Chapter Eighteen
The mountain was blanketed in white. The sky could’ve been bluer, but Viola didn’t mind. She breathed in the crisp, cold air and reveled in the fact that she was going skiing today. For someone who lived in a mountain town, she didn’t ski nearly as much as she would have liked.
Silverwood Sky wasn’t overly crowded today, but plenty of people were in attendance. Knowing the children’s charity would receive a nice donation from the lift tickets warmed Viola’s heart.
Viola waited as Jonas clipped into his skis. He fumbled a bit, holding his helmet and goggles in one hand while trying to line one runner parallel with the other. She held back a laugh as she went to help him.
She wanted to put her arms around him to hold him steady but resisted the urge.
This isn’t a date, remember? It’s platonic. No matter how cute he is.
“Here, put this on first.” Viola took his helmet from his hand and hovered it over his head.
Jonas pulled down the headgear and secured the strap. Viola wrapped the goggles over the helmet but kept them up near his forehead for now.
“This seems like a lot of effort,” Jonas complained.
“Stop being a baby. This is for your safety.”
“So you’re saying this is dangerous.” Jonas squinted as he looked up at the mountain. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I thought you said you’ve been skiing before.”
“I have.” He shrugged. “Once. Admittedly, it was years ago. And now I recall why there wasn’t a second time.”
Viola set his skis straight and tapped his knee, indicating he should stick his boot into the notch. “We’re not going on the expert slope, but still, you don’t want to crush your skull running into a tree or anything.”
“You’re not making me feel better about this.” He lifted his legs to check if his skis were secure.
Viola led the way to the ski lift, breathing in the cool mountain air. Her pulse raced, and she embraced the rush of adrenaline.
They got in line for the lift, and Viola couldn’t help but notice Jonas fidgeting with his ski poles.
“Isn’t there a storm headed this way?” he asked.
“Not anymore. It took an unexpected turn. We’re good to go. Just look at that sky.”
Jonas crinkled his nose as he looked skyward. “Those, uh, lifts seem to be moving pretty fast, don’t you think?”
Viola studied the speed of the seats hanging on the moving cable. “Doesn’t seem to be unusually speedy, no.”
“Are they shaking? I think they might be wobbling or something. When’s the last time they were inspected?”
“Quit playing around. Are you ready?” Viola asked.
Jonas adjusted his gloves, staring at the approaching lift chairs. “Yeah. Sure. Um, Yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing?” He blew out a quick breath.
Viola had to smirk. “Are you scared?”
“Me? No. Scared?” He cleared his throat. “How, uh, how safe are those wires? Do you know how often they are tested?”
“Jonas Brickman, are you afraid of heights?”
“Heights?” He forced a chuckle. “No. No. I’m not, uh … It’s not the height. It’s the falling I’m concerned about.”
“You’re not going to fall.”
“You can guarantee that?”
“How about this? Once we’re on the lift, I’ll hold your hand. That way, if you fall, we both fall.”
“Why would you think that would make me feel better?”
“So you don’t want to hold my hand?”
“Well, yeah. I will take you up on that offer. But I still don’t think you understand how gravity works.”
She bit her cheek. “Okay. I’ll distract you with some lovely conversation.”
His gaze was still glued to the moving cable. “I suppose we could give it a try.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Because of the height of the mountain, the line progressed relatively quickly.
“All right, hold your poles close to you,” Viola instructed. “But don’t put your hands through the straps.”
They scooted forward onto the lifting area. Viola stood on the marked line and told Jonas to do the same. He blew out a long breath as the chair came toward them.
“Since you’re sitting on that side, hold your poles in your right hand.” Viola spoke sweetly, trying not to overwhelm him. “And look over your left shoulder, bend your knees, and sit when the seat hits the back of your legs. Here we go.”
Viola reached back as the chair contacted them. She pulled at the bar, so it was secure in front of them.
“Okay, sit back and no rocking,” she said.
“Oh, believe me. I may be shaking in fear, but there’s no way I’ll intentionally rock this thing.”
She watched his eyes dart around as the bench elevated off the ground. When he visibly swallowed, she almost giggled. She couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked, even if his expression was full of terror.
“Now we just look for the signs.”
Jonas cleared his throat. “Aren’t you supposed to be distracting me?”
“Sorry. Right.” She took his hand in hers. “Look how beautiful the mountain is.”
“Looking at the object I don’t want to fall to my death on isn’t actually helping.”
