He made Red put one on his nose, hold one next to his face, and juggle them. He dropped two just as the door opened and Gracie called for Benny to come in so they could head home up the hill.
“Where you staying?” Red asked Jack.
“For now, MJ put me in Cabin One, but with what you two are doing? I’ll probably end up crashing on Nicole’s sofa because Snowberry’ll be booked.”
“From your lips,” he said, slowly climbing down from the sleigh.
Benny had gone inside and the two of them stood in the snowy silence for a moment.
Jack cleared his throat. “Look, Red. I know I don’t deserve much. Probably don’t deserve this second chance at being nearby. But I have a lot of making up to do and I’m hoping to help.”
Red didn’t say a word. How could he? He had ten years of anger built up against this man.
“You, uh, still hate me, huh?” Jack asked.
Red laughed at the candor. “Li’l bit. But that doesn’t make you special. I hate everybody.” He added a wink. “Why do you think they call me Grumpy Santa?”
With that, he headed back inside, not yet ready to forgive, forget, or let Jack Kessler off the hook.
Nicole tugged her ski jacket tighter around her chest as the shuttle van rolled to a gentle stop near the base of Deer Valley.
Bri grinned widely, eyeing her in the rearview mirror from the driver’s seat. “How ya feeling, girl?”
Nicole swallowed and glanced over at her dad, who was also grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. She rolled her eyes.
“You two are both entirely too excited about this. I’m going down the bunny hill and trying not to die. It’s not some big comeback story.”
Jack shrugged and glanced out the window to hide his smile. “I didn’t say a word. I’m just happy to be getting out on the slopes with you, kid.”
“And I’m beyond jealous,” Bri said on a groan as she pulled the shuttle van up to the resort entrance to drop them off. “That powder is calling my name.”
“It’ll be there when your shift ends,” Nicole said with a smile as she grabbed her helmet off the seat next to her.
“But it’ll be all skied over and I want first tracks.” She stuck her tongue out playfully.
Jack chuckled. “And we’re going to make them.”
First tracks? Ugh. Nicole just hopped out of the van with a wave of her gloved hand. “Bye, Bri. Sell lots while I’m gone today.”
“Ski like the wind! Have fun, Flying Jack!” Brianna blew her a kiss and Nicole stepped away, trying to ignore the fact that her knees felt wobbly at the very sight of the lift base.
Beyond them, the mountain rose in layered folds of white, dusted with fresh powder that glittered in the morning sun. The air was filled with the distant whoosh of skis carving downhill and the cheerful clatter of poles.
Guests in brightly colored jackets bustled between the base lodge and the lifts, laughter and music from outdoor speakers floating through the cold like confetti.
Nicole’s stomach twisted as she marched next to Dad, the scent of hot cocoa wafting from a nearby stand clashing with the old, familiar knot of nerves curling beneath her layers.
She hoisted the pair of skis she grabbed from the shed over her shoulder and tried to take a calming breath. Maybe the coffee she’d downed before leaving was a bad idea after all, because all she felt were jitters and a hint of heartburn.
“You okay?” Jack asked, walking beside her with the skis he’d chosen for the day effortlessly resting on his shoulder.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this, Dad.”
Jack notched his chin toward the medley of groomed green ski runs that wound down from the first-level lifts. “No worries, Nic. You were ripping those when you were three.”
“I was fearless at three.”
He stopped, bracing her shoulder with a strong hand, the kind of steadying support she always loved from her father. It hit her right then how much she missed it—missed him—and how deeply she wanted to show this man what she was made of.
