Chapter 27
It turned out Wes and Sawyer’s parents had prepared for our visit as there was a lock on their wine cellar door. The girls were disappointed, and Anna tried her best to pick the lock. But, unfortunately, her skills with a bobby pin were limited to doing her hair.
I was somewhat glad we didn’t drink that night. Since Noah and the boys had arrived, Wes seemed frustrated and irritable. The house was tense, and I felt like drinking alcohol would have been similar to throwing fuel on a simmering fire.
I woke the next morning feeling a little more optimistic that the day would be a good one.
The sun was out, and we were all going up the mountain.
Wes seemed more himself, and he was struggling to contain his excitement about helping me learn to ski for the first time.
It might have been cute if I wasn’t so daunted by the task ahead.
I was buzzing with adrenaline as we headed up the ski lift, and Noah was far from my mind.
I knew I’d need every ounce of my focus firmly on my skiing if I wanted any chance of returning to the chalet in one piece at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, any hope of that came crashing firmly down to earth when I reached the top of the ski slope.
“This doesn’t seem safe…” My voice trembled as I stared down the seemingly steep slope before me.
This was meant to be the easiest run in the resort, especially for beginners, but to me it felt practically vertical.
Wes might have given me painstakingly detailed instructions on how to navigate it, but now I was up here, everything he’d told me had faded from my mind.
“You’ll be fine,” Wes said, trying to encourage me. “I’m going to be there every step of the way.”
“You mean every fall of the way,” I replied, giving him a smile I didn’t quite feel.
“Yeah, I’ll be there for those too.” He chuckled.
It was a relief to see him so much happier today and to know Noah’s presence next door wasn’t going to completely ruin our whole trip.
Perhaps Wes had realized that just because the boys were staying so close it didn’t mean we had to do anything with them.
Last night, we’d all stayed in and watched a movie together.
No Kaden, Luther, or Noah. And there was no sign of them down here at the ski runs either.
So, there was at least one positive to standing at the top of the terrifying icy descent before me.
Sawyer and Anna were chatting to each other quietly as they waited for Wes to finish giving me directions.
They’d insisted on coming to help teach me how to ski, and while I was grateful for their enthusiasm, it only seemed to be increasing my nerves.
I didn’t want an audience to watch me make a fool of myself.
At least I could be glad Cress had ditched us to ski with Kaden.
That was one less onlooker to worry about.
“Seriously, Isobel, just give it a go. You’ll do great.” Wes gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s a lot easier than it looks.”
I responded with a small nod, knowing if I opened my mouth I’d only try to convince Wes this was a terrible idea. I was here now, and I suspected there was only one way I was getting out of this. And that way was down.
I took a deep breath, gripped my ski poles a little tighter to stop my hands from shaking, and prepared to move down the slope.
Wes had shown me how to make a wedge shape with my skis so I could control my speed and stop, so that’s what I tried to do.
But my skis refused to listen to me. They had a mind of their own and seemed to want to go in opposite directions rather than point together like Wes suggested.
“This doesn’t feel right,” I said to Wes, who was watching from beside me.
“Just get your skis in the pizza shape and then push off,” he replied.
“No, they’re supposed to be parallel,” Sawyer suggested as he slid up to us. “She’s not going to get very far like that.”
“She’s not ready for her skis to be parallel,” Wes said. “Don’t you remember we all started with the pizza?”
“I only remember being awesome from day one,” Sawyer answered, making Wes roll his eyes. “Maybe it would help if you tried skiing without your poles like those kids,” Sawyer continued, nodding at a class of toddlers who were snaking down the mountain behind their instructor.
“Sawyer,” Anna groaned. “That’s only how they teach little kids.”
I let out a frustrated laugh. “You guys, I think we have one too many chefs in this kitchen.” I knew they were just trying to help, but they were only confusing me more.
“Why don’t you both go on ahead?” Wes suggested. “I’ll stay with Isobel.”
Sawyer wished me luck before he took off, but Anna hung back. She appeared to be texting on her phone, but from the way she constantly glanced up at me, it seemed she was still keeping a close watch.
