Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
O n the one hand, Dallas didn’t want to push Ronnie too quickly.
He glanced over at her in the passenger seat where she was looking out at the trees flying past.
On the other hand, this was Ronnie . She would push right back.
The thought had him smiling all over again. He’d been doing so much of that today, his cheeks were starting to hurt.
He glanced over again. Worth it.
This time she must have felt his stare because she turned to face him. When she caught him sneaking peeks as he drove, she cocked her head to the side. “What’s up?”
He shrugged. “Just happy, that’s all.”
“Me too.” She sighed as she snuggled down into her seat, wrapping her hands around the hot tea she’d gotten to go before they’d left the lodge.
But he shifted in his seat. She didn’t get it. Or…even if she did, he needed to say it. “I’m serious, Ronnie.”
She glanced over again, her brows arching in question.
He reached out, and she slid one of her hands into his as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That was how it’d felt all day.
So natural. So…easy. But not easy in the “we’ve been together forever” way like he’d had with his ex. This was different. That hadn’t been easy, just…comfortable.
That relationship had been like one long habit, and not a healthy one.
But with Ronnie…
Well, he couldn’t say they had a relationship. Yet.
She was still waiting for him to speak, and he took a deep breath. “I think that might have been the best day of my life.”
He glanced over to see if he’d spooked her with his intensity. But no. Ronnie was good. She wore a small smile that made his gut clench with awareness.
Man, he couldn’t wait to kiss her again.
“I had the best time with you,” he continued. “And I want to have more just like it.”
When she didn’t instantly respond, he turned to look at her. She was still smiling, but thoughtful. “I’d like that too.”
He grinned. “Yeah?”
She laughed. “Yeah. Definitely. I’d love nothing more.”
He could sense a but , waiting to be dropped. But she clammed up instead, just as the exit for Paradise Springs came into view.
“So…” He flicked another look her way. “Am I taking you home, or…do you want to come back to the inn with me?”
He tried to play it cool, he really did.
He failed. It had to be clear to anyone with ears that he’d much prefer the latter. But she sounded a little shy when she said, “Would it be all right if I come back to the inn with you?”
Dallas lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Always.”
They were nearly to the turnoff when Dallas circled back to the unspoken but .
He’d never been one to leave a conversation unfinished, and he didn’t want whatever this was with Ronnie to start off with any misunderstandings.
“So, you’re good with us doing more of…” He held up their linked hands. “This?”
Her smile put him at ease. “Yes. Definitely. It’s just…
” She hesitated again, and with every passing second, his chest grew tighter with anxiety.
“It won’t be for long, that’s all.” She flashed him an apologetic wince.
“The season starts soon, and then I’ll be off, chasing my tail and trying to do my country proud. ”
He nodded slowly. He should have seen that coming. “Is that what you really want?”
She shifted, tugging her hand from his to clasp her cup like she needed its warmth. “I want to snowboard. But…I want to love it like I used to.” She turned to him with a helpless shrug. “I know I’m good enough to place. I know it in my bones. And I want that…”
“But?” he prompted.
She sighed. “It’s just all the pressure that’s been getting to me. I hate the way it affects me so much. Why can’t I just compete with zero press and exposure?”
“That would be nice,” he agreed.
“But that’s not the reality,” she finished.
He pulled the car over on the road up to the inn.
“What are you doing?” She smirked at him.
Dallas turned to face her. “This drive isn’t over until we come up with ways to help you cope with the pressure.”
There was a softness in her eyes that he wasn’t used to seeing, but he freakin’ loved it. Her affection and vulnerability were irresistible. “Thank you, Dallas.”
And he couldn’t respond with anything other than a kiss.
When he pulled away, she was smiling at him. “What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason?”
He’d been tempted to say, “Does a boyfriend need a reason to kiss his girlfriend?”
But it’d been one day. It was possible he was moving light-years faster than she was.
“Okay, coping strategies.” She blew out a big sigh. “I’m all ears.”
He started them off, and then she chimed in too. None of the ideas were groundbreaking, just ways to get through this season without crumpling under the stress.
She seemed just as dissatisfied as he felt by their ho-hum brainstorm.
Finally, Ronnie sighed. “Honestly, I wish I could just…bring you with me.”
He paused, the idea taking a second to sink in. And then his eyes popped wide, surprise rippling through him—delight not far behind. “Yeah?”
She grinned, leaning forward to give him a cute little peck on the cheek. “Yeah. What you did earlier…being a buffer for me with Mike, coming up with strategies to help my reputation while protecting my boundaries. That was amazing.”
His chest swelled with pride so far and so fast he thought he might explode.
She shrugged with a wistful sigh. “I wish I could bring you with me.”
“I’d do that in a heartbeat.” He wasn’t sure who he shocked more with that statement, but a full second passed as they stared at each other in mutual surprise. “I mean it,” he finally added. “I would love to come with you on the road and help you however I can.”
Saying it aloud felt like opening a window on a hot summer day. He felt like he could finally breathe fresh air. A little laugh escaped as Ronnie gaped at him.
“But…what about your job?”
His job?
If she only knew.
He turned to look at her, blinking with a mere microsecond of thought before the words came tumbling out.
Now it was his turn, he supposed. It was only fair after the way she’d opened up to him.
So he found himself telling her in detail about how frustrated he’d been these past few years.
The challenge was gone, and now all he had left at work were expectations.
“It’s not that I hate what I do, it’s just…
it’s not me anymore. It’s not who I am—it’s who my dad wants me to be. ”
Ronnie watched him with clear sympathy as he struggled to find the words.
“With my ex and the job, it was like…like I was cast as a role in a movie, you know? I knew the part I was supposed to play. But it wasn’t the role of my choosing.”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know that feeling. Do you think your dad would be okay with you leaving?”
He’d thought about this often, and he answered without hesitation. “I don’t think he’d like it. But he’d accept it.”
They sat in silence, each lost in thought.
“So, are you serious, then?” she finally asked. “Would you really come with me?”
It was the hope in her voice that cinched it. “Absolutely.”
She grinned and he pulled her to him, kissing her so thoroughly that they were both gasping for air when they broke apart.
Ronnie suddenly fell back against her seat with a laugh that was contagious.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. Me. This.” She laughed again, and he joined her. “How did we get here?”
He knew exactly what she meant. If anyone had told him mere weeks ago that he’d be falling hard and fast for Bailey’s summertime bestie, Ronnie Colbert, he’d never have believed it. Let alone that he’d be quitting his job and rearranging his life just to make it work.
But…here they were. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ronnie’s eyes were still dancing with laughter as she shook her head. “I never saw you coming, Cowboy.”
He grinned. He’d never liked that nickname until right this moment. Coming from her, it sounded awfully sweet. He reached over, tugging her closer so he could give her another long kiss.
He only pulled back when he heard a car coming down the road. He looked over just in time to catch sight of Willow in the passenger seat.
Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, he raised his eyebrows. Wow, she was later than he’d expected.
And who was driving her?
He’d never seen that Jeep before.
He frowned as he squinted after the vehicle.
Then his breath caught, a vise clamping around his chest.
“Dallas?” Ronnie touched his cheek. “What is it?”
“That Jeep had a Blue Sky Lodge logo on the back,” he said slowly, his gut roiling with anger. “Who was driving my little sister home just now? Did you see him?”
“No.” Ronnie shook her head, eyeing him warily. “Who does Willow know from Blue Sky Lodge?”
With a soft growl, Dallas spat out, “It better not be Eric Spencer.”