“Ford Prescott.” A sharp, high-pitched voice was heard behind me. Instantly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“Poppy. Or should I say,Mrs. Trent Langley,”I said in a regretfully sarcastic tone. Truth was, I was past this. I was ready to forgive. I just needed to do it.
“You heard?” She didn’t look thrilled for being a newlywed who was married to the person who ran this whole resort.
“Hard not to. It was trending between ‘avalanche rescue dog team’ and ‘how to de-ice a mustache,’ I mumbled. Ugh. How could I find the words to say what needed to be said? “Look, Poppy—” I started to hammer out a sentence, but she shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Ford. For everything. I’ve had a lot of time to think about my actions, and I’m not proud of how things went down with us. I want you to know that it wasn’t right or fair leaving you like I did. You didn’t deserve it. I’m happy with Trent, but I could have gone about those things in a much more respectful way. And I want you to know that his kids hate me. Toby is all I have left. So, the world is taking out revenge on me, ha ha.” Poppy had a sadness to her as she spoke. I wasn’t aware that Trent even had children. I took it all in. As much as my body wanted to hate her and tell her what I thought of saying if I ever came face to face with her, over these last few months, my heart told me otherwise.
“I forgive you, Poppy.” Her eyes watered, and she started to reach for a hug but stopped herself. I wasn’t about to reciprocate, not with all of these press people around. The last thing I needed was a front page in the sports section to have a large picture of me and Poppy in an embrace. The Holy Spirit felt ever present in that moment, as I remembered a verse I had heard long ago about God forgiving us and never thinking about the sins again. I wished that for myself at this stage in my life. I felt my breath releasing all of the hurt and anger, the last of which was all I had left for her.
“Thank you, Ford.” Her words faded out as more and more people joined the tent. I opened up a sports drink and held it up to her, like we were going to say “cheers” to her marriage. To her new life. To my new heart in Christ. I walked away.
Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my phone, dialing the only number I knew by heart. He answered on the second ring.
“Clint,” I said, nearly falling to my knees at the sound of his voice.Oh why, Lord, had I waited so long to forgive?
“My brother,” he said in return. “I’ve got the television on, and I’m waiting for your race.” Tears came to my eyes. I had no idea he followed my career. I told him I’d been thinking of him for quite some time. That I’d wanted to call but felt like it was too little or too late. That I was sorry for being so distant. That I didn’t drop everything to come when dad was sick. All the things that I wished I’d said to him before. He listened.
“Ford—I’m sorry for not being a present person to you when you needed it. Growing up, it was all about the farm and the livestock. I wish I could go back and make a relationship with you a priority, too. You don’t owe me any apologies. I should have told you about dad sooner. This is all my fault. I pushed you away, and now I’m paying for it.” That broke my heart. Butimmediately, I felt it starting to heal, as once again I realized I had been experiencing what conviction by the Holy Spirit is.
“How about you come out to see me next week? Or I could come to you,” I offered. He laughed.
“Boy, I have never been to Sage Mountain. I’ve seen photos of it in a catalog, though. Do they still have that little candy store that makes the taffy?” he asked in a childlike voice.
“They sure do. Sage Mountain Sweets. And it’s the best taffy you’ll ever eat,” I said.
“And the ice-skating rink? My wife would love that,” he said. I was nearly brought to my knees when I heard he had a wife. I was so happy for him.
“There is so much to catch up on. I can send a car to pick you both up, if that's easier. You and your wife. How about Monday?”
“I’d love that, Ford. Thank you for inviting me into your life. I won’t mess it up this time.”
“Me either, Clint.” I hung up the phone, having forgiven him truly in my heart. Now, it was time for skijoring.
“Chase,” I reached out and put my arm around my horseback rider and teammate, Chase Mentock. “Are we ready to win this thing or what?” I asked, taking another swig of mysports drink while he prowled the food table, picking up a few pieces of meat and cheese.
“I’m so ready. I was up all night considering how the prize money could help us afford that down payment on the house,” he said, as I noticed how puffy his eyes were.
“Yes, it’s real-life changing money, that’s for sure,” I said, my words rambling off as I began to stress about my performance. There was a lot riding on this win, and I prayed to God right then and there that I could pull it off for the sake of Chase’s family alone. My manager Jack walked up and joined the conversation.
“Well, boys. What a lovely day for a race, huh?” Jack, trying not to talk about anything that might get in our heads or cause pressure, didn’t realize that I was already doing enough of that for myself.
Truthfully, I’d never considered the rider needing any of the money we won; my last rider before Chase was one of the richest people I knew and just did this for fun. The $50k he’d get in our split of winnings was chump change to him. Once, I think I even offended him when he got his portion of a smaller check. He waived it off, telling me to keep it unless it was over five grand—that I needed it worse.
Today’s prize money was just over $150k. That would mean seventy-five grand for each of us. Surely, that would help put a dent on a starter home for Chase and his family. Thinking about people other than myself had consequences, as I was now worried to death I might fail somehow. I could see why I never did it before.
“Thanks for the phone, Jack,” I said, holding it up. “Well, I’m going to go check on my racing skis. They were getting waxed a little earlier,” I said, as I excused myself from the conversation. Jack nodded; he was too superstitious to wish us luck or so much as ask about how anyone was feeling. In his years of being an athlete manager, he said his favorite parts were securing brand deals and that watching the athletes perform gave him incredible anxiety. Suddenly, I understood that. It was because he cared about people, like I did with Chase. Like God does for me.
As soon as I was away from the group of people and standing in line at the wax station waiting for my skis, I realized the crowd of spectators could be seen from here. I scoured the crowd for a beautiful brunette with bright eyes in a white coat, but I didn’t see anyone. Catching my eye was the side profile of a woman who looked very familiar in a bright red coat—one thatwas too bright to ignore. Kind of like Presley. She turned at that moment and smiled at me: it was Presley. I smiled back as she sat on the bleachers. No doubt she was freezing; though the Winter Games were starting soon, it was only about to get warmer for me but not for her, sitting still on a set of metal bleachers. Once I grabbed my skis and thanked the man for working on them, I gave them a quick inspection and saw all was well, then I went looking for Jack. I had a favor to ask.
“There you are,” I said, finding him in the women's ice-skating competitors’ tent. “How did I know I would find you here?” I cocked my eyebrow.
“I can’t help it. I’m a man who loves a woman in sequins, so I’m here seeing if any of these beautiful ladies are single. Look at her—she has crystals on her eyelids.” Jack looked at the women in awe. He was a nice man. I never saw him objectifying or being inappropriate around women. But he was incredibly lonely, and I wished he could find a wife. He wasn’t yet fifty years old; there was still plenty of time for him to have a family, even.
“I was hoping you could do me a solid,” I said, talking close to his ear so others wouldn’t hear me.
“Sure. Of course, Ford. What is it?”