She chuckled. “Okay, okay.” Her mind raced to come up with something else to distract him. Without thinking, she blurted out the first thing that came to her. “So tell me about Lacey.”
He blinked, a crease forming between his brows. “How do you know about Lacey?”
Dread ran through her. She forced herself to keep the smile on her face. “Is that your girlfriend?”
Despite his anxiety, he laughed. “No. LACEE is a business investment. It stands for Logistic Associates Cyber Engineering Enterprises. LACEE for short.”
Viola felt as if a weight had dropped from her shoulders. A quiver stirred in her stomach. “I see. Well, you can see why that could be confusing.”
“I suppose. But where did you hear the name?”
She cringed. “It was when I broke that vase at the manor. Accidentally. And, uh, me overhearing that part of your conversation was also an accident.”
“So you thought I was involved with some woman back in Billings.”
She gave him a half-shrug. “Yeah.”
“And that bothered you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t say that. You’re awfully presumptuous. Kind of like how you presume I’m going to wait for you when we reach the top of the mountain.”
“Hey, come on. That’s not fair.”
“All right.” She raised her chin. “I’ll wait for you, but we never mention the vase, the opened letter, or the eavesdropping again.
He arched a brow. “I’m not used to this.”
“What?”
“Not being in charge of a negotiation.”
Viola snickered. “Do we have a deal or not?”
Jonas gave her a sideways grin. “Deal.”
“See, it worked.”
“What worked?”
Viola shrugged. “Us chatting. I kept your mind off your fear of heights, right?”
He snickered. “Until now, anyway. Thanks for bringing it up.”
“Don’t worry. We’re about to get off.” She pointed to the sign that told them to raise the bar and prepare to unload.
“Hmm, I think I’m still going to need your assistance.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m here for you.”
Viola elevated the bar, and Jonas let out a shuddered breath.
“Okay, point the tips of your skis upward.” She released his hand and adjusted her position. “When our skis are touching the ground completely, lean forward. The chair will give us a little push. We don’t want it knocking us over, so straighten your body and go with it.”
Despite finding humor in how anxious he was, she was nervous for him. She gestured for him to follow her lead. In a matter of moments, she guided him off the lift and out of the way of the other dismounting skiers.
“Better?” Her smile was wide. Though she doubted he would have plummeted to his death, she was glad they’d arrived at the peak in one piece.
“Now that I’m touching the ground? Yes.” Moving his skis with exaggerated knee lifts, he shifted to face her. “Now it’s just a question of—Whoa!”
He’d turned at the wrong angle and began drifting backward down the slope. Viola’s eyes widened. She stretched her arms out in a futile attempt to catch him. It was too late. He was sliding farther and farther away.
Viola pulled her goggles over her eyes and pushed off with her poles. He wasn’t too far, but she could tell he was worried by the look on his face. She caught up to him and shifted to the side, hoping to bring her skis in front of him to stop his momentum. Instead, their runners got tangled, and they both toppled to the ground. Snow kicked up into their faces, and it took a moment before Viola could figure out if all arms and legs were intact.
“Are you all right?” he asked, reaching for her arm to help her sit up.
“Are you?”
His breath came out in spurts as he glanced around. “Yeah. I think so. Just a little embarrassed.”
After a second of assessing the situation, Viola couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. Her lungs hurt from the frigid air she sucked in, but she couldn’t stop.
“Hey, it’s not funny,” Jonas said, but he was smiling. A few seconds later, his laughs joined hers.
“I hope nobody filmed that,” Viola said once her giggles had subsided. “That’s not exactly how I’d like to go viral.”
“Agreed.” Jonas managed to get to his feet.
He’d lost a ski but reached out to pull Viola up before hunting it down. The minute they were settled, she gazed at him.
“Are you ready to head down?” she asked.
“Is it all right if we go slow?”
“As slow as the mountain allows, sure.”
“I just have to warn you.” He shook his head. “I can’t promise I’ll be going up that lift again, so this might be our only trip down the mountain.”
“Oh, I don’t know. The ride down might be worth the trip up. You’ll see. Most of the time, the harder you work to achieve something, the more you appreciate it in the end.”
His gaze trailed over her features. His expression was so intense that Viola’s breath left her momentarily. Now, she was the one who was afraid of falling.
“That is true.” He lowered the goggles over his eyes. “Well, then. Let’s conquer this mountain.”