Chapter Twenty-One
ASPEN
Terrified. That was the only word Aspen could have used to describe how she’d felt standing on the edge of that cliff with Chase.
But now… now she couldn’t find a word strong enough to capture the feelings stirring in her chest for the man in front of her on the snowmobile, mindful of her injured knee as they crept slowly along their way.
Their first stop was the lodge so she could find her trainer and see if her knee needed more serious attention or if it was something that could be handled here.
The lodge came into view, and her stomach dropped at the thought that Chase might have already made his case—and that hers would be rejected.
She held on tighter, and Cole’s hand left the handlebar to rest on her arm.
He gave it a gentle squeeze before steering again, steadying her nerves in the quiet way only he could.
Once they arrived, he hopped off and told her to stay seated while he ran inside.
Her heart thudded loudly in her chest as she waited alone, and with each person who passed, it raced faster.
Cole returned with a wheelchair, placing it at the entrance of the lodge before coming down the stairs and giving her a reassuring smile, as if he knew it would calm her heart.
“Well, Snow, let’s get you off this thing and over to your trainer.
I already had the front desk call to let them know your knee is giving you trouble, and they’ll meet you at the wellness center.
” He scooped her up in his arms, careful not to jostle her knee, and set her gently into the wheelchair.
“I’m going to have to take you in the front since the pathways are too slick for this thing. Sorry if that causes tongues to wag.” He patted the wheelchair with his hand, and she nodded in agreement as he pushed it through the entrance.
He made his way to the elevator and up to the wellness center, which boasted a fully equipped gym, a spa, and a makeshift PT area for visiting athletes. Mr. Mynt had pulled out all the stops for the charity, not wanting to take any chances while the athletes stayed at Mynt Resort.
Once there, he pushed the wheelchair into the PT area, where Aspen’s trainer—a fully trained PT—sat with arms crossed, her expression making it very clear she was not happy with the situation.
“What is this? I mean, seriously, Aspen? After all our work, you went and completely dismissed everything I’ve taught you, everything we’ve worked toward!” Brianna rose from her chair, gesturing sharply toward Aspen’s knee as she continued to scold her.
“I cannot believe you went and did that jump again, after everything we talked about the other day. And YOU…” Brianna turned toward Cole, poking him in the chest, her voice rising. “How dare you take her up there again?”
“Woah, woah, woah, Brie… chill out for just a second.” Aspen pushed to stand, sucking in a breath as she teetered on one leg.
Cole reached out to steady her, and she couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Cole didn’t do anything wrong. I’d be much worse for the wear if it weren’t for him.
” She placed her hand on his shoulder, and he lifted his hand to cover hers.
Brianna’s eyes darted from Aspen’s hand to her face and back again to her hand, a small smile creeping across her own. “Ah. I see.” She bit her cheek, trying to hide it, then pulled out some tape and a few more PT items that Aspen knew she was going to hate.
“I’ve gotta go find Mr. Mynt and let him know everything that happened.
Are you going to be okay here while I take care of a few things?
I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.
Brie, can you keep an eye on her—and do not let Chase near her.
If he comes up here, you are to call me immediately. Understand?”
Brianna’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she slowly nodded, typing his number into her phone.
He leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Aspen’s cheek before dashing out of the room. Aspen turned to see Brie stifling a laugh, her cheeks flushing as she tried to keep a serious face.
“Let’s get you into some shorts and seated on the table so we can see what we’re dealing with.
And we need to call your dad. Apparently, Chase called him—something about you two being back together?
Which doesn’t make sense, not after that little display.
You’ve got some explaining to do, girl.” Brie shook her head.
Aspen closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. Welp. She felt uneasy again. Only now, it was for a completely different reason—now she had to deal with her dad…
“No, Dad. We are not together. Ouch, Brie! Could you just… not right now? I know you’ve got to do your job and all, but seriously?” Aspen yelled into the phone as Brie continued poking and prodding around her knee.
“Aspen, how dumb do you think I am? I told you not to date that moron last time, and you did it anyway. And when I told you I didn’t like him—that he wasn’t treating you right—you continued on with him.
” Her dad’s voice came through the phone, heated and rough.
He could be a gentle giant, but when he got angry, you did not want to be on the receiving end of his words.
“But, Dad… I’m no—”
He cut her off, and her stomach sank as his next words came through.
“I’m at the airport, Aspen, and you better believe me—if I get there and you’re lying to me again…
” His voice trailed off, and she waited, heart hammering in her chest, for the words that would follow.
“My flight lands later this evening. See you then.” The line went dead, and Aspen set her phone down, hissing through a breath as Brie returned her attention to bending her knee.
“Well, that didn’t sound very… fun.” Brie gave her a grimace, and Aspen rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“But we aren’t together. He just showed up, Brie. I swear. Chase is the last person I would ever want to be with again. He’s… he’s…” Tears pricked her eyes, and she took a deep breath as Brie’s hand settled over hers.
