Chapter 1
ONE
TESSA - FOURTEEN YEARS EARLIER
“Tessa, that’s enough syrup.”
I barely glanced in my mom’s direction as I replied, “Just a little bit more. I’m almost finished.”
“Not every nook needs to be filled.”
She was wrong. There was no other way to eat a Belgian waffle than to make sure every nook was filled with syrup. “That’s the only way it tastes good, Mom.”
Not even ten seconds later, my mom’s voice grew stern as she said, “Tessa Stone.”
I filled the last three nooks of my waffle and finally set the syrup down. I made eye contact with my mom afterward, and she simply shook her head at me before returning her attention to the adults at the table.
“There’s no way I could ever eat that like you do, but if I were you, I wouldn’t have stopped until it was just the way I wanted it.”
I grinned at my best friend, happy for her approval. “Thanks, Lark. I know you don’t like them like this, but I think they’re so delicious this way.”
With a quick look at my mom, I noticed she was occupied in a conversation with Lark’s mom. So, I thought it was safe to get the final topping for my waffle. The powdered sugar.
As I reached for it, my dad’s head fell slightly forward as he looked right at me.
I’d been caught, but I knew I could easily get out of this.
Lifting one finger to my lips, I indicated my desire for him to keep quiet as I shook the powdered sugar onto my waffle. He laughed quietly and winked at me.
I returned to making my waffle just right before I would dig in.
And that’s when my brother Phoenix, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table from me, leaned toward Lark’s brother Ace and said, “If that was me, my dad would’ve given me a stern look, and I would’ve had to drop the sugar. But not Tessa.”
Ace laughed. “My dad is the same way with Lark. She can get away with anything, and I feel like I’m always getting in trouble.”
“That’s because you do things to be in trouble for,” Lark said. “Like when you constantly take things apart in the house.”
“How else am I supposed to know how things work if I don’t take them apart and inspect them?” he countered.
“Oh my gosh, Tessa, you’ve gone overboard now. Put the sugar down,” my mom ordered.
I shook the dispenser three more times to get the last bit of my waffle covered and set the sugar down.
My dad sent a sympathetic look my way. He’d let me get away with things that my mom wouldn’t by not saying anything to draw attention in a situation like this, but once my mom put her foot down, he stood behind whatever she said.
With my waffle finally perfected, I picked up my fork and butter knife to dive in.
My brother wasn’t done complaining. “It’s the same in my house. Harper and Tessa get away with everything, but Archer and me are always in trouble.”
“I have the same problem,” Kingston said. “Chloe and Mia have so many stupid arguments about dumb stuff, and I’m the one that everyone seems to think is too wild.”
Around a mouthful of deliciously sweet waffle, I said, “I don’t know what’s happening in your house, Kingston, but Phoenix and Archer get themselves into trouble because they’re always so rowdy.”
“And gross,” Lark added. “Why do boys always have to be so dirty?”
“I’m not gross,” Ace argued with her. “I’m doing manly things.”
Lark and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes before Lark said, “You’re thirteen, Ace. You just became a teenager. Not a man.”
“It doesn’t mean we can’t do manly things,” Kingston argued.
“Yeah, and we shouldn’t get into trouble for it, either,” Phoenix added.
I put another bite of my waffle on my fork, lifted it, and watched as some of the syrup dripped onto my plate before I said, “We get into trouble, too. Mom just got angry about me making my waffle the way I like it.”
“Because it’s too much sugar, Tessa. Nobody needs that much sugar.”
“I like it.” Keeping my eyes narrowed on him, I put another bite in my mouth.
My brother looked grossed out, but ignored that feeling to make another point. “Well, Dad saw you and didn’t say a word.”
“My dad would do the same with Lark, so don’t feel bad,” Ace told him.
Unbothered, Lark said, “I can’t help that I’m a daddy’s girl. It’s the same for Tessa with her dad.”
“At least there’s one area where we have them beat,” Phoenix declared.
“Where?” Kingston wondered.
“Snowboarding.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.
Ace answered, “I think Phoenix is trying to tell you both that after we leave here and go there, we’ll be the ones doing the cool stuff in the terrain park while you, Lark, and the rest of the girls just ride down the trails.”
“I have no desire to break my neck,” Lark informed him. “I don’t even want to be out in the cold.”
I hated that what the boys were insinuating was the truth.
