AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh?” Ryan arched his brows.
“Yeah! We’ll have a sledding party!” She grinned.
“Sledding? Like snow sledding?” Tom hadn’t sledded since he was a child.
“Yeah. Like when we were kids. It’s fun, nobody’s any better at it than anybody else, it doesn’t take much equipment, and you can do it solo or in a group, and there’s opportunities for friendly physical contact.” Erin kept grinning.
“Hmm. We might have some old inner tubes around from floating the river—those will work on snow.” Tom tried to think of a good spot; as a kid, they’d driven up the road, on the edge of the National Forest land. “Where were you thinking? We’ve got hills, but they’re pretty far from our house.” No snow there yet, either.
Erin shook her head. “No, Wiz could host. Her house is built into the side of the mountain, so we could make a run right above her house, and she’s got that great patio for hot chocolate and stuff, with the fireplace. Another couple of weeks and she’ll have plenty of snow.”
Ryan turned to Erin. “Do you think she’ll go for that? How big a group are you thinking about?”
She smiled at Ryan. “Oh, we’ll ease her into it. She’s hosted Deb and Sam with us, so if we do a small group first, with just us, and then add a few people the next time, then maybe by the third time we can get her to include the neighbors?”
Ryan tilted his head back and forth. “Might work. We can try. I think she's starting to be ready to move ahead, but I don’t want to push too hard. You’ve never seen...well, never mind.”
Tom’s curiosity was killing him, but he couldn’t ask. Although... “Look, guys, I know you don’t want to tell me anything about what happened to her, but at the same time, it would help to know in general, just so I know what to avoid.”
Erin and Ryan looked at each other with raised brows, and both shook their heads. Ryan’s tone was harsh. “No. We're not going to tell you anything about it at this point. It’s not our story to tell, it’s hers. What I will tell you is this. Never initiate any kind of physical contact with Wiz. Even if she’s falling, don’t try and catch her. You could get hurt.”
Shoot. Whatever had happened to Wiz, it must have been horrific. His heart sank, even as his eyebrows rose. “Got it. Not sure I’d be able to stop myself from trying to catch somebody who’s falling, but I’ll do my best.”
“Yeah, the chivalry thing could get you killed in this case. Wiz is a mixed martial arts expert and not competition-style.” Ryan shuddered. “I wouldn’t want to try and take her, that’s for sure.”
Tom considered the man in front of him. Ryan was a fairly big guy, in good shape, even with just one arm, and Wiz was tiny.
“I need to get back to work on this thing.” Erin patted the vehicle’s fender. “It’s a good plan, so just be patient, okay?”
“Sure. I can be patient.” Tom shrugged. “I can give up. She’s obviously been hurt enough. I'm not going to add to it. It will be painful for me, but it’s obviously less than whatever she’s gone through.”
Erin nodded. “That’s the best attitude you can have.”
He raised both hands. He’d surrender to their best judgement. “Hey, what you’re doing is more important for her sake, but I appreciate you even trying at all for me. Thanks.”
“Sure. Stop in anytime.” Erin picked up a wrench.
He spotted the exit, walked out the door, and climbed into his old truck. Maybe it would work out, or maybe it wouldn’t, but at least Wiz had good friends. He sure hoped they could be at least friends, someday, because those sad gray eyes just didn’t want to leave him. But he’d walk away if that’s what it took.
Chapter 8
“You want me to do what?” Wiz looked at her phone. Maybe their connection was bad or she’d misheard.
Erin chuckled. “Host a sledding party. You know, sledding, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, maybe soup or chili, and bread? We’ll bring the drinks, and I can bring a pot of chili. Doesn’t that sound like fun? It would just be us, Deb, and Sam. And maybe a date if they’ve got somebody.”
O-kay. She hadn’t heard wrong. “Where are we sledding?”
“Oh, right above or below your house. Or behind the guest house. It’s steep enough, isn’t it?”
She had no idea. “I guess so. I’ve never tried. I don’t think I have a sled other than the snowmachine.”
“Even if it’s not steep enough, we can stand around your fireplace and sip cocoa. That’s fun in the winter.”
“If you say so. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually gone sledding.” Her childhood wasn’t exactly fun.
“Really?”
“I grew up in Phoenix. Not a lot of opportunities for sledding. Later, I was stationed in Arkansas and New Mexico; they don’t have a lot of snow, and Washington is rainy most of the winter. When it snowed, the network inevitably went down somewhere on McChord or Ft. Lewis. So, no. No sledding.”