Wes stuck his ski poles into the snow and pushed himself closer to me. “Ignore them,” he said. “I’ll ski down a little way, and then you come to me. Just try to copy what I do.”
I nodded and gestured for him to go ahead.
I was ready to watch him carefully as he skied down, but barely a second had passed, and it felt like he was halfway down the slope.
He made it look so easy. Maybe this run wasn’t quite as steep and long as I had imagined.
Feeling slightly more confident, I prodded my ski poles into the snow on either side of my skis, bit my lip, and pushed off.
I mimicked that part of Wes’s demonstration perfectly, but that’s where the similarity ended.
As soon as my skis were pointing downward on the slope, they quickly picked up momentum.
I did my best to twist them inward like Wes had shown me, but I was completely out of control.
“Pizza shape, Isobel! Pizza!” Wes shouted from below.
I was trying my best, but I didn’t seem to be slowing down.
All I wanted to do was stop, but I couldn’t seem to turn my skis anywhere other than directly down the hill.
The longer I waited, the faster I was going, so I decided there was only one thing for it.
I bent my knees and fell to the side, hitting the snow with a thud that sent my skis, poles, arms, and legs flailing in all directions.
I had snow in places I most definitely shouldn’t, and I felt like I’d landed myself in an extreme game of Twister.
One ski was stuck in the ground, and the other had disappeared so my foot was flying free.
One pole was in the snow behind me while the other was lodged underneath me. I was a mess. But at least I’d stopped.
Anna skidded to a halt next to me, my missing ski in her arms. “You all right?” she asked.
“I’m not hurt if that’s what you mean. But there’s snow up my backside, and it’s so cold I can’t feel my nose anymore. So not quite sure I’m okay.”
She laughed. “Look, despite what Sawyer says, we’re all terrible at skiing to begin with. You’re doing pretty well though. You’re halfway down the slope already.”
I looked back up the slope and was surprised to see how far I’d come even if I had fallen most of the way.
“Maybe I’m not cut out for skiing,” I suggested.
She placed my rogue ski on the ground alongside me and offered out her pole to pull me up. I gave her a grateful smile as she helped yank me to my feet.
“Just give it a few more goes,” she said. “If you’re still not enjoying it, I’ll happily bail with you. We can go check out hot guys in the village. Everyone is cut out for that.”
“Uh, I’m not sure Wes would like that.” I looked down the slope and saw Wes was frantically pushing his way back up the hill toward us.
“He doesn’t have to know,” she replied with a smirk and a shrug. “Guys in ski gear are hot, and it’s like ski trip blasphemy if you don’t at least check a few of them out.”
I laughed. “I meant Wes might not like it if I quit. He seems so excited to ski with me.”
“Ugh, fine,” she said. “Let’s get your ski back on then. But don’t forget, I’m ready to go search for hot guys as soon as you are. This place is pretty much a hottie buffet.”
I shook my head at her.
“Seriously though,” she continued, as she bent down to help me with my ski. “Just give it a little more time. It will get easier.”
“Okay, I guess I could give it another chance.” I felt better knowing Anna would gladly quit with me at any time, and it was reassuring to be reminded my friends had all started at the same level as me.
“Are you okay, Isobel?” Wes had finally reached us.
“I’m okay,” I said, looking up as my boot snapped into my ski and I stood tall once more.
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Anna said. “See you at the lift.” She took off down the slope, making it look even more effortless than Wes. She was practically flying across the snow.
“You were great,” Wes said. “You nearly had it. And on the first try!”
It seemed like a very generous appraisal of my performance.
“You just need a bit more practice,” he continued. “You’ll be racing me down the mountain in no time.”
“Maybe,” I said, with a nervous laugh. “I think I’d happily settle for slow and controlled though.”
“Just remember to create that wedge with your skis to slow you down. And it usually helps if you keep your eyes up so you can look in the direction you want to go instead of down at the ground.”
I nodded along like my life depended on his words. In all honesty, it probably did.
He reached over and dusted off some of the snow that had ended up all over my jacket. “You ready to try again?”
“Uh, I think so.”
“Great,” he said. “This time, I think we should aim for the bottom of the lift.”
My eyes widened as I cast my gaze down the hill. We still had about half of the slope to go.