From the time we were all very young, our parents had always taken us to Parks Ridge Ski Resort, our local mountain where professionals like our fathers had trained all their lives.
Among the four families, there were eleven kids.
My brother Archer was the oldest of them, and I was the youngest. All the children grew up riding, and every winter, our parents planned multiple day trips to the mountain to ride.
Before nearly every snowboarding day together, we came out to First Tracks Diner and had breakfast with one another. That’s why we were here now.
Like Lark, I wasn’t a huge fan of being out in the cold, but I enjoyed the time our families spent together whenever something like this was planned. And just as the boys had pointed out, the girls and I generally stuck to simply riding down the trails.
But now I had to prove myself.
Feeling determined, I said, “I’ll do it.”
The boys looked stunned by my declaration. “Do what?”
“I’ll ride in the terrain park today, and I’ll go off a jump.”
My brother burst into a fit of laughter. “There’s no way you’re going to do that.”
“Why can’t she?” Lark asked him.
“Do you realize how long we’ve been working on jumps?” Kingston countered.
Shrugging, I said, “That doesn’t mean I can’t try to be successful now. If you’re scared I might do better than you, just say so.”
I was surprised when Ace said, “I think you could do a simple jump. Your dad is Xander Stone, one of the best halfpipe riders the sport has ever seen. It doesn’t matter that you’re his daughter.
You might not be able to do any real tricks right away, but you could still go off one of the smaller jumps to start. ”
That was nice of him to say. “Thanks, Ace. At least someone has some faith in me.”
“I do, too,” Lark said.
“I know. You and the rest of the girls are usually the only ones I can count on.” Eager to get to the mountain, I focused on my waffle again. “I can’t wait until we get there.”
For the next few minutes, I put all my effort into finishing my breakfast. I wasn’t going to be the reason we were delayed leaving and getting to Parks Ridge.
After eating three of the four sections of my waffle, I pushed the plate back and said, “I’m finished. Does anyone want this last part of my waffle?”
I’d barely asked the question when my brother said, “Ew, Tessa. It’s covered in so much syrup.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Ace said, deciding to reach for a piece of it with his fork. I watched as he tried a bite, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head. “Wow. That’s… That’s definitely sweet.”
“Oh, whatever. None of you know what you’re talking about.”
Ten minutes later, everyone had finished breakfast. After our parents paid, we left and piled into our vehicles to head over to the ski resort.
When we arrived, I had to admit that it was strange to head in the opposite direction from where I normally used to go to ride the trails with the girls. It was even weirder to be following the boys to the terrain park.
Over the years, there’d been a handful of times when the girls and I had watched the boys in the terrain park, so I had an idea of what to expect.
But not once in all that time had I ever studied what the boys did from a technical standpoint.
I was going to need someone to give me some pointers before I made any attempts.
We’d made it to the top of the terrain park, where my dad noticed I’d tagged along. “Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing here?”
“Phoenix doesn’t think I can do this, so when we were at breakfast, I told the boys I was going to go off a jump today.”
He smiled at me, but I could hear how surprised he was when he said, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for one of my girls to try this, Tessa? I’m so excited. And I’m proud of you for being willing to try.”
“Thanks, Dad. I just hope I can land one of the jumps before the end of the day.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and tugged me toward him, my body colliding with his. “You will. With all the years of dance classes, you’ve got excellent body awareness and control. Start small and get comfortable first.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”
“I’m not sure if we’ll be able to convince the boys to go off one of the small jumps, but I can do it first, so you can watch, if you think that’ll help.”
“I was hoping to watch everyone else go before I made my attempt.”
Placing his head on my helmet, he angled my head back and smiled. “I’m really, really proud of you, Tessa.”
I smiled back, feeling my insides warm.
At that moment, Archer walked up and said, “Hey, Tessa. You’re hanging with us today?”
“I am.”
Dad immediately cut in. “Any chance you’d be willing to do a simple air off the small jump? Tessa wants to try, and she’d like to be able to watch first.”
Archer shrugged. “That’s easy enough.”
He strapped himself into his bindings, waited until it was clear, and took off. With almost no effort, Archer went off the jump. It was so easy for him; he really did look like he was floating through the air.
“What do you think?” my dad asked.
“It seems easy, but I’m nervous about being airborne,” I admitted.
“That’s normal, sweetheart,” he assured me. “You’re just going to try a straight air off the jump. Be sure to pull your knees up and keep your shoulders square.”
