by Adele Huxley
“I have to ask,” he said with a chuckle. “How was it?”
“Honestly?” I replied meeting his eye.
“Well yeah, of course.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is.” I tried to reply with a deadpan look, but the way his jaw dropped just pulled the laughter right out of me. I quickly showered him with kisses, laughing harder. “I’m just kidding! It was amazing, I swear it.” He squinted at me, a smirk curling the corner of his mouth. “It was amazing and I want to do it over,” I repeated with a kiss, “and over,” kiss, “and over.”
And you know what? We did.
For the first time in my life, and the first time in years for Bryan, we felt completely at peace and filled with hope.
When life was a struggle, time seemed to move so slowly. Getting through each hour, each day was a challenge. The two years after my accident felt like a lifetime but after I met Liz, time began to speed up. I wanted to spend every moment I could with her but I was afraid those moments would slip faster and faster from my fingers. After the craziness with Kayla and Rick had died down, I finally could focus on us. Mr. Richards was practically driven out of town, selling the resort to the town for a fraction of what he paid. We lived together, worked together, but it wasn’t enough. Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful for every second, but I was still missing something I never thought I’d miss. I needed to make her my wife.
It was hard to believe it was nearly a year to the day from when we’d met. Since we’d never actually gotten together on a specific day, I’d chosen the day we met on the bridge as the start of our relationship. On the morning of, I woke her with breakfast in bed, complete with a strong cup of coffee. I could tell she was immediately suspicious.
“Thank you,” she said. She squinted at me as I sat on the end of the bed with a plate of toast. I was so nervous, it was all I could stomach.
“No problem,” I tried to say casually. “I had the day off, so I thought I’d treat you. I was thinking we could go for a little walk before heading up to the mountain.”
“A walk...”
I shrugged, taking a bite of the buttery toast. “It’s a nice day out.”
It was nerve-wracking trying to maintain a casual demeanor. Truth was, I’d been planning this day for months. I’d even cooked her breakfast randomly a few times to make sure when I did it on this day, it wouldn’t seem so out of character. We held hands as we meandered our way through the neighborhood, chatting about our Christmas plans, students at the ski school. When I turned left down the last street and the bridge came into view, Liz finally caught on.
“What exactly are you doing?” she asked with a sly smile.
I squeezed her gloved hand with mine and shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I checked the road for traffic and pulled her across, standing just about where I’d first laid eyes on her. “And I certainly don’t know anything about a present that’s hanging over the edge right there.”
She studied my face for a moment before looking over the edge. “Where? I don’t see anything.”
“Maybe if I hold your feet,” I said grabbing her waist suddenly. She let out a shriek and laughed.
“Come on, what is it?”
I nodded to the bottom of the railing where a bright bungee cord looped around the base of one of the decorative cement pieces. She crouched down and pulled up the gift that dangled only a few feet below. I’d been so paranoid about it falling from the cord, I ended up having to help her untangle it from the bungee. But once we finally got it free, I set the wrapped package on the wide railing.
“Go on,” I said with a smile.
Liz tore into the present with abandon, the paper and ribbon falling to the ground. She cried out in surprise when she recognized the box as the very digital camera she’d been drooling over for months.
“I didn’t ruin your camera that day, but I thought I could at least get you a new one. Happy anniversary.”
She grinned up at me, flinging her arm around my neck and hugging me tightly. “You never cease to surprise me, Bryan Marsh.”
As we walked back to the house, relief washed over me. Giving her the camera was the first step for the day. The big event was still to come, but I wanted to do a bunch of special things to make her happy. I think I’ve thrown her off the scent now.
____________
As the gondola climbed up Powder Mountain, I started to rethink my decision to give her strong coffee. Well, the coffee, the camera, and arranging for her to pick whatever she wanted from the season’s latest Salomon women’s line of skis. She was talking up a storm while I felt like I might throw up from nerves. As always, Liz was a live wire of excitement and passion.
“I can’t believe you were able to do this for me! I swear, if I didn’t have to work later, today would be the perfect day,” she said patting my shoulder. We were alone in the gondola, which gave her the space to pace around. “Don’t get me wrong, I love working. It’s just that I’d rather spend the day in bed with you,” she finished with a wink. “Can you believe it’s actually been a year? The town owns the mountain, I’m a ski instructor. It’s crazy!”
“Yeah, totally,” I choked out with a forced smile. God, I was so nervous. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so nervous.
Picking up on my tone, she frowned at me slightly. “Are you okay? Is your leg bothering you?”
“No, no, I’m fine. Just a little indigestion from breakfast,” I said with the wave of a hand. She seemed satisfied enough and we continued up the mountain without any more conversational blips. As the doors slid open, the cold air helped center my thoughts. We gathered our equipment from the basket and made our way out to the flat at the top of the slopes, my stomach doing flip flops.
“Will you look at these skis? I mean, shit they’re beautiful,” Liz cooed as she placed them on the ground and stepped into the bindings. Before she pulled her goggles down, she gave me a wink. “Race you to the bottom?”
