Page 72 of One Last Run

Maggie insistedthey stick to blues, taking it easy on her healing arm and Pete’s emotional state. "We don't need two injuries today," she'd said. She was right, but Izzy and Pete both grumbled on the lift. They planned to hit a few trails, grab lunch at Bon Vivant, then head out.

Izzy handed Pete a small shooter of whiskey, but Pete declined, opting for honey water in her flask instead. A sudden stop of the lift brought back the memory of Danica's earlier panic attack on the chairlift, a near-hysterical episode averted only by Pete's distraction of picking a fight. Had that only been this week? It felt like so long ago.

"Do you think a very mild concussion could cause enough short-term memory loss to forget most of this week ever happened?" Pete asked, pointing to a patch of trees nearby. "Nothing life-threatening. Just enough for a bit of amnesia."

"Yikes, buddy," Izzy said.

Maggie patted Pete's shoulder. "It wasn't all bad. Remember when I got to ride on that rescue toboggan?"

Izzy glanced sideways at her. "Or karaoke night? I'll never forget nearly blowing a vocal cord screaming to Alanis."

"It would have been a littleironic, but that vocal cord would have gone out as a hero," Maggie said with a self-satisfied giggle.

"Remember when I had to play a full round of truth or dare with socks on my hands?" Izzy asked.

"Oh, or when I hit you right between the eyes with a snowball?" Maggie added excitedly.

Pete cracked a smile at that one. "Okay, maybe just short-term memory loss centered around one... maybe two people, then."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure the message of Eternal Sunshine would say that you can't have the good memories without the bad ones," Maggie said, swinging her skis.

Izzy sighed, her breath swirling in the cold air in front of her face. "We could save a tree and I could just club you over the head with my board."

"A very kind offer," Pete said with a huff of amusement. "Very environmentally-friendly."

"Sustainable concussions. You could market that," Maggie added. "Like dolphin-friendly tuna. Tree-friendly ski injuries."

The lift shuddered into action again, pulling them forward, and they fell into a companionable silence. Pete tried to rein in all of the runaway ideas she had about chasing after Danica. How long did you chase someone who never stopped running?

"Maybe our next trip should just be the three of us," Maggie said finally, and Pete nodded in agreement. "Has anyone heard from Kiera?" Maggie glanced toward Izzy.

Izzy shook her head. "Nope. I have no idea. Maybe she and Eddie caught a ride back to Denver together or something."

"Maybe," Pete said, chewing her lip thoughtfully. She idly wondered if Danica would ever forgive Kiera for what she’d done.

A new thought popped into her head, causing tears to sting at the corners of her eyes. She didn't know if she'd ever see Danica again. Maybe she'd just been something had Danica to get out of her system. A fun plaything to leave on vacation. She'd really been a fool for thinking they were beginning something new. They were just temporarily picking up where they'd left off, that was all.

Lift 4 lowered into the station and the three of them slid out, Maggie readjusting the wrap under her glove. Thankfully, the ease of Boomerang, a wide blue run, loosened the tension in her shoulders as she took a wide, carving path down the run, enjoying the fresh inch or so of snow that had fallen the night before. Izzy and Maggie were right. This was the best way to clear her mind and spend her last day.

After completing their run, they hopped on Lift 5, and Pete felt invigorated. Sitting between Izzy and Maggie, she wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders. "Thank you for putting up with my bullshit this week. I love you both."

"I love you, too, bud," Maggie said, patting Pete's thigh.

"Don't get all sappy now," Izzy said, but she laid her head on Pete's shoulder for a quick moment.

"You know, this week may not have gone the way we all thought it would, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Izzy and Maggie murmured their agreement as the lift lowered and the three clambered their way out of the lift station.

"Last one down buys crepes," Maggie called playfully, pushing toward Polar Queen with a laugh. Izzy and Pete scrambled to clip their bindings, and Izzy hopped into place, following behind Maggie.

Pete paused, watching her two friends interlace paths down the mountain, and she could hear their laughter. In that moment, surrounded by snowcapped evergreens, white-tipped mountains, and the crispness of the cold air, her heavy heart felt a bit lighter.

Pete loved flying.She'd never been afraid of flying, but she’d been on so many planes she’d begun to take it for granted. Still, it was just a little more exciting to be on a small plane taking off from one of the most gorgeous places she'd ever been. The planefrom Telluride to Denver was tiny, with only about 30 seats on board, and she felt extra bougie as she settled back into the leather seat, pretending she was on a private plane with her two best friends. What would teenage Pete think of the life she lived now, spending a week in a luxury condo in Telluride to ski, then flying on a tiny plane back to Denver?

She and Izzy shared the two-seat side of the plane while Maggie took the single seat across the aisle. The engine was eye-level out the window and loud, but didn't block the stunning mountain surround as the plane lined up on the runway. The landing strip was short, and Maggie had panicked about it when they'd flown in, so Pete reached across the aisle to offer her hand to Maggie now, knowing the takeoff would be fast and likely just as steep.

"So long, Telluride," Izzy said toward the window as the plane lifted at the end of the runway. Maggie's grip tightened on her hand and Pete smiled reassuringly.

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