Page 48 of Second Chances
Chapter 19
Once she got into therhythm, the skiing thing turned out to be a lot of fun. The two of them slid through the nighttime forest, the only sound was the sound of their skis sliding on the snow and their ragged breathing – it wasn’t easy. Josh had let her lead and at first, she found the dark shadows that bounced through her headlight daunting but felt safe with the mountain man behind her.
“Be careful Megan, there’s a hill coming up – it will kind of sneak up on you,” Josh yelled from behind her.
Megan adjusted her headlamp and scanned in the distance. She didn’t see anything until the ground basically disappeared from beneath her. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she cried out. “You call this a hill?” Ahead of her, the trail plunged down a long steep grade into darkness.
Josh smiled at her, “I can go first if you like. You’re strong and have good balance though, you’re just going to have to trust yourself.”
“Easy for you to say.” Megan could feel her chest starting to constrict. “I don’t think I can do this.”
Josh put his hand on Megan’s shoulder. “If you don’t want to do this, we can go back, but I believe in you. You are a strong and capable woman who doesn’t let a small obstacle like this get in her way.”
Megan had the feeling he wasn’t just talking about the hill of death in front of her. “Okay,” her voice wavered, but then became stronger, “I’ll try.”
Josh beamed and brushed a strand of Megan’s hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
“Here’s what you’re going to do. Bend your knees and keep your weight centered over the skis. Whatever you do, don’t lean back, and don’t panic. You’re going to pick up some serious speed, and it might scare you, but try to have some fun with it.”
Megan’s body had been coursing with adrenaline since their kiss. She knew that it was a bad idea, but when she had felt the rough tickle of his beard next to her cheek, all her worries and insecurities, every thought of Alex disappeared into the cold night air. All she wanted was to feel Josh’s lips on hers, and once she had those, she wanted more – she wanted all of him.
Now, looking into his eyes, she knew that she could trust him.
“Then what happens at the bottom?”
“It flattens out and you will lose your speed. I’ll be waiting there for you.” He pushed off and briefly disappeared out of sight, reappearing in the light of Megan’s lamp briefly before he disappeared once again into the woods below.
Timber nudged her hand and sat down on his haunches beside her.
“I know, Timber,” she said to the dog. “I can do this.”
She gripped her poles and bent her knees as Josh instructed. She took a deep breath and as she exhaled, she pushed off. Her stomach jumped into her throat as she rocketed down the steep roller, but she kept her body tense and focused on keeping her weight over her feet. The trees beside her turned into a blur in her peripheral vision, but she kept her eyes steeled on the black unknown in front of her.
Snowflakes smacked into her cheeks and her hair whipped behind her from beneath her hat. The skis started to make a buzzing sound like bees as her speed picked up. She had never felt more alive, her fear replaced with exhilaration.
Just like Josh said, the hill flattened out and she started to slow down. She caught sight of him in the distance and focused on him as she slowed down. His tall solid frame seemed to be a magnet for her and she coasted to a stop, her skis resting against the back of his.
“How was that?”
Megan couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, but she also couldn’t seem to find words, the only thing escaping from her lips was her breath, and then she raised her arms triumphantly and yelled, “Woooooooo-hahahahaha, that was amazing,” she gasped through elated laughter.
“I knew that you would like it.”
“Thank you for pushing me, Josh,” she smiled and tapped his ski pole with hers. She wanted to leap into his arms, to kiss him again, to push him down into the snow like a teenager.
“Wait, what’s that?” she caught a glimpse of a building behind Josh.
“Um. That. That’s nothing.”
“Josh Johnson, is that a cabin in the woods?”
“Might be,” he didn’t meet her gaze. “I thought that you might need a rest, and maybe some hot chocolate.”
“And this is where you kidnap me?” she punched him in the arm.
“Exactly,” Josh said and skied off to the small structure and clicked off his skis. She followed behind.
“Whose cabin are we breaking into?” she giggled as he opened the wooden door. The cabin was a triangle shape, its peaked roof ran right into the ground, roof doubling as walls.