“Aspen, I remember what that guy did to you. I was there when you were injured, and he walked out on you at the hospital. He was awful—in more ways than one.” She grabbed some tape and began wrapping Aspen’s knee.
Aspen cleared her throat and sniffed. “So… what’s the diagnosis, Doc?”
Brie continued taping, then blew out a breath.
“Well, from what I can tell, it’s not torn again.
Last time, I couldn’t even move it without you crying out bloody murder.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not sore. You need to stay off it as much as possible, and you need to come here every day for some routine exercises.
Doctor’s orders.” She finished taping Aspen’s knee and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.
“And bring that cute guy with you next time. Is he single?”
Aspen’s eye flew to meet her friend, who wagged her eyebrows at her as Aspen’s jealousy reared its ugly head.
“Sheesh. Never mind. Just playing with you, Aspen. It’s obvious he’s off limits,” she teased, and Aspen’s cheeks heated up.
“No… It’s not… I mean… He’s… just a friend?” Aspen’s voice rose at the end, as though even she wasn’t sure what Cole was to her, and her friend let out a laugh.
“You sure about that?” Brie raised her eyebrows in question, and Aspen didn’t know how to respond, so her friend let it go.
“Okay. Well… since you’re stuck here until your ‘friend’ comes to get you, why don’t you tell me what happened?
I haven’t gotten the entire story yet.” Brie held up air quotes as she said the word ‘friend’ and rolled her chair closer, crossing her legs like she was settling in for story time at the library.
Aspen told her about Chase and all the problems he’d been causing, including the parts about Cole rescuing her at every turn.
She got an “awe” and a “how sweet” from Brie as she recounted what had happened today.
Brie muttered a few mild curse words in response to Chase’s antics, and Aspen shook her head at her friend as she continued her story, bringing it up to the present.
“What a…”
Aspen plugged her ears and squeezed her eyes shut as Brie let out a few choice swears, tossing a couple of Ace bandage rolls across the room in frustration.
Once the storm passed, Aspen uncovered her ears and opened her eyes to see Cole standing stock-still in the doorway, and Brie’s face flushed a deep shade of red.
“I… uh… didn’t mean to…” Cole motioned from Brie to Aspen and back again before finding his words. “Interrupt?” He stepped carefully into the room, moving toward the wheelchair and keeping his eyes on Brie as though treading on thin ice, until he reached the bench where Aspen sat.
“So… how’s the knee, Doc? Everything alright? Are you all done here?” He turned toward Aspen and whispered, as though afraid he might get scolded.
“She’s good to go… Cole, is it? I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.” Brie stood and held out her hand. Cole tentatively took it, and before he could pull away, she gave a little tug, bringing him closer.
“You make sure that moron, Chase, stays away from my friend. And I expect her here every day for PT. I have your number, and I’m not afraid to use it.
” She let go with a wink. Cole’s face flushed red as he hurried over to Aspen, lifted her into his arms, and carefully settled her into the wheelchair—while Aspen fought to keep from laughing.
He appeared with a blanket—who knew where he’d gotten that from—and draped it over her lap as he began to wheel her out of the room, just as her friend’s voice reached her ears.
“Don’t forget, your dad arrives this evening.
You two better figure out what you’re going to say to Brett ‘the Bear’ Sterling when he gets here, so he doesn’t rip your new friend to shreds. ”
Aspen waved back at her friend as they headed toward the elevator.
Silence filled the elevator as he wheeled her in, and Aspen crossed her arms, her stomach tightening at what her friend had just said and what her dad’s response might be.
Once the doors shut, he positioned her, then crouched down to her side.
She closed her eyes and let the words burst out. “I’m sorry, Cole. You don’t have to do anything. My dad is not the most reasonable person—especially when it comes to me—and you have zero obligations toward me. Just drop me off at my cabin, and I’ll figure everything out.”
Aspen took a deep breath and peeked open her eyes—to find a smiling Cole.
“What?” she asked.
Cole reached over, placing his palm up on her leg and narrowing his eyes, silently asking her to do something.
He wiggled his fingers, and she hesitated for a moment before slowly placing her hand in his.
He closed his fingers around hers and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles, sending her heart racing, before slowly bringing her hand up to his mouth.
“Snow, the words ‘zero obligations’ don’t exactly capture how I feel right now.
So let’s just take this one step at a time.
And there’s no chance in heck I’m leaving you alone.
” He pressed his lips to her hand, and Aspen felt her stomach drop all the way to her toes.
“Sorry, Snow. But you’re stuck with me.”
He pushed back up to his feet, letting go of her hand, and steered her out of the elevator.
But the whisper of his lips against her hand lingered with her all the way to the snowmobile—and all the way back to her cabin.
Apparently, they were going to stay at her cabin instead of his.
He said it would be better for when her dad showed up, but she couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, it was also because he wanted an excuse to punch Chase—if he ever dared to show his face.