I’d wanted to take lead, guide her down the mountain to my prearranged spot, but before I could protest, she was off. Great, I cursed, chasing after her. Luckily, she headed down a wide intermediate run which gave me half a chance to overtake her. While she’d gotten the jump, I still had the higher max speed. Liz was taking wide, sinuous turns, obviously toying with me and the new skis. I tucked down and hugged the rock face to the right, flying past her with a wave. I heard a little yelp of surprise and the race was on.
“Hey!” came a shout to my left. I turned just in time to see her ski up the steep shoulder, catch air, and land ten feet ahead of me. My heart swelled with pride. She’d grown in leaps and bounds, certainly becoming a good enough skier to give me a run for my money.
We played this little game of cat and mouse down the mountain until I finally pulled ahead, gesturing for her to follow. With the slightest glance, I checked that everyone was in place. I slowed, hoping she’d be so preoccupied with crossing the finish line first, she wouldn’t notice the group of kids gathered at the top of the slope. Sure enough, she zoomed past me and skidded to a halt, raising her hands in celebration.
“Beat you, Blizzard!” she laughed. Pulling her goggles to the top of her helmet, she scrunched up her face in the most adorable way. “Why did we come down this way? I don’t have to be at work for another hour or so.”
As nauseous as I’d felt all morning about this moment, a calmness settled over me. I stepped out of my bindings and walked over, taking her in my arms. “One of my happiest memories is when I taught you how to ski, right here,” I said, gesturing up to the bunny slope. At the signal, one by one, nine of our regular students began to ski down the hill. Held above their heads were large poster boards with a single word written on each one. Liz looked at me, then back to the students, her hand clapped over her mouth.
“What are you...”
“Can you read the signs?” I prodded. The last kid had just pushed off, the question mark flying high in the air.
Liz squinted through her tears, wiping them as they rolled down her cheek. “‘Bryan loves you, Liz. Will you marry him?’ Oh Bry,” she said turning to look at me.
While she’d read, I’d dropped to one knee and pulled the small box from my coat pocket. The sapphire ring I held open sparkled in the sun, but it was no match for her beautiful blue eyes. “Will you?”
Her bottom lip quivered. My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest, each second an eternity. I’d thought she’d say yes, but what if she...
“Of course!” she cried. She yanked off her gloves and jumped from her skis, rushing into my arms as I stood. The students and other spectators burst into cheers around us.
“I can’t believe you did this all for me. This amazing, incredible thing.”
I buried my face in her hair and sighed. “If I can give you a fraction of the happiness you give me every day, I’ll die a happy man. Thank you for giving me that chance.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
Start reading Devoted to the Blizzard right now!
My eyes stung with sweat. My thighs, calves, and ass burned with an unholy pain that I thought would never end. Every part of me desperately fought the urge to give up, to collapse. I loudly cried out through gritted teeth and prayed to every deity I could think of to release me from this torture. Worst of all, there was a tiny woman in front of me screaming words of encouragement.
“Twenty more seconds! You can do it. You’ve got this,” my tormentor cheered.
I growled a pained response, pressing my chin to my chest. That slight movement forced me to correct my balance, wiggling and correcting until I found a steady spot again. For over a minute, I’d stood on an exercise ball, holding myself at a ninety degree weighted squat position. The gray torture device beneath me wobbled and fought my control. It was like trying to stand on a log in the middle of a swiftly moving river or an animal attempting to throw me from its back. Through sheer will, I fought and regained my equilibrium.
“Five, four, three, two, one!” Janet counted, a clap punctuating each number.
I ungracefully jumped from the ball, and let the heavy padded bar roll from my shoulders, landing on the floor with a thud. I tried to stay standing, resting my hands on my knees, sucking air deep into my lungs. My quivering leg muscles had a different idea and quickly collapsed beneath me. I fell hard to my hands and knees with a grunt.
“Liz, you have two minutes to recover and then we’re moving on to some core work.” I glared at my coach as I rolled onto my back. I didn’t have the breath to curse her, but you better believe that there were some choice words flowing through my mind.
My chest rose and fell quickly as I tried to catch my breath. Even in just a sports bra and shorts, the stifling heat of the gym was nearly unbearable. July in Colorado was no joke. My third summer in the Rockies and I still couldn’t believe how diverse the seasons were.
Janet crouched beside and handed me a cold bottle of water. Her short hair was damp with sweat as well, but she didn’t look at all fatigued. Fifteen years my senior, the woman was at least three times as fit as I was. “Good job on the balance ball.” That was the most praise Janet would ever hand out.
“Yeah, yeah,” I groaned, rolling back to a sitting position. I dumped a stream of refreshing water over my head before squirting some in my mouth. “I know you shortened the time. I bet Nicole can hold it for over two minutes.”
“Liz,” she sighed and stood, resting her hands on her hips. “You really can’t keep doing this to yourself. I work you much harder than anyone else I’ve ever trained. You and Bryan didn’t give me much choice with such a short amount of time. You should only think about beating yourself.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. I know how competitive you are. Like you aren’t motivated by the image of standing on the tallest podium.”
“I’m actually hardest on myself. Thirty seconds left, by the way,” she said, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig.