I nodded and took in the jump, trying to build up my courage.
Ace walked up, dropped his board by his feet, and asked, “Are you still planning to try it?”
“I want to. Archer just went, so I was able to watch him and get an idea.”
“Would it help if I went off that jump, too? Maybe seeing it again will make you feel more comfortable.”
“That would be really nice of you, Ace. I know you can do bigger jumps, but it would help me a lot.”
He strapped in as he said, “It’s cool, Tessa. We all had to start on the small jumps when we got started.”
When he stood up, Dad said, “Thank you, Ace.”
“No problem, Uncle Stone.”
A moment later, Ace turned his board and made his way to the jump.
Much like Archer, though not nearly as high, Ace had gone off the jump.
He didn’t do any fancy tricks, and if anything, I felt a little less intimidated after watching him.
It was probably because my brother was so accustomed to the bigger jumps and crazy tricks that the basics were hard for him to make small.
“Alright. Do you think you want to try now?” Dad asked.
I nodded and strapped myself in. Then I stared at the jump and took in a few deep breaths. Not wanting to psych myself out by thinking too much, I decided to just go for it. The next thing I knew, I was in the air.
But it freaked me out so badly, I panicked a bit, and then I fell with a thud. “Ouch, that felt awful,” I grumbled to myself.
“That wasn’t bad, Tessa.”
Startled, I looked up to find Ace standing over me with a hand held out to me. I placed my hand in his, and he gave me a swift tug. “Thanks.”
We made our way to the bottom of the trail, with me steering clear of the obstacles.
“Are you okay?” Ace asked as we made our way over to the lift.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just a little embarrassed.”
He waved his hand in the air. “Ah, just shake it off. We’ve all done that before.”
“I don’t know what I did wrong other than panic.”
Ace got on the chairlift with me, and once he’d pulled down our lap bar, he explained, “From what I could tell, you were doing perfectly. Then, maybe when you started to panic, it happened. You shifted your weight too far over the nose. You need to make sure you keep your weight stacked over the center of the board. Keeping your shoulders and hips all in line should help. And when you land, make sure you bend the knees to help absorb the landing.”
“My dad said to keep my shoulders square, but the way you explained it makes a lot of sense. I’ll try that this time.”
He smiled at me. “Good. I’m glad you’re not giving up.”
“After one try? It’s going to take more than that to make me stop. Plus, I won’t let Phoenix think he was right.”
Ace laughed just as we reached the top and got off the lift.
As soon as we made it back to where we’d started, my dad said, “That was a great first try, Tessa.”
“Yeah, I think it’ll be better this time. I got the nerves out on that first one, and Ace gave me some pointers, too.”
“Do you want to go first?” Ace asked.
I shook my head. “I’d like to watch you again.”
He didn’t wait for me to ask him again. Ace turned and took off. This time, I paid attention to what he did when he was in the air. That was the thing that had made me worried last time, so I wanted to be sure I took in his every move.
When there was an opening, I gave it another try. I felt far more confident approaching the jump, and once I launched off it, I did exactly what my dad and Ace had both told me to do. Somehow, I stayed calm in the air.
Then I landed.
I got so excited, I stood up completely and twisted my neck to see where Ace was, and I wiped out.
Just like last time, Ace rode over to me. “That was so good. But you stood up at the end.”
“I know. Rookie move. I got too excited that time.”
He jerked his head to the side. “Come on. We’ll try it again.”
We made our way down the trail and up the lift once more. When we got back, my dad was grinning from ear-to-ear. He couldn’t say enough good things about how quickly I’d figured this out.
My confidence had grown even more, and I was eager to make this happen. Like the previous two times, Ace went before me on the jump, doing a little trick in the process this time.
I finally went.
And this time, I took the jump with a bit more speed, kept my body positioned just as I was instructed to, and nailed the landing. Only after I’d gotten on my toe edge to slow myself down did I feel safe enough to celebrate.
Best of all, Ace was there to do it with me. He rode right up to me, grinning, and stopped on his heel edge. He held a hand up for a hi-five and said, “That was awesome, Tessa. You did it.”
Feeling so proud, I giggled and smacked my hand against his. “That was amazing. Before the day is over, I want to learn a basic trick so I can rub it in Phoenix’s face.”
Ace laughed. “Then we better get up there, so you can do that a few more times.”
With that, Ace and I made our way down through the remainder of the terrain park.