunset. There are gas fireplaces.”
“That sounds nice.”
We headed outside and sat at one of the fireplaces. I gave her the chair with the best view and scooted my chair close to her so I could observe her watching the sunset.
Our food sat on a side table nearby while we sipped our hot chocolates.
“This is perfect,” she said, while admiring the pink and orange sunset. “I don’t take the time to appreciate things like this.”
“Me neither. Sometimes it feels like you do the same thing day in and day out. Sure, I’m watching Maggie grow up, and that’s amazing, but it’s almost like something’s missing.” And I hadn’t realized that until now.
I couldn’t have planned the day any better. My mom got to meet Alice, we had the perfect powdered snow for skiing, and now, we got to watch the sunset.
“The only thing that would make it better is if you were sitting closer.”
Alice gave me a look as if she was gauging my sincerity, and then she got up and perched herself on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her, and she snuggled closer.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not yet. I could sit here forever.”
I swore my heart was expanding. I never thought it would be possible to love someone as much as the love I had for Maggie, but Alice was burrowing into my heart and under my skin. I enjoyed being with her, especially in these simple, quiet moments. She didn’t need a fancy dinner date or a concert. I’m sure she’d enjoy those too, but her ability to be thankful for the little things was what I admired about her.
Maybe she’d seen a darker side of society, and she appreciated every moment that wasn’t like that.
She shifted a little in my lap so she could see my face. “I was going to wait until tonight, but I think I should tell you now.”
My heart skipped a beat. Was this the moment she’d tell me why her face seemed to hold a permanent shadow? The sky was dark behind her, but the light of the fire illuminated her face. “Tell me what?”
“Why I moved here.”
“I thought you wanted a change.”
She picked at the lapel of my jacket, not quite meeting my eyes. “That’s the gist of it, but there’s more.”
“I’m ready to listen whenever you want to share, but it doesn’t have to be tonight.” I forced myself to say the words even if I wanted to hear what she had to say more than anything.