I grumbled again, but climbed to my knees. I didn’t trust my legs enough to push up completely to standing yet. I slicked my wet hair back, flicking my ponytail irritably.
Janet crossed her arms and closely regarded me. “When you and Bryan hired me, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get you in shape in under two years. But you did everything I asked of you and more. Now look at you.”
I saw a twinkle of humor in her golden brown eyes, but her face remained absolutely stoic. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh yeah, just look at me,” I replied, snapping the strap of my sports bra with a wet splat. “I wouldn’t go calling me a testament to your training quite yet.”
It earned a smirk before she glanced at her watch. “Roll over. We’re doing walking plank intervals.”
____________
Every time I returned from the gym, I barely had the strength to lift my arms. Every muscle in my upper body screamed in agony as I pushed the front door open, the heat of the cabin hitting me like the inside of an oven. I dropped my gym bag the second I was inside, wanting to flop beside it and take a nap.
“I’m home. Are you back yet?” I called out.
There was no response, but I heard the dull sound of the shower running. With a smile, I stiffly headed towards the bedroom, shedding my wet, smelly, revolting clothes as I went. It was like a Hansel and Gretel trail for sweat fetishists.
Fully naked, I eased the door to the bathroom open to see Bryan through the clear shower curtain. His eyes were closed as he rinsed the shampoo from his tangled mess of hair. The soapy water rolled down his muscular back and down his thick legs. After a moment watching him, I gently rapped on the door and dramatically cleared my throat.
Bryan pulled his head from the water, and wiped his face clear. “Hey you! Thought I heard something.”
“I could’ve been a serial killer,” I replied darkly.
I boldly strutted towards him. Aside from the scars under my breasts, I’d always been proudly confident of my body. Curves in all the right places, long legs, thick hair... my mom had blessed me genetically. But after all the conditioning I’d been doing to get ready for the race, my body had become something else entirely. Flat stomach, firm ass, legs made of steel... His eyes took me all in, and despite my exhaustion, I felt a twinge of excitement as I gazed back at his enticing naked frame.
“Don’t use up all the hot water,” I chided with an arched eyebrow.
He flung the curtain open, skin dripping wet. His newest scar, a few inches long and on the inside of his knee, was now rapidly fading from a red welt to a white streak. It was the latest attempt to get his body back in full working order. The others I barely noticed anymore, although I remembered the first time I’d seen them, the one at his hip in particular. It was like finding someone of the same species, a person whose past pain existed on the outside as well as in. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Climbing out of the tub, he pulled me into a hot, wet embrace. “I’m still all sweaty!” I squealed as he buried his face in my neck, his soft stubble scratching at my skin.
“I don’t care. I love your smell,” he growled against my shoulder.
“Probably not every smell,” I laughed, giving him a playful slap. I stepped into the still running shower and pulled the curtain shut behind me. I worked my muscles out under the hot water, digging the tips of my fingers painfully deep to release the tension. “How was physical therapy?” I asked.
“Fine, you know. How was training?” he asked as he toweled off.
I swallowed the self-doubt and shrugged. “Fine. Janet was a little Hitler, as usual.”
He laughed knowingly. “That’s why she gets paid the big bucks.”
I dipped my head under the water, wetting my hair. “I was thinking on the way home, does that make me a masochist? Paying someone to hurt me five days a week?”
Bryan’s chest rumbled with a low laugh. “I think that depends on whether or not you get off on it.”
&nb
sp; “That’s a resounding no,” I replied as I peeked my head out of the curtain.
I groaned a little protest as he wrapped a towel around his waist. He held it low, the line of his stomach muscles disappearing below the fabric. Somehow, partially covered was sexier than fully naked. He grinned, oblivious to my dirty thoughts. “I tried to warn you but you were all like, I want to be a downhill skier. I want to compete. I’m gonna be the best,” he said in a sing-songy voice.
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, flicking water at him over the railing. “I’m glad PT was good, though.”
“Uh huh. Hey, I’m gonna go make dinner. I’m guessing you’re hungry?”
“Freakin’ starving, thanks babe.”
He seems good today, I thought as I lathered up my hair. Like anyone, Bryan had his up and down days. Recently, I’d been sensing a lot more distance between us. Nothing I could put my finger on, not a thing I could even question him about. We were slightly out of sync, a fraction of a step apart, and I wasn’t sure what had thrown us off rhythm. Even so, I tried not to worry about it much.
Twenty minutes later, I gratefully curled up on the sofa while Bryan finished making dinner. The delicious smells from the kitchen permeated the small cabin. Still sore and muscle weak, but at least clean, a warm exhaustion pulsed through my body. With the lack of air conditioning in the small house, I’d immediately sprouted a fresh sweat as soon as I’d stepped out of the shower. Like I said, Colorado summers were a real bitch.
We lived a simple life. Our TV still had an antenna and box fans that were older than me cooled the house at night. We even shared one beat up old pick up, the one Bryan had when he first came back to Tellure Hollow. After all the drama with Kayla and Rick faded away, I found myself welcomed by the Tellure Hollow community. The way of life suited me here.
