Page 103 of Fresh Tracks
“You’re not the only one with tricks.” She gives me a playful smirk, sliding forward on my shaft, eliciting a groan from deep in my chest. “But you could just join us today.”
I shake my head. “I think I will pass on the full day of hiking and skiing. Dinner tonight is already going to be exhausting.”
Her eyes soften and she runs the back of her fingers over my cheek. I grab her wrist, pressing a kiss to her palm.
“It’s going to be fine. Seriously, all of them love you already. Even Tanner is warming back up to you. He liked you before we were together, and I think he’s finally realizing you’re still the same genuine person.”
I take a deep breath before letting out a long exhale. “OK.”
She’s right. I know how much this means to her.
Her dad is in town from Park City along with Clay, Lizzy, and Kayleigh. Her grandparents, Tanner, and V are all coming to dinner too. It’s the first time we’ll all have been together with us as a couple, and I want nothing more than for it to be perfect for her.
She gives me a questioning smile and I nod again, grinning up at her. “Yeah, I’m good. Can’t wait to see everyone.”
Her smile widens and she leans down, kissing me, her teeth tugging on my bottom lip when she pulls away. “Good. So, I’ll see you at the restaurant tonight when I come with the girls.”
Normally, having someone else’s approval of anything I do never matters to me. When it comes to my girl, I know how important her family is and I want their approval for her sake. The surprise dinner with her dad back in Utah went shockingly well.
It’s gone well with the rest of her family too, minus Tanner. Even that’s been better though. He’s stopped being a little bitch and if I can finish patching things up with him, everything will be perfect.
She climbs off my lap and I hold her hand until her fingers slip through mine. I lay there watching while my heart walks away, knowing that nothing has ever felt so right in my life.
CHAPTER 44
GRACE
MANGY MOOSE
“I thought you were an Olympic athlete?”Josie calls back from further up the trail, keeping proper distance ahead of Kayleigh and me. She’s far enough away I can just make out the colorful silhouette of her ski gear, but even from here I can still hear her teasing, snarky tone. She didn’t earn her nickname, Backcountry Bunni, for no reason. She’s just leaving the thicket of trees below Cody Peak.
This high up the mountain, we have a clear view of the jagged granite mountain ridge. The peak juts out into the blue horizon, high above us, to our left. The ridge line extends to the right, curving around us to form a large horseshoe shaped bowl, framed by rocky chutes and cliffs on either side. Great for wide open skiing in the middle.
A smile spreads across my face when I see the pristine mountain without a single track from other skiers. That’s why we got up at the crack of dawn and hiked this far, to ski down these beautiful mountains and paint our fresh tracks in the untouched snow. On a mid-March day like this, the temperatures aren’t brutally cold like they were a month ago, making the trek a littlemore comfortable. At this point, I’ve even shed my outer jacket and stowed it in my pack after working up a sweat.
Kayleigh lets out a long frustrated groan, as she makes deliberate strides on her skis up the path that Josie cleared ahead of us. “I go down mountains, not up them!”
I chuckle and call out between heavy breaths. “We’ll take a break soon before we hike up to the top of the ridge line.”
She lifts one of her ski poles in the air and I can see that she’s giving me a thumbs up. I shake my head, still working my way along, slowly bringing up the rear of our group, on the trail. Kayleigh has made it her life’s work to be the best in the world at going down a mountain as fast as humanly possible. I know Josie might be giving her shit, but I’m impressed with Kayleigh and glad she finally made it out with me. We’ve gone backcountry skiing only a couple times before, but always back in Utah and never here on what still feels like my home turf. She’s more than holding her own, hiking up a mountain on skis with a full pack of safety gear, snacks, water, and extra layers.
It’s not easy.
We’ve had to be careful on our way up. With the fresh snow, there are steeper parts of the mountain that are holding plenty of fresh snow that isn’t stable after the storm last night.
I take another stride, feeling my legs and muscles protest. No matter how much time I spend hiking or in the gym, this is never easy. I’m starting to think that maybe Tommy was right. The idea of being back in bed with him sounds blissful compared to how sore my legs are. I don’t think he realized how close he was to keeping me in bed this morning.
One more sweet kiss. One more thrust of his hips against me and I would have been all his today. That would be if I wasn’t already completely and hopelessly his forever.
Peeking back up the wooded trail, I see that Josie andKayleigh are waiting at the edge of the trees. A few more strides and I’m there with them.
“Why do you do this all the time?” Kayleigh already has her skis off, leaning them against a tree while she catches her breath.
Josie laughs. “Not all of us get pampered out on the mountain as professional skiers with free lift passes. That shit gets expensive.” She gestures her gloved hand around the mountain, just outside of the boundaries of the ski resort. “This is free and there aren’t any lines. Just have to earn your turns.”
“Yep. Free, a killer workout, and no lines. Hard to beat.” I pop my skis off and take a drink from my hydration backpack, smiling back at Josie. “Not that you’re hurting for cash.”
Kayleigh rolls her eyes at Josie. “Definitely earned my turns today after that hike.” Josie laughs before Kayleigh looks around us, taking in the heart stopping views. I see the subtle approval in her eyes. That’s the look that makes it all worth it, when someone finally gets it. She takes a drink from her pack, smacking her lips. “So, where to next?”
