by Claire Ray
I turned to the computer, looking at the message confirming delivery of his email, thinking to myself that maybe Tiffany was going to be to Brian what Jake had been to me. A source of happiness that had nothing to do with our daily routines.
I scooted closer to the monitor and poised my fingers over the keys. I knew I had to do something. I owed Evie an apology, and I really should’ve done it in person. I had single-handedly ruined this girl’s vacation. No amount of Cheer-up Shakes could take that feeling away.
I worked on my email for a half hour. I told her that it had been really nice to meet her, and that when her family came back to Willow Hill, Erin, Abby, and I would be excited to see her and would help her with her skiing skills. And then I apologized if the vacation hadn’t been what she’d expected this year. I didn’t come right out and say anything about Jake, but I hoped she’d understand that I knew I had done wrong.
After I finished the email, I pulled on Will’s coat, covered my face and hands and head in as many layers as I could, and trudged over to Snow Cones. The place was nearly empty when I got there, and I occupied my time by making Apology Sundaes (vanilla ice cream, chopped-up Snickers bars, and caramel sauce). I made three of them, and put them in paper cups with plastic lids. Packing them into a paper bag, I headed out to make amends.
I’d always avoided Sabrina Hartley, so actually seeking her out made me feel like I was in the Twilight Zone. I first tried the tanning place in the middle of town, then the Mountain Diner, and then the spa area at the resort. She was nowhere to be found.
I walked the trails behind the skiing hills, then went to the skating area, and finally ended up back at Erin’s post in the lodge.
“You’re looking for who?” Her eyes were wide in disbelief.
“I’m making amends,” I pronounced.
“You’re making amends to her?” She dropped her book onto the counter and it fluttered closed.
“Your place!” I exclaimed, imagining how upset I’d be to lose my place in a thousand-page book.
“Nah. I’m finished.”
“Good?” I asked.
“Very.” Erin straightened her back and reached for me. “While I think you’re crazy, I hope that you’re going to set everything right.”
I took a breath. I had a feeling that she meant Will.
She continued on, “I just mean that you shouldn’t assume that because a guy is nice and funny and charming that he doesn’t mean it.”
I nodded and showed her the contents of the paper bag I was carrying. “See the largest ice-cream cup in there? That’s for Will.”
I found Sabrina at Mr. Winter’s. She, Stephanie, and Hannah stood in the pen, their feet being attacked by six little bundles of fluff.
As I walked toward them, Stephanie nudged Sabrina in the side to alert her to the fact that I was approaching. When she saw me, her face fell. Even the dogs sensed that something was up, because all of them except for one scattered away. Sabrina scooped up the pup that remained by her feet and cuddled him to her face as I kept walking. The sight of her hugging the dog reminded me of how I’d clutch Teddy when I needed some support.
Since I was confronting the three goons, I decided that an overt apology might cause them to gang up on me. You never knew what would set off a gaggle of high school girls. Then I realized that I had three ice-cream sundaes with me.
“Hey, guys,” I said, my voice sounding a little froggy.
They didn’t respond. Stephanie narrowed her eyes at me in a clear sign of disapproval over the coat I was wearing.
I swallowed and gathered my courage. “Sabrina, I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I thought your dress last night was spectacular.”
Now they were looking at me like I was an alien being or something. But no matter, I plunged ahead.
“Here.” I thrust the bag at them. “I made you all some ice-cream sundaes.”
Sabrina looked cautiously at the other girls before extending a tentative hand and taking the bag from me.
“Are you trying to poison me or something?” she finally asked.
“Oh gosh, no!” I continued on bravely. “If I used my mother’s ice cream as a murder weapon, she’d never let me out of the house again.”
I noticed that Hannah smiled a little, which bolstered my courage. “I just thought, you know, the break was almost over, and that we all needed something to enjoy before school started up again. So, you know. That’s it.”
After a silent few moments, I figured they didn’t know what to make of me and my gifts. Finally I realized that I couldn’t make it any more normal by staring at them. “Well, see you guys around.” I waved and headed back the way I came.
“Hey,” I heard Sabrina call out to me.
When I turned around, she said, “Congrats on the Best Costume thing. You totally deserved it.”
I smiled. “Thanks!”
She nodded. “Tell Abby I said the clothes were perfect.”
I had to go back to Snow Cones to make two more Apology Sundaes. When I got there, Jake was waiting at the counter. He was wearing a dark-green, crewneck sweater and khaki pants. My heart started pounding. Knowing what I had to do made me nervous and sad. I’d never broken up with anyone before. I suddenly sympathized with him for avoiding breaking up with me in person. It wasn’t fun at all.
