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The rest of us grab our boards and ride the lift to the top of the mountain. When we arrive, I prepare to get off the lift. Having my right foot free, I place it between my bindings as I glide down the ramp, where Carter waits for me. Once everyone has gathered, we line up near the top, strap into our bindings, and race down the mountain.
Carter is off to my left, and we’re about a quarter of the way down the slope when I feel my back binding start to vibrate and shimmy. My brothers and Daphne speed past me, unaware of the possible danger I’m in. When I go to make a wide arching turn to slow myself down, my binding completely separates from the board, and my arms flail as I try to regain my balance.
I manage to recover without face-planting in the snow or tumbling down the slope, which is a small miracle. I place my binding where it should be screwed in and start carving my way down the hill, putting all my weight on my heels to slow myself down. When I hit the bottom third of the run, I see my family waiting for me at the base of the mountain. I continue the process until I finally hit bottom, grateful that Carter never left my side.
I bend down to unstrap the binding still attached to the board and then undo the straps of the one that’s not. When I have the malfunctioning piece of equipment removed from my boot, I let it dangle from my fingers so everyone can see the issue without me having to explain.
“It’s not unusual for a foot binding to loosen, but it is unusual for it to separate from the board completely. Was it showing any signs of wear and tear after our last run? Didn’t you check your equipment this morning, Leanna?” Brody asks.
I nod, unable to get the words out, my adrenaline still pumping wildly through my veins. Carter speaks up for me, “She did. But none of us checked our boards after lunch. Likely, whoever Patrick and Savannah saw rifling through the snowboard storage rack wasn’t searching for their own. They could have been looking for Leanna’s board and then returned to tamper with it.”
I’m grateful that I didn’t get hurt and can walk away from this unscathed. I turn over the binding to see the metal plates where the screws should have been. There’s no damage, not even a scratch. I can confidently say that this was not an accident.
Chapter twenty-five
Carter
Bythetimeweget back to the cabin, I’m still blaming myself for being so lost in my thoughts and upset by Melissa vying for my attention that I had forgotten entirely about the man who had been rummaging through the snowboard storage rack.
I barely get the truck parked when Leanna jumps out and stomps over to my side, grabbing my hand and dragging me behind her away from the group. Everyone looks amused by my predicament as they pile through the front door. I plead with my eyes and mouth the words,“Save me!”to anyone willing to help, but they merely laugh and leave me to fend for myself.
Thankfully, our destination is close, as in the cabin’s back porch kind of close. Leanna spins around and shakes a finger at me, feisty and fiery as ever. “I know what you’re doing, Carter Zane Andrews, and you need to knock it off right now! You’re blaming yourself for what happened even though none of us thought to recheck our equipment after Savannah’s warning. What happened wasn’t your fault, and you need to stop beating yourself up over it!” It appears that I was not hiding my feelings as well as I had hoped.
“It wasmyfault! It’s my job to remember the details, no matter how insignificant they might seem to everyone else! You could have been seriously hurt or killed if you had been any less skilled. What would have happened if we had been on a black diamond run that was steeper and more challenging? Your experience and ability to stay calm in stressful situations is what saved you from something that never should have happened in the first place!”
Leanna’s gentle touch as she places her hand over my heart helps calm me down, but not by much. “I’m still here, Carter. We can’t change what happened, but we can learn from it and move forward.”
I grab the wrist attached to the hand over my heart, preparing to step back and walk away if that’s what it’s going to take to keep her safe. “You’re absolutely right about that. I need to stay vigilant and not let my feelings get in the way of doing my job.”
Leanna turns her wrist toward my thumb and twists it until she breaks my hold, reversing our positions and placing my hand over her heart. “I can see it in your eyes, Carter. You’re about to turn your back on us in some noble attempt to keep me safe. We are either going to do this together or not at all.”
I rest my forehead against hers and close my eyes briefly while I try to figure out the best way to convince her that taking a step back would be for the best. I place my palm on her cheek and use the pad of my thumb to gently rub against her soft, plump lips. In a whisper, I say, “I can’t lose you, Leanna. I love you, and it would destroy me if anything happened to you.”
Leanna avoids my gaze when she utters her next words, “You’ll lose me for sure if you walk away and try to do this alone, Carter. I’m not your job, and I’m not your burden. I’m your best friend and your partner. If you turn your back on us at the first sign of adversity, how can I trust you to stay by my side when things get tough again? Because they will, that I can promise you.”
When she finishes her monologue, she looks at me through her lashes. A small tear falls down her cheek, and I lean in to kiss it away. I kiss a path toward the corner of her mouth but stop and pull back to look into her eyes. The love I see in her eyes mirrors my own for her. It’s the sign I have been waiting for.
There’s no doubt in my mind that she would lay down her life for me just as I would do for her, and that we’re stronger together than apart. A vague recollection of a plaque hanging on the Army Chaplain’s wall comes to mind. It read:
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 ESV
When the Chaplain caught me staring at the plaque, it led to a deeper discussion that lasted nearly an hour. But the greatest takeaway for me wasn’t in the ‘who’ of the verse, but rather in the ‘action’ in it.” It’s possible to love someone so much that you would sacrifice your life to save theirs, just as the Son did for us.
“Are we in this together, Carter?” Leanna asks, pulling me back into the moment.
“Always.” Unable to contain my emotions or my desire for Leanna any longer, I pour them into our first real kiss as my mouth crashes against hers. My feelings are unleashed like a force of nature, propelling me forward as I walk her backward until we come to rest against the cabin wall.
Tilting my head, I part my lips and allow my tongue to dart out and trace her bottom lip. She reciprocates in kind as our tongues tangle and twirl in perfect sync. I take the time to savor her lips and show her how much I love her, kissing her how I’ve longed to and how she deserves to be kissed.
The moment is shattered when our audience on the other side of the window begins to applaud wildly and shout out their catcalls and cheers.
A “Woohoo!” comes from Callie, followed by a “You go, Girl!” from Daphne.
Sebastian questions, “You couldn’t have waited one more day to kiss my sister so I could win the prize pool back home?”
Callum laughs and slaps him on the back, “Trey is never going to let you live it down, Man.”
We hear an “Eww!” from Marcus and Izzy and an “It’s about time!” from Marybeth.
