Rowan did as she was ordered, trying to move in a circle without crossing the skis and making a complete fool of herself. Snow sprayed with her steps in a series of delightful thumps.
“You know,” said Ana, watching her with a small smile, “this is the first time he’s brought someone to Aelfhome.”
“Really?” Rowan glanced her way, momentarily distracted from the task at hand and briefly crossing her skis with a click of hard plastic.
The old woman smiled and nodded. “I think it’s a sort of sanctuary for him. A place where he was free of his father’s needs, and the many things others were constantly asking of him. The friends he had as a boy…” She shook her head with a scornful frown. “They always wanted something, and unfortunately, he has an impossible time saying no. Easier to just hide out. That fiancée he had…”
Rowan’s eyes widened. Fiancée? He’d had a fiancée?
“She was the same way. Peter and I were grateful when it didn’t work out.”
“Not his dad?”
Ana chuckled ruefully. “No, he saw none of the problems in that relationship. But how could he when they mirrored his own?”
The insight into Gavin brought on a nervous blip in her chest. There wasn’t any chance she’d taken advantage of that instinct, had she? To be next in the line of people who exploited his giving nature was something she’d never allow herself.
“Was it that way with Dennis and Sarah?”
The old woman’s face crumpled. “No. Sarah would never have allowed that. He was a different man when she was here. Losing her…it affected him deeply.” She frowned. “But that’s no excuse for making his son pick up his slack. Anyway…” Ana put a hand on Rowan’s shoulder and inspected the circle in the snow with a satisfied nod. “The body doesn’t forget.”
Gavin skied up to the side of the house with an effortless grace, sliding to a tidy stop. “Well? How’s it going over here?” Moments later, Dennis came to a stop beside him.
“She moved the skis like they were a part of her,” said Ana. “She’ll be okay.”
“ ‘Okay’ implies many outcomes,” said Rowan. “One of which is ‘not dead but definitely not upright.’ ”
“The snowcat is still an option,” offered Dennis. Her eyes narrowed his way.
You would like that, wouldn’t you?
Rowan held her tongue, saying, “I’ll take my chances with ‘okay.’ ”
“Well then,” said Dennis with a too-bright smile, “let’s go.”
A wind picked up as they followed the paths down the mountain from Aelfhome, which were deeply cut and well-trodden. Many of the people who came to stay skied down from the lodge, following the sequence of switchbacks through the forest. Watching the increasing sway of branches overhead with a wary eye, Rowan opened her awareness to the weather, letting its wild, kinetic energy flow through her. Though it had been a long time since she’d sensed it, she knew what it meant—a storm was coming.
She wanted to get off the slopes—away from Dennis, away from the winds—as quickly as possible. But muscles she’d forgottenshe even had were groaning in protest before they’d even hit the halfway mark. Every year they’d had a skiing unit in PE, heading out to the snowy hills by the high school, but she’d never been one to do it for fun.
“Don’t lift so much in your stride,” offered Gavin. “Push and glide, push and glide.” He demonstrated the proper way to move the skis.
Trying his suggestions did nothing but bring her to a halt. “I think I might have to do it my own terrible way.”
“Not terrible,” he said with an encouraging smile. “Just…not very efficient, energy-wise.”
“It’s what I’ve got,” said Rowan, trying to hide that her breathing was getting labored.
They skied on in silence for a few minutes, and she did her best to ignore her growing exhaustion and the mounting energy of the storm. The day darkened around them. It was only midafternoon, but at this latitude, so close to the shortest day of the year, that was early enough for the sun to dip behind the mountains and shadows to encroach.
“So you had a fiancée?” she blurted.
Gavin’s head swiveled toward her. “Where did you hear about that?”
“Your grandmother mentioned it.”
His head turned back away, and he was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, “I did.”
“What happened?”