I walked behind the counter and began filling a dish with ingredients as he sat and watched me work. His expression was one of suspicion.
We didn’t say much until I’d finished and slid the metal dish to him. When he caught my eye, I could see by the sadness in his face that he knew what was about to happen.
“Jake, I—”
“Just don’t say it, okay?”
“Okay.”
“What’s this one?” He lifted his spoon and dipped it into the ice cream. His shy smile caused the dimples in his cheeks to reveal themselves. He was so completely cute, and yet, I knew very well that my stomach had zero butterflies in it.
“Apology Sundae,” I said matter-of-factly.
He took a bite. “What’s the key component of saying ‘I’m sorry’?”
“Vanilla ice cream.”
He laughed a bit. “I thought you were going to say the Snickers bars.”
“Nah,” I said. “The Snickers are there to make the apology go down easy.”
He placed his spoon on the table. “Should I apologize first or you?”
I leaned over and patted his hand. “Maybe we should apologize at the same time.”
“Okay. One, two, three—”
We each said, “I’m sorry,” and then I laughed and squeezed his hand.
“We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I know,” I said to him.
“I’m really sorry about everything.”
“Just eat your ice cream.”
That left one dish of ice cream for me to give, but when it came time for me to put it together, I decided that an Apology Sundae wasn’t the right approach. When I finally made a shake that said exactly what I wanted to say, I set off. This time I knew exactly where to go. I didn’t need Erin or anybody to guide me to Mount Crow.
At first, Will was a speck at the top of the mountain, but I knew it was him. Nobody in town could leap into the air as high as he could, and the navy suit was a dead giveaway. There were a few people at the bottom of the mountain near where I was standing who cheered and whooped watching his display, and I couldn’t help but feel proud of him. He deserved people’s cheers. He was good at what he did.
He didn’t see me when he got to the bottom of the mountain. I supposed that it was his white coat I was wearing. It did blend into the scenery.
“Will!” I called out.
He turned at the sound of my voice and when he saw it was me, his face split into a grin and he ripped his goggles off of his face. His cheeks were vibrantly red from the exertion. His head was covered in a navy knit cap, and from the moment he looked at me, there were flocks of butterflies alight in my stomach
. I felt my face burst into a smile.
He was taken aback by my happy exterior and scrunched his face up at me. “You just break Sabrina’s legs or something?”
I shook my head. “Just happy to see you.” It was the most honest thing I’d ever said in my whole life.
He snapped his feet from his board, kicked it up so that he could catch it with his left hand, and stepped closer to me. For once, he seemed speechless, so I thrust the large paper cup at him. I’d put a red straw in it.
“I didn’t realize you delivered,” he said.
“For my very special customers.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
I raised my shoulders and dropped them. “I think you have to find out for yourself.”
“I accept your challenge,” he said before taking a long sip.
“Good?” I asked eagerly.
“Delicious,” he concluded. “What is it?”
I took a step closer to him. “That is the new-and-improved, absolutely authentic Jessie Whitman Love Shake.”
His eyebrows shot up and I lowered my head in a fit of shyness. For a moment, I didn’t know who I thought I was!
Then he reached forward, picked up my hand, and pulled me forward so that we were standing very close to each other. He said softly, “Just for me?”
I raised my eyes to meet his and said, “Only for you.”
He looked into my eyes for a moment and then lifted the cup to me. “Let’s share it.”
I took a sip of the shake, and smiled at him before being overcome by a severe case of embarrassment. I lowered my head and he reached around to hug me. I finally found my voice, which wasn’t easy to do since my insides were so alive with happiness. “So I thought I’d hang on to your coat for a while.”
He leaned his forehead into mine, and said, “I wouldn’t have my girl wearing anything else. Come on, let’s get you a snowboard.”
He led me to the lodge, and as he did, I looked up into the sky and thought that there was nowhere I’d rather be.
About the Author
Melanie Murray, writing here as CLAIRE RAY, has written two novels for adults: GOOD TIMES, BAD BOYS and MISS BUBBLES STEALS THE SHOW. This is her first YA novel.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Credits
Cover art © 2009 by Sasha Illingworth
Cover design by Andrea Vandergrift
Copyright
SNOW IN LOVE. Copyright © 2009 by Claire Ray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition May 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195742-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
