Page 72 of Just Let Go

Disappointment skittered across Jaden’s face, and Quinn hated that she was the cause of it. She would hold them up all day long if they waited on her.

“Maybe go ski with Jaden for a while first, and then you can teach me later?” she asked, softening her tone. As annoyed as she was to be there, this day wasn’t about her. She should’ve remembered that sooner.

“What will you guys do?” Grady asked. Was he actually concerned about her?

“We’ll be fine,” Quinn said. “I’d rather Jaden get the benefits of your expertise. It would be wasted on me.”

So off they went. Jaden and Grady, the student and the master. And Carly let out an unmistakable sigh as they did.

Quinn shot her what she hoped was a quizzical look. “What was that for?”

“Come on, Q,” Carly said. “You can’t pretend you don’t think that guy is beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” Quinn picked up her skis and headed toward a bench. A bench would be safe. Perfect for the nonathletic people in the crowd.

“Not to mention kind. Look at him with Jaden. He’s smart and attentive and—”

“Egotistical and frustrating,” Quinn cut in. “Don’t make him out to be what he’s not, Carly. He has one goal—suck up to whoever he can to help get him out of town sooner.”

“So?”

“So?” Quinn plopped down on the bench, dropping her skis on the ground beside her. “He’s using us. That’s it. He’s not some do-gooder with a heart of gold.”

“He didn’t have to take Jaden,” Carly said. “And he doesn’t have to teach him now.” She shook her head and looked away. “When will you ever stop seeing everyone through that lens, Quinn?”

“What lens?” She could feel herself bristling.

Carly turned toward her. “That lens of brokenness.”

Quinn frowned.

“You believe the worst about everyone. It’s like you dismiss them out of hand, you decide right off the bat that they’re going to let you down. You think you’re protecting yourself, but I think you miss out on a lot of great people that way.”

“That’s not true.”

Carly pressed her lips together the way she did when she was debating whether or not she should say something.

“It’s not true, Car.”

“When was the last time you had a relationship?”

“I have all kinds of relationships.”

“I’m not talking about your relationship with Bob at the hardware store or your friends from the diner. I mean an actual, put-yourself-out-there relationship?”

Quinn looked away.

“I can’t remember when you’ve ever risked your heart. Not even with Marcus, and how long did you date that man? Five years?”

She didn’t respond.

“Look, I know you’re still hoping that one day Mom is going to come back, but she’s not. She left us. We may never know why or how she’s lived with herself, but, Quinn, she’s gone. It might be time to accept that.”

Quinn stared off in the direction of the ski lift. “Why are you bringing up Mom? She has nothing to do with whether or not I’ve had a serious boyfriend.”

“I think she has everything to do with it.”

Quinn longed to run. She didn’t want to talk about her mother. Especially not with Carly, because she’d never understood how Carly had so easily gotten over their mother’s choice to leave. “That’s ridiculous.”

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